March Madness 2015 Bracket: Projections for Teams on the Bubble

March Madness is aptly named.

Following an intense regular season and conference tournaments, 68 teams earn the right to participate in the annual NCAA tournament. Of course, some of these teams will just barely squeeze into the action and must face off against the nation's most elite squads, giving them very small margins of victory. They couldn't possibly stand a chance, right?

While most bubble teams crash and burn, leaving the tournament in a hurry, a select few are able to overcome the odds and earn unthinkable victories (see: 2006 George Mason). These are the squads that become Cinderella stories, and they are the reason why March is so full of madness.

As we await the dramatic conclusion of the regular season—and ultimately decide if anyone can beat Kentucky—let's take a look at a few bubble teams aiming to be this year's Cinderella story and decide if each has what it takes to earn a berth in this year's tournament.

Dayton

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Remember those Dayton Flyers from the 2014 NCAA tournament? They were a great Cinderella story, earning close victories over Ohio State and Syracuse before dismantling Stanford en route to a berth in the Elite Eight. Dayton would eventually be defeated by Florida, but the team gave us quite a ride.

Well, this year, the Flyers happen to be right on the bubble. They currently hold a 20-6 record and sit in the third spot in the Atlantic 10. They began the season with a nice run, winning 15 of their first 17 games—one of their two losses came to then No. 17 Connecticut—but faltered down the stretch.

The team has now lost four of its last nine games, but its most recent was also the most crushing. Dayton fell to 9-16 Duquesne by a score of 83-73 following a horrendous game from the team on the offensive end of the court. Is that a sign of things to come, or will Dayton right the ship?

Guard Jordan Sibert wasn't effective at all against the Dukes. He was forcing shots from downtown in an effort to get his team back into the mix and finished the game shooting 4-of-14 from the floor (3-of-12 from three-point range), scoring 12 points. Consider that an aberration. 

The Flyers have plenty of talent on the offensive end of the court, as forward Dyshawn Pierre is a fantastic complement to Sibert. The team's biggest weakness is its lack of size—something that will likely hurt it in the tournament. However, with games against George Mason, Rhode Island and La Salle upcoming, this offense shouldn't have trouble generating at least three more wins.

With victories over Ole Miss and Texas A&M—two more bubble teams—the Flyers have the necessary remaining schedule and cushion to earn a tournament berth.

Prediction: Dayton gets in

Stanford

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Stanford would love to get back into the NCAA tournament this year—if only to avenge its 2014 upset loss to Dayton. However, the Cardinal don't have an easy road to the ultimate goal of participating in March Madness, as a difficult remaining schedule awaits.

This has been a highly unpredictable team throughout the regular season. Stanford seemed to have quality early wins against Texas and Washington before both of those teams fell off the map; however, a win against Connecticut and a sweep of Cal put the team in tournament contention.

Currently, the Cardinal has an RPI of .5758, according to ESPN.com. At 17-9 on the season, their strength of schedule is ranked 78th, and they are 0-3 against Top 25 teams and 1-2 against teams ranked between 26th and 50th. Those aren't good numbers, and this squad has some work to do.

Getting a Feb. 21 win against Cal was crucial, but now Stanford must finish the season strong. That's not going to be easy with games against Oregon State and Oregon followed by games at Arizona State and Arizona.

The Ducks are really coming into their own of late, and the Wildcats remain one of the nation's top teams. While Chasson Randle and Antony Brown have been fantastic scorers for the Cardinal this season, it's difficult to see them putting up enough points to finish the last four games of the season with a record better than 2-2.

Prediction: Stanford is out

Xavier

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There's plenty to like about the Musketeers. They may not have one ridiculously prolific scorer, but they are an unselfish team with a solid starting five and a good rotation. There's a reason why six players on the team are scoring 8.7 points or more per game.

Xavier has been rather enigmatic this season, losing some tough early games to Long Beach State, UTEP and DePaul but coming away with big wins against Georgetown (twice), Seton Hall and, most recently, Butler.

That win against the Bulldogs was exactly what Xavier needed to get into solid position to earn a tournament berth. The 18-10 Musketeers are now 4-3 against Top 25 teams and are ranked 24th in strength of schedule. With an RPI of .5922, according to ESPN.com, Xavier has moved up to 28th overall. That's great position with three regular-season games remaining.

The downside here is the team's last three games are incredibly difficult. Xavier must play at St. Johns, host Villanova and finish at Creighton. The Musketeers are 0-3 in their last three contests against those teams.

On the plus side, Xavier has plenty of momentum entering its contest against the Red Storm. Myles Davis has been on fire from downtown of late, and he appeared very confident in himself and his team during an interview with The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: "We definitely played up to our potential. I think there's still more to come."

This well-rounded squad has the resiliency to carry it through the remainder of the season and into the NCAA tournament.

Prediction: Xavier gets in