College Sports Wire NCAA Tournament Bubble Watch – March 13, 2026

College basketball is just two days away from Selection Sunday. The bubble watch calculus is now being reduced to a few key questions. Oklahoma has shockingly become a major factor in the bubble race. Porter Moser seemed to be done and dusted, ready to move to another job after being fired, but with the Sooners hammering Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament on Thursday night, they are very much alive in the bubble conversation.

Here’s the latest look at the bubble for the 2026 NCAA Tournament going into the final rounds of conference tournaments:

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Bubble reality is that more teams have lost than won

The bubble has moved downward, not upward. Cincinnati lost. Stanford lost. Cal lost. Indiana lost. Auburn lost. Missouri lost. Texas lost. Miami-Ohio lost. SMU lost. Virginia Tech lost. With all these teams losing, the few bubble teams that won games look a lot better by comparison. This is part of why Oklahoma is alive going into Friday.

New Mexico and San Diego State

New Mexico very likely needs to beat San Diego State in the Mountain West Tournament semifinals to get in. It could get in even without a win, but the Lobos can’t afford to take that chance. San Diego State has to win the tournament. Merely getting to the final won’t be good enough.

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Stanford and Cal

Stanford and Cal suffered horrible ACC Tournament losses and very clearly played their way out of the field.

Santa Clara

Santa Clara beating Saint Mary’s in the WCC semifinals puts the Broncos in the field.

Ohio State

Ohio State is in. The Buckeyes’ win over Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament sealed a bid.

Auburn

Auburn losing to Oklahoma not that long ago could put the Tigers below the Sooners on the SEC bubble. It’s hard to think Auburn’s 16 losses will not matter. The Tigers probably needed to beat Tennessee in the SEC Tournament to get in. Maybe Auburn goes to Dayton for the First Four, but the Tigers are more likely than not to miss the field at this point. They need Oklahoma to lose. They need Utah State to…

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Publish date : 2026-03-13 14:10:00

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