UNLV is living on the bubble and almost saw that opportunity burst on Thursday night. Texas Christian scored 17 three-point baskets, but the Runnin' Rebels were able to hang on for a 89-88 victory at the Thomas & Mack Center. Wink Adams scored on a three-point play in the closing moments to help push UNLV to the win.

The quarterfinals in the Mountain West, WAC and Big West conference tournaments proceeded with little drama, though UNLV provided the day's only scare. The selection committee figures to take a careful look at the New Mexico vs. UNLV game on Friday night to determine tournament viability, but that wouldn't have mattered if the Rebels had managed to choke away its chance on Thursday.

(Edited: That is if New Mexico had held on to defeat Utah. Hey, here's what you get for sticking around to watch Irvine and Pacific, eh?)

You get the feeling that these higher seeds are looking past the quarterfinals, and it's amazing that nobody really got tripped up.

Parity or just plain parody.

The Big West and Western Athletic conferences had seven teams claim a share of its conference championships. Seven teams. Good thing the two conferences hold tournaments to determine the conference's automatic bid, or else there would be some pretty upset bubble teams right now.

Yes, I'm just pulling your leg. The National Invitational Tournament will only recognize the teams earning the No. 1 seeds as the automatic bids for the world's biggest consolation party.

There seems to be a larger than usual pool of teams across the college basketball landscape from the non-power conferences that could make their own case for an at-large bid. These are some of the conferences that have teams that could pop other teams bubbles if they don't win their conference tournament. Part 1 and Part 2.

As teams like Ohio State and Virgina Tech make a stronger case to be in the NCAA Tournament, attention will focus on teams from the other conferences that might make the Tournament even if they don't win their conference tournament and the automatic bid.

Cal State Fullerton's players and fans will probably ponder -- sometime in the near future -- what might have been. And they'll likely have plenty of time because Thursday's night game gave every indication that this Titans' hoop season is going to end like the previous 30 -- no tournament.

Cal State Northridge rolled into Titan Gym with a chip on its shoulder and crushed the Titans in a 82-74 beat down. And the game shouldn't have even been that close. Northridge wanted this game more than the Titans. They got to every loose rebound, had numerous second-chance points and Jonathan Heard was seemingly everywhere nailing all of the key shots. The Matadors also did a good job on sharp-shooting Josh Akognon who finished a miserable 2-of-9 from three-point land. And even when they didn't have a hand in his face, he seemed rattled by CSUN's defense.

The Big West is for Northridge to take. If they continue to play like that, nobody will beat them. The Titans have also proved that they still can't rise to the occasion in big games. You don't want to discredit Northridge because they earned that win. But you can't help but get the feeling that Fullerton choked that game away. And if they don't finish in second and get that valuable bye into the semi-finals in the conference tournament, they have nobody else to blame but themselves.

After the jump, New Mexico State continues its enigmatic season.

Marcelus Kemp was not impressed by Southern Illinois style of play and told the Reno Gazette-Journal (via the Big West message boards). Kemp and the Wolf Pack were ran out of the building early and never gave much of a fight in losing to the Salukis.

"They're real physical, everybody," Kemp said. "They get away with a lot of fouls. That's how this (Missouri Valley) league is. It's how they play. We weren't ready for it. The coaches told us, but we weren't ready for it."

As one poster noted, didn't they send the WAC referees? And Kemp should probably have just taken his whipping like a man and let that be the end of it. This was obviously a frustrating loss, but there is no need to talk about how physical the MVC is. That is the conference is the standard that the WAC should be shooting for.

First Hawaii gets rolled in the Sugar Bowl and now one of the top players in the WAC is complaining that the MVC is too rough. And speaking of the Rainbow Warriors, how did they manage to get rolled at Riverside? The Warriors smoked a pretty good Long Beach State team last year, but now they can't get over on the Inlanders? Pathetic.

The WAC should try to get tougher.

The biggest knock against Nevada is the lack of depth. And that was never more evident than Saturday night when only four players scored for the Wolf Pack. Not four players in double figures, four players combining for 85 points in a win at Idaho.

Marcelus Kemp scored 32 points, Brando Fields added 21, JaVale McGee had 20, and Armon Johnson had 12 to complete the scoring. Honestly, this is one of the most bizarre box scores I have ever seen. At least for a major college team. Not even one of the scrubs could throw down a bucket in the closing minutes? Idaho didn't try to foul anybody in the closing minutes? Just strange. The other players for Nevada attempted only five shots in the game.

This also makes me want to hedge my Nevada for the regular-season title prediction. Just strange.

Don't count out Boise State just yet. The Broncos faced a desperation game on Thursday night, and received big performances from Reggie Larry and Matt Nelson to defeat Nevada, 77-68. Boise State swept the season series from the Wolf Pack after being swept by New Mexico State and losing its first game with Utah State.

Larry told the Reno Gazette Journal that he should be the WAC Player of the Year, and he went out and backed that up. Larry likely vaulted past Nevada's Marcelus Kemp in the race for POY, but Utah State's Jaycee Carroll still has to be the front-runner.

Although, Larry points out in the article that he is more concerned with winning the conference championship instead of the individual award.

The Western Athletic Conference sort of floundered in the nonconference season, with a number of the teams -- in particular New Mexico State -- not living up to expectations. But now the race for the WAC will be one of the most fun to watch down the stretch as evidenced by Nevada's big win over Utah State on Monday night. (This was a make up of an earlier game which was postponed because of bad weather.)

Four teams are within a game of each other and the conference figures to get only one bid in because of the early-season struggles. So who has the best chance to win the conference regular-season title as we head down the stretch?

Utah State and Nevada represent two of the best teams in the Western Athletic Conference, if not the thinnest. Both teams don't have the depth of say, New Mexico State, but both teams are well coached and get the most of their talent. The Aggies got a huge boost on Saturday night, knocking off the Wolf Pack, 77-63, at the Spectrum in Logan, Utah.

Needless to say, teams don't come to Utah State and take over the gym.

Utah State got a combined 47 points from Jaycee Carroll and Gary Wilkinson and that was enough to hold off the Wolf Pack. This was a good bounce-back game for the Aggies who were blown out by 30 points last week at New Mexico State. They still have to play some roadies at Nevada (which has been rescheduled because of bad weather) and at Boise State. But it does look like they are going to be able to cruise to the regular-season title unless something unforeseen happens. All of the top dogs have seemed to hold serve at home, with some minor slips here and there.

Some other keys in the WAC, New Mexico State was able to overcome a beating they received at Hawaii this week to knock off San Jose State. Seriously, it would have been time for Marvin Menzies to throw in the towel if they had lost this one. NMSU still has to be the favorite to win the tournament because of its depth, but they have really blown its chance to win the regular season title. Not that it matters because nobody figures to get an at-large bid. Nevada has the best RPI at 81, with Utah State at 90.