#BIGEASTmlax Minute – Only Seeding Left TBD In Playoff Puzzle
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The 2017 BIG EAST men’s lacrosse season ends on Saturday. Of the three games, two of them will be mirrored in Thursday’s BIG EAST Championship semifinals: Villanova at Providence and Denver vs. Marquette. The playoff puzzle is nearly complete – the only thing left to determine is final seeding between the Friars and Wildcats. The winner of Saturday’s game will earn the No. 2 seed. Denver needs a win to complete a 21-game sweep of regular season BIG EAST play and wrap up their fourth uncontested BIG EAST Regular Season title.
Why We Are Watching:
St. John’s at Georgetown (Saturday, 12 p.m.)
Georgetown has not played in more than a week, with their last contest a 11-9 win over Mount St. Mary’s in non-conference action. St. John’s is coming off an 18-3 loss to Villanova. Georgetown and St. John’s have faced each other 16 times in program history dating back to 1992. GU has a 12-4 advantage in the series. St. John’s won the last meeting in 2016, 8-5. Both teams are looking for their first league win of the season. Sophomore Daniel Bucaro leads the Hoyas with 3.50 points per game in league games. He has 50 on the year (37G, 18A). Rookie Joe Madsen leads the offensive for SJU with 24 points (19G, 5A).
No. 15 Villanova at Providence
(Saturday, 4 p.m., COX)
The Villanova at Providence game is all about seeding as the two teams are currently tied at 3-1 in the conference and are guaranteed to play each other in the second semifinal of next week’s BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Jeep. The winner will be the No. 2 seed. The Wildcats are coming off an 18-3 victory over St. John’s last week, while Providence lost its first league game of the year 12-2 at then-No. 3 Denver. Should Denver lost to Marquette in the 4:30 p.m. game, the winner would also share a piece of the regular season title. VU midfielder Jack Curran was BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week after an eight-goal performance against SJU. In league games, Curran leads the league with 4.00 goals per game. Despite giving up 12 goals at Denver last week, Providence had previously been one of the stingiest teams in the country. The Friars had been fourth in the country in scoring defense (7.54). Tate Boyce leads the league in save percentage (.592) in conference play.
No. 2 Denver at Marquette
(Saturday, 4:30 p.m., CBSSN)
Denver and Marquette is a rematch of the 2016 BIG EAST Championship game, this time played in Milwaukee. The Pioneers want to retain their unblemished 20-0 record in BIG EAST regular season play. The Golden Eagles have been the only team to defeat Denver, defeating the Pios in the championship game last year. Denver’s Connor Cannizzaro and Trevor Baptiste were recently named Tewaaraton Award nominees this week. Cannizzaro averages 3.0 goals, 5.25 points in conference games. Baptiste averages 12.75 ground balls per game with a faceoff win percentage of .788 (82-104). DU Freshman Ethan Walker tops the conference leaderboard with 5.75 points per game. Marquette goalie Cole Blazer averages 7.25 saves per game and a .439 save percentage in league games. Tanner Thomson leads the point-effort for the Golden Eagles in BIG EAST play with 11. Denver and Marquette will face eachother again next week in Providence in the first championship semifinal. CBSSN has the game with Ben Holden and Steve Panarelli on the call.
BIG EAST Men’s Lacrosse Schedule
Saturday, April 29
ST. JOHN’S at GEORGETOWN at Noon
VILLANOVA at PROVIDENCE (COX) at 4 p.m.
DENVER at MARQUETTE (CBSSN) at 4:30 p.m.