ACC bubble teams make noise with statement wins

In years past, Virginia and North Carolina have been battling it out near the top of the ACC. This season the Cavaliers and Tar Heels find themselves squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, making February's action make-or-break in a conference that ranks fifth on the NCAA'S NET metric.

Virginia (15-9, 9-5 ACC) is starting to come on strong after a road win on Monday over Duke, an outcome that pushed the Blue Devils down a slot from No. 2 to No. 3 on the seeding line. Because of an ugly NET score in the 80s and a poor non-conference strength of schedule, Virginia is still one of the "first four out" but the more wins compiled in the next month, the more likely we'll see this program dancing.

North Carolina (17-7, 9-4 ACC), in its first season under coach Hubert Davis, got routed by archrival Duke over the weekend but bounced back with a narrow road victory over Clemson on Tuesday. The Tar Heels now have won five of six and that's the exact recipe this team will need to stay in the safety zone. UNC'S currently a No. 11 projected seed.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame is firmly on the bubble as a play-in No. 12 seed in the latest projection despite being tied with Duke atop the ACC. It's an example of how the NCAA selection committee pays no attention to league rankings and how a team has to make up for lost ground if it plays poorly in non-conference games, as the Irish did. Notre Dame is surging, though, having won seven of its past eight.

Outside of the ACC, Southern Methodist is a team that finds itself on the outside looking in, but consider Wednesday night's upset win over Houston a step in the right direction. Coach Tim Jankovich's squad needed that win to make a case for an at-large bid due to the fact that there are limited opportunities to enhance the profile with Quadrant 1 wins in the American Athletic Conference. SMU has a Quadrant

4 loss to Loyola-marymount that is contributing to it staying out of the field for now, but there's plenty of games left in the AAC to keep building up the NET score.

No. 1 seeds

Auburn, Gonzaga, Purdue, Kansas.

Last four in

Belmont, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Creighton.

First four out

San Diego State, Oregon, Virginia, Florida.

Next four out

SMU, Santa Clara, Washington State, Saint Louis.

ROB KINNAN/USA TODAY SPORTS Virginia forward Jayden Gardner (1) reacts after scoring during the second half against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.