The Big East

Yeah. What to make of the Big East? Pre-season favorites Georgetown and Marquette were middling all season, never able to get any traction. The Hoyas could beat Michigan State but lose to Northeastern and get swept by Seton Hall. Xavier, St. John's & Providence all looked the part at times and then went splat, often badly. The only consistency came out of the bottom where Butler, Seton Hall & DePaul all struggled like expected.

The two teams that ascended were Creighton & Villanova. Creighton at times is as dynamic as any team in recent memory but their offensive output stagnated their second time through the conference except against Marquette and oddly, Villanova. Outside of their games against Creighton, Villanova looked the part of a 1-seed. Right now, Villanova profiles as an Elite 8 type team that with a break could return to the Final Four.

Final Standings:

1. Villanova, 16-2 (28-3), 6th KenPom

2. Creighton, 14-4 (24-6), 9th KenPom

3. Providence, 10-8 (20-11), 53rd KenPom

    Xavier, 10-8 (20-11), 44th KenPom

    St. John's, 10-8 (20-11), 37th KenPom

6. Marquette, 9-9 (17-14), 57th KenPom

7. Georgetown, 8-10 (17-13), 50th KenPom

The KenPom numbers reflect the reality of the conference. Two alpha dogs and 5 teams that have hovered at or near the bubble all year.

St. John's and Providence play on Thursday that has the feel of a de facto play-in game to the tournament. Providence has done a remarkable job getting to this point given the loss of Kris Dunn and never having the services of Brandon Austin. If anyone deserves a bid, it's the Friars Bryce Cotton but I see a St. John's win. Xavier will be without big man Matt Stainbrook against Marquette at the least but I think they're safe but wouldn't recommend losing this one.

It seems unlikely to me someone other than Creighton or Villanova wins this. St. John's seems like a good choice outside of those two as they've come on late even if they are still plagued by dumb basketball at moments. I'll take Villanova to lock up a 1-seed, though if they face Creighton, it'll seem like a BlueJays home game as their fans are descending upon New York in large numbers.

The chances of someone stealing a bid with a run through the conference tourney seems doubtful