ESPN.com - NCB - No easy week for bubble teams

Are you kidding? If Wake Forest can beat those three teams in three days on a neutral court then the Demon Deacons should get set for a date in Minneapolis. Even then, they might not have any thing left to get out of the first round of the NCAA.

But that's the brutal nature of the ACC tournament in Atlanta, perhaps, the toughest field from 1 through 6 of the high-major tournaments this week.

"It's a daunting task to say the least," Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. "We beat each other up so badly in this league that sometimes you don't have enough to finish the season."

Wake Forest should be in the field of 65 with a record of 19-9 overall, 8-8 in the ACC, six wins against the top 50, three against the top 25, an RPI of 23 and a strength of schedule of 22.

Expecting the Deacons to win a few games to earn the bid, let alone beat the hottest team in the league in Maryland on Friday, might be too much to ask. Wake Forest is playing better basketball than a month ago, but defensively Odom has some concerns.

The Demon Deacons are giving up too many baskets inside and on transition. But they have recovered emotionally from letting Duke slip by on a buzzer-beater at home. The good thing was they had a week off to get their minds back after that loss before beating N.C. State on the road Sunday. When Maryland lost at home to Duke, the Terps' next game was at Virginia where they got smoked.

"We know what we're facing, and we're facing the hottest team in the country," Odom said. "The one that the last few years has taught me is not to worry about getting into the tournament. That doesn't help you at all. If we make it then great, and if we don't then we'll do whatever we're faced with."

Georgia Tech won the tiebreaker with Wake Forest and drew Virginia in the first round. The Yellow Jackets swept the Cavaliers and probably need a win again to feel secure about their NCAA Tournament chances. But the bottom half of the bracket will be the toughest with a potential Duke-Maryland (or Wake Forest) semifinal. A rematch with North Carolina and Virginia in the other semifinal Saturday doesn't look as enticing with the way both teams played last weekend.

But the difference with the ACC tournament is only one team -- the No. 1 seed -- gets an easy first-round game. A number of other tournaments give their top seeds byes or the bubble teams get an easier first game to at least get a win.

Here's a look at the tournaments starting this week:

Big 12
The Big 12 starts Thursday when bubble-team and sixth-seeded Missouri gets a first-round game against Texas A&M. That could be the win that pushes the Tigers in the NCAAs, or a loss that costs them an at-large bid. Beat the Aggies and the Tigers draw Oklahoma, another game that they can win to feel secure about a bid.

Oklahoma State gets Texas Tech in a 5-12 matchup. This still is a potential must-win game for the Cowboys, who won four of five to finish the season. As for teams safely in the NCAAs, both sides of the bracket are pretty evenly matched. Iowa State could get Texas in a semifinal rematch, while Kansas and Oklahoma could meet in the semis in the other side.

The big-time wins are available for both Missouri and Oklahoma State if need be. Selection committee chair Mike Tranghese made a point of saying that conference tournaments do matter because they match up teams on a neutral court.

Big Ten
Bubble teams get a chance to earn or lose a bid in the Big Ten on Thursday in Chicago. Penn State has to beat Michigan in the first round for a chance at an NCAA Tournament berth. Iowa must beat Northwestern later in the day. If either lose, it's off to the NIT.

But if they win, they'll get more chances to impress the committee. Penn State would get a third shot at Michigan State in the quarterfinals. Iowa would get a chance to knock off Ohio State.

The top of the Big Ten bracket is tougher. Indiana-Wisconsin is the best 4-5 matchup of any conference tournament. The winner would likely face Illinois, which gets the winner of Purdue-Minnesota.

SEC
There are just as many NCAA Tournament-like matchups in Nashville as there are in the ACC or Big Ten tourneys.

The top half of the bracket has Auburn playing Tennessee in the first round, with the winner getting Ole Miss in the quarterfinals. Tennessee is likely in the tournament but beating Auburn would help. South Carolina and Mississippi State are in an equally tough first-round game against each other. The winner there gets Kentucky in the quarterfinals, setting up a potential Kentucky-Ole Miss semifinal.

Florida awaits the winner of Alabama-Vanderbilt in the quarters. Alabama has slid onto the bubble with its recent slide and road-thin 20-win regular season. But the tournament is in Nashville, meaning Vandy will have a decided advantage even if it's not on the Commodores actual home court (the Predators arena).

Georgia has to beat LSU in the first round to feel secure about a berth with 17 wins. The Bulldogs then get Arkansas in the quarters, giving them a chance at two wins for the committee to review.

"This is going to be a real tough tournament for us, for Ole Miss, for everybody," Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

Big East
No tournament is as balanced, or unpredictable partly because there isn't a dominant team, than the Big East.

Connecticut might have to beat Syracuse to get into the NCAA field. The Huskies' loss to Seton Hall hurt last weekend and losing two straight before the tournament wouldn't help their cause. Connecticut might be one of the 34 best teams -- at home -- but have to prove it on a neutral court. The winner of that matchup gets Providence in the quarters. The winner of Miami-Pitt plays Notre Dame.

St. John's and Seton Hall, which didn't play each other during the season, play in the first round and then the winner faces Georgetown. And how does the top team in the bracket get rewarded? Boston College gets the winner of West Virginia-Villanova, two teams who still need a few wins to be considered.

But the bottom line is no team is infallible. Any one, literally any of these teams, could win the Big East tournament.

Conference USA
These four days may feature the most bubble teams trying to look good for the tournament.

Southern Mississippi might have the best shot. The Eagles get the winner of Saint Louis-Houston in the quarterfinals, giving them a shot at one win. The semifinal matchup could be against either Charlotte, South Florida or DePaul, meaning it would be a quality win within the conference.

Cincinnati and Memphis could meet in the other semifinal, unless Marquette knocks off the Tigers. But the best matchup could be a potential Louisville-Cincinnati quarterfinal in Denny Crum's last conference tournament in Louisville.

Cincinnati is the only team that enters the tournament with a lock on a bid. Southern Mississippi isn't too far behind but needs wins and probably a final appearance.

Atlantic 10
St. Joe's and Xavier are set out of the A-10 to get into the NCAA Tournament. Temple is on the bubble and will get a chance to knock off Xavier for the first time this season if the Owls beat likely quarterfinal opponent Dayton. Temple has to beat Xavier, which will likely have to play GW, to impress the committee.

UMass and St. Bonaventure are in the 4-5 game with the winner likely meeting St. Joe's in the other semifinal.

Mountain West
The abbreviated Mountain West tournament (no UNLV) pits two outside shot bubble teams in Wyoming and BYU in a likely semifinal. The winner will likely meet Utah in the final Saturday night in Las Vegas.

WAC
No one can get into the field out of the WAC outside of Fresno State. But there are still two intriguing matchups with TCU-Hawaii and UTEP-SMU. Fresno State won't have an easy time with the winner of TCU-Hawaii in a semifinal. Tulsa gets the winner of UTEP-SMU.

The only other mid-major to watch out for after Monday night is UC Irvine in the Big West. The Anteaters will likely get to the final against either Utah State or Long Beach State. The only landmine in UC Irvine's side could be UC Santa Barbara in a possible semifinal Friday in Anaheim.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.

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