It doesn't work out mathematically, but the start of the conference play is considered the halfway point of the college basketball season. The first two months are just about in the books, and in about 10 weeks, we'll have the field of 68 completed. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. There's plenty of time for bubble teams in the next two months.
The ACC has had one conference game, the Big Ten has had about a dozen -- but the rest of the power conferences have yet to get underway. How teams do in league play will essentially determine their NCAA tournament fate, and the mid-major champions are guaranteed a postseason bid.