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March Madness bubble winners, losers: 1 bid stealer lives, another fades away
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- March Madness bubble winners, losers: 1 bid stealer lives, another fades away
With the Men's NCAA Tournament bracket set to be revealed in one day, teams on the bubble are really starting to sweat if they'll make it. On Saturday, March 14, there's only one thing that could make it an even more stressful 24 hours: bid stealers.
In conferences where it's clear who is going to the Big Dance, the whole picture can be flipped by teams not projected to be in, who battle their way to a conference tournament crown to earn an automatic spot in the field .
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March Madness bracketology: NCAA tournament bubble picture gets shakeup
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It's the worst thing a bubble team could see, and it was in effect on Saturday.
The Atlantic 10 was the first source when top-seeded Saint Louis was stunned by a last-second tip-in from Dayton in the semifinals. The Billikens are a tournament lock and there was uncertainty if another A-10 team would qualify, but now it's a certainty, which will come at the expense of those on the fringe of the field.
Now, the bubble conversation gets even more intriguing, and shows why it's so important to get those critical wins in the final week. The picture is shifting, highlighting the winners and losers before Selection Sunday.
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March Madness bubble winners
VCU and Atlantic 10
With Saint Louis falling, the Atlantic 10 will now get two teams in with the winner of Dayton vs. VCU earning the automatic bid.
There was uncertainty if the conference could get two teams in since VCU was on the bubble. Now it is the favorite since it will face a Dayton team it has beaten twice, paving the way for the Rams to win the tournament title for the second straight time.
Regardless of the result, it's good news for the Atlantic 10 as its prestige in the sport has dwindled. There was a real chance it could've been back-to-back years as a one-bid league for the first time in more than 40 years. Now, the conference will get two teams similar to 2024, when Duquesne earned itself a spot by taking the tournament crown.
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And who knows, maybe VCU has done enough in the committee's eyes and the A-10 could get three teams in if Dayton wins Sunday.
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Every bubble team when Ole Miss lost
There won't be a magical run to the NCAA Tournament with the SEC's 15th-place team Ole Miss falling to Arkansas in the conference tournament semifinal.
It was a run that came out of nowhere considering Ole Miss entered the week 12-19 with four conference wins, but the Rebels had put together three wins in three days. The conference title was the only way it could get in, and it put up another strong fight against the Razorbacks to force overtime. However, Ole Miss couldn't keep the magic going and lost to end the March Madness hopes.
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The Rebels stealing the automatic bid would have truly altered the bubble in the craziest of ways, but luckily every team hanging in the balance didn't see a preposterous result happen.
March Madness bubble losers
SEC
The SEC has a good chance to send the most teams in the field with 10, but it's getting harder to envision it getting any more in.
The conference had teams in Oklahoma and Auburn on the bubble , with the Sooners making a late push and the Tigers collecting major wins over the season despite a questionable record.
To make matters worse, it also affects Texas; a bad end of the season has pushed the Longhorns toward the possibility of playing in the First Four. It's not a comfortable position to be in as it could easily end up being left out of the field.
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San Diego State
There was another possible bid thief out of the Mountain West, but this one was denied.
A win over New Mexico earned San Diego State the right to get the automatic bid against Utah State. The Aztecs stood up with the regular season champion, but the Aggies flexed their muscle late in the second half to make it a comfortable victory.
The automatic berth was really San Diego State's best chance to get in. It was in the bubble picture, but behind so many teams it made for a true "win-and-in" scenario. Despite getting as close as it could get without clinching the Mountain West title, the outlook doesn't look good for the Aztecs, and there's a possibility the Mountain West only gets one team in.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness bubble winners, losers: Bid stealers changing tournament
