Vanderbilt is one of the 38 best at-large teams in college basketball. Over the past six weeks, the Commodores have made that clear on the road and at home, in wins and losses, against NCAA tournament teams and SEC cellar dwellers.

But heading into Saturday’s clash with Florida in Nashville, Vanderbilt’s résumé was not one of the 38 best at-large résumés in college basketball. The Commodores came out of non-conference play 6-6, lost five of their first eight SEC games, and simply didn’t have the overall record (16-14) of a tournament team.

So after a narrow miss at Kentucky during the week, Bryce Drew’s team knew it needed another signature win to close the regular season. Facing an 11-point deficit with 10 minutes remaining, it was as desperate as ever.

Then came the comeback.

Then came the 10 minutes that could see Vandy over the line and into the NCAA tournament field. It outscored Florida 23-11 over the game’s final seven minutes to pick up its second win this season over the Gators (RPI No. 3) and its fifth win over an RPI top-30 team. That should be enough for a bid, right?

The counterargument: Vanderbilt has lost 14 games. Fourteen! It is only 10-8 in conference play in a down year for the SEC. And while it played a strong non-conference schedule, it didn’t win many of those games against strong opponents.

Vanderbilt might have moved into the field temporarily, but it is still very much on the bubble, and, unless it goes on a long SEC tournament run, will be the subject of fierce debates all the way through Selection Sunday.

Elsewhere on the bubble Saturday …

ILLINOIS CHOKES AT RUTGERS

Having played its way squarely onto the bubble with four consecutive wins, all Illinois had to do to stay in NCAA tournament contention heading into the Big Ten tournament was win at Rutgers. Simple enough, right?

The Scarlet Knights entered the day 2-15 in the Big Ten, and had won just once at home since Dec. 14. That win came by one point over Nebraska. Rutgers, in fact, had only won two conference home games in the past 25 months, and had won just five Big Ten games overall since joining the conference in 2014.

Naturally, this was where Illinois’ March Madness hopes would go to die.

The Illini looked flat all afternoon. Over the game’s final five minutes, they barely even ran offense, instead standing still for 20 seconds and then letting Malcolm Hill or Tracy Abrams try to create something out of nothing.

Abrams missed a driving layup with around 40 seconds left, which gave Rutgers the ball and a chance to take the lead with only a few seconds separating shot clock and game clock. Deshawn Freeman took that shot, and nailed it:

The Illini’s air-ball at the buzzer condemned them to a potentially season-killing 62-59 loss to the lowly Scarlet Knights, and might just have condemned John Groce to his firing. At the very least, it turned up the boiler plate under Groce’s seat.

Illinois likely now must win at least two games in Washington, D.C. next week, or else it’s NIT bound.

Here’s a look at all the bubble winners and losers of the final weekend of the regular season. We’ll be updating this list throughout the day.

WEEKEND BUBBLE WINNERS

Seton Hall (20-10, 10-8, KenPom 54, RPI 49): The Pirates went to Indianapolis and didn’t just knock off Butler; they probably punched their ticket to the Big Dance. They now have four top-50 wins and 10 top-100 wins. Already on the right side of the bubble coming onto the day, Seton Hall is now relatively secure.

Marquette (19-11, 10-8, KenPom 29, RPI 58): The Golden Eagles appear to be in pretty good shape after a second win over Creighton. But both those wins have come after Maurice Watson Jr.’s injury. Both of Marquette’s wins over Xavier came after Edmond Sumner’s injury. Those four victories look better than they actually are. Will the committee consider that? Probably not as much as they should.

Syracuse (18-13, 10-8, KenPom 46, RPI 80): For a team that suffered some dreadful losses early in the season, Syracuse is in decent shape. The Orange’s 90-61 rout of fellow bubble team Georgia Tech vaulted them above .500 in the ACC, maybe the nation’s toughest league this season. Syracuse has quality wins over Duke, Virginia, Florida State, Miami and Wake Forest, but all of them are at home. Considering their best win away from home is either Clemson by one or NC State in overtime, the Orange might wants to win at least one in the ACC tournament.

Rhode Island (21-9, 13-5, KenPom, 50, RPI 42): The Rams trailed by eight with five minutes left at home against Davidson, but came back to take the Wildcats to overtime, and won to stay right on the bubble.

Wichita State (29-4, 17-4, KenPom 11, RPI 40): They’re in. Or at least they should be. The Shockers beat Missouri State in their Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinal to advance to the final Sunday against Illinois State. Even with a loss, they should be comfortably in as an at large.

Illinois State (27-5, 17-1, KenPom 46, RPI 30): The Redbirds won their MVC semifinal, which means they’ll either lock up an automatic bid on Sunday or lose to Wichita State. Even if they lose, they should be in.

Wake Forest (18-12, 9-9, KenPom 31, RPI 39): Once just a darling of the computer metrics, Wake Forest has bolstered its resume this week. Back-to-back wins over Louisville and Virginia Tech elevate the Demon Deacons to .500 in ACC play and to striking distance for an NCAA tournament bid. Wake Forest still only has three top 50 wins but the Demon Deacons also haven’t lost to anyone outside the KenPom top 50. Is that enough? Maybe, but a win or two in the ACC tournament certainly could go a long way to making it more certain.

Vanderbilt (17-14, 10-8, KenPom 42, RPI 50): In addition to the two wins over Florida, Vanderbilt also boasts wins over Iowa State and South Carolina and at Arkansas. Vandy is still only three games over .500, but has won five of six after a damaging loss at Missouri, and might have just jumped to the right side of the bubble.

Providence (20-11, 10-8, KenPom 55, RPI 54): What a run this has been for the Friars. Their win at St. John’s early Saturday afternoon was their sixth in a row. The winning streak has vaulted them from 4-8 in conference play and an NCAA tournament afterthought to seemingly comfortably in the field. They still probably need one win at Madison Square Garden in the Big East tournament to feel safe, but the way Ed Cooley’s team has been playing, that doesn’t seem like it should be too difficult to get.

Kansas State (19-12, 8-10, KenPom 35, RPI 59): A home win over Texas Tech is nothing to boast about, but that’s OK. The conference portion of Kansas State’s résumé already has the quality; it just needs quantity, and that’s what the victory over the Red Raiders gives them. An 8-10 mark in the Big 12 is just as impressive, if not more impressive than, a 10-8 record in some other major conferences. The issue remains the non-conference schedule, which was pathetic.

Other bubble winners: Indiana (won at Ohio State), Arkansas (beat Georgia), Xavier (beat DePaul), VCU (beat George Mason), USC (beat Washington), Ole Miss (beat South Carolina), Utah (beat Stanford)

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WEEKEND BUBBLE LOSERS

California (19-11, 10-8, KenPom 55, RPI 55): After a brutal 30-point loss at Utah midweek, the Golden Bears sank further into bubble trouble with a loss at Colorado. Without a victory over the Pac-12’s top three, and with only one top-50 win, they’re on the wrong side of the cut line.

Illinois (18-13, 8-10, KenPom 69, RPI 56): Prior to the Rutgers loss, the Illini hadn’t just won four-straight, they’d built up a few quality wins. They took down Northwestern for the second time this season; they won at a resurgent Iowa team; they beat Michigan State. Almost all of that good work fell by the wayside in New Jersey.

Michigan State (18-13, 10-8, KenPom 50, RPI 45): Oh, dear, Nick Ward. With six seconds remaining, Michigan State’s big man let what would have been a layup slip through his hands, then watched as Melo Trimble hit a game-winning 3 at the other end. After a midweek loss to Illinois, and with a win over Wisconsin at home looking less and less impressive, Michigan State isn’t safe just yet.

Georgia Tech (17-14, 8-10, KenPom 81, RPI 92): Merely getting to the fringes of the bubble picture was an accomplishment for Georgia Tech, which lost its five top scorers from a team that wasn’t even all that good last season. The Yellowjackets could still sneak into the NCAA tournament with a surge in the ACC tournament, but Saturday’s one-sided loss at Syracuse makes the path a little more far-fetched.

Georgia (18-13, 9-9, KenPom 52, RPI 52): After a loss at Arkansas, the Bulldogs are running out of time to make their résumé even remotely worthy of a bid.

Texas Tech (18-13, 6-12, KenPom 34, RPI 103): The Red Raiders look to be out of at-large contention with a loss in a bubble elimination game at Kansas State.

TCU (17-14, 6-12, KenPom 45, RPI 69): The Horned Frogs lost at Oklahoma, their seventh consecutive defeat, and now likely must win the Big 12 tournament to get a bid.

Other bubble losers: Dayton (lost at George Washington)