March Madness bracketology: Wednesday was a rough day for a really bad bubble

Story by

Story by
March Madness bracketology: Wednesday was a rough day for a really bad bubble

Matthew Glenesk and Erick Smith, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Wed, Mar 11, 2026 ·

4 min read

About Our Ads

Click here for Thursday's live USA TODAY Bracketology.

Wednesday was a busy, finger-nail biting day for men's basketball teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble . And for the most part, it was a rough day for the bubble.

Indiana , California, SMU, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Texas all lost at their respective tournaments.

That's the reality of the bubble. Flawed teams. And they all showed it.

March Madness hopefuls: NCAA Tournament bubble games to watch today

Bid thiefs: Power 5 teams that can steal NCAA Tournament bids

Indianacan kiss its March Madness hopes goodbye. The Hoosiers were bullied once again by Northwestern in Wednesday's second round of the Big Ten tournament . IU needed a win to keep its NCAA hopes alive. Instead, the 15th-seeded Wildcats picked up its seventh consecutive win over the Hoosiers, all but assuring Indiana misses the NCAA field for the eighth time in the past 10 years .

Cincinnatisaw a late lead slip away against Central Florida in Wednesday's Big 12 tournament second round and lose in overtime. The Bearcats needed that one to have any hope of making the field.

Texas, which had possibly felt comfortable, lost to an Ole Miss team that was 12-19 in the regular season. Californialost to Florida State, which could maybe enter the bubble talk with a few more wins. Who knows?

SMU's loss against Louisville in the first round of the ACC tournament Wednesday will leave the Mustangs a little uneasy on Selection Sunday.

If West Virginiawas hoping to impress the selection committee this week, a 20-point loss to BYU in the Big 12 tournament Wednesday night certainly didn't help.

On the bright side, North Carolina Stateavoided a potential banana peel in Wednesday's ACC second round, beating Pittsburgh.

A lot has been made about Auburn 's case. The Tigers had to beat Mississippi State in the first round of SEC tournament play Wednesday. They got the job done to improve to 17-15 but still need another win or two or they can kiss their at-large hopes goodbye no matter how many times Bruce Pearl says otherwise.

Oklahoma's win over South Carolina in the SEC tournament doesn't get the Sooners in yet, but unlike their bubble counterparts, they still have a chance to impress.

Virginia Techand Stanford's first-round losses in the ACC tournament Tuesday pretty much removes them from bubble consideration.

Fourteen teams have already punched their tournament tickets in Long Island ( NEC ), Queens ( Atlantic Sun ), High Point ( Big South ), Northern Iowa ( Missouri Valley ), Tennessee State ( OVC ), Furman ( SoCon ), North Dakota State ( Summit League ), Troy ( Sun Belt ), Gonzaga (WCC), Siena (MAAC), Wright State (Horizon), Hofstra (CAA), McNeese State (Southland) and Idaho (Big Sky).

March Madness automatic bids: Who is in NCAA tournament field of 68?

March Madness bracket update: 2 a.m., March 12

Last updated:2 a.m., Thursday, March 12

* bold means automatic berth clinched.

Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Florida
Connecticut , Houston, Illinois, Michigan State
Iowa State, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Gonzaga
Purdue, Alabama, Virginia, Kansas
Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Tennessee, Wisconsin
North Carolina, St. John's, Louisville, Brigham Young
Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Utah State, Saint Mary's
Villanova, Iowa, Saint Louis, Georgia
Clemson, TCU, UCLA, North Carolina State
Central Florida, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Missouri
Texas, Miami (Ohio), SMU/Virginia Commonwealth, Santa Clara/Auburn
Northern Iowa, Yale, South Florida, McNeese State
Hofstra, Utah Valley, High Point, Sam Houston State
UC Irvine, North Dakota State, Wright State, Troy
Tennessee State, Siena, Furman, Idaho
Queens (N.C.), Long Island, Maryland-Baltimore County/Florida A&M, Howard/ Lehigh