Big East Tournament Seed Watch 3/2/16

We’re coming down the final stretch with games on Wednesday night being the 17th for all teams involved. It’s funny that tonight’s matchups would be the matchups in the Big East Tournament if the season ended yesterday. The bottomline is that the regular season comes to a conclusion on March 5th with all ten teams in action and the likelihood is that many of the Big East members will still be jockeying for final seeding position for the Big East Tournament that begins on March 9th at Madison Square Garden.

The first game of the tournament will be at 7pm on Wednesday, March 9th with another game that night at 9:30pm. All games will be televised on Fox Sports 1, with the finals on March 12th being televised on FOX.

Here is where we stand through games on 2/28/2016:

Game

Time

Matchup

First round – Wednesday, March 9
1 7:00 PM #8 Georgetown vs. #9 DePaul
2 9:30 PM #7 Marquette vs. #10 St. John’s
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 10
3 12:00 PM #1 Villanova vs. Winner of Game 1
4 2:30 PM #4 Creighton vs. #5 Providence
5 7:00 PM #2 Xavier vs. Winner of Game 2
6 9:30 PM #3 Seton Hall vs. #6 Butler
Semifinals – Friday, March 11
7 6:30 PM Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
8 9:00 PM Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6
Championship – Saturday, March 12
9 5:30 PM Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8

Seed Movement Scenarios by Matchup

This is the final edition of “Seed Watch” before all 10 teams will play their final games on Saturday that will determine the final seed positions for each team. Some teams are locked into their spots, but there are a few in the middle that could finish anywhere from 3rd to 7th.

#4 Creighton: 18-11, 9-7 vs. #5 Providence: 20-9, 8-8

This game has massive implications on seeding for the Big East Tournament that will open a week from tonight. Let’s start with the head-to-head matchup and what a win would mean for each team in the immediate future.

A Creighton win means the Bluejays guarantee themselves no worse than the 6 seed. They would get their 10th league win and would remain in the 4 spot regardless of the outcome of the result of the Seton Hall/Butler game.

A Providence win means the Friars would get their 9th league win and tie Creighton. Providence would get the 4 spot because they would have the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Bluejays — and Butler if the Bulldogs beat Seton Hall and get their 9th win.

If Creighton wins this game and their final game they could finish as high as 3rd if Seton Hall drops their final two games — it would mean Creighton would be 2-0 against Xavier and win that tiebreaker with Seton Hall. If they win this game and drop their finale against Xavier, or lose both games, they could finish anywhere from 4th to 6th depending on other results and tiebreakers.

Marquette beating Georgetown on Tuesday night means that the Friars still have some fear of Marquette since the Golden Eagles hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Providence. If Providence wins this game and their final game, the highest they can hope for is 4th. If they win this game and lose at St. John’s on Saturday, or lose both games, they could finish anywhere from 5th to 7th.

This game will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 9pm ET.

#3 Seton Hall: 21-7, 11-5 vs. #6 Butler: 19-9, 8-8

A Seton Hall win locks the Blue Demons into the 3 spot with 12 league wins not being a number attainable by anyone else below them. The only team within reach of 11 is Creighton and the Bluejays would have to win out to get there. The Pirates also lock up the 3 spot with a Creighton loss.

A Butler win means the Bulldogs are alive for the 4 spot, pending the result of the Creighton/Providence game. Butler has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Georgetown, but they’ve split with Marquette and Creighton and Providence swept them. The Bulldogs will need help to get into the 4 slot.

This game tips at 8:30pm ET on FS1.

Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917

About Author

pcbb1917

FREE
VIEW