NCAA Tournament Bubble Bursts

0:00On March 12, conference tournament week is in full swing, kicking off the rush to selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament. As CBS sports, experts, and data folks meet each morning to project a field of 68 teams, blending numbers with gut checks on those. Razor Thin Bubble Cases This year's group of contenders might be the weakest ever, full of teams with spotty records that wouldn't sniff the dance in tougher years. Teams like UCF, Iowa, Ohio State, and NC State have punched their tickets lately. UCF rally pass Cincinnati for 21 wins and 10 losses. No bad losses in sight. Iowa dodged a bullet against Maryland, leaning on strong predictive rankings. Ohio State sat out the game ground from other stumbles, while NC State holds firm despite a wobbly end. Bubble hopefuls are hanging by a thread, starting with Missouri, likely in unless they drop to Kentucky today. BCU climbs as rivals falter, the loaded with weaker wins. SMU slipped after losing to Louisville without their key score.

1:02Texas took a hit from Mississippi for 14 losses and Auburn faces a tall order. Against Tennessee with 17 wins and 15 losses. Teams like Virginia Tech, Stanford, California, and Indiana look done. Buried in metrics with too many subpar results and no clear path forward. Cincinnati, West Virginia, and others are out too, unless miracle runs change everything. As Thursday games unfold and more brackets heat up, a few wins could flip the script for those last at large bids, setting the stage for a field. Unlike any recent memory.