Memphis basketball: Latest NCAA Tournament projections

Memphis entered the final week of the 2020-21 regular season officially on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

The Tigers (14-6, 10-3 AAC) have won five games in a row and eight of their last nine. They have two games left before venturing to Fort Worth for the AAC Tournament, which begins March 11 at Dickies Arena. The first is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday at South Florida, while the finale will be played at 11 a.m. Sunday at No. 9 Houston. 

After taking down Cincinnati on Feb. 28, Memphis crept into ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi's projections. Prior to Tuesday's game, Lunardi listed the Tigers in the "Next Four Out" category with six teams ahead of them in line for a spot in the Big Dance. Lunardi currently has SMU, Saint Louis, Utah State, Indiana, Duke and Michigan State ahead of Memphis on the outside looking in. 

USA TODAY Sports' Shelby Mast and Scott Gleeson put the Tigers in the same spot (the third team under the "Next Four Out" heading) in their most recent projections. Syracuse, Indiana, SMU, St. John's, Duke and Michigan State are listed ahead of them. 

Watch Stadium's Tim Krueger lists Memphis as the fourth team in his "First Four Out," behind only Duke, Seton Hall and Stanford. 

On the other end of the spectrum, CBS Sports' Jerry Palm does not have Memphis on the bubble. Neither does Sports Illustrated. 

There are those, however, who believe Memphis has done enough to warrant a spot in the field of 68. As of Tuesday, the Tigers appear on four of the 116 brackets listed on BracketMatrix.com. Three brackets have Memphis as a No. 12 seed, while one lists it as an 11 seed. 

But the majority of projectors contend the only way for the Tigers to build a legitimate case for an at-large berth is by beating Houston Sunday. 

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.