Madison Square Garden, one of the most coveted and iconic arenas in all of basketball. This arena plays host to the Big East Tournament, my personal favorite. The passion and crowd is unmatched, and the games are always thrilling. There is some major bad blood (Providence/SJU’s fight that led to multiple suspensions earlier this year) that always delivers in a big way. Let’s dive in to what should be a great tournament!
The competing teams will be sorted into 4 different categories. These are contenders, teams looking to make a run, sleeper picks, and everyone else.
Contenders
St. John’s Red Storm: The #1 seed in the Big East has won 16 of their last 17 games and are looking real dangerous. They have all Big East 1st Teamer and unanimous Big East Defensive Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, who is dominant down low. Combo Ejiofor with 2nd Teamer Bryce Hopkins, and 3rd Teamer Dillon Mitchell and the Red Storm are looking nearly unstoppable. The Red Storm went 18-2 in conference play and have hit their stride at the perfect time.
UConn Huskies: Dan Hurley’s squad is just as dangerous as the Johnnies. They have THREE Big East 1st Teamers in Tarris Reed Jr, Alex Karaban, and Silas Demary Jr. They also have Solo Ball on the 2nd Team. With that much top talent, they can easily take over a game and dominate. The Huskies are a projected 2 seed in March Madness and have so many marquee wins. They did have a setback on Saturday against Marquette, but this only angered them and I believe they will be determined to take this thing.
Villanova Wildcats: I wasn’t sure whether to throw Nova here or in the next category down, but I think this is the right spot for them. The Cats have three Big East All Team members in Acaden Lewis, Duke Brennan, and Tyler Perkins. The Wildcats have beaten every team in the Big East outside of the top two, showing that they can win this if they are on their A-Game.
Teams Looking to Make a Run
Seton Hall Pirates: The Pirates have sat on the wrong side of the bubble for weeks now, and I’d say their at-large hopes are basically gone. However, this team, coached by defensive mastermind Shaheen Holloway, can cause some chaos, Holloway has made a huge March run before, back when he coached at St. Peter’s. I like the path for the Pirates, they match up a Creighton team who still hasn’t found their identity, then they get SJU/Winner of Providence/Butler. They played St. John’s tough last week and I think they could snatch a win.
Creighton Bluejays: As I mentioned above, Creighton is one of the most inconsistent teams I have seen in a while. They have wins @ UConn and Villanova, but they have losses to Marquette (by 24) and Georgetown (last place). I put them in here for their upset potential, they are on St. John’s side of the bracket and if they get a look at them, I’d watch out if I were SJU.
Sleeper Teams
DePaul Blue Demons: The Blue Demons have had an impressive turnaround year under the coaching of Chris Holtmann. They have season sweeps of Seton Hall and Creighton, who are both seeded above them, so they have some upset potential. However, I put them in here due to some of their losses and inconsistency, they have also lost two in a row heading into this tournament. However, they did get a nice draw as the 6 seed, as they get last place team Georgetown in the 1st round.
Marquette Golden Eagles: The Golden Eagles have won three games in a row. One of those games includes an insane upset win over UConn on Saturday to end the season. Marquette also has a favorable draw, as they get a struggling Xavier team in the first round, and the winner plays UConn, who they just beat. They also have some excellent guard play from All Big East Defensive Team member Chase Ross, and All Freshman Team member Nigel James Jr.
Providence Friars: I threw the Friars in here for two simple reasons, the draw they received and Big East PPG leader, Jaylin Sellers. As for the draw, they play Butler in the first round who they went to 2OT with twice, and the series was split. If they can win this game, they get St. John’s, who they beat at MSG earlier this year. They were the only team to beat SJU outside of UConn. There is also some bad blood as a massive fight broke out last time and multiple suspensions were distributed. I can see Providence catching St. John’s off guard and picking up a big win.
Everyone Else
Butler Bulldogs: While the Bulldogs aren’t a terrible team, the draw is terrible for them. They play Providence in the first round, which is a toss up. However, when they played St. John’s, they lost by 14 and 22 points. Therefore, they are winning one game max.
Xavier Musketeers: The Muskies can hang with anyone in the league, except UConn, and the winner of their matchup with Marquette gets UConn. Even though they have Big East 1st Teamer Tre Carroll, I don’t see them getting past the 2nd Round.
Georgetown Hoyas: The Hoyas are last in the Big East, and honestly are just not a good basketball team. They have also lost 7 of their last 8 headed into the tourney.
My Picks
As I said, I see Providence pulling off the upset on St. John’s, as long as they can beat Butler. I have UConn dominating their side of the bracket, only to run into a desperate Seton Hall team, fighting for their lives and trying to make the NCAA Tournament.
Whether or not you like my picks, I highly suggest you watch this tournament as the games are always thrilling and the crowd in MSG is insane.
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