If you’re a fan of a Bubble Watch team like Florida, Illinois, Virginia Tech or UTEP, be prepared for a sleepless night and nerve-racking day Sunday. Results didn’t quite go your way through the afternoon.
Last Four In/Last Four Out Update: Nervous Hours Ahead For Blacksburg, Champaign, El Paso, Gainesville
Minnesota absolutely hammered Purdue in their Big Ten semifinal, quite the contrast from Illinois’ inability to close out their game with Ohio State, twice.
Mississippi State claimed their second straight win over an SEC East contender in as many days, handling Vanderbilt to move on to Sunday’s tournament final.
Georgia Tech let N.C. State back into their ACC semifinal before prevailing.
And these events don’t even include the Pac-10 final, where Washington leads Cal at the half, and the WAC final, which starts at 10 p.m. ET.
Even without those two games being in the books, there are still significant changes to the bubble picture.
Last Four In
UTEP is just above this group after their loss to Houston in the Conference USA final, while San Diego State is also safe, pending the outcome of the Mountain West final.
First Four Out
Illinois
Mississippi State
William & Mary
Mississippi
The Illini’s failure to close out the Buckeyes could be fatal because of a head-to-head loss to Minnesota and three headscratching non-conference losses. The Bulldogs probably need to beat Kentucky tomorrow, in which case, they’d be safe as the owner of the SEC auto bid.
I’ll be providing updates on the state of the bubble throughout the weekend. You can also follow me on Twitter, @BracketDobber.
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