Bracketology 2023: What Nevada needs to get off bubble watch for March Madness

The Nevada Wolf Pack (22-8, 12-5 MWC) sits at third in the Mountain West standings and at 35th in the NCAA NET rankings. They are currently projected as one of the First Four Byes at ESPN and as a No. 9 seed at CBS. They finish out their 2023 regular season with a game against UNLV before their conference tournament begins.

Bubble Watch

Nevada is joined on the inside of the bubble by Boise State from their own conference, as well as Mississippi State and Auburn from the SEC. Arizona State, Memphis, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are also in projections for the First Four In and the First Four Byes.

What teams losing would help Nevada?

Teams: Rutgers, Iowa, Michigan State, Utah State, Boise State, Memphis, Auburn

There are several middle-of-the-road Big Ten teams a few spots ahead of Nevada, and some chaos in that conference could help them. A Utah State loss would solidify a good position in the conference tourney for the Wolf Pack and even out the NCAA NET difference between the two teams, who are currently five spots apart.

Boise State, Memphis, and Auburn all surround Nevada on the bubble. If the Wolf Pack can win and a few of these contenders get knocked out, their spot in March will be that much safer.

Will Nevada get in?

If Nevada can finish strong in the regular season against UNLV, they should be able to lock in a top-three seed in the conference championship, giving them a bye to the second round. ESPN's Joe Lunardi projects that three MWC teams will reach the tournament, but the fourth-best team in Mountain West standings

Verdict: Nevada can get into the tournament if they grab a win over UNLV and don't embarrass themselves in the Mountain West tournament. A win over Utah State, Boise State, or San Diego State in the tournament would be an enormous boost to their case, but it may not be necessary.

  
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