Thursday was good for bubble teams, unless you were one of those bubble teams. But hey, a new day, a chance to hate a team you have no connection to. Here is what to watch and who to root against while you're watching.

NC State vs Virginia, 2:00 EST, ESPN2: Somehow we live in a world where Virginia is a bubble team. But I'm not here to comment on the ridiculous way we choose our field of 64 68, I'm here to hate. So, if you're a bubble team not named Virginia, then you really want NC State to win this game. Bracket Matrix has the Hoos as the 2nd team out, and Lunardi has them as the 2nd to last team in.

Butler vs La Salle, 2:30: Another huge game for bubble implications. La Salle is the next to last team in at Bracket Matrix, and a win over Butler might be just enough to make their fans feel safe.

Tennessee vs Alabama, 3:00, ESPNU: Uggh, a bubble-off. Who to root for depends on what happens next. A loss and either is probably out. A win puts Bama in the headier position currently occupied by Tennessee. Whichever team you feel cannot win two, root for that one.

(video via CBT)

Gus Johnson took a detour calling some (European) football but he is back in his natural habitat today, calling Big 10 tournament first round games on the Big Ten Network. And as is the law of Gus, he called a great one (or a great finish at least) with Illinois nipping the Gophers at the buzzer.

John Groce elected to not call timeout, and Paul rewarded him hitting about a 15 footer to win it. The win gives Illinois the chance to strengthen their resume with a matchup against Indiana. The Gophers meanwhile still probably won't fall to the NIT but they have slipped from fighting for a location protected seed all the way to a double digit seed.

You rooting for a bubble team? Maybe you're a St. Mary's fan and you think it is absolutely insane that the Gaels might not get invited. Well get in line. Here are the games to watch and the teams to cheer against.

Iowa State vs Oklahoma, ESPN2, 12:30 EST: They are playing Oklahoma, who is in store for a low seed as well, but the Cyclones are likely more in danger of falling out of the tournament. The Bracket Matrix has them as the final 11-seed, and Lunardi has them as a 12-seed.

UAB vs Southern Miss, CBSS, 1:00: This is the quarterfinals of Conference USA, and you certainly don't want a team like UAB winning that tourney, but it's safe that they'll lose after they beat Southern Miss. USM is in the first four out at Bracket Matrix.

Arizona State vs UCLA, PACN, 3:00: The Sun Devils probably need at least two wins to get in, but a win here against a definite Tourney team will be huge on their resume. Lunardi currently has ASU in the next four out.

Where and when: Thursday through Sunday, the United Center, Chicago, IL

Last year: Despite losing the final two games of the regular season, Michigan State earned a national No. 1 seed by sweeping through the Big Ten tourney. Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan had all gone through the regular season at 13-5.

This year: Indiana captured the No. 1 seed in the B1GT without the need of tiebreakers. They finished a game ahead of Ohio State and Michigan State. At one point Michigan was 7-1 in conference play, but fell to 5-5 down the stretch.

The Great West is dead. After four years of men's D-I basketball, all five of its team have found new homes (well, except NJIT, which seems to be in limbo as it continues to lobby for membership in the American East), and now we have an official date and time for the end. 

I'm surprised they even bothered to draw up a logo for the conference tournement which takes place Thursday to Saturday at Chicago State's Jones Convocation Center. Luckily, CSU is conveniently located 1,436 miles from Great West member Utah Valley University, 773 miles from top-seeded the New Jersey Institute of Technology and just 1,417 milles from the University of Texas-Pan American.

Of course, none of these teams are eligible for the NCAA Tournament because of their membership in the fledgling conference, but an automatic bid to the College Insider Tournament is on the line for the champion.

Where and when: Wednesday through Sunday, March 13-17, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.

Last year: Kentucky rolled through the regular conference season undefeated, while every other team had at least six losses. But in the tourney final it was the Commodores of Vanderbilt who cut down the nets, beating Kentucky 71-64, and forever reinforcing the ridiculous narrative that it's good to lose before the NCAA Tournament.

This year: Once again every team but one had at least six conference losses, only the team on top this time was Florida, and they weren't nearly as dominant as last year's Kentucky team, going 14-4.

Where and when: Wednesday through Saturday, Las Vegas

Last year: Colorado did the four-games-in-four-days trip through the bracket, beating Oregon by a point and Arizona by two points. As an 11-seed in the NCAA Tournament they beat UNLV, while Cal (the only other Pac 12 team dancing) lost as a 12-seed.

This year: UCLA watched Oregon lose their final two games, and the Bruins skated through with their first regular season title since 2008.

The Mountain West tournament kicks off tonight with Wyoming and Nevada battling for the right to play New Mexico tomorrow. The Mountain West has been one of the best leagues to watch this season. The top 5 teams all had 20 wins and conference records over .500. The tournament is in Vegas, which should give UNLV a slight advantage, but the field should be wide open. Don't let the odd setup of a 9 team tournament taking 5 days to complete bother you. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. 

The Big East tournament starts tonight with a couple of battles of league minnows, but the day 1 games should not take away from what should be a loaded tournament. A lot of people are mourning the final Big East tournament as we know it, so I won't do that here. The Big East tournament has provided fantastic basketball over the years and this one should be no different. The quarterfinals on Thursday should feature some dynamite matchups. The weekend games are normally played at a very high level. The Big East tournament has been one of the standout conference tournaments since it's inception. It's going out the same way. 

Here is the 2013 Big East tournament bracket. 

Before we delve into the teams, let's take a look at the conference leaders. Stats are conference games only. Connecticut players are excluded since UConn is not taking part in the tournament. 

When and Where: Thursday - Sunday, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC

Last year: Florida State advanced through the tourney by beating Miami, Duke and North Carolina. They got no favors from the bracket as they won their first ever ACC Title. The ACC is unique in that they do not honor an official regular season champion, having ended that practice in 1961. Fans still get jazzed (and rightfully so) and schools hang banners, but to win the ACC you have win the ACCT.

This year: The media pegged NC State as the preseason favorite, but they finished with the No. 5 seed. Instead, Miami got on an early roll and won their first 13 ACC games. They stumbled a bit down the stretch (2-3) but still finished a game ahead of Duke.

The favorite: With Ryan Kelly Duke is 18-0. Without Kelly they're 9-4. Unfortunately for the rest of the ACC, Kelly is back and helped Duke to a home win over Miami and then curb stomps of Wake Forest and North Carolina. In those games he made 9-14 3s (64%).

Duke's one weakness is their defense, which is "only" the 24th best nationally. But from 2007-2011 they were top 10, and that's where Coach K expects to be. Last year they were awful on defense, and this year they've struggled at times, especially when Kelly was out. The primary problem is that they are giving opponents too many possessions. They're pedestrian at forcing turnovers (122nd) and aren't a very good defensive rebounding team (229th).

Duke has won 10 of the past 14 ACC Tournaments.