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Selection Sunday is less than three weeks away, and every game is magnified down the stretch for what the win or loss means when it comes to seeding or entry into the NCAA Tournament.
Below is a look at Tuesday night’s games that may have an impact on the bracket, and we’ll use the ESPN Bracketology from Joe Lunardi.
Key games for bracketology
Marquette 73, Creighton 71
The No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles picked up a very impressive road victory over the No. 19 Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday night. Marquette remains alone in the top spot in the Big East and was a No. 4 seed prior to last night’s victory. Meanwhile, Creighton was a No. 5 seed, but both teams are still rated inside the top 15 in the updated NET Rankings.
Texas A&M 68, Tennessee 63
The Tennessee Volunteers have now lost four of their last five games, though that lone win came against the then-No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Vols were a No. 3 seed, but they just need to get healthy with Josiah-Jordan James and Julian Phillips still out of the lineup with injuries. On the other side, this was a big win for the Texas A&M Aggies, which entered as a No. 8 seed and is close to a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
Bubble Watch
Missouri 66, Mississippi State 64
The Missouri Tigers are not a guarantee for March Madness as they entered last night’s slate as a 10 seed, but a third straight loss would’ve started to make things interesting. Instead, they got an overtime home victory, and the Tigers are in a strong position to make the field. On the other side, the Mississippi State Bulldogs are in a dangerous territory. They entered the night in the “last four in” category, so the Bulldogs have work to do with a strong bounce-back opportunity at home against Texas A&M on Saturday.