Saturday Bubble Watch For Boston College's NCAA Tournament Hopes

Not a very good night for bubble teams. Virginia Tech held on to beat Florida State, which means its ticket is pretty much punched to the Dance. Clemson is in too, after trouncing us. Michigan State is in after pounding a ranked Purdue team.

I'm pretty sure the Eagles are NIT bound, but maybe we can catch a few breaks today. Here is your bubble watch rooting guide for Saturday's college basketball action.

Memphis vs. UTEP (C-USA Men's Championship Final, 11:30 AM, CBS): Memphis, along with BC, are currently projected as one of the First Four teams out of the tournament. Need UTEP to win here to knock Memphis down and keep Conference USA a one-bid league. The good news? This year's C-USA Tournament is being played on the Miners' home court. Rooting interest: UTEP.

Stony Brook at Boston University (America East Men's Championship, 12:02 PM, ESPN2): Rooting interest that requires no explanation: Stony Brook.

Michigan vs. Ohio State (Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, 1:40 PM, CBS): Michigan is probably in, so the only hope we have here is that the Wolverines suffer as embarrassing a loss to the Buckeyes as we did to Clemson yesterday. Rooting interest: Ohio State.

Kentucky vs. Alabama (SEC Tournament Semifinals, ABC): This is probably the biggest game of the day for the Eagles. BC needs a Kentucky rout to push Bama back off the bubble. The Tide are listed as one of Lunardi's First Four Out, one ahead of BC. Rooting interest: Kentucky.

Virginia Tech vs. Duke (ACC Tournament Semifinals, 3:00 PM, ESPN): Is it time to flip the script on the Hokies? What if Virginia Tech wins the ACC? Does that make BC's regular season sweep look that more impressive? Maybe, but there's still an outside shot that the Blue Devils embarrass the Hokies and prove that VT's win in Blacksburg was a fluke. Virginia Tech isn't supposed to win this one, but a bad loss here could reshuffle the ACC bubble team pecking order -- which currently is Clemson, then Virginia Tech, then BC. Rooting interest: Duke.

Richmond vs. Temple (Atlantic 10 Men's Championship Semifinals, 3:30 PM, CBS College Sports): Lunardi has Richmond listed as one of the four teams in the Field of 64. A loss here could push the Spiders back onto the bubble. Temple, on the other hand, is safely in the Dance. Rooting interest: Temple.

Harvard vs. Princeton (Ivy League Championship Play-in Game, 4:00 PM, ESPN3.com): It sure would be nice to say we lost to another NCAA Tournament team this year ... Rooting interest: Harvard.

Michigan State vs. Penn State (Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, 4:05 PM, CBS): Penn State has vaulted up into the Last Four In conversation after the Nittany Lions' ugly 36-33 win over Wisconsin. Hopefully the Spartans can drill Penn State today, pushing PSU back onto the bubble. Penn State finished the regular season 16-13 (9-9 Big Ten). This isn't a tournament team, in my opinion, and a bad loss here in the Semis could put some doubt in the Selection Committee's mind. Penn State is probably in, but it doesn't hurt to try. Rooting interest: Michigan State.

Boise State vs. Utah State (WAC Men's Tournament Semifinals, 10:00 PM, ESPN2): This is basketball, not football. We can't have Boise State pulling off the upset and potentially stealing a bid in the WAC Tournament. Rooting interest: Utah State.