March Madness 2017: Automatic Bids, Bubble Watch, Latest Projections For NCAA Tournament

The 2017 NCAA men's basketball tournament is nearly upon us again, as conference tournaments are in full swing and teams try to seal the deals on their postseason fates before March Madness really beings.

Some teams are already guaranteed a spot in the big dance, by way of winning their conference tournament over the weekend or early this week. Others are hoping to play themselves into the field of 68 by the time the week is over.

Where do things stand heading into selection Sunday? Here's a quick look at the possibilities for the tournament field, with projections as of Saturday afternoon.

Automatic bids

These teams have punched their ticket to the big dance by winning their conference tournament:

• American Athletic Conference - SMU (30-4)
• Atlantic Coastal Conference - Duke (27-8)
• America East - Vermont (29-5)
• Atlantic 10 - Rhode Island (24-9)
• Atlantic Sun - Florida Gulf Coast (26-7)
• Big East - Villanova (31-3)
• Big Sky - North Dakota (22-9)
• Big South - Winthrop (26-6)
• Big Ten - Michigan (24-11)
• Big 12 - Iowa State (23-10)
• Big West - UC Davis (22-12)
• Colonial Athletic Association - UNC-Wilmington (29-5)
• Conference USA - Middle Tennessee (30-4)
• Horizon League - Northern Kentucky (24-10)
• Ivy League - Princeton (23-6)
• Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - Iona (22-12)
• Mid-American Conference - Kent State (22-13)
• Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference - NC Central (25-8)
• Missouri Valley - Wichita State (30-4)
• Mountain West - Nevada (28-6)
• Northeast - Mount St. Mary’s (19-15)
• Ohio Valley - Jacksonville State (20-14)
• Pac 12 - Arizona (30-4)
• Patriot - Bucknell (26-8)
• Southeastern Conference - Kentucky (29-5)
• Southern - East Tennessee State (27-7)
• Southland - New Orleans (20-11)
• Summit - South Dakota State (18-16)
• Sun Belt - Troy vs. Texas State
• Southwestern Athletic Conference - Texas Southern (23-11)
• Western Athletic Conference - New Mexico State (28-5)
• West Coast - Gonzaga (32-1)

Bubble watch

Here's who the experts have barely squeaking in and getting left on the outside looking in:

Joe Lunardi, ESPN

Last Four Byes: Michigan State, Seton Hall, Marquette, Xavier

Last Four In: Providence, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Kansas State

First out: USC, Illinois State

Jerry Palm, CBS

Last four in: Xavier, Kansas St., Wake Forest, Vanderbilt

First four out: California, Illinois St., Georgia, Iowa

Stewart Mandel, Fox Sports

Last Four Byes: VCU, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Wake Forest

Last Four In: Providence, Kansas State, USC, Illinois State

First Six Out: Rhode Island, Syracuse, Iowa, Illinois, Cal, TCU

Image: Public domain