At this point in the season, it’s all about opportunity.

That’s why the chart of at-large teams in the weekly bracket exercise is reduced to only a dozen teams scrambling for eight spots. It’s not that top-30 teams in the America East (Albany), the Metro Atlantic (Monmouth), the Northeast (Hobart and Bryant) and the Southern (High Point) conferences have no chance to make the NCAA tournament.

But because of some combination of a questionable loss or two, the absence of high-end victories and (especially) no games left against potential top-10 teams, they basically have one opportunity left: To win their conference tournaments.

So the at-large possibilities are narrowed a bit, down to teams that have high-end victories or at least enjoy the chance to pick them up in the next week-and-a-half. That, after all, is all that remains between now and Selection Sunday.

Automatic Qualifiers (8)

Maryland completed a sweep of the Big Ten’s double round robin and will get a weekend off prior to facing Ohio State or Michigan in the conference semifinals. So what, exactly, is 10-0 in the Big Ten worth for seeding purposes? It’s still a giant unknown. … Georgetown claimed at least a share of the Big East regular season title with its rout of Providence. If the Hoyas defeat both Loyola (Thursday) and their Big East semifinal opponent, they’ll be tough to keep out of the tournament. …

UMBC is the king of overtime. The America East-leading Retrievers have won three games in extra time, and they’ve had five of their nine contests decided by a goal. … Delaware sealed a share of the CAA regular-season title by completing a season sweep of Towson. It might not help much, but the Blue Hens will probably receive some grace for the early loss at Mount St. Mary’s when COVID issues left them badly shorthanded. …

Of the many things prompting an eye-roll at the RPI’s value this season, Lehigh at No. 17 has to rate to pretty high. … Saint Joseph’s has already locked up the Northeast regular-season title, regardless of how it fares Friday against Wagner. The Hawks will have home field throughout the NEC tournament. …

Same goes for Richmond, though the Spiders were already locked in as the Southern Conference host site. Richmond clinched the top seed by walloping Mercer on Sunday. … Manhattan is the No. 1 seed in the Metro Atlantic tournament and gets a quarterfinal bye after Quinnipiac’s decision to end its season left the league with just seven participating teams.

At-Large (12 teams/8 slots)

The No. 1 seed may well go to the winner of Sunday’s game between Duke and North Carolina. It’s hard to imagine anyone other than the Blue Devils snagging the top spot if they complete the season sweep of the Tar Heels. … Duke has already beaten everyone in the ACC at least once. North Carolina can do the same with a defeat of the Blue Devils. …

So much for an extra at-large berth opening up. Syracuse could lose its two remaining games (at Notre Dame and at home against Robert Morris) and still land in the field. If it wins both, a top-four seed isn’t out of the question. Funny how fast things change. … Virginia’s regular season is over, and it is in line to have the longest layoff of any team headed to the postseason. The Cavaliers are probably looking at an NCAA tournament seed in roughly the No. 3-6 range. …

Bad news for Army: Its chance of landing a seed in the tournament took a hit with its loss at Navy. Good news for the Black Knights: Syracuse’s win at Virginia helps the Black Knights out. … Notre Dame was plenty competitive at Duke and North Carolina but came away without a victory on its two-game swing. A shot at a top-two seed is probably gone now. …

Navy helped itself a bunch with its victory over Army, but its final regular-season game will damage its metrics. Simply taking the field against 0-10 Lafayette will send the Midshipmen’s RPI plummeting a few spots. … Denver is a bit like Georgetown. If the Pioneers beat Villanova, then win their first Big East tournament game, it will be difficult to muster an argument against their inclusion in the field. …

Drexel keeps rolling, but a victory at Towson on Saturday might wind up knocking the Tigers out of the top 20 of the RPI — and thus removing a top-20 victory from the Dragons’ resume. … Less than two weeks out from Selection Sunday, and it is already clear Rutgers’ fate will be one of the night’s big subplots. The Scarlet Knights swept their four non-Maryland opponents, none of which finished with a .500 or better record. …

There are two opportunities this week for Villanova to make itself an at-large argument, both at home: Against Denver on Wednesday and Lehigh on Saturday. Lose both, and the Wildcats’ only path to the tournament will be a Big East title. … Loyola is an extremely fringy at-large possibility at this point, but it does have opportunities. The Greyhounds play host to Georgetown on Thursday, then get Navy in the Patriot League quarterfinals. Win that, and Army awaits in the semifinals. If Loyola wins all three but falls to Lehigh in the Patriot League final, it will require at least some consideration at 9-6.

BRACKET

The daylight between the last team included and the top team on the outside is as narrow as it’s been all month. We have Navy’s 9-4 triumph over Army to thank for that.

The Midshipmen now own a more valuable victory than anything Rutgers owns. Navy also has a borderline questionable loss at home to Loyola — a team the Mids should be rooting heavily for against Georgetown on Thursday. The better Loyola’s profile, the better it is for Navy’s at-large hopes.

Both teams, fortunately, have some control over their situations. Rutgers can take matters out of the committee’s hands and win the Big Ten tournament next week. As for Navy, it could play as many as four more games by May 9 — at Lafayette on Saturday, then Loyola (Patriot quarters), Army (semis) and a possible league final.

In short, there are still chances for another shakeup (or two or three) before the committee renders its verdict.

Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal

(1) Duke vs. METRO ATLANTIC/Manhattan
(8) BIG EAST/Georgetown vs. Army

Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal

(5) Notre Dame vs. COLONIAL/Delaware
(4) Virginia vs. AMERICA EAST/UMBC

Hempstead, N.Y., quarterfinal

(3) BIG TEN/Maryland vs. NORTHEAST/Saint Joseph’s
(6) Syracuse vs. Rutgers

Notre Dame, Ind., quarterfinal

(7) PATRIOT/Lehigh vs. Denver
(2) North Carolina vs. SOUTHERN/Richmond

Last three included: Denver, Army, Rutgers
First three on the outside: Navy, Drexel, Villanova

Moving in: Manhattan, UMBC
Moving out: Monmouth, Stony Brook

Conference call: Atlantic Coast (5), Big East (2), Big Ten (2), Patriot (2)