The Xavier Musketeers will play for the Atlantic 10 championship against St. Bonaventure on Sunday but even if they don't earn the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the run to the championship appears to have earned Xavier an at-large bid, according to Joe Lunardi's latest bracket projections.
Lunardi has Xavier penciled in as a 12 seed in the Midwest Region playing Wichita State at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. With Xavier in the mix, Lunardi has four Ohio school in the Big Dance. Ohio State will play for the Big Ten championship on Sunday but appear locked in as a No. 2 seed. Lunardi has the Buckeyes in the Midwest Region as well, playing Loyola (Md.) in Pittsburgh.
Cincinnati lost the Big East championship game on Saturday night but the Bearcats will have an at-large bid. Lunardi places Cincy in the South Region as a dreaded No. 8 seed playing Iowa State in Greensboro, NC which would give them top seed North Carolina in the second round.
The Akron Zips are projected as a No. 14 seed but get a favorable first-round placement in the South Region playing in Columbus, OH against Michigan.
For more on the Cincinnati Bearcats, check out Down The Drive. More on the Ohio State Buckeyes can be found at Along The Olentangy and more on Bracketology can be found at Blogging The Bracket.