As usual, Madison Square Garden plays host to the Big East Tournament and once again the conference welcomes all 16 teams. It makes for a rather drawn out tournament, but who is really going to complain about more basketball in March? The top four seeds each earned a double bye (which isn’t necessarily a good thing if you ask Jim Boeheim) and we won’t see them play until Thursday while seeds 5-8 get one day off and tip-off Wednesday. That leaves the rest of the league to kick things off bright and early Tuesday at noon. Welcome to championship week…
Location: New York
Dates: Tuesday-Saturday
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU
The Seeds
1. Syracuse
2. Pittsburgh
3. West Virginia
4. Villanova
5. Marquette
6. Louisville
7. Notre Dame
8. Georgetown
9. USF
10. Seton Hall
11. Cincinnati
12. Connecticut
13. St. John’s
14. Rutgers
15. Providence
16. DePaul
The Favorites
Syracuse is the top seed after securing the conference’s outright regular season title for the first since 1991. The Orange are the No. 3 team in the nation and a legitimate national title contender with an explosive offense and that stifling 2-3 zone on defense. They’ll be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament barring something unforeseen. Pittsburgh earned the conference’s No. 2 seed but still isn’t garnering a whole lot of respect, especially after needing a buzzer beater to escape past Providence at home last week. West Virginia comes in having won five of its last six games and seems to have put some mid-February struggles in the rear-view mirror. The Mountaineers have size up front and they can knock down the outside shot, but inconsistent backcourt play has prevented WVU from being considered among the nation’s elite. Villanova has struggled a bit down the stretch of the season as the Wildcats finally started to play the conference’s best teams. The backloaded schedule finally caught up with them. But with Scottie Reynolds running the show, the Wildcats are capable of shooting their way to a championship and if that happens maybe a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament would follow.
The Boys On The Bubbles
No two teams are hotter than Notre Dame and Marquette entering New York and thanks to their recent runs both the Irish and Golden Eagles should find themselves in the NCAA Tournament. Louisville should feel secure as an NCAA Tournament team as well so the only teams that are really playing for their postseason lives this week are Connecticut and Seton Hall. Both believe they still have a shot at securing an at-large bid but it’s going to take a huge run through the tournament to get back into legitimate bubble conversation. UConn would probably have to beat St. John’s, Marquette and Villanova to really get back on the NCAA Tournament radar while Seton Hall would have to mow down Providence, Notre Dame and Pitt if they want to go dancing. It’s not looking good for either.
The Can’t Miss Matchups
If UConn can get past St. John’s Tuesday that would set up an interesting game with Marquette Wednesday afternoon. Everyone will expect a Syracuse-Villanova semifinal matchup Friday evening. And let’s see what Luke Harangody can give the Irish if they can make it to Thursday and meet Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals.
The Winner
West Virginia. While Louisville and Pittsburgh may have been the only teams to beat Syracuse this season (the Cardinals did it twice), the Mountaineers were a one-point loser to the Orange back in January. They have the size and the shooting prowess to handle the 2-3 zone and during the season’s final few weeks, Syracuse did not exactly look like the Syracuse that was rolling through the conference in January. West Virginia is the top dog in the weaker branch of the bracket and as long as the Mountaineers can maintain focus – something they have battled on numerous occasions this season – then WVU will pick up the school’s first even Big East Tournament title.
