March Madness 2024: Men's Bracketology and NET Rankings Before Selection Sunday | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Mia Horton Several of the teams on Lunardi's bubble have made a splash in their respective conference tournaments this week.
Mississippi State, which Lunardi considers to be one of the last four teams receiving a bye, beat LSU in the first round of the SEC tournament before taking down top-seeded Tennessee to advance to the semifinal. The Bulldogs now have a matchup with Auburn with a chance to advance to the championship game.
Even if Mississippi State can't get past Auburn, the Bulldogs left no question that they are worthy of an NCAA tournament bid.
Texas A&M, another SEC team on the bubble, made a strong case to be in the field of 68 in the SEC tournament as well. The Aggies beat Ole Miss before taking down No. 2-seed Kentucky 97-87. The win gave Texas A&M its sixth Quad 1 win of the season.
Pittsburgh, which Lunardi considers to be one of the first teams out of the tournament, picked up its fourth Quad 1 win of the season, beating Wake Forest by double digits on Thursday. The Panthers could have boosted their tournament chances with a win over North Carolina on Friday, but they came up just short. Still, Pitt helped its NCAA tournament case by reaching the ACC Tournament semifinal this week.
Heading into conference tournament week, Providence had a handful of key wins throughout the season, but needed more to make them a tournament. The Friars picked up a huge resume booster in the Big East tournament on Thursday, beating Creighton to advance to the semifinals. Ultimately, Providence couldn't get it done against Marquette, but with six Quad 1 wins on the season now, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Friars sneak into the big dance.
Teams on the bubble will have to await the decision of the selection committee on Sunday, but a handful might have earned a tournament bid through strong showings this week.