A 14 seed is looking increasingly likely for Penn, as its hopes now rest on a darkhorse pulling multiple upsets to win a conference tournament in Conference USA or the MAC. In the meantime, the Quakers can root for an RPI boost from former opponents winning in their tourneys. However, a big blow occurred yesterday when UTEP blew a lead and lost to Rice, which meant a black mark on Penn’s resume with a loss to a team outside the RPI Top 200.

Thursday’s games of interest – all times ET
Eastern Michigan 54, Toledo (E) 62
Villanova (A) 57, Georgetown 62
Lamar at Sam Houston State (E) – 1:00 pm
Syracuse (A) vs. Notre Dame – 2:00 pm
Fordham (A) vs. Rhode Island – 2:30 pm
Southern Miss vs. Houston (E) – 3:30 pm
SE Louisiana vs. TAMU-CC (E) – 7:00 pm
Central Michigan vs. Akron (E) – 7:00 pm
Marshall at Memphis (E) – 7:00 pm
Saint Joseph’s (A) vs. George Washington – 9:00 pm
Western Michigan vs. Kent State (E) – 9:00 pm

Wednesday’s results of interest
DePaul 67, Villanova (A) 75
Richmond 61, Fordham (A) 63
UTEP (A) 74, Rice 77
Connecticut 65, Syracuse (A) 78
Temple (A) 62, Saint Joseph’s (A) 66

A = ally
E = enemy