Bracket Watch: Arkansas does the bubble a favor by ending Oklahoma’s run in the SEC Tournament

By Canadian Press on March 14, 2026.

The teams on the bubble are suddenly big fans of Darius Acuff Jr.

The Arkansas guard scored 37 points Friday night to help the Razorbacks hold off Oklahoma 82-79 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The Sooners had won six straight to pull themselves into the bubble conversation, but this defeat may leave them just short of where they need to be.

At this time of year, bubble teams generally root for the favorites to win, especially in the big conferences. If a team comes out of nowhere to win an automatic bid in a league like the SEC, that’s one fewer at-large spot that can go to a bubble team. So after his performance against Oklahoma, Acuff will have plenty of extra supporters in the semifinals against a Mississippi team that is 15-19 but is now two wins from winning the conference tournament and stealing a bid.

Elsewhere, bubble teams will want Saint Louis to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament, and Utah State to prevail in the Mountain West. Saint Louis came from behind to beat George Washington on Friday.

Bubble watch

Georgetown and Seton Hall were both potential bid thieves in the Big East, but unlike Mississippi they both lost Friday.

Bracketologists have been pretty optimistic about Virginia Commonwealth, but it’s still too close for comfort. The Rams helped themselves by holding off Duquesne in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals.

Somebody had to lose the Mountain West Tournament semifinal between bubble teams New Mexico and San Diego State late Friday. That somebody was New Mexico, and it’s hard to see the Lobos surviving that.

The experts say

Last four in according to …

ESPN: Missouri, VCU, SMU, Texas.

CBS: Texas, Santa Clara, Missouri, VCU.

First four out according to …

ESPN: Oklahoma, Auburn, New Mexico, San Diego State.

CBS: SMU, New Mexico, San Diego State, Seton Hall.

Automatic bids

Here’s who has claimed an automatic bid to this year’s men’s NCAA Tournament: Long Island University (NEC), Tennessee State (OVC), Northern Iowa (MVC), High Point (Big South), Queens (ASUN), North Dakota State (Summit), Troy (Sun Belt), Furman (SoCon), Wright State (Horizon), Hofstra (CAA), Siena (MAAC), Gonzaga (WCC), McNeese (Southland), Lehigh (Patriot), Idaho (Big Sky).

Up next

Most of the remaining automatic bids will be determined Saturday:

America East (Vermont at Maryland-Baltimore County)

ACC (Duke vs. Virginia)

Big 12 (Houston vs. Arizona)

Big East (St. John’s vs. UConn)

Big West (UC Irvine vs. Hawaii)

Conference USA (Louisiana Tech vs. Kennesaw State)

Mid-American (Akron vs. Toledo)

Mid-Eastern Athletic (Howard vs. North Carolina Central)

Mountain West (Utah State vs. San Diego State)

Southwestern Athletic (Southern vs. Prairie View A&M)

Western Athletic (Utah Valley vs. Cal Baptist)

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Noah Trister, The Associated Press