Wed. Marquette @ Xavier

[stever20]

just thinking where Xavier would be right now if they hadn't won those 3 games by a total of 9 points- the St John's, Seton Hall, Creighton wins. They lose even one of those games, and they are in even deeper trouble right now.

So Wednesday now I do believe is set. Xavier/DePaul and St John's/Georgetown.

Man, if Xavier misses the tourney, it'll be one of the most remarkable plunges I can ever remember.

[herodotus]

Man, I sure hope X can beat Depaul twice. Those are gonna be dogfights...the question will be, if X beats Depaul twice and then loses the next BET game, are they in? Their numbers say yes, but they way they have been playing say no.

They are certainly on the bubble now. I think one win sends them to Dayton. Two wins might put them safely on the 10 line. Two losses sends them to the NIT.

[GoldenWarrior11]

I think 7 teams get into the tournament.

[Jet915]

If X loses once to Depaul, I think they are out. RPI is now 35 and a loss to them would drop them to the 40s I'm sure. If they win both against Depaul, I think they are in but probably a 10 seed or play-in game.

[Rum_Ham]

Marquette is up to 58 in RPI and 30 in Kenpom to go along with 7 top 50 wins. I think a win against Creighton, with what I am expecting will be a large crowd for Senior day, would make Marquette a stone-cold lock for the tournament. I think even with just this win Marquette could still make the first four if they lose out,

[PC_Friars]

Lunardi has moved X to last four in. Btw X has only 2 top 50 wins? Their RPI is so strong because they opened the season in top 10...

http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0 ... 67469583-4

[JohnW22]

Time for players to step up. Bernard and Gaston came here to play in the tournament and it's time to see how bad they want it. Have to beat the same team two times in a row away from home. Time for Xavier to take over March. The run starts Saturday...wishful thinking

[EMT]

Go X!

Yep. Don't have a great feeling for jays in Milwaukee this weekend.

We are gonna get clobbered if they play like they are at X right now.

I think they played like that because they played X. When you look at Xavier's total body of work, they have beaten 2 expected top 50 wins... Wake (46) and Seton Hall (48).

I know RPI is a math formula but at an expected RPI of 30 this might be the rationale to kill RPI as a consideration.

Comparing RPI to KenPom is interesting:

Teams RPI KenPom Variance
Villanova 1 2 -1
Butler 10 20 -10
Creighton 24 25 -1
Xavier 35 48 -13
Seton Hall 48 57 -9
Providence 55 55 0
Marquette 58 30 28
Georgetown 98 61 37
St. John's 128 87 41
DePaul 229 176 53

[Bill Marsh]

We are gonna get clobbered if they play like they are at X right now.

I think they played like that because they played X. When you look at Xavier's total body of work, they have beaten 2 expected top 50 wins... Wake (46) and Seton Hall (48).

I know RPI is a math formula but at an expected RPI of 30 this might be the rationale to kill RPI as a consideration.

Comparing RPI to KenPom is interesting:

Teams RPI KenPom Variance
Villanova 1 2 -1
Butler 10 20 -10
Creighton 24 25 -1
Xavier 35 48 -13
Seton Hall 48 57 -9
Providence 55 55 0
Marquette 58 30 28
Georgetown 98 61 37
St. John's 128 87 41
DePaul 229 176 53

I don't think that RPI or top 50 wins (they also beat Creighton) are their problem. They're not the only bubble team with a limited number of top 50 wins. Their problem is that they're 3-6 without Sumner. Even if we discount the 2 games without Bluiett, they're 3-4. If the post-Sumner team, the one that will be on the floor during the tournament, is the one they're evaluating, then they're in trouble.

Personally I think they should take them, based on their body of work. The kids earned it. Let the injury factor come into play when they do the seedings. But I don't have a vote, and I don't know what the committee is thinking.

[milksteak]

X is locked into 7th now, correct?

I think X is still in the field, but if they lose one of these two games against DePaul, they're sunk.