Providence, Big East Bracketology Update 12/22/16

ESPN and CBS Sports have released updated brackets this week and we’ll continue to track the minutae of each bracketology update so you don’t have to.

After debuting last week inside the field of 68 for both ESPN’s bracket by Joe Lunardi the Friars also entered CBSSports.com’s latest bracket by Jerry Palm on Monday. The information below is from Monday’s Palm bracket and Lunardi’s latest release out today. The Friars improved to 10-2 in the non-conference on Tuesday night with a 20-point win over Maine at home and will finish up their pre-Big East slate on Friday at Conte Forum against Boston College. Here’s this week’s bracketology update for Providence, the rest of the Big East and Providence’s non-conference opponents.

Providence

Lunardi kept Providence as a 10 seed in the East region and they are in the same position as last week in terms of being the first team listed in the “Last Four Byes” category. This week he has them playing South Carolina in Indianapolis. Palm’s bracket, last updated on Monday, has Providence as a 10 seed in the Midwest region and he has the Friars squaring off against 7th-seeded Maryland in Indianapolis.

The Rest of the Big East

  • Villanova – Lunardi and Palm both have the Wildcats as a 1-seed in the East Region.
  • Butler – Lunardi’s bracket last week had Butler as a 4-seed playing Princeton in Sacramento as part of the West region. This week Lunardi has the Bulldogs up a line as the 3-seed in the Midwest region taking on Fort Wayne in Salt Lake City. Palm has Butler playing 14th-seeded Akron in the South region in Buffalo as a 3-seed.
  • Creighton – Lunardi kept the Bluejays as a 4 seed this week after they were the 4 in the Midwest region last week. This week they are out West playing Akron. Palm moved the Bluejays up to the 3 line in the Midwest playing UNC-Asheville.
  • Xavier – Lunardi kept Xavier as a 4-seed this week. They are in the South region facing 13th-seeded Chattanooga. Palm’s Monday bracket lists the Musketeers as a 6-seed and he has them out West playing 11th-seeded VCU.
  • Seton Hall – Lunardi had the Pirates in the South region as an 11-seed playing a play-in game against fellow 11-seed Minnesota last week. That remains the same this week, except those two are part of the East region this week. Palm has Seton Hall as a 9-seed in the Midwest region and has them playing 8th-seeded USC in Tulsa.
  • Georgetown – Lunardi did not have Georgetown anywhere near the field last week and this week they continue to be missing from his update. Palm has the Hoyas in the East region as an 11-seed squaring off against 6th-seeded St. Mary’s in Orlando.
  • The Big East has 6 teams in Lunardi’s bracket after having 6 teams in the field last week. He also had Marquette as the first team in the “Next Four Out” category last week, but the Golden Eagles slipped off the page this week. Lunardi has 60% of the Big East in his field, which is tied for 2nd highest percentage with the ACC. The league with the highest percentage in Lunardi’s latest bracket is the Big Ten with 64.3%. Palm has 7 Big East teams in his field of 68. That 70% is the highest percentage of a league’s members among all conferences in Palm’s Monday bracket.

Providence’s Non-Con Opponents

  • Virginia – Lunardi has the Cavaliers as a 3-seed in the West region, which is where they were last week. Palm has Virginia as a 4-seed in the Midwest region playing 13th-seeded Tennessee State.
  • Ohio State – Lunardi had the Buckeyes as a 9-seed in the Midwest region last week and they’ve slipped to a 10-seed in the South region in his latest update. Palm has Ohio State out of his field of 68.
  • Rhode Island – Lunardi had URI as a 10-seed in the South region facing 7th-seeded USC last week. This week he has the Rams in the West region as an 11-seed facing Florida. Palm has Dan Hurley’s squad as a 10-seed in the East region playing 7th-seeded Northwestern in what would be Northwestern’s first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Click here to see Lunardi’s entire bracket.

Click here to see Palm’s entire bracket.

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