SB Nation's Blogging The Bracket has its latest NCAA tournament bubble watch, and the good news for area fans is that three local teams (Pitt, obviously, along with West Virginia and Duquesne) currently have spots. Penn State, meanwhile, is in the "first four out" category.
WVU has wins over Georgetown and Purdue and are currently ranked, but a brutal upcoming conference schedule will put the Mountaineers to the test. Seven of their remaining nine games are against ranked teams, beginning on Saturday, when they face Villanova on the road. They also host Pitt on Monday.
Duquesne currently holds the A-10's automatic bid in Blogging The Bracket's bracket, but a lack of tough wins will make it difficult for the Dukes to stay in the tournament if they don't win upcoming games against other top A-10 teams like Xavier and Richmond. Blogging The Bracket notes that they "aren't the strongest at-large candidate."
Blogging The Bracket has Penn State right on the bubble. Like West Virginia, the Nittany Lions have a tough remaining schedule, playing Minnesota twice and also facing Wisconsin and top-ranked Ohio State. They've done a pretty good job with a tricky conference schedule so far, so it's way too early to rule them out.