#BIGEASTvb Minute: Creighton Secures No. 1 Seed; Marquette Clinches Tournament Berth
NEW YORK – The Creighton Bluejays went 2-0 over the weekend to extend their winning streak to 11 matches and secure at least a share of the 2017 regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament. Marquette became the second team to qualify for the four-team field as the Golden Eagles also went 2-0. Marquette is the host site of the 2017 BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep.
At the top of the standings, Creighton is 15-1 in the conference and 22-5 overall with a national ranking of 14. Marquette is 14-3 and 20-8 overall. Marquette swept Georgetown before defeating Villanova in five sets on Saturday.
Butler has remained in third for the latter part of the league season and is at 11-5 currently with two matches left to play. The Bulldogs need a win to clinch one of the two remaining tournament berths. Butler suffered their first loss in eight matches against Creighton at home in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs and Jays went the full five sets, but the second set went to 38-36 in favor of Creighton. The fourth set also went into extras as the Bulldogs won that won 27-25. Creighton's 124 points in the match are tied for sixth-most in NCAA history for a five-set match since the move to 25-point sets in 2008. Creighton also swept Xavier on Friday.
Also left in the playoff mix are Seton Hall and Villanova. The Pirates are at 10-6 while the Wildcats are 9-7. Villanova holds a slight tie-breaker advantage over Seton Hall should they finish the season tied. Villanova also holds an advantage over Butler should they finish tied. Seton Hall defeated travel partner St. John’s for the second time this season, 3-1. Villanova lost in five sets to Marquette but swept DePaul on Friday.
BIG EAST tiebreaker policies look at sets won then points won in the sets.
Georgetown finished up play last weekend with a 3-1 win at DePaul.
Friday and Saturday are the final days of regular season competition. All four of Friday’s matches will be on the BIG EAST Digital Network. BEDN will also feature the Marquette-DePaul match on Saturday.
Upcoming #BIGEASTvb
Friday, Nov. 17
XAVIER at ST. JOHN’S (BEDN) at 4 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at GEORGETOWN (BEDN) at 6 p.m.
CREIGHTON at VILLANOVA (BEDN) at 7 p.m.
BUTLER at SETON HALL (BEDN) at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 18
MARQUETTE at DEPAUL (BEDN) at 2 p.m.
BUTLER at ST. JOHN’S at 5 p.m.
CREIGHTON at GEORGETOWN at 6 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at VILLANOVA at 7 p.m.
XAVIER at SETON HALL at 7 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern.