San Diego State’s Matt Mitchell reacts after sinking a three-pointer Friday against  Nevada (Isaac Brekken)
San Diego State’s Matt Mitchell reacts after sinking a three-pointer Friday against Nevada (Isaac Brekken)Associated Press

NCAAB: Saturday Bubble Breakers

For whom to root if your team is NOT an NCAA Lock

If you have been following our Countdown To 68, you know that we enter Saturday’s action with 97 schools (by our count) still alive for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

If you have a school that is hoping to secure an At-Large Bid but is teetering on the Bubble, below are five Saturday games and how you should be rooting in each, much like you should have been rooting for VCU and Nevada Friday.

The teams you are hoping to win are teams that almost certainly have spots locked up, whether they win their conference tournament or not. If they lose the title to a team that wouldn’t have otherwise gotten in, that would be one less spot for your school.

The American Athletic Conference has two semifinals Saturday and they both fall into this category. If just one of the “Locks” wins Saturday, the same rooting interest would ring true in Sunday’s Final (3:15 p.m., ESPN). If both Locks lose Saturday, than that is another slot down the drain and it doesn’t matter who wins Sunday.

The other three games listed are all Finals.

We have included the NET ranking (through Thursday) for the schools that are most likely locked in.

AAC SEMIFINAL (3 p.m., ESPN2)
Houston (4) to beat Memphis

AAC SEMIFINAL (5:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Cincinnati (26) to beat Wichita St.

Mountain West Final (6 p.m., CBS)
Utah St. (30) to beat San Diego St.

Mid-American Final (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Buffalo (15) to beat Bowling Green

Pac-12 Final (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
Washington (40) to beat Oregon

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