The Washington Huskies NCAA Tournament lives are hanging by a thread. By many accounts, their loss in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament to Oregon State has sealed their fate as a Dance snub and if the selections were made right now, it might not go Washington's way. That said, there are still some moving parts out there and Percy Allen of the Seattle Times' Husky Hoops blog compiled a list of teams to root for today and tomorrow in the hopes the Dawgs can somehow sneak in.
--- Saint Louis and Xavier: They meet today in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10. It doesn't really matter who wins, although a Billikens' victory may provide a residual boost for UW. Whoever emerges must knock off No. 4 seed St. Bonaventure on Sunday in the title game. The Bonnies are 88 in the RPI and would steal a berth from a bubble team such as UW.
UPDATE - Xavier got the win this afternoon, and will move on to play St Bonaventure on Sunday. You must now root for the Musketeers to beat St Bonaventure tomorrow.
--- Long Beach State: The 49ers play UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. Saturday for the Big West Tournament title. Initially I thought a Gauchos win would be advantageous for Huskies because they could claim a victory against a NCAA tournament-bound team. However, LBS is 37 in the RPI and if it loses, it will likely steal an at-large berth.
Watch for that tonight.
--- Vanderbilt: The Commodores play Ole Miss at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals. According to Lunardi, the Rebels are the sixth team outside the NCAA tournament and need a pair of wins to steal a spot into the dance.
UPDATE - Vanderbilt got the win, 65-53. Nice.
--- Arizona: I've reversed my thinking on this after a little more study. If the Wildcats beat Colorado in today's Pac-12 Tournament title game, which begins at 3 p.m., then it helps Washington's strength of schedule and gives the Huskies two wins against a team going to the NCAA tournament.
UPDATE - In progress now - Arizona leads Colorado 22-21 with five minutes in the half.
Make sure you continue to follow this StoryStream for more on Washington's bid to make it into the NCAA Tournament.