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Northwestern NCAA Tournament Bubble Rooting Interests: 2/20/2012

Delta Devils, son.
Delta Devils, son.

With Northwestern sitting squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble, it's time for a new daily feature, in which I take a look at every game relevant to Northwestern's NCAA chances and tell you whom you should be rooting for.

Texas Southern Tigers at Miss Valley St Delta Devils, 6 PM central, ESPNU

This game isn't actually relevant to NU's bubble chances but I included it because it is a nationally televised match-up of two teams NU beat earlier in the season. Normally games against SWAC teams are RPI killers, but these two are a combined 23-4 in the SWAC and thus aren't really hurting NU's profile. In fact, the Delta Devils have been running roughshod over the SWAC; they're currently 14-0 and looking pretty good to run the table. Jerry Rice must be proud.

Connecticut Huskies at Villanova Wildcats, 6 PM central, ESPN

Team to root for: Villanova

UConn is looking pretty good as of now, even with a 6-8 conference record. They have strong RPI numbers and several good wins (Florida State, Harvard, at Notre Dame), but a loss to 11-15 Villanova would put a dent in their at-large chances. They've also had some locker room issues, as guard Shabazz Napier publicly questioned the heart of some of his teammates after a recent loss to Marquette. Another loss tonight could send them spiraling into the NIT.

Baylor Bears at Texas Longhorns, 8 PM central, ESPN

Team to root for: Baylor

Texas is probably on the wrong side of the bubble right now after suffering a bad loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday, but a win over Baylor would vault them right back into the mix.