Evaluating which bubble teams can help their NCAA Tournament case in ACC conference tournament

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra•03/11/24•

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James Fletcher III full Interview with Andy Staples | March Madness Bubble Update | 03.11.24

On3’s Bracketologist James Fletcher III joined Andy Staples On3 to explain which teams need to make a deep run in their conference tournament to solidify their NCAA Tournament standing.

Evidently, Fletcher III has his eyes turned towards the ACC, as he singled out Virginia, Wake Forest, and Pittsburgh as three squads who can remove all doubt come Selection Sunday with a solid showing in the ACC Tournament.

“I think I look at a trio of teams in the ACC that really need to show something, and not just show something, but separate from the other teams,” Fletcher III said. “You’ve got Virginia, Wake Forest, and Pitt. All of those right now are in my first four out, because of that Indiana State loss. It shifted Virginia down from that last team in the field to now, they’ve got to get something done. So those three teams, it’s going to be really important.”

“But if you could beat one of those other teams head to head, I think that might go just as far as being able to claim a Quad Two or Quad One win added to your resume, when we get down to it. But yeah, those three teams are going to have to make some kind of run in the ACC tournament, if they want to be in the field on Selection Sunday.”

At the moment, Virginia, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest following North Carolina and Duke, in that order, in the ACC standings. Still, there’s a bevy of tournament-worthy squads throughout the major conferences in college basketball this season, so there’s no guarantees for the ACC trio at the moment.

The Cavaliers are 22-9 on the season, while Pittsburgh follows at 21-10, and the Demon Deacons in third among the three schools at 19-12. All three are at least two games to the good when it comes to conference record, so we’ll see how the Selection Committee values their tournament showing this week.

Regardless, the ACC is always one of the top conferences in college basketball, they just eat their own at times. We’ll see if Virginia, Wake Forest, and Pittsburgh are able to survive and advance in the ACC Tournament, and clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament next week.