Six bubble winners and losers from a busy Saturday slate

The bubble picture remains murky three weeks before Selection Sunday. Here's a look at five teams who helped themselves and five teams who hurt themselves during a busy day of games on Saturday:

BUBBLE WINNERS

1. Utah State (Won 75-65 at Saint Mary's)

Comment: Even with a sparkling 24-3 record entering this game, Utah State needed to beat Saint Mary's to feel confident about its at-large chances. The only other top 100 RPI teams on the Aggies' schedule were road games at BYU and Georgetown, both of whom defeated Utah State.

2. UNLV (Won 68-61 at Colorado State)

Had the Rebels lost at Colorado State, they would have been a combined 0-6 against San Diego State, BYU and the Rams. Instead UNLV moved to within a half game of third place in the Mountain West and can all but lock up an NCAA tournament berth if it dispatch New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah in its final three games. 

3. Georgia (Won 69-63 at Tennessee)

Comment: The Bulldogs (18-8, 7-5) haven't lost to anyone outside the RPI top 40, but this victory provided a much-needed quality win. It eased some of the sting from squandering a lead against Vanderbilt earlier in the week and marked the Bulldogs' first victory over a likely NCAA tournament team since a win over Kentucky to start SEC play more than a month ago.

4. Michigan State (Won 61-57 vs. Illinois)

Comment: For all the Spartans' struggles the past month, their schedule strength and the mediocrity of the middle of the league leaves them in remarkably good position to sneak back into the NCAA tournament. Now tied for fourth place in the Big Ten at 7-7, Michigan State likely needs three wins in its final four regular season games to feel confident about its position entering the conference tournament.

5. Nebraska (Won 70-67 vs. Texas)

Comment: If it seems over-the-top to suggest this upset catapults the Huskers (18-8, 6-6) onto the fringes of the bubble picture, consider their profile for a moment. Yes, they accomplished nothing of note in non-league play, but they boast wins over Texas and Texas A&M with opportunities to defeat Kansas State and Missouri at home in the next two weeks.

6. Alabama (Won 69-56 vs. Arkansas)

Comment: Believe it or not, the Tide (18-8, 10-2) wrapped up the SEC West title with this win, though that means little to their NCAA tournament hopes. Alabama must keep winning to atone for a dismal non-conference season that includes no good wins and several bad losses, meaning that the final two regular season games against Georgia and Florida look particularly important.   

BUBBLE LOSERS

1. Virginia Tech (Lost 61-54 at Virginia)

Comment: If the Hokies fall a victory or two shy of an NCAA tournament berth again this March, they can point to their inability to defeat their woeful in-state rivals. A season sweep at the hands of Virginia drops Virginia Tech to 17-8 overall and 7-5 in conference play, a precarious spot for a team that still has Duke, Clemson and Boston College remaining on its schedule.

2. Washington State (Lost 71-69 at Arizona State)

Comment: All the good work Washington State did in beating Baylor and Gonzaga in non-league play will apparently go for naught as a result of a flurry of lackluster losses in Pac-10 play. The Cougars fell to 7-8 in the Pac-10 with the loss to the last-place Sun Devils, an especially inexcusable result considering Arizona State was without Ty Abbott and Rihards Kuksiks. (Washington State's Faisal Aden also was sidelined with a knee injury).

3. Colorado State (Lost 68-61 to UNLV)

Comment: While a 68-61 home loss doesn't eliminate the Rams from NCAA tourney contention, it does make their path to an at-large bid much tougher. Colorado State (18-8, 8-4) probably needs a win at BYU on Wednesday or at San Diego State in the regular season finale to complement victories over UNLV, Southern Miss and Ole Miss earlier this season.  

4. Duquesne (Lost 64-63 at Dayton)

Comment: For Duquesne to go from nice story to legit NCAA tournament contender, the Dukes couldn't afford to lose to teams behind them in the Atlantic 10 standings. Saturday's one-point loss dims Duquesne's already slim hopes of an at-large berth and leaves Richmond as the only team with a realistic chance to join Xavier and Temple in the NCAA tournament.

5. Illinois (Lost 61-57 at Michigan State)

Comment: The Illini have lost 7 of 11 in conference play, a disastrous stretch for a team that began the season with Big Ten title aspirations. With games at Ohio State and Purdue still remaining on the schedule, Illinois (17-10, 7-7) will need an upset to finish above .500 in the conference. 

6. Memphis (Lost 67-52 at Rice)

Comment: So many of the Tigers' victories came by a point or two in the final minute that they were probably overdue for a clunker like this. Nonetheless, this knocks Memphis out of first place, torpedoes its RPI and increases the pressure to win four straight to end the regular season to bolster the Tigers' hopes of earning an at-large.

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Saturday Six-Pack: Saint Mary's and Utah State go for broke

BracketBuster Saturday is here, but there's one made-for-TV showdown that will attract the eyes of the nation — and the NCAA tournament selection committee — more than any of the others.

Hopefully, you'll stay up late enough to watch it unfold.

Let's get to it …

No. 25 Utah State at Saint Mary's — 9 p.m. EST (ESPN2)

The loser here will officially need to win its league tournament to secure an NCAA tourney bid. The winner might still have to, as well. Saint Mary's looked like it was going to have a sliver of wiggle room coming in, but that went away with Thursday's shocking 74-66 loss at San Diego. How bad was it? It was only the Toreros' fourth victory this season over a Division-I opponent, and they became the lowest-ranked RPI team (311) to notch a win against an RPI Top 50 opponent. It's a safe bet that this will be the most intense game played all day, and it's definitely worthy of your attention.

No. 4 Pitt at St. John's — 12 p.m. EST (ESPN)

The Johnnies are playing with a bit of house money here, which makes them even more dangerous. After winning five of their last six, including victories at Madison Square Garden over Duke and UConn, they appear to be safely in the field of 68 barring a complete meltdown. Pitt, it appears, will have leading scorer Ashton Gibbs back from a knee injury for this one. The Panthers have won all three games they've played without him, and still have yet to fall on the road this season. Flip a coin here, folks.

Washington at No. 12 Arizona — 6 p.m. EST (ESPN)

Arizona is riding a 7-game win streak that began after an 85-68 blowout loss at Washington on Jan. 20. Since then, though, the Huskies are just 1-3 on the road, and if they want any shot at a Pac-10 regular season title still, this is a must-win. The Wildcats are a game ahead of surging UCLA, still, at 11-2 in the league, and can keep the pressure on the Bruins with a win here. They'll travel to Westwod to try and sweep that season series next Saturday. It's worth noting that while Washington is again having a tough time winning Pac-10 away games, Arizona is 6-0 at home in league play.

Illinois at Michigan State — 9 p.m. EST (ESPN)

Who would have ever thought a few months ago that these two would be playing for their NCAA tournament lives on Feb. 19? Illinois, who already beat the Spartans once, is 17-9 overall and 7-6 in the Big Ten, while Michigan State is 14-11 and 6-7, respectively. If Sparty doesn't protect the home floor here, it's conceivable that Tom Izzo's club could finish Big Ten play with a sub-.500 record. On the other side, since Jan. 6, Illinois has yet to win back-to-back conference games, and almost got stunned at the buzzer on a miracle heave at home on Wednesday night against Michigan. The 9 p.m. tip is intriguing and might favor the home team, and if you're on Michigan State's side, you'll take any help you can get right now.

Georgia at Tennessee — 1 p.m. EST (CBS)

Similar to Illinois and Michigan State, both of these teams are fighting to boost their at-large profiles. Georgia blew yet another second half lead at home on Wednesday, falling to Vanderbilt, 64-56, after the Commodores closed the game on a 24-3 run. Getting away from Athens might not be a bad thing here for the Bulldogs, who are 17-8 overall, 6-5 in the SEC and should be much better than that. Tennessee has the better non-conference résumé between the two, with victories over Villanova, Pitt, VCU and Memphis, but has to finish the regular season hot to remain on the radar.

UNLV at Colorado State — 7 p.m. EST (The Mtn.)

This should be another dog-fight, with — surprise, surprise — both teams jockeying for position both on the bubble and in the Mountain West Standings. Colorado State is the league's biggest surprise this year, is 8-3 in the MWC and beating everyone it should be. The Rams have a chance for a rare season sweep of the Rebels here, which would all but cement them in third place in the league behind San Diego State and BYU. That's crucial, as they'd prefer to avoid the No. 4 vs. No. 5 match-up on the first day of the MWC tourney. As for UNLV, who is two games behind CSU in the loss column, it actually has a great shot at stealing third away with a win here, as CSU still has to travel to face both the Aztecs and Cougars. The loser of this one, though, is in serious danger of blowing a shot at the dance.

A few others worth keeping tabs on: George Mason at Northern Iowa (7 p.m. EST, ESPN2); Montana at Long Beach State (9:05 p.m. EST, ESPN); No. 8 Notre Dame at West Virginia (1 p.m. EST, CBS); Boston College at No. 19 North Carolina (4 p.m. EST, ESPN); No. 3 Texas at Nebraska (1:30 p.m. EST, ESPN3).

Ryan Greene also covers UNLV and the Mountain West Conference for the Las Vegas Sun. Read his Rebels coverage and follow him on Twitter.

Related: Saint Mary's Gaels, Utah State Aggies

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