Xavier Hopes Ncaa Bubble Doesn't Burst After Tough Loss To No. 25 Marquette At Big East Tourney

If the Xavier Musketeers get left out of the NCAA Tournament, they'll look back at Thursday as a missed opportunity.

With a chance to earn a quality win over No. 25 Marquette in the Big East quarterfinals, Xavier coughed up a 14-point lead in the second half and wasted a sensational performance from Ryan Conwell.

The fourth-seeded Musketeers 21-11 fell just short in an 89-87 loss to the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden, leaving Xavier's fate uncertain heading into Selection Sunday.

Several projections have coach Sean Miller's team sitting squarely on the NCAA bubble.

"We desperately want to be a part of the tournament," Miller said. "We've won 12 of our last 16, seven in a row coming into today's game. Obviously we played against an excellent team on a neutral court. I think if anybody watches today's game, I think you had two teams that are NCAA Tournament-caliber playing out there."