WBB Notes - 3.8.19
CHICAGO – The 2019 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep gets under way on Saturday at Wintrust Arena in downtown Chicago, with First Round games pitting No. 9 seed St. John’s against No. 8 seed Seton Hall at 2 p.m. CT, followed by No. 10 seed Xavier versus No. 7 seed Providence at 4:30 p.m. CT. Both games will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network, with Matt Schumacker and Patricia Babcock McGraw on the call. The winner of the Red Storm-Pirates tilt earns a date with top-seeded and regular-season champion Marquette in the quarterfinals on Sunday at noon CT, while the winner of the Musketeer-Friar matchup will face second-seeded and reigning tournament champion DePaul in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. CT.
No. 9 seed St. John’s vs. No. 8 Seed Seton Hall, 2 p.m. CT
BIG EAST Digital Network
This Season: Seton Hall, 77-67 (@ SHU); Seton Hall, 76-72 (@ SJU)
BIG EAST Tournament history: St. John’s, 6-2; most recent – 2015 Semifinals: Seton Hall, 72-60
After Seton Hall defeated St. John’s on its home court for the first time since 2003, the Pirates finished in a tie in the standings with the Red Storm and now the two longtime foes square off just six days after that most recent meeting in Saturday’s first round. Shadeen Samuels was unstoppable for the Pirates this season against the Johnnies, averaging 24.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in two wins. Qadashah Hoppie found her scoring groove against SHU, averaging 19.5 points and 2.0 assists in the narrow setbacks. Both St. John’s and Seton Hall have enjoyed recent success in the BIG EAST Tournament. St. John’s is 7-4 in the conference postseason dating back to the 2014 tourney, winning the crown in 2016, while Seton Hall has won at least one game in every tourney since 2013, posting a 7-5 mark in that span, including a run to the title game in 2015. Despite the long history, they’ve met just eight times in BIG EAST Tournament history, most recently in 2015 when The Hall won in the semifinals, 72-60.
No. 10 seed Xavier vs. No. 7 Seed Providence, 4:30 p.m. CT
BIG EAST Digital Network
This Season: Providence, 71-58 (@ PC); Providence, 63-55 (@ XU)
BIG EAST Tournament history: First Meeting
Both teams will look to end their negative streaks in the BIG EAST Tournament, with Xavier last advancing out of the first round in 2015, while Providence eyes its first conference postseason win since 2001. The Friars took both meetings during the regular season with the Musketeers this year and have won three straight against XU, but the teams have never met in the conference postseason. There were a couple clear standouts in this season’s meetings between the two foes, with Jovana Nogic leading PC with 19.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, to go along with 55-percent shooting from deep. A’riana Gray was lethal for XU, averaging 16.5 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals against the Friars this year. Two of Xavier’s last three BIG EAST Tournament losses were by single digits, while Providence fell in overtime in last year’s first round.
For more on the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament, visit
Championship Central.
2019 BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep
Wintrust Arena – Chicago, Ill.
First Round – March 9
Game 1: #9 St. John’s vs. #8 Seton Hall, 2 p.m. (BEDN)
Game 2: #10 Xavier vs. #7 Providence, 4:30 p.m. (BEDN)
Quarterfinals – March 10
Game 3: #1 Marquette vs Game 1 winner, Noon (FS2)
Game 4: #5 Villanova vs. #4 Georgetown, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)
Game 5: #2 DePaul vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. (FS2)
Game 6: #6 Creighton vs. #3 Butler, 8:30 p.m. (FS2)
Semifinals – March 11
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m. (FS1)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m. (FS1)
Final – March 12
Game 9: Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (FS1)
All times Central