The NCAA Conference Tournaments will be in “Go” mode exactly one month from now, with the Selection Show to follow a few short days later. The teams most likely to make the field are starting to show up in early bracketology forms (Do we really need a Bracketologist like ESPN’s Joe Lunardi to figure this material out?) across the information super highway. Today we will scrutinize the ten teams in ambiguous position that will either play there way in or out of consideration, or those teams that will be sitting nervously at 6:00 pm EST on Sunday March 12, hoping they did enough right to merit one of the 65 berths.

Xavier returned all eight top scorers from last year’s team and figured to compete for the A-10 title this season. Instead, the Musketeers have been dragged down by inconsistency. Xavier has lost four of their last five games to fall into a 9th place tie in the conference at 4-4. Particularly damaging have been losses to St. Louis, who is not showing up on anyone’s dance card. The Musketeers are saddled with a below .500 record against the spread. Xavier’s chances appeared to be lock for the tournament, are now hanging by a thread with their RPI down to 66.

Coach Gary Williams may have become Maryland’s all-time winningest coach, unfortunately that will not secure a spot in the big dance. In the last couple of weeks, losses to Temple and at home to North Carolina have done significant damage to the Terps. Of course the ACC schedule never lightens up, with Maryland still having to play at Clemson, FSU, North Carolina and Virginia before the regular season concludes. Maryland is a game below .500 vs. the spread in ACC play. A major feather in the Terps cap would be a home win against Duke, which is coming up this week.

Two of the new Big East teams have reached this point of the season with unfinished business yet to attend to. Marquette would seem to be in a relatively strong position, with an RPI of 31 and a win over UConn. All season long there has been a great of conjecture in wondering if the committee would take half the teams in this bloated, yet influential conference. The Golden Eagles (weak) are positioned in seventh place and have an always tough trip through Rutgers, followed by visits from Top 25 teams Georgetown and Pittsburgh. If they win two of three, Tom Crean’s team is probably in, if not, precarious trips to snake-bit Notre Dame and Louisville follow. Marquette backers are pleased no matter what, with the team’s 13-5 ATS record. Speaking of the Cardinals, their position is currently more perilous in not making the Big East Tournament then to worrying about the NCAA deal in mid-March. Louisville is in 13th place, one step away from not making it to New York, with bettors’ one step away from the poor house, with the Cards 5-14 ATS mark. With an RPI ranking of 64 and a 2-5 road record, Rick Pitino’s team is going to need five wins in last six games, which include trips to West Virginia and a regular season ending contest in Storrs to face the Huskies.

Wisconsin was rolling along smoothly, when injuries and other ailments hit Bo Ryan’s team. The Badgers are running for cover after losing five of six games. Somehow Wisconsin’s RPI is still 25 in spite of a home loss to North Dakota State. The committee always takes a close look at a team’s road record, which could spell trouble for the Badgers who are now 1-5 SU and ATS in road red uniforms. The schedule is manageable over the next five games to turn the season around, before finishing the year at Michigan State and at Iowa.

Conference USA no longer has the same panache with all the departures of most of the quality teams they once had. This makes it difficult to believe the committee will make it past three teams for the tournament this year. Sitting in fourth place in the league is Houston. At 5-3 in C-USA action and a matching record vs. the spread, Tom Penders team needs to make a run to impress the gentlemen making the selections. With seven games left on their regular season schedule and four of those on the road, Houston must win all of its home games and win a road game or two to improve its chances of reaching of 20 wins before the NCAA Tournament selection committee picks its bracket.

Miami-O is among the number of above average teams in the MAC that regularly cause teams stress in the NCAA Tournament. The Redhawks have been streaky in conference play with six wins, followed by three losses and now with three wins in a row. Miami-O is 9-3 in the MAC East and just a game out of the lead. The problem is the eight losses they already have against a solid non-conference schedule at included Michigan and Alabama. With an RPI of 86, playing in the conference the rest of the way is unlikely to improve their position significantly. Winning out and at least a spot in the MAC Finals might go a long way towards the Redhawks chances.

The Missouri Valley Conference is having a banner year; with a great deal of discussion being bantered about the league could have five schools in the tournament. The Bradley Braves are currently in 6th place and continue to be plagued by inconsistencies from game to game. The troubles are especially bad on the road where they are 3-7 and 4-6 ATS. The Braves should be favored in all but the Northern Iowa game, as they look to improve their record and RPI mark that stands at 51.

The Arizona Wildcats do have an RPI rating of 18 in the latest rankings; nonetheless it is near impossible to mask the nine losses they have already accumulated. Lute Olson’s team is tied with USC for 4th place in the Pac-10, a full three games behind UCLA. Arizona is 1-5 vs. nationally ranked teams, and winless in five tries against teams in the top 50 of the computer ratings. Arizona’s 7-15 ATS record speaks volumes about how poorly they have played. Opponents are making a un-Lute like 44.8% from the field. The Wildcats do close with five of seven games in Tucson, with an arduous trip to northern California to face Stanford and Cal.

In the SEC, the team most likely sitting perched on the bubble is Vanderbilt. In a classic example of “What have you done for me lately?” Beating a then still searching for identity Georgetown team right after Thanksgiving helps the resume. The Commodores have been singing the blues in league play with a 3-5 record in the SEC. Ample opportunity still exists for Vandy to impress when Kentucky, Florida and LSU visit Nashville. Vanderbilt still has four road games to improve on 3-4 road record.