Bracketology 2013: Villanova in good shape heading into Big East quarterfinals

The Big East tournament continues Thursday with the quarterfinal round. The Villanova Wildcats, one of the top bubble teams in the nation, are trending in the right direction so far, knocking off Georgetown in the regular-season finale and taking care of St. John's in the first round of the tourney.

Chris Dobbertean, SB Nation's bracketology expert, has Villanova firmly in the NCAA Tournament, placing them as a No. 9 seed in his latest bracket projection. The Wildcats face Louisville in the quarterfinal rounds, and Dobbertean believes they're in a good position even if they lose:

The Wildcats, winners over St. John's last night, can further solidify their position by defeating the Cardinals for the second time. Louisville, like Georgetown, needs to win to stay in the hunt for a No. 1 seed.

ESPN's Eamonn Brennan also has the Wildcats as a lock:

The Wildcats' Wednesday night win over St. John's, ugly as it was at times, removes any possibility of a bad loss (Villanova will meet Louisville Thursday), and with wins over Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette and Georgetown, Nova is officially a lock.

Finally, Daniel Evans of Rush The Court has Nova as a No. 10 seed.

The Wildcats and Cardinals will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Win or lose, it's looking like Villanova can breathe easy on Selection Sunday.

More in College Basketball:

• Bracketology: Selection Sunday week is here

• The life and death of Earl Badu

• Dagger! Watch Illinois win at the buzzer

• Full coverage of the Big East tournament