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Throughout the course of conference play in both the Atlantic 10 ad Big East many have been waiting for the moment when Xavier and Connecticut, two teams many thought to be Final Four possibilities at the start of the season, would turn things around. At this rate the Musketeers and Huskies seem destined for the NIT, as both teams' ships have taken on an incredible amount of water in recent weeks. And it's not for a lack of skill either, despite the struggles of these two teams. 

Instead of the Bubble shrinking over the last couple of weeks, it has actually grown. Former locks like West Virginia, UCONN, and Mississippi St have struggled, while hot teams like Drexel and VCU have joined the fray. Thus, despite being less than two weeks away from Selection Sunday, the NCAA Tournament Bubble is as uncertain as ever.

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#12 Georgetown had three players finish in double figures while also frustrating #19 Notre Dame on the other end of the floor in a 59-41 win at the Verizon Center.

One of the first things a team has to do when taking on Notre Dame is defend the three-point line, because even though the Irish shoot just 32.8% from beyond the arc they rely on the shot a great deal. According to statsheet.com Notre Dame scores 29.4% of its points on three-point shots, a number that ranks third in the Big East behind Cincinnati and Seton Hall. Georgetown knew what they had to limit on Monday night and they did so, getting out to the Notre Dame shooters and limiting them to 3-for-17 in the 59-41 win.

Creighton - 25-5, 14-4 MVC - #23 RPI, #30 Sagarin

Murray St - 25-1, 15-1 OVC - #29 RPI, #43 Sagarin

Notre Dame - 20-9, 12-4 Big East - #42 RPI, #37 Sagarin

San Diego St - 20-6, 8-4 MWC - #28 RPI, #49 Sagarin

Virginia - 21-7, 8-6 ACC - #38 RPI, #22 Sagarin)

A review of the week that was in college basketball focusing on the best (and worst) performances. Check in every Monday morning for CollegeHoops.net's weekly awards by Greg Mengelt.

 

The current era of college sports means that fans have become used to conference foes meeting for the first time in a season in late February, as is the case with #18 Notre Dame (20-9, 12-4) visiting #8 Georgetown (21-6, 11-5) on Monday night. Both teams lost games in the tri-state area over the last five days with the Hoyas getting blown out at Seton Hall and Notre Dame losing at St. John's on Saturday, but these are still teams that can make noise in New York next week.

We're getting down to the nitty gritty. Some leagues have already wrapped up their schedules, while others have a couple of games left. Here's a breakdown of this week's Top 10 games as it relates to NCAA Tournament Bracketology and the Bubble:  
 

It wasn't pretty but USF found a way to get the job done, beating Cincinnati 46-45 to move to 11-5 in the Big East and 18-11 overall. Freshman point guard Anthony Collins made a pair of free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to give the Bulls the win, and while it isn't a resume-building win the Bulls did the simplest thing a bubble team can do this time of the year: they won. Collins, who is going to be an outstanding point guard in the Big East as he gains experience, led USF with 14 points and five assists and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick added eight and ten rebounds.