If you were riveted to the NCAA Selection Show Sunday evening - and if you’re a rabid BIG EAST hoops fan, of course you were - the drama just kept building.
First the East Region was unveiled and nary a BIG EAST name was called.
Next up was the South Region and eight names came and went and still the BIG EAST waited for its first team to be announced.
Finally the ninth team was unveiled in the South Region and it was the Villanova Wildcats’ turn to jump out of their seats and soak in the cheers of all those watching with them. But when you think about it, of course the Wildcats were called first. It’s Villanova. It always seems to be first, doesn’t it?
There were some around the program that were hoping they’d be packing today for a nice warm weather locale for the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend. Something along the lines of a Jacksonville, Florida, perhaps. Instead the Wildcats are headed for Hartford, Connecticut. Upside? The Connecticut capital is a mere 210 miles from the Main LIne, just a three and a half hour ride for Nova Nation. Hartford will be where the Wildcats, fresh off their record-setting third straight BIG EAST Tournament title, will face off with the Saint Mary’s Gaels out of the West Coast Conference. So bank on the Hartford Civic having a distinct “Philly Feel” to it this Thursday.
The drama continued as the Midwest Region was being unveiled line by line. Thirteen teams came and went and still no BIG EAST. Finally there was Seton Hall, the other BIG EAST title game combatant. The Pirates might have lost the BIG EAST title battle to Villanova, but they did snag a trip to warm Jacksonville. (Even little victories count). The Pirates come in as a 10 seed and will be facing No. 7 Wofford of the Southern Conference Thursday.
More on that in a bit.
It took until the final region of the night was announced that we learned where Marquette was headed and whether there was room for St. John’s in the field of 68. The Golden Eagles were picked as a No. 5 seed and are also headed to Hartford where they will take on No. 12 Murray State Thursday. The Racers will be making their 17th NCAA Tournament appearance after capturing the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title.
But we didn’t learn St. John’s fate until the second half of the final region was announced and we learned the Red Storm are headed to Dayton for a First Four matchup with Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State Sun Devils. That game will take place on Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. and will be carried on TruTV.
So how is sixth-seeded Villanova viewing its first-round opponent, the one that knocked off mighty Gonzaga, 60-47, in the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament last Tuesday.
“As long as we’re playing Villanova basketball and we’re doing it for 40 minutes, we’ll be good,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright told ESPN. “We didn’t do that this year in a lot of games. We were learning how to do it during the season. We ran into some teams who were playing their brand well and we weren’t yet, but we did get there in the BIG EAST Tournament. We got to play with some consistency, not always pretty, but with good consistency. And I hope that carries into the tournament.”
No. 11 seed Saint Mary’s will come into the matchup toting a 22-11 record and it should be noted that in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, a No. 2-seeded Villanova team was upended by a No. 10 Saint Mary’s team, 75-68, as the Gaels advanced to the Sweet 16 that year.
Marquette earned the highest seed of any BIG EAST team when it landed a No. 5 seed. The Golden Eagles will face a 12th-seeded Racers team that went 27-4 this season and are currently riding an 11-game winning streak. Murray State has won three games in the NCAA Tournament in their history - in 1988 vs. North Carolina State, 2010 against Vanderbilt and in 2012 vs. Colorado State.
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard was asked for his initial thoughts on facing a Wofford team that won 29 games this season - including their current 20-game winning streak - and hasn’t lost a game since Dec. 19 at Mississippi State.
“Obviously we’re ecstatic to get back in (the NCAA Tournament) four years in a row, so I’m really proud of this team,” Willard said. “But Wofford is an excellent basketball team. I thought I had the best shooter in the country (in Myles Powell) but I think (Wofford’s) Fletcher Magee might be right up there with him. (Magee is averaging 20.5 points a game and shooting 42.8 percent on 3-pointers). He’s such a talented player with a quick release. And I think what makes them such a good basketball team is obviously they can really shoot the basketball but Cameron Jackson, their big man inside, is really skilled. He reminds me a lot of (former Seton Hall star) Eugene Teague. So they’re not only a great 3-point shooting team, they’re very balanced.”
St. John’s was the last BIG EAST team named and, it turns out, was the final team selected to the field of 68. The Johnnies will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 and will look to secure their first tournament victory since 2000 when they face the Sun Devils Wednesday night in Dayton. It will be the Red Storm’s first NCAA appearance under head coach Chris Mullin.
If the Johnnies survive Arizona State, the 11th-seed Storm would take on No. 6 Buffalo in Tulsa Friday night.
And while four league teams qualified for the Big Dance, another five BIG EAST teams will be headed to the NIT this season as Creighton, Georgetown, Xavier, Providence and Butler all earned bids.
Creighton grabbed the highest seed of any BIG EAST team in the NIT field when the Bluejays landed a No. 2 seed and will take on Loyola-Chicago in a first-round game that will be aired on ESPNU Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET. Loyola-Chicago, you might remember, made it all the way to the Final Four last season.
Both Georgetown and Xavier earned No. 3 seeds with the Hoyas slated to take on sixth-seeded Harvard in their first-round game Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 while the Musketeers will battle No. 6 Toledo in their bracket Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
Providence grabbed a four seed and will host No. 5 Arkansas in its first-round game. The Friars’ game will be Tuesday night at 9 p.m. and air on ESPN 2.
Then there is Butler. The Bulldogs were handed a five seed so they will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers in their first-round contest. That game will be at 9 p.m. and air on ESPN2.
Finally there is DePaul, and the Blue Demons taking part in the College Basketball Invitational makes it a perfect 10-for-10 for BIG EAST teams reaching postseason tournaments.
DePaul, which finished the regular season at 15-15, will play host to Central Michigan in a first-round game of the CBI which will take place Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Chippawas went an impressive 23-11 and 10-8 in the Mid-American Conference and are led by the duo of Larry Austin, who averages 17.4 points a game, and Shawn Roundtree, who pours it in at a 16.6 per game clip.
This will be the Blue Demons’ first postseason appearance since they participated in the 2007 NIT.