BIG EAST NCAA News & Notes
 
VILLANOVA, CREIGHTON ADVANCED TO SWEET 16
Villanova and Creighton, the BIG EAST’s top two teams in the regular season, advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Championship.  Both teams were No. 5 seeds and both had their seasons end against No. 1 seeds.  The Wildcats lost 62-51 to top-seeded Baylor in the South Region.  The Bluejays dropped an 83-65 decision to No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the West Region.
  
WILDCAT/BLUEJAY SIMILARITIES: Besides being ranked consecutively at 18th (Villanova) and 19th (Creighton) in the final AP poll, both teams knocked off No. 12 seeds in the first round and No. 13 seeds in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16.  Villanova finished with the best overall record among BIG EAST teams with an 18-7 (.720) mark, while Creighton was second at 22-9 (.710).
 
For the season, Creighton led the league in field goal percentage (.472) and field goal defense (.408).  The Bluejays were first in 3-pointers made (293-9.5) with the Wildcats second at 229 (9.2).  CU’s Marcus Zegarowski led the league with 80 3-pointers made.  VU’s Collin Gillespie was first in assist/turnover ratio (2.9).          
 
FOUR BIG EAST TEAMS WENT DANCING
Villanova, Creighton, UConn and Georgetown earned NCAA bids.  While Villanova, the regular-season champion, and runner-up Creighton both were No. 5 seeds, Connecticut was a No. 7 seed and Georgetown, the BIG EAST Tournament winner, was a No. 12.
 
no. 8 seed georgetown grabBED big east tourney crown
The eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas were the surprising winners of the The BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden.  After dispatching No. 9 seed Marquette 68-49 in the first round, the Hoyas edged top-seeded Villanova 72-71 in the quarterfinals.  In the semifinals, they beat No. 5 seed Seton Hall 66-58.  In the finals, the Hoyas defeated second-seeded Creighton 73-48.  Georgetown became only the second team in league history to knock off the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the same year. 
 
VILLANOVA HAS THE TOP EIGHT-YEAR LEAGUE RECORD
In the eight seasons since conference realignment, Villanova has the best record in conference play with a 114-27 (.808) mark.  The Wildcats have won or shared seven of the eight regular-season titles.  Xavier won outright in 2017-18.
 
CONFERENCE Records (2013-21)
                             Overall        Pct.
Villanova            114-27        .808
Connecticut*       11-6          .647
Xavier                  80-59         .575
Creighton            83-63         .568
Providence          79-66         .545
Seton Hall           76-69         .524
Butler                  72-74         .493
Marquette          68-77         .469
Georgetown        58-84         .409
St. John’s             55-90         .379
DePaul                30-111        .213
*only played in ’20-21
 
BIG EAST Has Averaged More Than Five NCAA Bids Per Season
With four NCAA bids in 2021, the BIG EAST has received a total of 36 NCAA Tournament invitations, averaging 5.1 per season, discounting 2020 when the NCAA Tournament was not played.  Villanova won the national championship in 2018 and 2016.  The BIG EAST earned seven NCAA bids in 2017.