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#BIGEASTwbb Minute: Seeding On The Line In Second-To-Last Weekend

#BIGEASTwbb Minute: Seeding On The Line In Second-To-Last Weekend

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BIG EAST Tournament seeding remains up for grabs as teams head into the penultimate weekend of conference play.

WBB Notes - 2.19.20
Penultimate Weekend Of BIG EAST Play

The second-to-last weekend of conference play is ahead for BIG EAST women’s basketball teams and seeding for the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep remains up for grabs. Three of the four slots for the first round are set as Providence, Georgetown and Xavier will all play on March 6 at Wintrust Arena, with only No. 12/12 DePaul guaranteed to not play until the quarterfinals on March 7. Marquette will lock up a first-round bye with one more win or a St. John’s loss to Seton Hall on Saturday. In addition to the rivalry game between the Red Storm and Pirates, other notable matchups this weekend include Creighton at Butler – the Bulldogs won in Omaha earlier this year and will look to secure a crucial sweep against a Bluejays squad which is a game behind Butler in the standings. All nine games this weekend will stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi, beginning on Friday when Providence travels to Xavier at 11:30 a.m. The Friars beat the Musketeers in Rhode Island back in January and a sweep would give them a good edge towards avoiding the No. 7 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament First Round.
 
Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year Late Season 2020 Watch List
DePaul head coach Doug Bruno was named to the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year Late Season 2020 Watch List today. Bruno was one of 15 head coaches on the list. The Blue Demons are 24-3 overall on the year and 14-1 in BIG EAST play, having already clinched at least a share of their sixth regular-season title in the last seven years. Bruno has been selected BIG EAST Coach of the Year three times. For the complete Watch List, click HERE.
 
Why We’re Watching …
Providence at Xavier – Friday, 11:30 a.m. (Caffeine | YouTube): With Providence, Georgetown and Xavier either tied or within a game of each other in the standings, the jockeying begins for seeding in the BIG EAST Tournament First Round. They’re all looking to avoid being the No. 10 seed and matching up with the No. 7 seed, which in all likelihood could be a team headed to a national postseason tournament in March. The Friars knocked off the Musketeers when they met in Providence on Jan. 26, as Earlette Scott, Sunday’s hero against St. John’s, scored a game-high 20 points. Xavier had its second-best shooting performance of the season with a .481 clip at No. 13/13 DePaul on Sunday, as A’riana Gray scored 20 points – she also scored 18 at Providence this season.
Marquette at Villanova – Friday, 7 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube): Of the Golden Eagles’ 11 conference wins this season, only three have been decided by single digits and one of those was a narrow 57-52 home win over the Wildcats. Villanova is just half a game ahead of St. John’s in the standings for the final spot in the BIG EAST Tournament First Round, so every result is crucial going forward in order to clinch a bye. Marquette is a win away from clinching a bye, and could very well clinch the No. 2 seed this weekend if results from across the league swing in its favor – an impressive feat after the Golden Eagles were one point away from being slotted 10th in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll.
12/12 DePaul at Geogetown – Friday, 7 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube): After clinching at least a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title for the sixth time on Sunday, one more win this season will make the Blue Demons outright champs for the third time and the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament for the fourth time. The Hoyas will look to pull off the upset of 12th-ranked DePaul, which enters Friday’s tilt on a five-game winning streak. Georgetown has a one-game lead over Xavier in the standings, which it beat two weeks ago to split he season series. A win over the top team in the standings would be the ultimate tiebreaker, and so far only Creighton has that trump card in its deck.
Creighton at Butler – Friday, 7 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube): The Bulldogs have a one-game lead over the Bluejays in the standings and scored a 73-67 win in Omaha when they met earlier this season. Two of the top scorers in the BIG EAST will square off as Creighton’s Jaylyn Agnew takes her 21.7 conference scoring average to Hinkle Fieldhouse to face Butler’s Kristen Spolyar and her 18.4 clip. Agnew did not play when the teams met back in January, but Spolyar dropped a game-high 25 points.
Seton Hall at St. John’s – Saturday, 2 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube): The Red Storm eye their first season sweep of their rivals since 2015-16 after winning at Seton Hall in the annual FOX Sports all-access game, 82-66, in January. The Hall narrowed a 24-point margin down to six midway through the fourth quarter of that meeting, but couldn’t complete the comeback despite a 24-point, 12-rebound showing from Shadeen Samuels. Qadashah Hoppie led St. John’s in that game and 15 other contests this season, scoring a team-high 20 points. Despite the win, St. John’s trails Seton Hall by one game in the standings. If the season ended today, the Red Storm would be the BIG EAST Tournament No. 7 seed and playing in the First Round. St. John’s is just half a game behind Creighton and Villanova in the standings, but will need to pass them, particularly the Wildcats, in order to receive the bye.
 
Up Next
Friday
Providence at Xavier, 11:30 a.m.*^
Marquette at Villanova, 7 p.m.*^
12/12 DePaul at Geogetown, 7 p.m.*^
Creighton at Butler, 7 p.m.*^
Saturday
Seton Hall at St. John’s, 2 p.m.*^
Sunday
12/12 DePaul at Villanova, 1 p.m.*^
Marquette at Georgetown, 2 p.m.*^
Providence at Butler, 2 p.m.*^
Creighton at Xavier, 2 p.m.*^
All times Eastern
*BIG EAST contest
^BEDN