The BIG EAST knew it was getting four teams in the NCAA Tournament for sure with St.John’s, Creighton. Marquette and UConn as locks. But the league received good news when Xavier was tabbed as a fifth pick as it was invited to play in the First Four as an 11 seed against Texas in Dayton on Wednesday. Five bids in an 11-team league is a strong showing.
St. John’s, fresh off its first BIG EAST Tournament championship in a quarter of a century, grabbed a No. 2 seed in the West Region and will face No. 15 Omaha in Providence on Thursday at 9:45 p.m. ET on CBS. The Red Storm logged 30 wins this season, saw their four losses come by a combined seven points and will come at the Mavericks (22-12) with BIG EAST Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr., fellow All-BIG EAST First Team pick Zuby Ejiofor and, oh yeah, Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
The Mavericks could be fresh meat for the Johnnies as they will be making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Mavs defeated St. Thomas (Minn.) in the Summit League Tournament to reach the Big Dance.
“It’s a little bit intimidating (playing St. John’s),” Omaha coach Chris Crutchfield said on CBS Sports Network. “But our guys will be up for the challenge and we’re looking forward to it. This is great for our program. We’ll get more national exposure.”
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, whose campus is near the Omaha campus, expressed his support for Crutchfield’s Mavericks making their first NCAA appearance.
“I want to congratulate Coach Crutchfield and Omaha,” McDermott said. “It’s really cool for two schools from the same city going to the NCAA Tournament and I know their fan base is really excited as well. A couple of teams 30 blocks apart going to the NCAA Tournament is pretty cool.”
This will be a record sixth team that St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino takes to the NCAA Tournament as he previously took Boston U., Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona to the Big Dance. But it’s Luis Jr.’s first trip and he’s soaking it all in.
“Just super blessed. I got to give all the glory to God,” Luis Jr. said. “I think it’s great and I’m psyched. That was my first time experiencing that (getting picked on the Selection Show). Last year was hard because we sat through the whole show thinking, ‘Ok, the next pick we are going to get in.’ And obviously we didn’t make the tournament. So that was pretty hard to see the seniors and what they were trying to do and build. We couldn’t get the job done. But this year obviously we took care of business. So, it just feels great. It’s a great opportunity. I’m very excited.”
Marquette (23-10) grabbed a seven seed in the South Region and will square off with No. 10 New Mexico (26-7) at the Rocket Center at 7:25 p.m. on TBS in Cleveland on Friday. This is the fourth time in head coach Shaka Smart’s four years that the Golden Eagles have reached the NCAA Tournament. And remember - Marquette reached the Sweet 16 last season.
The Lobos won the Mountain West Conference for the first time in 12 seasons and are led by conference Player of the Year Donovan Dent, who averages 20.6 points a game. Nelly Junior Joseph is another offensive threat who averages 14 points a game. Joseph is a transfer from Iona who played for Rick Pitino and now plays for his son, Lobos’ coach Richard Pitino. Just a reminder: Marquette’s BIG EAST season was ended by Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals.
Two-time defending champion UConn was handed a No. 8 eight seed and will square off with No. 9 Oklahoma in a West Regional game in Raleigh, N. C. on Friday at 9:25 p.m. on TNT. The Huskies (20-13) saw their BIG EAST season come to an end in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals with a loss to Creighton. Now their road to an NCAA three-peat begins against the Sooners (20-13), who are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021.
The Huskies as always will be led by Alex Karaban, Solo Ball and frosh phenom Liam McNeeley, but the Sooners will counter with Jeremiah Fears, a projected first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft. He is averaging 22.7 points, 5.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds over his last seven games, including a 29-point performance in a SEC Tournament opening-round win over Georgia.
Creighton was slotted a No. 9 seed and will face off with No. 8 Louisville on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. on CBS. in a South Regional game at Rupp Arena in Lexington. This will be the Bluejays 10th trip to the NCAAs in the last 14 years after falling in the BIG EAST Tournament title game to St. John’s. The Jays will go as far as Ryan Kalkbrenner (19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds) will take them.
The Bluejays will be facing a Louisville team (27-7) that had a 19-win improvement over last year’s team and finished second in the ACC. It’s the Cardinals first NCAA appearance since 2019 and they will also be getting Reyne Smith back from an ankle injury. Smith led the nation in made three-pointers this season.
“Really thrilled for the opportunity to continue to coach these guys this week,” Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said. “Obviously we drew a very difficult opponent in Louisville. Eighteen and two in the ACC is incredible. It will be a tough game for us, but we’re excited to keep playing.”
And finally, there is Xavier. The Musketeers were living on the NCAA bubble since the beginning of February when they had a 14-10 overall record and a 6-7 BIG EAST mark. But Xavier rallied to win its final seven games of the regular season to get them back in the Big Dance conversation. Now Sean Miller’s crew, which was handed an 11 seed and a trip to Dayton for a First Four game, will face off against No. 11 Texas on Wednesday at 9:10 p.m. on TruTV. In an ironic twist.
This will be the Musketeers second NCAA tournament appearance in three years under Miller. Texas beat Xavier in a 2023 Sweet 16 game.