The bubble. The term that becomes a buzz word every year around February and goes away just before mid-March has re-emerged with a vengeance. Thanks to an increased level of parity in college basketball, there are more bubble teams than ever.

As March rolls around, most teams begin to bow out, dooming themselves to must-win scenarios in their conference tournaments. It's rare for teams to play themselves off the bubble. Arkansas has achieved that feat.

The Razorbacks gained clutch wins against Kentucky and Alabama in its last two games to push its winning streak to four. Those wins have thrust them into second place in the SEC West, giving them a bye into the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Even with losses to Georgia in the season finale and in their first game of the SEC Tournament, Arkansas would still finish 18-11 and have enough quality wins to get in.

With sophomore forward Joe Johnson playing his best basketball of the season and shooters Jannero Pargo, Brandon Dean, TJ Cleveland and Teddy Gipson finding their strokes, Arkansas becomes a dangerous tournament team. Best of all, they don't have to burn all their efforts getting into the NCAA Tournament, as was the case last season, when they seemed spent once they got their automatic bid. Rest easy, Razorbacks. An NCAA appearance awaits.

Besides having to compare RPIs and strength of schedules, the Tournament selection committee will have some special cases to consider when deciphering the 65 teams that will make this year's field.

First, there's the case of Oklahoma State, which has likely done enough on its own merit, winning 10 games in a competitive Big 12 and assuring itself of no worse than an 18-9 record to end the season. That should be enough, but if its not, consider the fact that the Cowboys went 2-3 just after the plane crash that took the lives of 10 people associated with the program, two of which were players. Overcoming that tragedy should be an added feather in Oklahoma State's cap. The committee needs to keep that in mind.

With Kareem Rush back in the fold, Missouri is a no-brainer to make the field and should see its seed improve. Carlos Boozer, out until at least the NCAA Tournament opener, may cost Duke a No. 1-seed with his absence, but its unlikely the Blue Devils will slip past a No. 2. That leaves Iowa's situation with Luke Recker as the committee's lone injury headache. Without their leading scorer, the Hawkeyes have fallen from Big Ten title contention into bubble status. If Recker won't be back, the committee could snub Iowa under the rationale that come tournament time, it won't be one of the country's strongest at-large candidates.

Finally, what will the committee do about Richmond? The Spiders have a strong RPI, 20 wins, a mid-major conference regular season title and victories in 10 of its last 11 games. However, they have no shot at an automatic bid due to the Colonial Athletic Association's decision to exclude them from the league tournament because they're leaving for the Atlantic 10 next season. So, for Richmond, what it's done to date will have to suffice. The College of Charleston managed to get into the NCAAs in '95 despite being ineligible for the TAAC Tournament and redeemed its bid by toppling Maryland. Six years later, Richmond hopes for the same chance.

With the regular season winding down in the major conferences, action is heating up as the stakes get higher.

Stanford begins a stretch in which it will play at USC and UCLA before returning home to meet Arizona. With no Pac-10 Tournament to play in, the Cardinal are after a conference title that would virtually lock them in to the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 seed in the West.

Duke and North Carolina, now separated by a game in the standings and a center in the paint, will play the rematch of the classic they staged earlier this season. Only this time, Duke won't have Boozer to help contain Haywood and also won't have the Cameron Crazies in their corner. The Tar Heels will likely clinch the East Region's No. 1 seed with a win.

Championship week kicks off with the OVC, Big South, TAAC and SoCon Tournaments wrapping up, providing the first four entries into the field of 65. Of the four, the spotlight shines on Atlanta and the TAAC, with the nation's bubble teams rooting for Lefty Driesell and Georgia State to take the league tournament, eliminating itself as a factor for one of those precious at-large bids.

Quick, who leads the nation in conference wins? Thanks to a 13-game winning streak to end the regular season, the answer is McNeese State, which finished 17-3 in the Southland Conference.

The Cowboys broke the century mark for the third time this season in a 103-92 win over Northwestern State on Feb. 24 and lead all mid-majors with an average of 83.4 points per game, also good for sixth in the nation.

Leading the way for McNeese State are guards Demond Mallet and Tierre Brown, who combine for over 41 points per game. The duo is the second highest-scoring guard duo in the country (Eastern Illinois' Henry Domercant and Kyle Hill) and was tied for third in the country in three-pointers made entering March.