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MLK Day- Big East Marathon on FS1

12:00-Marquette at Butler-- Tim Brando, Len Elmore
Line: Butler -8

2:00 Creighton at Xavier- Joe Davis, Jim Jackson
Line: push

4:30- DePaul at St. John's- Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel
Line: St. John's -9

6:30- Seton Hall at Villanova- Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery
Line: Villanova -14

9:00-Providence at Georgetown- Justin Kutcher, Tarik Turner
Line: Georgetown -5.5

Jays know the Cintas...have played there often (Korver vs West). Ain't no bug-a-boo house. It's a great venue for basketball and XU vs CU have had some great games over the last 15 or so years. Seen Hill, Strong, Chalmers, West, all great players over the years. I expect another great game tomorrow.

I've always liked the Musketeers...they represent well for as long as I've known them (20 years). This is not personal - just biz. Gotta win the conference this time (25 Feb 17- the Pavilion).

Jays win over Xavier at the Cintas...CU 82 - Xavier 72.

I can't see Xavier winning tomorrow. Terrible matchup, not sure we have an answer for Foster, Watson, or Patton. Could be ugly, hope I'm wrong.

JohnW22 wrote:I can't see Xavier winning tomorrow. Terrible matchup, not sure we have an answer for Foster, Watson, or Patton. Could be ugly, hope I'm wrong.

No, hope it is ugly. If Xavier can play ugly, they can win what should be a close game. X is a really good rebounding team. That's important in a game in which controlling pace should be the key to winning. Slow it down and foul a lot. With Davis back, X can go 10 deep. That means that they can in fact give a lot of fouls. We all know that Creighton is a great shooting team, but they're not a particularly good free throw shooting team. So playing physical and putting them on the line would be a good strategy. Great matchup.

MUPanther wrote:MLK Day- Big East Marathon on FS1

12:00-Marquette at Butler-- Tim Brando, Len Elmore
Line: Butler -8

2:00 Creighton at Xavier- Joe Davis, Jim Jackson
Line: push

4:30- DePaul at St. John's- Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel
Line: St. John's -9

6:30- Seton Hall at Villanova- Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery
Line: Villanova -14

9:00-Providence at Georgetown- Justin Kutcher, Tarik Turner
Line: Georgetown -5.5

In the interest of sending as many teams to the Dance as possible, and at least attempting to leave personal bias out of it, who do we need to win/lose to maximize our bid count for tomorrows games?

My pics, (completely unbiased):

Marquette over Butler
Xavier over Creighton
Depaul and St Johns provide zero chance at a bid, but St Johns has some quality wins, and perhaps will be a better "W" for other teams.
Seton Hall over Nova would be monumental for their tourney chances.
Georgetown is expected to have a little bit better RPI than Providence. They also play the top 4 a plethora of times leading up to the Conf Tournament. I have to go with the Hoyas on this one.

I watch my first NFL game of the season from start to finish, and no FOX promos for the Big East Marathon?

I think XU fights like an animal backed into a corner and the Jays lose a close one. I hope I'm wrong.

Regarding the NCAA payout, is it better to have one team make it to the sweet sixteen or two teams play in the tournament but both lose their first game? At what point is it worse to have an additional team make it to the tournament if the trade-off is that the stronger teams get worse seeds?

gmoser1210 wrote:Regarding the NCAA payout, is it better to have one team make it to the sweet sixteen or two teams play in the tournament but both lose their first game? At what point is it worse to have an additional team make it to the tournament if the trade-off is that the stronger teams get worse seeds?

A sweet 16 run = 3 credits
2 one-and-done showings = 2 credits

Ideally you want both. But compare 2015 (6 teams earned 11 credits) vs 2016 (5 teams earned 12 credits) and the choice isn't very obvious. Seeing what Syracuse did for the ACC last year, I think I'd like to see more teams in even if it means a seed or two lower for the top teams.

Man, is this Xavier-Creighton game huge or what? Xavier really needs a big win and Creighton hasn't been tested like this outside of Omaha. Should be a fun one.

My company's CEO is a big Butler guy and told my boss that I am excused for today's game against Marquette. Can't wait to head over to Hinkle. Not gonna be terribly productive this morning.