Two number one seeds, a reunion of sorts for Creighton’s Marcus Foster, the last go-round for Seton Hall’s heralded senior class and a fifth straight NCAA appearance by Providence were the BIG EAST’s highlights on Selection Sunday.
Villanova (30-4), the BIG EAST Tournament champion, was tabbed as the top seed in the East, and second overall, while Xavier (28-5) grabbed the No. 1 seed in the West Region and was fourth overall. But in grabbing those lofty seeds, the Wildcats and Musketeers are the only two BIG EAST teams that don’t yet know who they will play.
The Wildcats are headed for Pittsburgh where they will await the winner of the LIU Brooklyn-Radford game that will be played Tuesday night in Dayton. The Blackbirds finished the season at 18-16 while Radford goes into the game toting a 22-12 mark.
Whoever wins will receive the right to face a Villanova team that has now posted at least 30 wins in four straight seasons and boasts perhaps the nation’s best tandem in Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges.
“We’ve had a lot of great players here,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright told TBS Sports. “We’ve been blessed. But Jalen is the easiest guy I’ve ever had to coach. He’s as complete a player as I’ve ever had. We joke about the fact that he’s the most mature person in the program, including me. He’s very serious, he’s prepared everyday (and) it’s a true joy to coach him and he’s our leader. He’s our heart and soul.”
His sidekick Bridges is not exactly second fiddle material as many NBA mock drafts have the Wildcats’ junior slated as a lottery pick - should he opt out of his senior season at Villanova.
“It’s kind an old-school progression of a guy,” Wright said. “As a young guy he played with guys like Josh Hart, Darrun Hilliard and those guys just used to beat up on him. He was like that little brother. And he was smart and humble and he learned from them. He would battle them, some days he would get them but most days they’d get him. But he kept learning and learning and getting better and now he feels like he’s played against the best, he played on a national championship team and he’s learned from the best so I can play with anybody. He’s got a tremendous level of confidence right now and obviously a lot of skill.”
Villanova fans hope this is not Bridges’ swansong on the Main Line as evidenced by their “One More Year” chants at Madison Square Garden when Bridges was accepting his Most Outstanding Player trophy.
Asked what his feel for this team is, compared to his other tournament teams, Wright pointed out their youthful exuberance.
“I feel there is a sense of excitement and youth on this team and I have a confidence in them and they really enjoy playing together,” Wright said. “And they’re really hungry.”
Like Villanova, Xavier will also have to wait to see who it will be playing Friday when they take the floor in Nashville. The Musketeers will take on the winner of Wednesday night’s North Carolina Central-Texas Southern contest.
The Musketeers are a No. 1 seed for the first time in school history.
“As I told (the team) this is well-earned,” Xavier head coach Chris Mack told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We played a very, very tough schedule all the way through and we were, by and large, pretty successful with that schedule. Having said that, it’s not going to mean much when we play on Friday. We’ll have to be ready to go but I think it’s a testament to (the team), our talent level, our toughness. So I’m proud of those guys.”
Seton Hall and Creighton each grabbed No. 8 seeds with the Pirates landing in the Midwest Region and the Bluejays flying to the South Region.
Seton Hall (21-11) will travel to Wichita to face No. 9 North Carolina State in the first round Thursday at 4:30 p.m. It’s the final tournament trip for the senior class of Khadeen Carrington, Angel Delgado and Desi Rodriguez, who have gone 0-2 in their previous two trips to the NCAA Tournament with first-round losses to Gonzaga in 2016 and Arkansas last year.
Pirates’ head coach Kevin Willard said a win in the tournament is all he and his players have been thinking about since they were bounced in the BIG EAST Tournament by Butler.
“From the time we got in the locker room at the (end) of the BIG EAST Tournament up until now, they understand the next step for all of us,” Willard said. “We got to go out and play well and give ourselves a chance to get a win in the NCAA Tournament. But it’s never easy. Everyone you play is a very good basketball team.”
If Seton Hall manages to pull off the victory over the Wolfpack, a date with No. 1 seed Kansas awaits - barring an unlikely upset of the Jayhawks by Penn in the first round.
Creighton (21-11) will take the floor on Friday in Charlotte where Foster, the Bluejays’ uber-talented senior guard, will take on a familiar foe in Kansas State. Foster played for the Wildcats for two seasons before transferring to Creighton.
“It’s always exciting to play a team you once played for,” Foster told the Omaha World Herald. “But it didn’t matter who we would have played.”
Foster said he holds no ill will toward Kansas State, from which he was dismissed after his sophomore season.
“If this was my redshirt year, I’d have probably come out and said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to get 40 on my old school.’ But now it’s more about just winning. I don’t care what I have to do to win. I just want to win this game, win the next game, keep going, keep it moving. I just don’t want my career to end yet.”
If the Bluejays get by the Wildcats, No. 1 Virginia will be waiting.
Butler and Providence were each handed No. 10 seeds with the Bulldogs being placed in the East Region and the Friars going to the West.
Butler, which finished 20-13 under first-year coach LaVall Jordan, is making its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and will be matched up against No. 7 Arkansas (23-11) on Friday night in Detroit.
“You don’t know how the first year is going to go,” Jordan told the Indianapolis Star. “Obviously, coming back here, it’s been a unique experience. This team has been a pleasure to coach and we’ve earned our way.”
A victory over Arkansas would most likely set up a second-round game with No. 2 Purdue. The Boilermakers knocked off Butler, 82-67, back in December.
Finally, there is Providence. The Friars (21-13) are making their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, a school record, and won’t take the floor until Friday afternoon in Charlotte, which will give head coach Ed Cooley ample time to stitch up his britches. (You might remember he had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction at the BIG EAST Tournament). Providence will square off with No. 7 Texas A&M (20-12).
The Friars are coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Villanova in the BIG EAST Tournament championship game Saturday night but Cooley and his Friars are ready to bounce back and make a run.
“I was feeling sorry for myself over the loss, but hopefully I do a better job and get us to advance this year,” Cooley told the Providence Journal. “I decompressed driving home (Saturday night) and was thinking today, hey, somebody is going to lose. We’re disappointed, but the fact that we were selected to go to this next tournament, this is what you play for, this is what you coach for. To get to that magical stage, I can’t tell you how excited I am about that.”
A victory over the Aggies would put the Friars up against second-seeded North Carolina.