But it won't be easy. Surging Xavier has been the best team in the Big East since Feb. 1, per Bart Torvik. Sean Miller's crew is squarely on the bubble entering the Big East Tournament, but a quarterfinals win over fourth-seeded Marquette would go a long way in solidifying Xavier's at-large bid.

We are officially done with regular-season college basketball and have reached the postseason. Each conference tournament is underway or auto-bids have already been given out. Even just typing out “auto-bids” is giving me goosebumps.

The Big Ten Tournament began Wednesday from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in style as every lower-seeded team downed its higher-seeded opponent to advance into the second round of the bracket. Northwestern defeated Minnesota to start the day and things escalated from there.