12:00 PM XAVIER at Georgetown (FOX) (kenpom - 75-73 Xavier - 58% chance of X win)
2:00 PM MARQUETTE at DePaul (Fox Sportsnet) (kenpom - 71-70 - 53% chance of Marq win)
2:30 PM Butler at Villanova (FOX) (kenpom - 78-66 Villanova - 88% chance of VU win)
Interesting that kenpom has this one so close. GTown did win at Xavier ... do they have the confidence to do it again? Or are the Hoyas beaten down from from losing 5 of their last 6 (with the only win at Home against St. John's. @X and home vs Creighton (in a game that the Jays handed to GTown on a silver platter) are the only good wins for the Hoyas in conference. They sit at 7-7 in the league (14-13 overall) and desperately need a string of Ws if they are going to even feign being back on the bubble. If Xavier is serious about trying to unseat 'Nova from the top perch in the BE - they need to show the onions to revenge their only home loss of the year. They are projected to finish 3 games behind Nova in the standings but are only 1.5 back right now and could alter that projection a little with a win.
The Marq - DePaul game is all but meaningless really.
Butler has fought back to 7-7 in the league and Bulldog fans are probably thinking a split of @Villanova and @ Georgetown could be all they need before returning home to close with SHU and Marq with a shot at finishing above .500. 'Nova wants to have a Senior Day celebration that is unmarred by an L. The Xavier - Villanova showdown on Wednesday would certainly be better for the league if both VU and X win on Saturday and enter the game with the highest rankings possible. Butler has the offensive firepower to upset the Cats if they lose focus on this game. 'Nova held Butler to 55 points at Butler earlier this season but Kelan Martin has really emerged since that game. He shot 1-8 from the floor with 2 points in the first game against the Cats. 'Nova did a good job of limiting the # of touches for Dunham in the first outing as well. That will be harder to do this time as both Martin and even Austin Etherington have proven they can be that third and fourth scorer. Andrew Chrabascz has struggled offensively in away games and against X/Nova.
2:00 PM MARQUETTE at DePaul (Fox Sportsnet) (kenpom - 71-70 - 53% chance of Marq win)
2:30 PM Butler at Villanova (FOX) (kenpom - 78-66 Villanova - 88% chance of VU win)
Interesting that kenpom has this one so close. GTown did win at Xavier ... do they have the confidence to do it again? Or are the Hoyas beaten down from from losing 5 of their last 6 (with the only win at Home against St. John's. @X and home vs Creighton (in a game that the Jays handed to GTown on a silver platter) are the only good wins for the Hoyas in conference. They sit at 7-7 in the league (14-13 overall) and desperately need a string of Ws if they are going to even feign being back on the bubble. If Xavier is serious about trying to unseat 'Nova from the top perch in the BE - they need to show the onions to revenge their only home loss of the year. They are projected to finish 3 games behind Nova in the standings but are only 1.5 back right now and could alter that projection a little with a win.
The Marq - DePaul game is all but meaningless really.
Butler has fought back to 7-7 in the league and Bulldog fans are probably thinking a split of @Villanova and @ Georgetown could be all they need before returning home to close with SHU and Marq with a shot at finishing above .500. 'Nova wants to have a Senior Day celebration that is unmarred by an L. The Xavier - Villanova showdown on Wednesday would certainly be better for the league if both VU and X win on Saturday and enter the game with the highest rankings possible. Butler has the offensive firepower to upset the Cats if they lose focus on this game. 'Nova held Butler to 55 points at Butler earlier this season but Kelan Martin has really emerged since that game. He shot 1-8 from the floor with 2 points in the first game against the Cats. 'Nova did a good job of limiting the # of touches for Dunham in the first outing as well. That will be harder to do this time as both Martin and even Austin Etherington have proven they can be that third and fourth scorer. Andrew Chrabascz has struggled offensively in away games and against X/Nova.
