The Big East Tournament has produced some of the most memorable games in recent college basketball history. With a new-look conference though, the 2014 Big East Tournament lacks the headliners of year’s past. Only Villanova and Creighton are NCAA Tournament locks so there are numerous teams desperate for a win in hopes of padding their resume and improving their chances of getting into the tourney. Here is a preview and my predictions for the 2014 Big East Tournament. All games will air on Fox Sports 1.
Click here for The Sports Bank’s Bracketology.
WEDNESDAY
#8 Seton Hall vs. #9 Butler, 6:00 CST
The Bulldogs just beat the Pirates by 17 on Saturday and Butler also won their earlier season match-up. Kellen Durham went ham, hitting all seven of his three-point attempts Saturday so the Hall must lock down the Bulldog sharpshooter in order to advance.
Prediction: Butler 68, Seton Hall 63
#7 Georgetown vs. #10 DePaul, 8:30 CST
This is pretty much a bye for the Hoyas who need to make a run in the tourney if they have any chance of making the Big Dance. Losing four of six down the stretch didn’t help their cause and simply beating the Blue Demons won’t be enough.
By the way, the DePaul AD has already said that Oliver Purnell will return for next season. Ya know, because a 9-63 Big East record during the past four years is showing signs of progress… Anyway can the Big East annex DePaul to the Horizon League already?
Prediction: Georgetown 73, DePaul 57
THURSDAY
#1 Villanova vs. #9 Butler, 11:00 AM CST
Despite having zero NBA Draft prospects, Nova has quietly played themselves into a #1 seed. Winning the Big East Tournament will pretty much lock them on that top line so the Wildcats have plenty to play for this week. This is nowhere near Jay Wright’s most talented team but they play with terrific chemistry and pride themselves on out-scrapping their opponents as well. It took me a while, but I have finally bought in to this team.
Prediction: Villanova 68, Butler 59
#4 Providence vs. #5 St. John’s, 1:30 CST
This is pretty much a NCAA Tournament elimination game. Both teams are grasping for life on the tourney bubble and need to make a run during the Big East Tournament to help their resume. Since the Friars only go six deep, I’d pressure them all 40 minutes if I was Steve Lavin. And the Red Storm do have the required depth and athleticism to cause problems in the full court. Bryce Cotton will need to have a huge afternoon for Providence to advance.
Prediction: St. John’s 81, Providence 78 OT
#2 Creighton vs. #7 Georgetown, 6:00 CST
A couple of weeks ago, I made the claim that the Bluejays are a legit Final Four contender. Any coach should study Creighton’s half-court offense because they spread the floor perfectly and act so unselfish as a unit. When Ethan Wragge gets going from deep, they are practically unbeatable. The Hoyas rely heavily on Markel Starks and D’Vauntes Rivera-Smith to carry the scoring load and that duo isn’t enough to out-score Creighton.
Prediction: Creighton 77, Georgetown 70
#3 Xavier vs. #6 Marquette, 8:30 CST
This is a huge game for the conference. If Xavier loses, the Big East may end up only getting two teams into the NCAA Tournament. Seriously, keep an eye out on the refereeing in this game because if I was the Big East commissioner, I’d do just about anything in my power to have the Musketeers victorious to ensure the league gets three teams dancing. Anyway, I’m being a homer and picking my Marquette team just because. And of course I have this game going into overtime since MU has seen six of their conference games go into OT this season.
Prediction: Marquette 79, Xavier 77 OT
FRIDAY
#1 Villanova vs. #5 St. John’s, 6:00 CST
This game will come down to execution and discipline and that favors the Wildcats. Nova has the guard play to handle the Red Storm pressure on the perimeter as well which makes this an uphill battle for St. John’s. A loss in the Semifinals likely bursts the Red Storm bubble.
Prediction: Villanova 84, St. John’s 67
#2 Creighton vs. #6 Marquette, 8:30 CST
The Blue Jays won the two regular season games versus the Golden Eagles by a combined 33 points, Marquette’s bigs struggle defensively getting out to guard Wragge and Doug McDermott on the perimeter and that should be the case once again. MU’s struggles from three-point range have been evident throughout the season and simply put, they just don’t have the offensive firepower to pull off the upset.
Prediction: Creighton 78, Marquette 65
SATURDAY
#1 Villanova vs. #2 Creighton, 7:30 CST
One of the craziest stats of the season is that Creighton beat Nova by 28 and 21 points in their two regular season showdowns. You know the old saying though, “it’s hard to beat the same team three times in the same year.” I think Nova gets their revenge and ends up with a number 1 seed. Creighton probably doesn’t drop lower than a three seed if they make the Big East Tournament Finals but could be in line for a two seed if they complete the season sweep over the Wildcats and end up cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden.
Prediction: Villanova 73, Creighton 72
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu to Milwaukee. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet , AND the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft. (Yup, nearly 3peat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.