NCAA basketball: Bubble implications of the past weekend’s games

Virginia Tech and Louisville

Saturday’s game featuring Virginia Tech and Louisville was the most intriguing bubble matchup of the weekend. With both teams on the right side of the bubble, but still not yet safely in, the winner was going to be in very good shape and the loser would be starting to get nervous.

As it stands, the Hokies are getting a little bit nervous after their 75-68 loss at home to the Cardinals. Louisville, despite all of the obstacles they have been faced with this season on and off the court, played one of their most complete games of the season and is in good tournament shape as a result. The Hokies, on the other hand, stumbled at home, and are now left to wonder.

Virginia Tech would still be in good shape, but in this case with two difficult games remaining, finishing the season against strong opponents could work against them. Their resume appears to be strong enough, but the with the committee paying close attention to how these bubble teams are performing heading into tournament play, losses to Duke and Miami could spell trouble for Virginia Tech.

*Update: Virginia Tech got a huge win against Duke on Monday night, taking a big step for an at-large bid

Next: NCAA basketball: Ranking all 32 conference tournaments for 2018

Ultimately, it will come down to these final two weeks for all of these bubble teams. Whether they are currently in good shape or not, this could always turn around on these teams. The bubble is always active down the stretch, so continuing to watch is the only way we can find out who will fill the final few spots of the field of 68 and who will have their bubble burst.