Friday afternoon saw a lively session of 247Sports College Sports broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network. In this episode, Brad Wachtel, renowned for his expertise in brackets, joined the team to dissect the NCAA Tournament bubble with a little over three weeks until Selection Sunday.
Wachtel laid it out simply: the tournament’s 68 slots are divided between 31 automatic bids and 37 at-large spots. Among those at-large spots, about 24 are pretty much secured by high-major conference teams. These teams aren’t necessarily winning their conferences outright, but their performance ensures they’re in the tournament regardless.
That leaves a tantalizing 13 spots for teams on the bubble and potential bid stealers. This fierce competition for spots is part of what makes college basketball thrilling.
We made our way through the five major conferences to see who’s already in, who’s out, and who’s battling for those precious 13 places.
Looking at the SEC, it’s likely that 11 or 12 teams are going to make it, with schools like Oklahoma, Texas, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Georgia all hovering around the bubble.
The Big Ten seems poised to secure 10 slots, with Ohio State, Nebraska, Indiana, and USC all in the mix and needing to prove themselves.
In the Big 12, there are 5 teams that seem locked in, but as many as three more bids could be available. Teams like Baylor, West Virginia, BYU, TCU, Kansas State, Cincinnati, and Utah are all anxiously awaiting their fate, according to Wachtel’s insight.
When it comes to the Big East and the ACC, only seven teams are solidly in for now. Xavier, Wake Forest, SMU, North Carolina, and Pittsburgh are all in a heated contest for one or possibly two spots.
For more in-depth discussion, you can catch the entire segment below or head over to the 247Sports YouTube page.
