Who’s in, who’s out, and matchups for NCAA Tournament bubble teams this weekend

With plenty of teams still competing for bids to the NCAA Tournament in 2020, we’re here to help sort out who’s in and who’s out from the bubble, and how the schedule this weekend will change things.

For some help, we scoured the Internet for bracketologists to help us predict who will be heading to a first-and-second round city or Dayton for the First Four.

Our selectors are:

ESPN Bracketology: Joe Lunardi
CBS Bracketology: Jerry Palm

Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Texas Longhorns, 4:00 p.m. Saturday

Texas: 19-11, 9-8 Big XII. NET 56, KenPom 50

ESPN: No. 10 seed
CBS: No. 11 seed (First Four)

Texas and Providence can fight it out in the streets for hottest bubble team in America, but what the Longhorns have done after being basically left for dead is remarkable. Five wins in a row, the last three all Q1’s, and one that was simply unforgettable. There’s no one on the bubble playing better, but can they overcome a soft out of conference schedule and a poor start? A loss at home to OSU would be a killer to all the earned momentum.

Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders, 2:00 p.m. Saturday

Texas Tech: 18-12, 9-8 Big XII. NET 22, KenPom 21

ESPN: No. 9 seed
CBS: No. 11 seed (First Four)

How you evaluate Texas Tech is completely in the eye of the beholder. They’ve played a tough schedule, and the computers clearly love them, but they’re also 3-9 in Quadrant 1 games, and just 4-3 in Quadrant 2. A win over Kansas of course means they’re in no matter what, but a loss just adds to their struggles against the top-flight.

Temple Owls vs. Cincinnati Bearcats, 8:00 p.m. Saturday

Cincinnati: 19-10, 12-5 AAC. NET 49, KenPom 42

ESPN: First team out
CBS: First team out

The Bearcats probably need at least two more wins to get consideration, and can’t really improve their case with a win over Aaron McKie and the Owls. But they can put themselves on the hook for an auto-bid situation only with a loss. The loss at home to UCF in double overtime is proving to be a killer.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs. Wichita State Shockers, 4:00 p.m. Sunday

Tulsa: 21-9, 13-4 AAC. NET 75, Ken Pom 71
Wichita State: 22-8, 10-7 AAC. NET 48, Ken Pom 41

ESPN: TU: No. 12 seed (auto bid), Wichita State: 5th team out
CBS: TU: No. 12 seed (auto bid), Wichita State: 2nd team out

Look at those power ratings above, and you’d think Wichita State was the the team that claimed at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular season championship. But no! Tulsa wins the league by themselves with a victory, but they’re also probably on the outside looking in if they don’t make a deep run at the AAC Tournament, and they might have to win it!

The Shockers issue is with the committee is they’re just 2-6 in Q1 games, and this one BARELY counts as a Q1 since the cutoff for a road Q1 win is exactly 75th, where Tulsa sits presently.