Bubble Watching with the Orange

I'm a pretty optimistic Orangemen. And I'm also pretty realistic. I think that the Orange's resume in comparison to many of the other teams is very comparable. Two things work against the Orange. One is that there are a lot of other worthy (maybe more worthy) teams out of the Big East. And I could easily see the committee choosing the fifth team out of a given conference instead of the eighth out of the Big East. The other problem for SU is that they have losses to three other bubble teams.

Still I believe they have a chance. In addition, I think they will finish well. And if they win 2 of 3 games and a game in the Big East Tournament, they are going to be hard to ignore. But we all know that song and dance.

Anyhow here are games tha affected the Orange's chances last night.

Marquette beat Villanova - It's good that the 'Cats lost. 'Nova had appeared done a few weeks ago, but had all of a sudden gotten hot. So its good that that little roll was ended. Villanova is still a threat to challenge but much less of one now.

South Alabama beat Presbyterian - The win really does nothing for the Jags. But a loss would have killed their at-large hopes. I think USA gets in if they don't win the Sun Belt Tournament. But a loss last night would have been a downer.

I see five games tonight that have big Bubble implications

Virginia Tech versus Boston College - The Hokies have played their way back onto the fringe of the bubble. A win here would further their case.

Ohio State versus Indiana - Buckeyes have gone from just about in to the bubble. This is of course a losable game. OSU needs to avoid that.

Southern Illinois versus Bradley - Salukis have been gaining strength down the stretch and it would make sense for the Valley to have two potential teams. SIU needs this one though.

UNLV versus San Diego State - Mountain is looking more and more like it might get three teams. The main two BYU and UNLV can't falter or that will be revisited.

New Mexico versus BYU - Cougars aren't lock status yet, but they are close. A win tonight might just be enough. New Mexico has worked its way into a lot of brackets, and would probably get into everyone else's with a win tonight. A loss isn't a killer but it doesn't help.