MBB Minute: Middle Of The Standings Still Murky
The BIG EAST regular season ends on Saturday afternoon with all 10 teams in action. Teams in the middle of the standings will be playing for seeds four through eight for next week’s BIG EAST Tournament.
Currently, Providence, Creighton and Butler are in a three-way tie for fourth place at 9-8. Marquette is 8-9 in seventh place and Georgetown is 7-10 in eighth.
Providence can earn the No. 4 seed with a win over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden regardless of the outcomes of other games. FS1 has the game at 12:30 ET. If the Friars win, they finish 10-8 in league play. It will be the first time PC has had three straight winning BIG EAST seasons.
Creighton travels to Xavier, a game FOX will televise at 2:30. The Bluejays, who are 4-4 on the road in conference play, could finish fourth, fifth or sixth. Xavier is 14-1 at the Cintas Center this season.
Butler hosts Marquette on FOX Sports Networks, also at 2:30. If Marquette wins, it will move ahead of Butler in the standings. A Marquette loss would drop the Golden Eagles below Georgetown in the seeding if the Hoyas can beat Villanova at the Wells Fargo Center. Georgetown and Villanova tip at noon on FOX. The Wildcats have already secured their third straight regular-season crown and the top seed next week at MSG.
Seton Hall plays at DePaul on the FOX Sports Networks, also at noon. These teams know their tournament seeds. The Pirates are No. 3 and DePaul is No. 9. A Seton Hall win would give the Pirates a school record six BIG EAST road wins.
Tournament Seeding Update:
The following BIG EAST Tournament seeds are locked in: Villanova No. 1, Xavier No. 2, Seton Hall No. 3, DePaul No. 9, St. John’s No. 10.