SI College Basketball: Bubble & Pressure

From Illinois's Keaton Wagler making his mark to Vanderbilt's rise, the seats are warming up before Selection Sunday.

With March coming around the corner, players are being introduced to the scene, or coaches may see an exit due to fallen expectations. Kevin Sweeney traces how Illinois found a star in Keaton Wagler, even as other schools overlooked him. Emma Baccellieri goes inside how guard Mikayla Blakes and coach Shea Ralph have turned the Vanderbilt women's college basketball program from an afterthought into a contender. Meanwhile, conference races are heating up and the bracket picture is getting tighter. Schedules and résumés are under the microscope. And for some coaches, qualifying for the tournament isn't about just winning—it's about holding onto the top seat on the bench. Who's in? Who's Out? Say hello to March! Keaton Wagler's Meteoric Rise at Illinois Isn't a Fluke The freshman guard went from under-the-radar prospect to a potential top-five NBA draft pick. But his story is one about the imperfect art of recruiting.  Dylan Widger/Imagn Images By Kevin Sweeney Before Illinois guard Keaton Wagler was, well, Keaton Wagler, he was just another name buried among a litany of mid-major-plus guard options for Murray State to consider in the 2025 high school recruiting season.  The accolades were there: Wagler had won a state title in Kansas that spring at Shawnee Mission Northwest, playing alongside a true recruiting prize in 2026 7-footer Ethan Taylor. So too was the size: Wagler was already 6' 6", though he was certainly skinny at 165 pounds. But the Murray State board had lots of names on it. Publicly, Murray offered 24 guards in the 2025 class, and plenty more were on the radar in some form but didn't make the cut. For most of that spring and summer, Wagler was among the latter. Murray's assistant coaches had seen him, liked him, but hadn't loved him enough to go to bat for him hard to their boss, head coach Steve Prohm. The slender sharpshooter playing off the main AAU circuits was flying far below the radar.  READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM Mikayla Blakes, Shea Ralph Have Turned Vanderbilt From an Afterthought Into a Contender The revived Commodores have held their own in a tough SEC and are a legitimate threat for a No. 1 seed heading into March.  Chris Day/Imagn Images By Emma Baccellieri Early in January, grinning at the podium after the biggest win of her college basketball career, Mikayla Blakes said everything that was expected of her. Describing how then-No. 12 Vanderbilt knocked off then-No. 5 LSU, the sophomore guard talked about getting stops, diving for loose balls, all the most reliable phrases in the basketball hustle dictionary. And then Blakes was asked if this was the reason she had come to Nashville, if she had wanted to be part of a win like this when she committed to Vanderbilt in 2024, and she pulled out something different. READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM 📅 March Madness Larry Placido/Getty Images Men's Bubble Watch UCLA and UCF Likely in with Key Victories Last Four In Santa Clara Missouri TCU Ohio State READ FULL STORY  Women's Bubble Watch Virginia and Clemson Make a Statement Last Four In Virginia Tech Syracuse Colorado Rhode Island READ FULL STORY  Kevin Sweeney: Men's Basketball Bracket Watch: Big Ten Is Epicenter of Bubble Discussion ⛹️‍♀️ Women's College Basketball Roundtable Nick King/Imagn Images Women's College Basketball Coaches With the Most at Stake in March READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM 🌎 Around the Nation Rich Barnes/Imagn Images Men's College Basketball Coaching Hot Seat Tracker: The High-Major Jobs to Watch By Kevin Sweeney READ FULL STORY ON SI.COM Oregon State to Part Ways With Coach Wayne Tinkle at End of Season John Calipari Is Wondering Why Darius Acuff Isn't a National Player of the Year Candidate St. John's Went Historically Cold to Close Out Its Blowout Loss to UConn 📺 Others Receiving Votes Subscribe to SI's college sports show, Others Receiving Votes, for new episodes each week on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. Or watch weekly on SI TV. Get the print edition of Sports Illustrated delivered to your door. CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE! Sign up for SI Newsletters Stay ahead of the game—sign up for all of SI's newsletters, from golf and soccer to MMQB, and never miss a moment. Get it in your inbox Join the Traina Thoughts Newsletter Jimmy Traina's lively, media-savvy newsletter explores the intersection of sports, pop culture and off-beat viral moments across the media landscape. CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE! We may receive compensation for some links to products and services included in this email. Sports Publishing Solutions Inc. 625 Broadway, 10th floor New York, NY. 10012 You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the SI College Basketball newsletter. You can unsubscribe here  . Privacy Policy – Terms & Conditions © 2026 Sports Publishing Solutions Inc. All rights reserved. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. All betting and gambling content included in the SI College Basketball newsletter is intended for individuals 21+ (18+ in DC, KY, NH, RI, and WY). Betting and gambling content, including picks and predictions, are based on individual commentators' opinions and we do not guarantee any success or profits. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER or texting 800GAM. Click this link to view the newsletter in your browser.