W2W4: Survival Day+1

The drama continues for the squads on that unforgiving Bubble. All of these games involve teams clinging to tournament hopes. Wins are crucial. Losses are devastating. The Madness continues.

Big East Tournament
Villanova (20-11, 9-9 Big East) vs. No. 9 Georgetown (25-4, 15-3 Big East)
11 a.m. CT

Villanova pounded Syracuse 82-63 yesterday to keep its tournament hopes alive. If the Wildcats find a way to beat Georgetown, they've got a strong case to make the tournament. Villanova came achingly close to beating the Hoyas earlier this season, but a suspect foul call with 0.1 seconds left gave Georgetown two free throws and the win, so the Wildcats are quite capable of taking Georgetown down.

Atlantic 10 Tournament
Dayton (21-9, 8-8 A-10) vs. No. 10 Xavier (26-5, 14-2 A-10)
11 a.m. CT
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Pretty much the same story as Villanova for the Dayton Flyers. After barely beating Saint Louis yesterday, they can most likely punch their ticket to the Big Dance by beating the bad boys of the conference, the Musketeers. However, Xavier smothered Dayton in their last meeting back on Jan. 24, 69-43.

Pacific 10 Tournament
Arizona State (19-11, 9-9 Pac-10) vs. Southern California (20-10, 11-7 Pac-10)
2 p.m. CT

The Sun Devils have made a remarkable turnaround from last season to put themselves in contention to make the NCAAs. USC has sharp-shooting freshman O.J. Mayo, but ASU has one of their own in James Harden, and the teams split their season series. ASU has a lousy RPI but nine wins in the Pac-10 aren't bad.

Oregon (18-12, 9-9 Pac-10) vs. No. 21 Washington State (23-7, 11-7 Pac-10)
8 p.m. CT

Washington State has beaten the Ducks twice this season, but that was in the regular season. The Ducks won the Pac-10 tourney last season and have won three games in a row coming into today, the kind of momentum you need heading into the postseason. A suspect RPI (52) makes this game a must-win for Oregon.

Arizona (19-13, 8-10 Pac-10) vs. No. 11 Stanford (24-6, 13-5 Pac-10)
10:30 p.m. CT

The Wildcats took care of business against Oregon State to set up another showdown with the Cardinal, who've beaten Arizona twice in close games this season. Given Stanford's recent sluggish play, don't be surprised to see Arizona pull the upset and solidify its tournament hopes.

Check out Eric Silver's previews and predictions for the SEC tournament below. Happy watching.

W2W4: Survival Day

Here are three big games for Bubble teams today that will determine who will still have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament and who will be crying home to their respective mothers.

1) Syracuse (19-12, 9-9 Big East) vs. Villanova (19-11, 9-9 Big East)
TV: ESPN (11 a.m. CT)

Neither team can lose this game and still expect to get in the Dance. Syracuse (RPI of 45) and Villanova (RPI of 56) are two desperate squads that are going to be fun to watch playing each other with their tournament lives at stake. A win here wouldn't be enough on its own to get either team in the Big Dance though. But it would keep them breathing.

2) Dayton (20-9, 8-8 A-10) vs. Saint Louis (16-14, 7-9 A-10)
(11 a.m. CT)

Dayton got off to an amazing start but stumbled in conference play before winning its last three and giving itself a shot to still get in the tournament. Rivals.com has Dayton as "looking bad" in that regard, but the Flyers' RPI is 33 and they have several solid wins, including a road win over Louisville and a trouncing of Pittsburgh. If they beat Saint Louis, something they've done twice this season, the Flyers get a shot at No. 10 Xavier to really help their chances. If they lose to the Billikens, which is a really weird nickname, then yikes.

3) Arizona (18-13, 8-10 Pac-10) vs. Oregon State (6-24, 0-18 Pac-10)
10:30 p.m. CT

I know, I know, how could this be even considered as a good game? Oregon State is the freak-child of the Pac-10, this year's best conference. How could Arizona lose to this bunch of misfits? The scary thing for Arizona is that there is almost nothing to gain from beating a team with an RPI of 264 except going to the next round. The Beavers have nothing to lose, so I'm intrigued by the possibilities. If all goes to plan for the Wildcats, they play No. 11 Stanford next. A win over the Cardinal and Arizona's tournament streak, currently at 23 years, lives.