Whatever remote chance of there was of the Washington Huskies being knocked onto the bubble dissipated Thursday night, as UW solidified their NCAA tournament bid by narrowly edging Klay Thompson's incredible 43 point performance and beating their cross-state rivals Washington St. Cougars. In Joe Lunardi's latest bracket, the Huskies moved up to a ninth seed in the Southeast Regional, slated to face the Missouri Tigers in the first round in Chicago.
As reported yesterday, three Pac-10 teams had legit chances at an NCAA tournament at-large bid, but only one is left with a legitimate shot. The USC Trojans beat the California Golden Bears convincingly on Thursday, but it still looks like they need another win to ensure an NCAA tournament bid, as Lunardi didn't give them any traction. USC is still listed among the First Four Out. It's likely that one more victory over the Pac-10 regular season champions Arizona Wildcats next round will be enough to put them over the top, as they'll have plenty of requisite victories over top-notch basketball teams.
Cal and Washington St. both lost on Thursday, so they are now off the bubble and are likely NIT bound.