If Wednesday night at The Rock in Newark was any indication of what March has in store for BIG EAST basketball fans, well, it could be a most memorable month.
No. 14 Villanova’s thrilling 79-77 victory over eighth-ranked Seton Hall before a record crowd of 16,863 was the perfect appetizer for a main course that will be served out over the next week and change with the BIG EAST Tournament set to tip off next Wednesday night.
Four months of basketball is now in the books and yet as the BIG EAST enters its final weekend, so much is left to be decided. There is no regular-season champion crowned as of yet. It’s not even clear who will finish in second or third as Seton Hall (13-4), Creighton (12-5) and Villanova (12-5) all remain within a game of each other in the standings. The Pirates, however, have already clinched at least a share of the regular-season title, their first since the 1992-93 season. But there is also a chance for a three-way tie for first, which would be the first in the conference since Georgetown, Marquette and Louisville finished in a three-way dead heat in 2013.
And while Providence seems to be sitting pretty in fourth place with 11 wins after the Friars’ latest victory over Xavier Wednesday night, there is still a three-car pileup among Butler (9-8), Xavier (8-9) and Marquette (8-9) to decide fifth, sixth and seventh place in the conference.
The thing about the BIG EAST, perhaps more so this year than in past seasons, is that you just don’t know on a nightly basis who will come out with a win. Quite often, it’s not the team you might expect.
This past week alone saw St. John’s take down a Creighton team that was playing as well as any in the country. The Bluejays came into Carnesecca Arena riding a five-game winning streak and having won nine of their last 10 games. But they were ambushed by a Johnnies’ team that seemingly couldn’t miss from 3-point range.
And how about this past Tuesday night in Chicago? Did anyone really expect DePaul to knock off Markus Howard and Marquette?
There have been other instances as well as Villanova head coach Jay Wright explained after the Seton Hall contest.
“When you play night in and night out in this league, I mean, you see Marquette lose to DePaul, and us coming in here (and defeating Seton Hall) and Providence coming to our place (a 58-54 Friars win last Saturday). This is high-level basketball in this league,” Wright said. “Great environments everywhere you go. It’s the toughest league in the country and it’s going to prepare us all for the NCAA Tournament.”
Wright was speaking just moments after his Wildcats had knocked off Seton Hall on a night it honored its seniors, including the magnificent Myles Powell. But despite a stellar road win, he was asked if he could see the Pirates being the team celebrating under the falling confetti at the end of the BIG EAST Tournament next week.
“I do. I think they have all the answers,” Wright said. “They have depth, they can play big and (they can play small). They got veterans, guys who have played in the NCAA Tournament, guys who have all been in the BIG EAST Tournament, in the BIG EAST championship game. That’s what makes great teams. I truly believe that. They are definitely capable of winning it all. I think they are one of the best teams in the country, I really do. We played Baylor, we played Kansas and I think they’re right up there with those guys. They’ve had an incredible year and they will continue to do that.”
But first, there is the need to crown the regular-season winner. Might it be the Pirates, who have led the conference wire-to-wire this season?
How about Creighton coming away with its first-ever BIG EAST tourney title? The Bluejays are a team that has far exceeded expectations this year, if you put any credence in preseason polls. You know, like the BIG EAST Coaches’ Poll that had the Bluejays slated for a seventh-place finish in the league.
Or will it be Villanova - again? The Wildcats have made it a habit of capturing the BIG EAST Tournament title, winning the last three straight and four of the past five titles.
It could be, according to Myles Powell.
“Villanova is a top 10 basketball team,” Powell said. “They have a legendary coach and they have great players.”
So if Wednesday night was the hors d'oeuvre hour at this week-long BIG EAST soiree, then this Saturday will kind of be the cocktail hour. The actual sit-down feat will be served at the Garden next week.
It all begins Saturday when Villanova heads to Georgetown for a noon showdown in D.C. Also at noon, St. John’s will look to make it two straight wins when Markus Howard makes his pre-tournament visit Madison Square Garden with a Golden Eagles team looking to rebound from their loss to DePaul.
At 2:30 p.m., Seton Hall tips off against Creighton in the day’s mega-matchup before surging Providence looks for its fifth straight victory when it hosts DePaul at 6:30 p.m. The final game of the day will see Xavier host Butler at 8:30 p.m. at the Cintas Center.
So hire a dog walker to take Fluffy out. Have someone else clean out that garage. There’s a bounty of BIG EAST basketball to be feasted on this Saturday. So order the pizza, pop in those frozen White Castles into the microwave, stock up on some cold ones and silence your cell phones. It all comes down to the final Saturday of the season to decide, well, just about everything.
Here’s a game-by-game look at Saturday’s slate:
Villanova (12-5) at Georgetown (5-12), noon on FOX
It’s been almost two months since the last time these teams met on Jan. 11. On that day, Villanova’s Saddiq Bey put on quite the shooting show as he went 10-of-15 from the field, including 8-for-10 from three-point range, to finish with a career-best 33 points in an 80-66 Wildcats’ win. Villanova needs to knock off the Hoyas and hope for a Creighton win over Seton Hall to grab a share of the regular-season crown.
“That kid can play,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said of Bey, knowing he is only a sophomore. “I can’t wait to see him in the NBA next year! I hope the Knicks get him. Everyone knows I’m a huge Knicks fan. But that kid is the real deal. Every time he shoots the basketball it looks like it’s going in. He’s a special player.”
Marquette (8-9) at St. John’s (4-13) at MSG, noon on FSN
In their first meeting on Jan. 21, BIG EAST-scoring leader Markus Howard dropped 32 points on the Johnnies with Sacar Anim tying his season-high with 21 points in an 82-68 Golden Eagles’ victory. Marquette turned in an exemplary defensive effort in this game, outrebounding the Red Storm 34-26 while Theo John had six of the Golden Eagles’ 10 blocks. Marquette needs the win as it looks to avoid playing in the BIG EAST Tournament’s Wednesday night opening-round games.
Seton Hall (13-4) at Creighton (12-5), 2:30 on FOX
When the Bluejays visited Seton Hall on Feb. 12, five different Creighton players ended up scoring in double figures as the Jays picked up their second Top 10 road win in the month with an 87-82 victory in New Jersey. Ty-Shon Alexander, Marcus Zegarowski, Damien Jefferson and Denzel Mahoney all logged 18 points in the win with Christian Bishop adding 11. Seton Hall’s Myles Powell was limited to just 12 points on 3-for-16 shooting from the floor, including just 1-of-11 on three-pointers.
Seton Hall could win its second outright regular-season title with a victory while Creighton would earn a share of the title with a win. But despite the emotional loss to Villanova on his Senior Night, Powell still believes good things are coming for Seton Hall.
“I feel like we play better when our backs are against the wall,” Powell said. “We always tend to make it harder for ourselves. So we’re just going to look forward. You all know me and know my story - I always say there are better days ahead.”
DePaul (3-14) at Providence (11-6) 6:30 on FS1
The first time these two teams met it took Nate Watson sinking the second of two free throws with 0.1 seconds to play to pull out a 66-65 win for the Friars. That victory came over two months ago on Jan. 4, when Providence was still trying to find itself. Now the Friars are the hottest team in the league with five straight wins, including three over nationally-ranked teams in Seton Hall, Marquette and Villanova.
Butler (9-8) at Xavier (8-9) 8:30 on FS1
Back on Feb. 12, the Bulldogs overcame a 19-point, 10-rebound effort by Xavier’s Tyrique Jones and a 20-point outing by Naji Marshall to come away with a 66-61 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The bench play was key for Butler with Henry Baddley scoring all nine of his points in the first half and Jordan Tucker adding all 10 of his points after halftime.
So when the dust settles on Saturday, will Seton Hall have rebounded from its stinging loss to Villanova and be celebrating its first outright BIG EAST regular-season title in almost two decades? Kevin Willard thinks his resilient Pirates will most definitely answer the bell in Omaha Saturday afternoon.
“I have tremendous confidence in this team. I love this basketball team,” Willard said. “I love their heart, I love how much it means to them. I love the fact that they’re all hurting right now. If they didn’t care and they didn’t hurt then they wouldn’t bounce back. But they do. They’re all in (the locker room) crying. But I was like, ‘Everyone chill out. We’ve still got a game left and we got a BIG EAST Tournament and we got an NCAA Tournament and we’re going to have the best seed we’ve ever had. I have very high expectations for this basketball team.”