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Bubble Banter: Who are Saturday’s winners and losers

SEC Basketball Tournament - Alabama v Florida

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 16: Kenny Boynton #1 of the Florida Gators defends against Trevor Lacey #5 of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the second half during the semifinals of the SEC Baketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 16, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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SATURDAY’S BUBBLE WINNERS

All the teams that aren’t playing anymore: Southern Miss lost. That means that they aren’t going to be getting Conference USA’s automatic bid, Memphis will. Since Memphis was going to be in the tournament regardless of whether or not they won, the fact that Southern Miss lost means that there will be another bubble spot open.

Oh, and Alabama losing to Florida means that the Crimson Tide won’t be getting an at-large bid. So there’s another spot that stays open. Middle Tennessee State and St. Mary’s are happy.

Ole Miss: The Rebels beat Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon, but if that going to be enough to get them into the tournament if they lose to Florida? They are the most intriguing team on the bubble, which we wrote about here.

SATURDAY’S BUBBLE LOSERS

Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles had a chance to clinch the automatic bid on Saturday afternoon, and they didn’t. Memphis knocked them off in the Conference USA title. The Golden Eagles have a decent RPI, but they don’t have enough quality wins to get them in.

Maryland: The Terps had to beat North Carolina on Saturday afternoon to have a real chance of passing the teams in front of them on the bubble and crawling their way onto the right side of the bubble. They lost 79-76 when Logan Aronhalt missed a long three on the final possession. The Terps look like they’re headed to the NIT.

UMass: The Minutemen entered Saturday as one of the first five teams out, according to Dave Ommen, and while losing to VCU certainly doesn’t hurt their profile, it doesn’t help it at all. Derek Kellogg’s club isn’t jumping the three or four teams currently in front of them by losing.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide gave Florida a fight on Saturday afternoon in the SEC semifinals, but a second half run by the Gators put Alabama away. With an RPI of 60 and no top 50 wins, it looks like a stretch that the Tide will have done enough to get themselves into the dance. They have eight wins over teams between 51-100 in the RPI, but losses to Dayton, Mercer, Tulane and Auburn are killers.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.