Wiggle room for the bubble is shrinking

NCAA Tournament bids punched: 27
Bids left to be punched: 4

At-large bids: 37

The field is shrinking by the hour.

There are 27 tickets punched and there are only 37 at-large spots for the NCAA Tournament.

Here is a quick rundown of those who will be getting an at-large bid that have been eliminated from their respective conference tournaments:

ACC: Clemson, Florida State, Duke or North Carolina (ACC Championship)
Big East: Syracuse, St. John's, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Louisville, Georgetown
Big 12: Texas, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Missouri
Big Ten: Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State (if they lose to Penn State)
Pacific 10: Arizona, UCLA
Atlantic 10: Xavier, Temple
Colonial: George Mason
Mountain West: BYU, UNLV
Southeastern: Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky or Florida (SEC Championship)

That is 27 of the 37 bids. This leaves 10 for the bubble riders:

• Marquette
• Virginia Tech
• Saint Mary's
• Harvard
• Richmond (In A-10 title game vs. Dayton)
• Dayton (see above)
• Colorado
• Michigan State
• USC
• Villanova
• UAB
• Alabama
• Boston College
• Georgia
• UTEP
• Penn State (In Big Ten title game)

Marquette, Virginia Tech and Michigan State have probably done enough in their conference tournaments to get them in.

Villanova and Boston College have to hope the committee glosses over the past month, otherwise these teams could be NIT bound.

Ohio State and Penn State face each other in the Big Ten title game and the Nittany Lions will probably need to win it to get in. If they do so, they will steal another bid away from a bubble team.

Yes, Harvard is among the teams that should be considered for at-large consideration. The Crimson have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1946 and may have their best chance this year.

Harvard has a record of 21-6 against Division I opponents and has a RPI in the 30s.

Dayton could be the one to spoil the party. The ninth seeded Flyers defeated Xavier and Saint Joseph's in the A-10 Tournament and can be the automatic bid if they beat Richmond on Sunday.

Saint Mary's is in a very precarious position. The Gaels have lost four of its last seven and lost in the WCC Finals to Gonzaga. They will need help to make their second straight NCAA Tournament.

Here are the automatic qualifiers and the remaining conference title games:

Atlantic Coast (ACC): North Carolina vs. Duke
America East: Boston University
Atlantic 10: Dayton vs. Richmond
Atlantic Sun: Belmont
Big 12: Kansas
Big East: Connecticut
Big Sky: Northern Colorado
Big South: UNC-Asheville
Big Ten: Ohio State vs. Penn State
Big West: UC Santa Barbara
Colonial: Old Dominion
Conference USA: Memphis
Horizon: Bulter
Ivy: Princeton
Metro Atlantic (MAAC): Saint Peter's
Mid-American: Akron
Mid-Eastern (MEAC): Hampton
Missouri Valley: Indiana State
Mountain West: San Diego State
Northeast: Long Island
Ohio Valley: Morehead State
Pacific 10: Washington
Patriot: Bucknell
Southeastern (SEC): Kentucky vs. Florida
Southern: Wofford
Southland: UT-San Antonio
Southwestern Athletic (SWAC): Alabama State
Summit: Oakland
Sun Belt: UA-Little Rock
Western Athletic: Utah State
West Coast: Gonzaga