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

The regular season concluded on Saturday with all ten Big East teams in action and the results shuffled the deck a bit heading into the Big East Tournament that tips off on Wednesday night. There are a lot of bubbles bouncing around in the air right now and both national media members and bracket aggregating sites like BracketMatrix.com are pumping out lots of predictions and content as conference tournament season rapidly approaches for all the power conferences. Let’s take a look at where Providence, their non-conference opponents and the rest of the Big East stands in the latest bracketology.

Note: As of this posting, Bracket Matrix was last updated on 3/6/17 at 8:57am, CBSSports.com was updated on 3/5/17 at 10:33pm  and ESPN.com was updated the morning of 3/6/17.

Providence

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 10 – Opponent: 7 Oklahoma State
  • Up from an 11 seed against a 6 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 10 – Opponent: 7 Miami
  • Up from an 11 seed against a 6 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 10 – Best: 9 – Worst: 12 – In 103/107 brackets
  • Previously 11 seed with a Best of 8 and a Worst of 13 in 109/119 brackets

Providence is one of the hottest teams in the country after capping off the regular season on Saturday with their 6th straight win. The win over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden gave the Friars their fourth straight season with 10 Big East wins and because Marquette knocked off Creighton, Providence garnered the 3 seed heading into the Big East Tournament. The Friars will play the Bluejays at 9:30pm ET on Thursday night at MSG. For my money, Providence is safely into the NCAA Tournament at this point with 20 wins overall, 10 in Big East play, an RPI in 52, SOS of 48 and 6 wins against the RPI Top 50.

The Rest of the Big East

Villanova

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 1 – Opponent: 16 Mount St. Mary’s/North Carolina Central
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 1 – Opponent: 16 North Dakota/New Orleans
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 1 – Best: 1 – Worst: 1 – In 107/107 brackets
  • Same as last update on 3/2/17

Villanova finished off the regular season by blowing Georgetown out at the Verizon Center on Saturday. The Wildcats are a unanimous #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a strong showing in the Big East Tournament may even lock up the overall #1 seed giving Villanova the East Region, which has the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 at Madison Square Garden.

Butler

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 3 – Opponent: 14 Florida Gulf Coast
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 3 – Opponent: 14 Winthrop
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 4 – Best: 2 – Worst: 5 – In 107/107 brackets
  • Previously 3 seed with a Best of 1 and a Worse of 5 in 119/119 brackets

Butler lost to Seton Hall in the regular season finale on Saturday but they managed to hang onto the 3-seed in the above brackets. Chris Holtmann did one of the better coaching jobs in the country this season and the Bulldogs are right there with Villanova as favorites to win this week’s Big East Tournament. Butler’s RPI of 12 bodes well for their NCAA Tournament seeding.

Creighton

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 7 – Opponent: 10 Michigan St
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 7 – Opponent: 10 Arkansas
  • Down from a 6 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 7 – Best: 5 – Worst: 8 – In 107/107 brackets
  • Previously a 6 seed and same Best/Worst as last update on 3/2/17

Creighton’s loss on Saturday was arguably the most consequential as the Bluejays fell from being the 3 seed had they won all the way down to the 6. The result is a quarterfinal tilt with Providence in the late game on Thursday night scheduled to tip off at 9:30pm. The Bluejays are still squarely in the field of 68 but could improved their seed with a run to the Big East Tournament finals and a possible matchup with Villanova there.

Seton Hall

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 10 – Opponent: 7 Maryland
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 8 – Opponent: 9 VCU
  • Up from a 9 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 10 – Best: 8 – Worst: 12 – In 106/107 brackets
  • Previously an 11 seed in 116/119 brackets with a Best of 9 and Worst of 12 in the last update on 3/2/17

Seton Hall got a big win over Butler on Saturday and that seems to have stamped the Pirates’ ticket to be safely into the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season after winning the Big East Tournament last year.

Marquette

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 10 – Opponent: 7 South Carolina
  • Up from an 11 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 10 – Opponent: 7 Iowa State
  • Up from an 11 seed First Four game in the last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 10 – Best: 7 – Worst: 12 – In 106/107 brackets
  • Previously an 11 seed in 112/119 brackets with a Best of 7 and Worst of 12 in the last update on 3/2/17

Marquette beating Creighton adds to their strong finish after the Golden Eagles defeated Xavier in their pennultamate game last Wednesday at the Cintas Center. Marquette plays Seton Hall in the 4/5 game on Thursday with the winner likely to face Villanova in the semifinals on Friday night at MSG. Marquette’s resume is strong and they appear to be fairly safe but a stumble on Thursday combined with some bid stealing could teeter the Golden Eagles closer to a trip to Dayton for the First Four.

Xavier

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 12 – Opponent: 12 USC
  • Down from an 11 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 11 – Opponent: 6 Maryland
  • Down from a 10 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed: 11 – Best: 9 – Worst: 12 – In 103/107 brackets
  • Previously a 10 seed in 114/119 brackets with a Best of 7 and Worst of 12 in the last update on 3/2/17

Xavier finally got back on the winning side of things with a convincing win over DePaul in Chicago on Saturday. The Musketeers and Blue Demons will meet on Wednesday night in the 7/10 game for the right to play #2 seed Butler on Thursday. A second win in less than a week against DePaul won’t do much for Xavier’s NCAA Tournament resume, but getting their 20th win on Wednesday with a shot to face a Top 15 RPI team on a neutral court in the Big East Tournament semifinals would be helpful.

Providence’s Non-Con Opponents

Virginia

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 5 – Opponent: 12 Nevada
  • Down from a 4 seed in the last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 5 – Opponent: 12 UNC Wilmington
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 5 – Best: 3 – Worst: 6 – In 107/107 brackets
  • Previously a 5 seed in 119/119 brackets with a Best of 3 and Worst of 7 in last update on 3/2/17

Rhode Island

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – Out – First Four Out
  • Same as last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 12 – Opponent: 12 California
  • Down from an 11 seed and First Four game in last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – Out – Best: 11 – Worst: 12 – In 37/107 brackets
  • Previously In as a 12 seed in 59/119 brackets with a Best of 10 and Worst of 12

Vermont

• ESPN.com – Joe Lunardi – In – Seed: 13 – Opponent: 4 West Virginia
  • Same seed and opponent as last update on 3/2/17
• CBSSports.com – Jerry Palm – In – Seed: 13 – Opponent: 4 Cincinnati
  • Same seed as last update on 3/2/17
• BracketMatrix.com – Aggregate – In – Seed 13 – Best: 12 – Worst: 14 – In 107/107 brackets
  • Previously a 13 seed in 118/119 brackets with a Best of 11 and Worst of 15

Click here to see Lunardi’s entire bracket.

Click here to see Palm’s entire bracket.

Click here to see all brackets at BracketMatrix.com.

Follow me on Twitter @pcbb1917

About Author

Mike Hopkins

See author's posts