Kris Jenkins Lets Everyone Know Who The BIG EAST Champs Are
Well, the BIG EAST landed seven bids in the NCAA Tournament after all – even if Xavier coach Chris Mack most likely needed an entire pack of Tums to get through the Selection Show.
Villanova opened the show by landing the overall No. 1 seed, but the Musketeers were the very last name called on the day when they were placed in the West Region. It’s all right to exhale now, Musketeers.
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard was much happier with his Pirates draw and site this season as opposed to last year when The Hall was shipped to Denver to take on Gonzaga. This time around the Pirates, a nine-seed, will be making a short road trip to Greenville, S.C. where they will face No. 8 seed South Carolina.
The Pirates all gathered at Willard’s house for a small viewing party and came away happy with outcome.
“I think playing on Friday is great,” Willard said. “It does give us another day of preparation. Staying on the East Coast, I think, is exciting. I think many more fans will be able to get to (the game). Greenville is not too far away. And as for the draw, no matter who you get you’re going to have a tough draw. I’ve only been able to read and go over the stats for Arkansas. You go 12-6 in the SEC and win 25 games you’re a really good basketball team. So getting that extra day of preparation is good when you have to play a team as good as Arkansas is.”
Villanova (31-3) was, not surprisingly, placed in the East Region where the newly-crowned BIG EAST Tournament champions - and defending National Champions - will travel to less-than-balmy Buffalo where they will take on the winner of the New Orleans/Mt. St. Mary’s First Four matchup on Thursday. Mount St. Mary is out of the Northeast Conference and posted a 19-15 record while the Privateers of New Orleans, who play in the Southland Conference, come into the tournament toting a 20-11 mark.
Providence was the next BIG EAST team to hear its name called when the Friars were picked as an 11-seed in the East Region and were ticketed for Dayton for the First Four. The Friars will take on USC out of the Pac-12 Conference, Wednesday night at 9:10 p.m. The Friars are a little familiar with USC, having knocked the Trojans out of the NCAAs last season with a 70-69 victory. The Friars (20-12) would face No. 6 SMU (30-4), if they get by the Trojans, Friday in Tulsa. Providence has earned four straight NCAA berths for the first time in school history.
Marquette was the third BIG EAST team to hear its name called and also the third BIG EAST team to land in the East Region. The Golden Eagles, who finished 19-12 and reached the BIG EAST quarterfinals, will come in as a No. 10 seed and face No. 7 South Carolina (22-11) Friday in Greenville. Marquette senior Luke Fischer stated that it was his mission to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his career this year and finally the Golden Eagles are going back to the Big Dance after a three-year hiatus. Should Marquette get by the Gamecocks, a date with Duke would be looming – you know, if the Blue Devils were to get by Troy.
Creighton was next up for the BIG EAST and the Bluejays were chosen as a six seed and placed in the Midwest Region. They will head to Sacramento first where the Jays (25-9), who are coming off a loss to Villanova in the BIG EAST Conference title game, will square off against No. 11 Rhode Island, which knocked off VCU to capture the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship and will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999. That game will tip off Friday. A victory would have the Bluejays facing either Oregon or Iona next Sunday.
Seton Hall was the fifth BIG EAST school to see its name flash on the TV screen and the Pirates (21-11) were sent to the South Region as a No. 9 seed. The Hall, which came close to knocking off Villanova in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals Friday night, will face a 25-9 Razorbacks team that lost to Kentucky in the Southeast Conference championship game Sunday. If the Pirates get by Arkansas, they would, most likely, face top-seeded North Carolina next Sunday.
Butler landed a No. 4 seed, the highest in program history, and the Bulldogs are headed to Milwaukee where they will take on Winthrop out of the Big South Conference. Butler was one of only two teams to figure Villanova out this season as they handed the Wildcats two of their three losses. Now the ‘Dogs will go up against an Eagles team that posted a 26-6 record and boast Big South Player of the Year Keon Johnson. The matchup is scheduled for Thursday.
So do those two wins over Nova give the Bulldogs added confidence going into the tournament?
“I think it can help. I think we can reflect back on some things that we did well against them as well as our games against Arizona (69-65 win) or Cincinnati (75-65 win) and Northwestern (70-68 victory) for that matter,” Butler head coach Chris Holtmann told the CBS Sports Network.
“We’ve done some really good things and that’s why your body of work puts you in that position. I think we know it’s not going to give us a point or gain us an advantage on Thursday. We’re going to have to go out and do it.”
Finally, there was
Xavier. The Musketeers had an agonizingly long wait to see their name pop up on the Selection Show screens and when it finally did Xavier, an 11 seed, was off to Orlando where it will take on No. 6 Maryland on Thursday. The Terrapins, a member of the Big 10 Conference, finished the season with a 24-8 mark. This is the fourth straight season the Musketeers have earned an NCAA invite and the 11
th time in 12 years, one of only eight schools nationally to pull off that feat.
Last year, Villanova’s national championship run helped the BIG EAST produce a 9-4 record in NCAA play.