Where do Xavier Musketeers stand in latest NCAA Tournament bracketology?

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NEW YORK CITY − A season littered with “what-if?” moments continued for Xavier in Manhattan Wednesday night.

The Musketeers let a 16-point second-half lead slip away against No. 20 St. John’s at Madison Square Garden before eventually falling 79-71 in overtime.

It was a loss that followed a similar script. Xavier has proven it can go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the nation. Sealing the deal in crunch time is a different story.

“They (Xavier) were the better team,” St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino said postgame.

As Xavier knows best, sometimes the better team doesn’t win. For Xavier, it was another gut-wrenching defeat while at the doorstep of a signature win.

“By the way, against Marquette, that we just won, we did the same thing. We just hung on,” Xavier head coach Sean Miller said of his team’s previous upset of the Golden Eagles. “For whatever reason, we can’t get better in that area.”

Xavier sophomore Dailyn Swain (3) suffered a sprained ankle in Wednesday’s loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.

A victory over St. John’s would’ve had Xavier walking hand-in-hand with the NCAA Tournament bubble. Instead, there’s ground to make up.

It’s the nature of the business. With 52 days until Selection Sunday, the March Madness conversations are starting to heat up. Where does Xavier stand at 12-8 overall (4-5 Big East)?

What are Xavier’s chances of making NCAA Tournament?

Xavier ranks No. 53 in the NCAA NET Rankings, which is one of the key resources the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses to determine which teams make the dance.

Of course, the 68 best teams in the NET don’t make up the NCAA Tournament bracket. Xavier is now 1-6 in the all-important Quadrant 1 category and 4-2 in Quadrant 2 contests.

According to TeamRankings.com, Xavier has a 31.2% chance of making the NCAA Tournament.

Based on projections, Xavier appears to be on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble with 11 regular-season contests remaining.

Xavier could receive an automatic bid to the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-xavier-musketeers-stand-latest-170027669.html

Author : The Enquirer

Publish date : 2025-01-23 17:00:00

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