Bracketology: Miami, Stanford, Texas keep NCAA Tournament hopes alive

The Thursday bracket is nearly identical to Wednesday's thanks to those wins by the Hurricanes (over Virginia Tech, who gave Miami a far better game than they did on Saturday), Cardinal (who survived Washington in Las Vegas), and Longhorns (comfortable victors over Texas Tech). In fact, the only difference from yesterday morning is that the name of the Patriot League Tournament champion Lafayette Leopards appears in ALL CAPS following their thrilling win over the American University Eagles last night. The Leopards will be the final team to claim an automatic bid until the America East title game on Saturday -- the busiest day and night from an auto bid perspective of the entire Championship Fortnight.

The noon Eastern hour features two No. 1 seed contenders in quarterfinal action, as Virginia takes on Florida State in the ACC Tournament (12 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network) and Villanova faces Marquette in the Big East (12 p.m., FS1). The lone bubble team in action in the early afternoon is Illinois, which will surely be eliminated from contention with a loss to Michigan in the Big Ten (12:30 p.m., BTN).

Possible seeding bumps will be on the line in several other early afternoon games -- with the Baylor/West Virginia 4 vs. 5 showdown in the Big 12 (12:30 pm, ESPN2) and Louisville/North Carolina in the corresponding matchup in Greensboro (2:30 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network) standing out in particular. Kansas might drop from the 2 line with an unexpected loss to TCU in Kansas City (3 p.m., ESPN2). Meanwhile, Providence and St. John's will jockey for positioning at Madison Square Garden, as both are now safely in (2:30 p.m., FS1).

Also in the middle of the afternoon, VCU will attempt to get back on track before the NCAAs, the Rams face the, um, Rams from Fordham in the Atlantic 10 (2:30 p.m, NBCSN). In Chicago, Iowa takes on Penn State, as the Hawkeyes attempt to bump their seeding up a bit more with a nice Big Ten run (3 p.m., BTN).

Conversely, both SEC five seed Texas A&M, taking on Auburn (3:30 p.m, SEC Network) and Mountain West top seed Boise State, encountering Air Force (3 p.m., CBSSN) must avoid the dreaded "late bad loss." The same goes for an Old Dominion team that needs to make a run through the Conference USA Tournament to stay in the conversation. The Monarchs take on Middle Tennessee (3:30 p.m., American Sports Network).

Finally, top seed Arizona opens play in the Pac-12 Tournament against a California squad (3 p.m., Pac-12 Networks) it annihilated in Tucson just a week ago.

There's one game of importance during the East Coast rush hour, UCLA's must-win against USC in Las Vegas (5:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). A loss to 5 seed Arizona State would have been a bad enough possibility, but a defeat to the last-place Trojans would definitely send the Bruins to the NIT.

The night sessions kick off with a refreshing bubble bath for the working fan. Indiana cannot afford a loss to Northwestern (6:30 p.m., ESPN2), no matter how improved the Wildcats have been over the past few weeks. North Carolina State moved to safety on Wednesday, but the Wolfpack can boost their bracket position considerably by knocking off a Duke squad that is playing for a 1 seed (7 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network). Texas can move even closer to safety by grabbing toppling an Iowa State squad that's working toward a 3 seed (7 p.m., ESPNU). In the Big East, Georgetown can only separate itself from teams like Providence and Butler if it gets past Creighton (7 p.m., FS1).

As a busy evening ticks on, the action doesn't wind down. Ohio State might like to pick up a quality win or two to boost its lackluster position, but the Buckeyes will have to get past Minnesota first (9 p.m., ESPN2). Miami can make a serious bubble statement with a win over a Notre Dame outfit that is a strong contender for a place on line 3 or 4 (9:30 p.m., ESPN/ACC Network). Fading Oklahoma State can do the same in a Bedlam quarterfinal against archrival Oklahoma, neighbors of the Fighting Irish in the bracket (9:30 p.m., ESPNU).

Bubble teams Ole Miss and Oregon won't face such potent opposition, however. The Ducks open their Pac-12 Tourney with a contest against a Colorado squad that won't provide a battle (9 p.m., Pac-12 Networks), while the Rebels take on upset-minded South Carolina (9:30 p.m., SEC Network).

San Diego State's path to the Mountain West final goes through host UNLV (CBSSN, 9 p.m.). Back East, Butler will likely get to play Georgetown for the fourth time this season with a win its rubber match against Xavier (9:30 p.m., FS1).

The night closes with a pair of intriguing Western contests involving bubble teams. Stanford's task is stiffer than Colorado State's, as the Cardinal must take on Utah, which is in the hunt for a protected seed (11:30 p.m., ESPN), while the Rams play a winnable contest against Fresno State (11:30 p.m., CBSSN).