Louisiana Tech(89) at Southern Illinois(55)
Louisiana Tech has come from nowhere to suddenly be close to the top in the WAC, behind only Nevada. Three losses in their last five games though have the Bulldogs wondering if they can compete. Two of those losses have come against the conference leader and in a small conference, it won't be long before they see them in the conference tournament. If Louisiana Tech can't pull off a win in a potential third meeting, they will most likely be going to the NIT. Southern Illinois still has a chance to cash in on their tournament dreams. As we have seen, the MVC has a great shot at multiple bids this year and Southern Illinois is near the top of the list for that honor. The Salukis though are currently struggling on the court and in the MRI. They have, like Louisiana Tech, lost three of their last five, including their last against Bradley, a team that has quickly been coming on in the Valley. Southern Illinois needs this win to keep them in the running and avoid being passed or replaced by another Valley team for that dance bid. The latest MRI projection had Southern Illinois as one of the last teams in the tournament and there is no room for more slips like that at this point in the season.
MRI Predicts: Southern Illinois Confidence factor: 79.13%
MRI Result: Loss

George Mason(15) at Wichita State(28)
Both of these teams should be going to the tournament no matter what happens to them in their conference tournaments, at least if I had my way. George Mason and Wichita State are currently leading their respective conferences and both those conferences have definitely shown that they can compete this year. The Colonial entry in this game has been flying through their conference schedule. They haven't lost since late January and their final two games in the conference should be wins for the Patriots. George Mason will most likely be matching up against UNC-Wilmington at the end of the Colonial tournament and both of those teams should be dancing. Another win against a projected tournament team can only make that more secure. All five starters for the Patriots score in double figures and four of those are shooting 45% or better. Senior forward Jai Lewis leads that crowd and will probably get at least one chance to alley-oop from Tony Skinn in this game. While George Mason has been dominating in the Colonial, Wichita State has been scrapping away in the MVC. The Shockers have four losses in the conference and all of those have come against the other teams that are projected as going to the tournament, the only one of the contenders that can say that. Wichita State is led by senior Paul Miller, both on the the scoreboard and the back boards. He will have a great fight inside against Lewis. This is the one game on Saturday that you can not afford to miss if you want your bracket to look correct in March. Expect the tournament committee to be watching for some seeding recommendations.
MRI Predicts: George Mason Confidence factor: 51.76%
MRI Result: Win

Samford(105) at Ohio(128)
Samford is currently three games behind Murray State for the Ohio Valley lead and barring an upset will not be dancing in March. Ohio was expected to repeat this year in the MAC and that will not happen either at this point. The leading scorer for Samford, Robert Merritt, is shooting close to 50% from three point range so look for him to be deadly from outside. Leon Williams and Mychal Green should tag team the scoring for the Ohio Bobcats.
MRI Predicts: Ohio Confidence factor: 51.43%
MRI Result: Win

Northwestern State(103) at Utah State(69)
As recently as last week, the MRI is still projecting the Southland leader, Northwestern State, as a #16 seed in the tournament. That is if the Demons can make it. This game could go a long way towards improving that seed should they pull the upset against Utah State. The Demons are led in scoring by Clifton Lee, averaging over 17 points per game. They also have four players who average more than a steal a game, including Tyronn Mitchell at 2.2, so Utah State will have to concentrate on holding onto the ball better than they have been known to do. Utah State is caught in their own battle with Nevada and Louisiana Tech in the WAC, since moving from the the Big West conference this season. During their time in the Big West, Utah State was consistently one of the teams that the MRI rated highly come tournament time. They were the perfect example of a team that was good enough to move up in conference and doing so has been tough but the Aggies have proven they are up to the challenge. There is still a shot for Utah State to make the tournament as an at-large, but they definitely need to win this game and a few in their conference tournament to do that. Look for a few rejections in this game as Nate Harris, the co-leader in scoring for the Aggies, averages 0.9 blocks and his inside partner Cass Matheus averages 1.6.
MRI Predicts: Utah State Confidence factor: 79.13%
MRI Result: Win

Fresno State(162) at Creighton(46)
Far be it for me to criticize the ESPN programming gurus, but placing this game at midnight Eastern time might not have been so kind to the home team. An 11 PM start in Nebraska coupled with playing a West Coast team could definitely give some advantage to the visiting squad. Well, it isn't like Creighton hasn't been the underdog before. The Bluejays should be assured of their place in the tournament at this point but two straight losses were not on the plan going into this game. I have a sneaky suspicion that the selection committee is looking for any reason to reduce the number of teams from the MVC going to the tournament. A loss here for their third straight will move Creighton from "In" to "On the Bubble" once again. Look for Anthony Tolliver to be tough inside for the Jays and give the smaller, faster Bulldog team a tough time. Fresno State won't be going anywhere in March thanks to sanctions they placed on themselves. They are instead playing for pride here, including knowing that they may have stopped one of the mid-major darlings from going to the dance.
MRI Predicts: Creighton Confidence factor: 92.72%
MRI Result: Win