Bubble Watch Games of the Week(2/24-3/2)

Xavier @ St. John's 
      Tuesday 7 P.M. ET
With St. John's just outside of the projected field and Xavier sitting in the last four in this is an imperative matchup for both teams.  While Xavier sits in the field currently it is highly unlikely they would stay in the field the rest of this week with a loss here.  On the other hand St. Johns has an opportunity to push themselves most likely back into the field if they can win at home in this top 50 RPI  matchup.  Either way it is most likely that the losing team in this matchup will be on the outside looking in.
Prediction:  Xavier hangs on to pick up a top 50 road win and will get themselves out of the First Four round in Dayton.  St. Johns will slip farther back and need a huge surge to receive an at large bid.

Dayton @ St. Josephs
         Tuesday 7 P.M. ET
At the same time and date as the Xavier/St. John's game another pivotal matchup takes place for these two A10 foes.  While St. Josephs currently sits comfortably in the field and Dayton sits in the last four in the line between the 9-11 seeds is very small and every game down the stretch is imperative.  As the A10 plays out it is hard to imagine 7 A10 teams will ultimately make the field of 68 as I have projected now.  This game is particularly important for Dayton for that reason because as of now they are the last A10 team into the field.  It is important to note that Richmond sits just ahead of Dayton in the field so it could play out that these two may be playing for the 6th and final bid for the conference.

Prediction:  St. Joseph's holds serve at home and we begin to the see the final fall of Dayton that will ultimately keep the A10 from receiving an astounding 7 bids. It is important to note though that even if Dayton can't get the road win they have a huge opportunity at home versus Massachusetts on Saturday.

Georgetown @ Marquette 
        Thursday 9 P.M. ET
With the Big East having a huge log jam in the middle of the league nearly every game that pits these teams is a big opportunity for someone.  With only two locked up bids and Xavier hanging on it seems as if another team will eventually emerge and snatch up a bid.   Marquette as of now sits as the last team in the field and Georgetown sits just a stones throw away from the field.  The most certain thing to come from this game is that the loser will be out of the next projected field.  This should be an interesting matchup because both teams have seen a surge in the second half of the season.

Prediction: Marquette will win at home and begin to solidify their bid while Georgetown falls out of contention to 7-9 in a league that only has two sure fire bids.