NCAA Bubble Teams 2015: Which Teams Deserve to Make the Field of 68?
A number of anxious teams will be watching Sunday's NCAA tournament selection show, not knowing for sure whether they are in the tournament or not. Some will be sweating more than others.
Which teams deserve to get the 36 at-large berths? Teams on the bubble are the ones whose resumes include wins over teams in the RPI Top 50 and are impressive enough to earn consideration for one of those spots, but have enough blemishes to raise doubt about their chances to make the field.
Of course, many bubble teams still have a chance to earn automatic berths by winning their conference tournaments, while others, such as Louisiana Tech, could drop onto the bubble if they fail to win their league tourneys.
Our assessment of teams' worthiness differs from the selection committee's method in two ways: We put more weight on conference results and late-season games; the selection committee does not.
Any coach will tell you two things: Conference games are the most important regular-season games, and the team needs to play its best basketball at the end of the season. Why not credit teams that do well in conference play and improve over the course of the season?
There is also a difference between whether a team deserves to get a berth and whether it is likely to get one. Where appropriate we will note whether a team is likely to get into the NCAA tournament even if we believe it does not deserve a berth, and vice versa.
Boise State
1 of 23
Injuries contributed to Boise State's slump midway through the season, but the Broncos have been the best team in the Mountain West Conference over the past two months.
Losses to Loyola-Chicago and Utah State during a four-game losing streak put Boise State in trouble in early January.
However, the Broncos got healthy and found their rhythm after that, winning 15 of their last 16 games, including a first-round win over Air Force in the Mountain West tournament. During that stretch, Boise State beat San Diego State twice—a 15-point win at home on Feb. 8 and a 10-point victory on Feb. 28 that ended the Aztecs' 29-game home winning streak.
Tying for first place in the Mountain West Conference and finishing strong are convincing enough to say Boise State belongs in the NCAA tournament.
The selection committee may wait for the conference tournament to play out before making a final decision on Boise State. But it probably will decide the Broncos have done enough.
Verdict: Yes
BYU
2 of 23
BYU's resume poses an intriguing question: Is one outstanding win enough to get a team into the NCAA tournament?
The Cougars are 25-9 overall and 23-9 against Division I opponents, so they have a decent record, even though it is degraded a bit by playing in the West Coast Conference. They have three fairly good wins, against Massachusetts, Stanford and Saint Mary's, although none of them is likely to make it to the NCAA tournament.
The anchor weighing BYU down is three bad losses. The Cougars lost once to San Diego and twice to Pepperdine, including once at home.
But the Cougars may have washed all that negativity away with their stunning victory at Gonzaga on Feb. 28.
Gonzaga currently has an RPI ranking of No. 8 and was ranked No. 3 in the country in the AP poll at the time. The loss to BYU ended Gonzaga's 22-game winning streak.
However, what trumps all of that is BYU's victory ended Gonzaga's 41-game home winning streak, which was the longest active streak in the country at the time. Road wins like that are like gold in the eyes of the selection committee.
But can a single big win be dismissed as a fluke? After all, Gonzaga beat BYU on the Cougars' home floor earlier in the season and beat BYU again by 16 points in the WCC tournament championship game.
BYU is right on the edge of getting an NCAA tournament bid and is likely to be one of the last teams in or one of the first teams out. It could go either way.
For us, the deciding factor revolves around an element the selection committee will not consider: how BYU played late in the season. Before losing the finale to Gonzaga, BYU had won eight straight games, including a 22-point win over Saint Mary's and the upset of Gonzaga. The Cougars are playing their best basketball right now as they enter the postseason.
Verdict: Yes
Cincinnati
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Cincinnati has a bit of a public perception problem because the Bearcats don't score many points and have no star players. Simply watching the Bearcats' games will not convince you they are NCAA tournament material.
Their results tell a different story, and what is in black and white should matter most.
The Bearcats have six wins over RPI Top 50 teams, including road wins over North Carolina State, SMU and Tulsa. That is impressive and more than outweighs the two ugly losses, to East Carolina and Tulane.
Finishing third in the American Athletic Conference also counts for something in our book, even if the selection committee doesn't care.
Cincinnati won five straight games heading into the conference tournament, erasing any doubts in our minds and probably in the minds of the selection committee as well.
Verdict: Yes
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Colorado State
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If you put any faith at all in the RPI rankings, Colorado State should be safely in the field without a moment of hesitation.
The Rams' RPI ranking stood at No. 26 entering the Mountain West Conference tournament, and it is almost unthinkable that a team with that ranking would be left out of the NCAA tournament field.
But the selection committee seems to rely a lot less on the RPI than it once did, and we don't place an inordinate amount of significance in the RPI ranking either.
What does matter is Colorado State's resume. The Rams have wins over the two teams tied for first in the Mountain West, San Diego State and Boise State, and have no terrible losses.
The RPI rankings will tell you that the two losses to Wyoming and the road loss to New Mexico were bad defeats. But Wyoming entered the conference tournament with a 22-9 record and is better than its RPI ranking of 99 would indicate. And anybody who has gone to New Mexico knows how difficult it is to win there, regardless of the Lobos' record.
Colorado State did not get much national exposure because it did not face any high-profile teams, and the Rams are not nearly as good as their RPI suggests. However, they may have done just enough to get into the NCAA field. An upset loss in the conference tournament could have put them in jeopardy, but the Rams handled Fresno State in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Verdict: Yes
Davidson
5 of 23
By any reasonable assessment, Davidson is in the NCAA tournament. The selection committee will see that, and we see it too.
Despite being picked to finish 12th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference by media and coaches, the Wildcats finished first in their first season in the league. They did it by winning their final nine games before the conference tournament. Then, they extended their winning streak to 10 in the first game of the A-10 tourney when Tyler Kalinoski's last-second shot gave them a one-point victory over La Salle on Friday.
Winning the regular-season title and finishing strong would be enough to get the Davidson into the NCAA tournament in our book, although the selection committee might require more.
Davidson has just two wins over RPI Top 50 teams, both at home, and the victory over Virginia Commonwealth on March 5 came after the Rams had lost Briante Weber and showed a noticeable decline. The losses to St. Bonaventure and Saint Joseph's are not pretty either.
But if the selection committee takes a look at Davidson's overall record (23-6) and RPI ranking (29) while playing in a conference that figures to get multiple NCAA berths, it will put the Wildcats in the NCAA field without much debate.
Verdict: Yes
Dayton
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Late-season losses to Duquesne and La Salle are the only reason Dayton is even in the bubble-team discussion. That should not be enough to keep the Flyers out of the NCAA tournament.
Wins over Mississippi, Texas A&M, Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth, the latter on the road, as well as a second-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference, should put the Flyers into the field without having to play a first-round game.
The losses to Duquesne and La Salle are troubling, because they came near the end of the season. The Flyers had avoided any stinkers until their Feb. 21 loss to Duquesne, which has an RPI ranking outside the Top 200. That seemed like an aberration until the Flyers finished the regular season with the loss to La Salle, which is barely in the Top 100.
But while those defeats cast some doubt about Dayton's chances in the NCAA tournament, they are not nearly enough to keep the Flyers out of the field.
Verdict: Yes
Georgia
7 of 23
Georgia has not done anything spectacular this season, but the Bulldogs have not done anything to embarrass themselves either.
Their most impressive wins both came against Mississippi, another bubble team that has hovered around the RPI Top 50 all season. But their only two bad losses were against Georgia Tech (way back in the season opener) and Auburn, a home loss the Bulldogs avenged with a victory at Auburn in their final regular-season game.
The Bulldogs would do well to show that Kenny Gaines, who missed the final regular-season game with a foot sprain, is healthy and ready to go for the postseason. If Gaines can't play this weekend, the selection committee may hesitate to give the Bulldogs an at-large berth without some deliberation.
In our minds, the 11-7 record in the SEC, as well as an overall strong finish, should be enough. The Bulldogs won four of their final five games, with the only loss coming against No. 1 Kentucky in a game the Bulldogs led by nine with nine minutes left.
Verdict: Yes
Illinois
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Illinois' diminishing hope of making the NCAA tournament is based on three impressive wins. The Illini beat Baylor on a neutral court on Nov. 28, Maryland at home on Jan. 7 and Michigan State on the road on Feb. 7. Baylor and Maryland are both in the Top 10 in the RPI, but it is the road win over the Spartans that may mean the most to the selection committee.
The one bad loss, a 10-point defeat on the road against Nebraska, can be dismissed as a fluke. What can't be dismissed is the fact that the Illini were only 9-9 and tied for seventh place in a Big Ten conference that was not as strong as it has been in recent years.
Add the fact that Illinois is not exactly finishing the season with a flurry, and we have a highly questionable team. Heading into the conference tournament, the Illini had lost four of their past six games, with the only wins in that stretch coming at home against the 11th-place team (Northwestern) and the 12th-place team (Nebraska).
The Illini desperately needed to perform well in the Big Ten tournament to leave a good impression. That did not happen as Illinois lost its opener to Michigan, a team that finished behind the Illini in the standings.
That loss may have doomed the Illini's shot at an NCAA berth, and it merely strengthened our belief that they simply could not beat many of the other bubble teams at the moment.
Verdict: No
Indiana
9 of 23
Indiana's resume is almost the same as Illinois'.
Both teams entered the conference tournament with 19-12 overall records and 9-9 marks in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers had four wins over RPI Top 50 teams compared to just three for the Illini. But all four of the Hoosiers' impressive wins (against SMU, Butler, Ohio State and Maryland) came at home, while Illinois had a nice road win among its trio of good wins. Again, there's very little to choose between the two.
Both teams had one ugly loss to a team ranked outside the RPI Top 100, which was a road game against Northwestern on February 25 in Indiana's case. One bad loss can be dismissed as an aberration, but the Hoosiers also lost at home back in November to Eastern Washington, which is barely in the RPI Top 100.
Like Illinois, the Hoosiers have not played well recently, losing five of their final seven games before the Big Ten tournament. That late-season slide does not matter to the selection committee, which gives every game equal weight. But it matters to us.
The similarities ended on the first day of the Big Ten tournament. While Illinois lost to Michigan, Indiana avoided what would have been a crippling loss by getting past Northwestern.
Based on the selection committee's criteria, the Hoosiers have a good chance to make the NCAA tournament no matter what happens over the weekend. However, we need to see Indiana record an impressive win in the conference tournament to be convinced it deserves a berth.
Verdict: No
LSU
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LSU is erratic. On the Tigers' good days, they can beat virtually anyone. On their bad days, they can lose to just about anyone.
LSU nearly beat Kentucky, losing by two, and it has five wins over teams in the top 55 of the RPI, with three of those victories coming on the road. An 18-point road win over Florida didn't hurt either, even if it is a down season for the Gators.
But then there are those three losses to teams ranked outside the top 140 of the RPI, including losses to Mississippi State and Missouri, both of whom are outside the RPI Top 200.
It averaged out to a 22-9 overall record and an 11-7 mark in the Southeastern Conference, both of which seem good enough to be included in the Big Dance.
The selection committee tends to give more weight to good wins than bad losses as it seeks to include teams capable of going deep into the NCAA tournament. As a result, the Tigers will probably get an NCAA tournament bid. We agree with that reasoning.
Verdict: Yes
Miami
11 of 23
Miami needed to do something special in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament to convince the selection committee and us that it deserved an at-large bid. Playing Notre Dame in its quarterfinal game Thursday provided that opportunity, and the Hurricanes let it slip away.
The Hurricanes offer a confusing resume to sort through.
Their 16-point road victory over Duke on Jan. 13 ranks as one of the most impressive victories of the season by any team. That result alone puts Miami in the discussion for an at-large NCAA berth. Taking Virginia to double overtime 10 days earlier certainly did the Hurricanes some good too.
But since that victory over Duke, which improved the Hurricanes' record to 12-4, Miami has done little to impress anyone.
The win over Duke is the Hurricanes' only win over an RPI Top 35 team, and Miami has four losses to teams ranked outside the RPI Top 100. The 28-point home loss to Eastern Kentucky is inexplicable and has been dogging the Hurricanes ever since that Dec. 19 game.
Miami's 10-8 record in the tough ACC merits consideration, and a win over Notre Dame on Thursday would have improved Miami's resume considerably. But the Hurricanes lost that game and probably will be left out of the NCAA tournament. We would have to agree, because one game, no matter how impressive, does not make a tourney team.
Verdict: No
Mississippi
12 of 23
A close examination of Mississippi's resume is needed to accurately assess its worthiness, and Thursday's loss to South Carolina only served to complicate matters further.
Selection committee members have said they consider close losses when assessing teams, which is as it should be. That factor may put the Rebels into the NCAA tournament field.
Mississippi won only three of 10 games against teams ranked among the RPI Top 50, but six of those losses were by five points or fewer, including the overtime loss at Kentucky. Indeed, taking the Wildcats to overtime in Lexington may help the Rebels as much as their two best wins: road victories over Oregon and Arkansas.
Despite the bad losses to TCU, Western Kentucky and Charleston Southern, all at home, Mississippi figured to earn a place in the 68-team field as long as it didn't embarrass itself in the Southeastern Conference tournament. Losing to South Carolina, which finished 11th in the SEC standings, could have been bad enough to cost the Rebels a seat at the NCAA tournament table.
However, Mississippi probably still will sneak in as long as there are not too many upsets in conference tournaments across the country. It may have to play a first-round game Tuesday or Wednesday, though.
Two other issues that don't apply to the selection committee color our opinion. First, the road victory over Oregon came in early December when the Ducks were not playing nearly as well as they are now. Second, the Rebels lost three of their final four games before the conference tournament, including a home loss to Vanderbilt in the finale.
On the other hand, Mississippi finished 11-7 in the Southeastern Conference, which has only one elite team but a number of quality teams.
We were right on the fence with Mississippi heading into the conference tournament. The loss to South Carolina made it easy.
Verdict: No
Murray State
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Murray State's situation poses a simple question: How much does domination in conference play matter, even in a lesser conference?
The tournament selection committee says it does not matter at all. Three years ago, Washington finished alone in first place in the Pac-12, a so-called major basketball conference, but the Huskies did not get an NCAA tournament berth, while two teams that finished behind Washington (Cal and Colorado) did.
Murray State went 16-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and no other team finished better than 11-5. The Racers had won 25 consecutive games entering the Ohio Valley tournament title game against Belmont and were ranked No. 25 in the AP poll.
They missed receiving an automatic berth because Belmont's Taylor Barnette hit an off-balance 23-foot three-point shot with 3.2 seconds left to give Belmont a one-point victory.
That leaves the selection committee to judge Murray State as an at-large contender. Quite simply, the Racers' resume does not measure up in the criteria the committee considers.
The Racers don't have a single win over a team with a Top 50 RPI ranking, and their only win over a Top 100 team was against Illinois State. Even worse is the fact that Murray State lost to Portland, which is outside the Top 120 RPI teams, and Houston, which is outside the Top 200.
The Racers won't get into the NCAA tournament. But the question here is whether they deserve to get in. We believe the kind of conference domination Murray State showed over two months, even in the Ohio Valley Conference, demonstrates a consistently high level of play.
However, the more salient question is this: Would the current Murray State team beat other bubble teams likely to receive NCAA tournament berths? We say yes.
Verdict: Yes
Oklahoma State
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Oklahoma State can be thankful the selection committee no longer places additional importance on the final 10 or 12 games. If that were still a criterion, the Cowboys would have little chance of getting into the NCAA tournament. As it is, they still will be nervous until the selections are announced, but they probably will get in.
The Cowboys did what the selection committee likes to see: They beat good teams. They have six wins over teams in the RPI Top 50, and that includes a home victory over Kansas and a road victory over Baylor. That is impressive stuff, and it more than outweighs the two bad losses, to Texas Tech and TCU.
Those numbers should allow the selection committee to justify passing Oklahoma State into the 68-team field.
We, on the other hand, have reservations. Oklahoma State is just 18-13 overall and finished just 8-10 in Big 12 play. More disturbing is the fact that the Cowboys lost six of their final seven games, and both of their bad losses came in that stretch.
A win over Oklahoma on Thursday would have dismissed any doubts in the selection committee's mind and may have swayed us as well. Instead the Cowboys scored just 49 points while losing by 15.
To say the current Cowboys are good enough to get one of the 36 at-large bids seems like a reach.
Verdict: No
Old Dominion
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Old Dominion can offer some appealing numbers to the selection committee.
It entered conference tournament play with a 24-6 record. It tied for second in the regular-season Conference USA standings. It won its final six games before the conference tournament, including a victory over regular-season champion Louisiana Tech. It won three games against RPI Top 50 teams, and its victory over Virginia Commonwealth came when the Rams still had Briante Weber and were a major force.
All four elements mean something to us, but only the last one matters to the selection committee. It won't be enough to counter the four bad losses, to Middle Tennessee twice, UAB and Texas-San Antonio, all of whom are ranked outside the RPI Top 150.
ODU probably had not done enough before the conference tournament to convince the selection committee it deserved an at-large berth. It hadn't convinced us either. The Monarchs needed an attention-grabbing victory in the conference tournament to get them back into contention for an NCAA berth.
That opportunity vanished when ODU lost to Middle Tennessee on Thursday in the conference tournament.
Verdict: No
Purdue
16 of 23
Purdue is going to be hurt by the fact that the selection committee no longer puts extra weight on the final 10 or 12 games. The Boilermakers have a good chance to make the 68-team field anyway, but in our eyes Purdue should not even have to worry.
Purdue went 9-3 in its last 12 games before the Big Ten tournament, and that stretch included wins over Iowa and Ohio State and two victories over Indiana. Those four wins, a victory over bubble team BYU and a 12-6 conference record should be more than enough to convince the selection committee that the Boilermakers are tournament-worthy.
However, two horrible losses on Purdue's resume may give the selection committee pause. Purdue lost home games to Gardner-Webb and North Florida, both of whom are well outside the RPI Top 100.
Both those losses came in December, and the improving Boilermakers are a different team now. That doesn't matter to the selection committee, but it matters to us.
Verdict: Yes
Stanford
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Stanford is included in the list only because it seemed like a lock to make the NCAA tournament five weeks ago. It has virtually no chance for an at-large bid now.
On Jan. 30, the Cardinal were 15-5 overall and 6-2 in the Pac-12. Their only conference losses were a double-overtime road defeat against UCLA and a seven-point loss to Arizona in a game Stanford led by five in the second half.
The Cardinal also had an impressive road victory over Texas in their back pocket.
But things went south after that as the Cardinal went 3-7 over their final 10 regular-season games. The significance of the Texas win faded as the Longhorns slipped to sixth in the Big 12 standings.
Stanford first slipped out of the projected NCAA tournament field and then fell almost completely off the bubble.
The Cardinal stayed alive in the Pac-12 tournament when Chasson Randle hit a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to produce a two-point victory over Washington on Thursday. But that did not seem like enough to warrant an NCAA tournament berth. Stanford needed a win over Utah in the quarterfinals to maintain any hope of an at-large berth. Instead, the Cardinal lost by 24.
Verdict: No
Temple
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Temple's postseason fate depends on how it does in the American Athletic Conference tournament. The Owls are right on the edge in our minds and probably in the minds of the selection committee as well.
Certainly, if Temple gets an NCAA berth and Tulsa does not, there is going to be some howling in Oklahoma. Tulsa finished ahead of Temple in the conference standings and beat the Owls both times the teams met.
In our minds that should put Tulsa ahead of Temple in the pecking order for NCAA berths. The selection committee may see it differently, largely because of one game. Temple routed Big 12 champion Kansas by 25 points in a game played in Philadelphia, although it was not on the Owls' home court. That victory is impossible to ignore, and that result as well as the Owls' strength of schedule will keep Temple in the at-large discussion no matter what it does in the conference tournament.
But that win over Kansas occurred back in December and does not represent the Owls' status now. The same goes for the Owls' one bad loss, a Dec. 3 defeat at the hands of Saint Joseph's.
The Owls may get into the NCAA tournament, and we would not complain too much about that...unless Tulsa does not get in as a result.
Verdict: No
Texas
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When Texas was 10-1 and ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, a berth in the NCAA tournament seemed to be assured. The Longhorns had beaten Iowa and Connecticut, with their only loss coming against No. 1 Kentucky.
Then the Longhorns lost at home to Stanford, and things started to unravel. Texas went 10-11 after that 10-1 start and finished 8-10 in the Big 12, tied for sixth and three full games behind the teams immediately ahead of the Longhorns in the standings. Plus that early-season victory over UConn is not worth much anymore.
However, the Longhorns can point to the fact that they don't have a single bad loss. The defeat against Stanford, another bubble team with an RPI ranking of No. 57, turned out to be Texas' worst loss. The Longhorns' other 11 losses all were against teams ranked among the Top 50, including eight against teams in the Top 15.
Sprinkled in among the Big 12 losses were victories over Baylor and West Virginia, and the Longhorns seemed to be regaining some of their early-season form in the past few weeks.
Texas could have practically assured itself an NCAA berth by beating No. 13 Iowa State on Thursday, but the Longhorns blew a 16-point lead and lost by two, leaving themselves vulnerable.
The Longhorns still are likely to get into the NCAA tournament based on their strength of schedule. We are probably less certain about Texas' qualifications than the selection committee, because we have trouble believing that a team with a losing conference record, in any conference, deserves an at-large NCAA bid. However, there is simply nothing to point to that would justify keeping the Longhorns out.
Verdict: Yes
Texas A&M
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Heading into the Southeastern Conference tournament, Texas A&M was a difficult team to assess because it has no great wins but no bad losses either.
The Aggies' only two wins over RPI Top 50 teams both came against LSU, and the Aggies deserve credit for beating LSU in Baton Rouge. Their most impressive showing, however, came in a loss at home, the double-overtime defeat to Kentucky, and the selection committee will look favorably on that result.
Texas A&M did not lose to a single team outside the RPI Top 100 before the conference tournament, and that kind of consistency will not go unnoticed either. That all changed Thursday, however, when the Aggies lost their SEC tournament opener to Auburn.
The Aggies are hanging their hat on two victories over a team that is barely off the bubble itself and a close loss to a great team. They needed to do something more in the conference tournament.
The loss to Auburn was the death knell.
Verdict: No
Tulsa
21 of 23
The Tulsa situation is intriguing, because the Golden Hurricane probably will not get an at-large berth based on the selection committee's assessment method, but they would based on ours.
In the selection committee's minds, Tulsa has not done enough. Its only two wins over teams ranked in the RPI Top 75 both came against Temple, which is another bubble team. The Golden Hurricane's loss to Oral Roberts in their season opener looks bad now and may come back to haunt them.
A mediocre strength of schedule won't help Tulsa either.
The fact that Tulsa finished second in the American Athletic Conference, just a game behind SMU, does not matter to the selection committee, but it matters a great deal to us. Those games showed Tulsa's status in the games that mattered most, after the team had developed its identity following early-season nonconference games. With first-year head coach Frank Haith needing time to instill his philosophy, the Golden Hurricane are a different team than the one that lost to Oral Roberts back on Nov. 15.
Tulsa is unlikely to make the NCAA tournament field unless it does something noteworthy in the conference tournament. Denying Tulsa a berth would be a mistake in our minds, especially if Temple gets one instead.
Verdict: Yes
UCLA
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UCLA probably did too much damage to itself early in the season to get an at-large berth.
The Bruins had two pretty good wins, beating Utah and then knocking off Oregon late in the season when the Ducks were playing well.
However, it is impossible to forget some of the embarrassing losses: a 22-point loss to North Carolina, a 32-point loss to Utah, an 18-point loss to Oregon and a 39-point loss to Kentucky in which the Bruins scored seven first-half points. The loss to Kentucky came amid a five-game losing streak that sticks in your mind.
UCLA played better toward the end of the season, going 8-3 in its final 11 games before the Pac-12 tournament. And none of UCLA's defeats came against terrible teams, with road losses to Colorado and Oregon State being the worst.
Beating USC in the Pac-12 quarterfinal Thursday kept UCLA alive for an automatic NCAA berth but did nothing to raise the Bruins' status as an at-large contender. The selection committee just won't see enough on UCLA's resume to put it into the NCAA field as an at-large team. Considering the Bruins only went 11-7 in a mediocre Pac-12 conference, neither do we.
Verdict: No
Xavier
23 of 23
Xavier's victory over 22nd-ranked Butler on Thursday probably relieved a lot of anxiety.
Xavier only finished sixth in the Big East with a 9-9 conference record. That automatically puts the Musketeers in the bubble category. Losses to Creighton, Auburn and DePaul, all of whom are outside the RPI Top 130, don't help their cause either.
However, that is all wiped away by the fact that Xavier beat seven teams ranked in the Top 50, with three of those wins coming against RPI Top 25 teams. Road victories over Georgetown and Cincinnati were particularly impressive and are certain to draw the attention of the selection committee. Any lingering doubts the committee had likely washed away with the overtime victory over Butler on Thursday.
The 27-point victory over Murray State back in November may come in handy if the selection committee is unsure of Xavier's status.
The Musketeers have played well enough recently to indicate they deserve to be in the field, and the win over Butler reinforced that belief.
Verdict: Yes
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