#BIGEASTwbb Minute: Coming Down The Homestretch Of League Play
WBB Notes - 2.11.20
Important Matchups Ahead
With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, every game going forward can have both conference and national postseason implications. Two key matchups on Friday include St. John’s at Creighton and Butler at No. 13/13 DePaul. Meeting in Omaha at 7 p.m. ET in a game airing on FS2, the Red Storm and Bluejays are just half a game apart in the standings, with both teams jockeying for NCAA Tournament spots. At No. 35, Creighton has the highest RPI of a team remaining on St. John’s regular-season schedule, as the Red Storm will look to earn the season sweep of the highly ranked squad. The Bluejays have eight top-100 RPI wins this year and will look to collect another when they face St. John’s. Since the calendar year changed to 2020, Butler has been on fire – showing a 9-1 record since Jan. 1, and are winners of five straight – the longest active streak in the BIG EAST. The second-place Bulldogs will look to deal the first-place Blue Demons just their second BIG EAST loss of the season and their first loss in the series with Butler. DePaul is 19-0 this season against teams ranked 50+ in the RPI, including an 8-0 mark versus teams ranked between 50 and 100. The Butler-DePaul game will stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi starting at 8 p.m. ET – one of three games on BEDN that day along with Seton Hall at Providence (11:30 a.m.) and Xavier at Marquette (8 p.m.).
Exceeding Expectations
Projected to finish seventh and ninth in the BIG EAST, Butler and Marquette enter the weekend second and third in the conference standings. With nine wins apiece, the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles have already guaranteed at least a seventh-place finish as the bottom three squads in the current standings can earn no more than seven conference victories. The Bulldogs and Golden Eagles meet on Sunday in Milwaukee at 3 p.m. ET in a game streaming on the BIG EAST Digital Network. Butler won in Indianapolis, 61-55, when the two met on Jan. 17.
RPI Update
With NCAA Tournament selections less than five weeks away, team resumes become more and more scrutinized. An important aspect of those resumes is the NCAA RPI, and seven BIG EAST teams are in the top 100, including three in the top 40. DePaul leads the pack at No. 19, followed by No. 35 Creighton and No. 36 Marquette. St. John’s dropped from a week ago to No. 61, while Seton Hall improved to No. 65 thanks to a win over the Golden Eagles. No. 93 Butler and No. 95 Villanova round out the league’s top-100 teams.
Campbell Is Lieberman Award Finalist
DePaul senior guard Kelly Campbell was named one of 10 finalists for the 2020 Nancy Lieberman Award on Monday. To be considered for this prestigious award which recognizes the nation’s top point guard, candidates must exhibit the floor leadership, playmaking and ball-handling skills of Class of 1996 Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman. Campbell is the national leader in assist-turnover ratio (5.54) while also ranking among the Division I leaders in total assists (144, sixth), assists per game (5.8, 13
th), total rebounds (216, 41
st) and rebounds per game (8.6, 85
th).
This Week In The BIG EAST
Friday
Seton Hall at Providence, 11:30 a.m.*^
St. John’s at Creighton, 7 p.m.*!
Butler at 13/13 DePaul, 8 p.m.*^
Xavier at Marquette, 8 p.m.*^
Sunday
St. John’s at Providence, 1 p.m.*^
Villanova at Georgetown, 2 p.m.*^
Seton Hall at Creighton, 2 p.m.*^
Butler at Marquette, 3 p.m.*^
Xavier at 13/13 DePaul, 3 p.m.*^
All times Eastern
*BIG EAST contest
^BEDN
!FS2