What to Watch Wednesday

The WCC Season is over and, other than the weird Northern Kentucky at San Francisco game on Thursday, we won't know when the next WCC team plays until Selection Sunday. There are a lot of college basketball games this week but you shouldn't just blindly watch random games. Here's a list of Wednesday's games that can help or hurt Saint Mary's chances at making the field of 68 based on the outcome.

Wednesday

Patriot League Final:
CBS Sports Network, 4:30 PM PDT.
Bucknell vs. Lafayette
Bucknell probably won't get in without a win but they're on the bubble nonetheless.
Record: 27-5.
RPI: 54.
Vs. RPI Top 100: Wins: (40) La Salle home, (73) New Mexico State neutral. Losses: (34) Missouri road.
Sub-101 losses (112) Lehigh home, (125) Princeton road, (165) Lafayette road, (187) Penn State road.
Gaels Fans: Root for Bucknell. With a win they are out of the bubble equation.


Mountain West Quarterfinals:

CBS Sports Network, Noon PDT.
Air Force vs. UNLV
UNLV is a lock, Air Force is probably out.
Record 17-12.
RPI: 68.
Vs. RPI Top 100: Wins: (2) New Mexico home, (23) UNLV home, (29) San Diego State home, (31) Boise State home, (64) Wyoming home/away. Losses: (2) New Mexico away, (8) Florida neutral, (15) Colorado State home/away, (23) UNLV away, (29) San Diego State away, (31) Boise State away, (37) Colorado away, (39) Wichita State home, (85) Richmond away.
Sub-101 Losses: (121) Fresno State away, (169) Nevada away.
Gaels Fans: Root against Air Force. They probably aren't at large worthy right now. We saw how LMU ran to the WCC Semis last week, and if you look at the way the Mountain West has played out this year it's not far fetched to see Air Force winning the auto-bid. They've already beaten every team they could possibly face en route to winning the auto-bid. With a loss they're out of the bubble equation.


CBS Sports Network, 4:30 PM PDT.
New Mexico vs. Wyoming/Nevada
New Mexico is a lock. Ranked 15th in the AP Poll and 2nd in the RPI, on track for a 1-3 seed.
Gaels Fans: Root for New Mexico for the same reason you want to root against Air Force. If the winner of the Wyoming/Nevada game gets past New Mexico they're on their path to becoming a bid thief.

CBS Sports Network, 9:00 PM PDT.
Boise State vs. San Diego State
San Diego State is a lock and Boise State is probably in.
Record: 21-9.
RPI: 31.
Vs. RPI Top 100: Wins: (15) Colorado State home, (23) UNLV home, (25) Creighton away, (29) San Diego State home, (64) Wyoming home/away, (68) Air Force home, (90) Louisiana State home. Losses: (2) New Mexico home/away, (9) Michigan State away,  (15) Colorado State away, (23) UNLV away, (29) San Diego State away, (68) Air Force away.
Sub-101 Losses: (169) Nevada away, (177) Utah away.
Gaels Fans: Root against Boise State. With a win they would have nine top-100 wins and would be very hard to leave out. A loss keeps them on the bubble but makes them easier to leave out.

Pac 12 Opening Rounds:
Pac 12 Network, Noon PDT.
Stanford vs. Arizona State.
Both teams are 9-9 in the Pac-12. Arizona State is 20-11 overall and Stanford is 18-13 overall. Arizona State stands a better chance of making the tournament than Stanford. Neither team matters much to the Gaels as, barring a deep run in the Pac-12 tournament (entirely possible, the Pac 12 has been unpredictable this season), both are in worse bubble position than Saint Mary's at this point. Winner plays UCLA in their next game, that one matters.

Pac 12 Network, 2:30 PM PDT.
Colorado vs. Oregon State
Colorado is on the bubble.
Record 20-10.
RPI: 37.
Vs. RPI Top 100: Wins: (14) Arizona home, (15) Colorado State home, (46) California home, (53) Oregon home/away, (62) Baylor neutral, (66) Stanford home/away, (68) Air Force home. Losses: (7) Kansas away, (14) Arizona away, (33) UCLA home (46) California away, (64) Wyoming away, (89) Washington away, (91) Arizona State home/away.
Sub-101 Losses: (177) Utah away, (178) Oregon State home.
Gaels Fans: Root against Colorado. They are on the bubble, a second loss to RPI 178 Oregon State could be enough to knock them out of the bubble equation. Plus, Oregon State, with four Pac-12 wins, stands little chance of winning the league's auto bid.