Big East Semi-Finals 3/9/18

[MUPanther]

Big East semi.: Providence vs. 3 Xavie (-7.5), 6:30, FS1 - Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson, Lisa Byington

Big East semi.: #2 Villanova vs. Butler, 9:00, FS1 - Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson, Lisa Byington

[GumbyDamnit!]

2 good games tonight. Was secretly hoping for a SHU win last night simply for good theater. Nova and SHU seem to bring the best out of each other in MSG and have had some epic BET battles. But Butler has certainly been a thorn in our side, so it will be a challenge for sure.

What's at stake...

X: There are 4 teams battling for the 3 remaining #1 seeds IMO. X. Nova, KU & Duke. X (and Nova) win tonight and they lock up those #1 seeds.

Nova: See above. Nova may also be playing to try to keep Duke out of their region. Win the BET and if Duke is the top #2 in the tourney, there's a good chance the committee may try to separate Nova and Duke. I'm not afraid of any matchup but given the preference of facing someone like Cincy or someone like Duke in a potential E8 game, it's an easy choice.

Butler: Beat Nova and move up off that 8/9 line. Maybe a 6/7 if they keep winning in the BET. That's good motivation. I think you'd much rather see someone like Auburn or UNC in the 2nd round of the tourney instead of UVA or KU.

Prov.: Sort of the opposite of Butler. Win vs. X and they could move into that 8/9 seed range. PC may be better served as a 10 seed, but you gotta win the game and not worry about the matchups, yet...

Let's hope for two great games. I have a gut feeling both are going to be very physical and very spirited.

[Bill Marsh]

Any outcome other than X and VU in the finals would have to be considered a major upset. Providence and Xavier are both capable of pulling off upsets at this level because they both did so during the regular season, so I’ll be glued to my TV set (after getting in from the high school playoffs and my grandson’s soccer game).

I too would have liked some good theater and was pulling for St John’s to pull off a couple of upsets. but now we’re left with four tough, smart teams who play lots of goos D. Should be some really good basketball the next couple of days.

[stever20]

2 good games tonight. Was secretly hoping for a SHU win last night simply for good theater. Nova and SHU seem to bring the best out of each other in MSG and have had some epic BET battles. But Butler has certainly been a thorn in our side, so it will be a challenge for sure.

What's at stake...

X: There are 4 teams battling for the 3 remaining #1 seeds IMO. X. Nova, KU & Duke. X (and Nova) win tonight and they lock up those #1 seeds.

Nova: See above. Nova may also be playing to try to keep Duke out of their region. Win the BET and if Duke is the top #2 in the tourney, there's a good chance the committee may try to separate Nova and Duke. I'm not afraid of any matchup but given the preference of facing someone like Cincy or someone like Duke in a potential E8 game, it's an easy choice.

Butler: Beat Nova and move up off that 8/9 line. Maybe a 6/7 if they keep winning in the BET. That's good motivation. I think you'd much rather see someone like Auburn or UNC in the 2nd round of the tourney instead of UVA or KU.

Prov.: Sort of the opposite of Butler. Win vs. X and they could move into that 8/9 seed range. PC may be better served as a 10 seed, but you gotta win the game and not worry about the matchups, yet...

Let's hope for two great games. I have a gut feeling both are going to be very physical and very spirited.

The question for Providence IMO is about if they are with a loss in danger of being the 4th team in the tourney, and thus sent to Dayton. In some of the top bracketology today, you're seeing Providence as one of the last 1-2 teams with a bye.

For Butler- a win and they might move up, but that may push Seton Hall down to the 8 line. Right now I think all 5 of the top 5 bracketologists have Seton Hall as the 4th 7 seed. I think they may have them artificially there quite frankly- but because they have 2 Big East teams in the 8/9 games- they're bumping up Seton Hall to the 7 line for bracket rules.

As far as Nova with Duke- if Duke's the top 2 seed, I think that's all up to geography. The only rule for it is they can't be bracketed with the top 1 seed and they can't be bracketed with the top team from their conference. Both of those are Virginia obviously. Given the other regions are Boston, Omaha, and Los Angeles- it'd be easily for Boston I think. I think bare minimum, Nova and Xavier are playing to avoid being sent out west.

[gofriars08]

I like Butler's chances of an upset a lot more than Providence, unfortunately. Butler is 3-1 vs. Nova the last two years - they will go in confident that they can beat them. And while both PC and Butler may be tired from back-and-forth games, Butler is a bit deeper and did not have to go to OT in their game.

I also think Xavier is 100% locked in the last ~month or so, Nova home loss notwithstanding. They are hunting for a BET title and a #1 seed, while I think the Nova guys may be fine if they did not win the BET and got some rest. Those Nova players know they can make a title run even if they aren't a #1 seed - in fact, going in as a #2 may keep them a bit under the radar.

[Hall2012]

Agree with Gumby that I was really hoping for another round of Seton Hall-Villanova as their prior 3 BET meetings have been nothing short of epic, all decided at the buzzer. It a match-up that's starting to feel like the UConn-Syracuse BET battles of old (though the Cats and Pirates haven't needed 6 OTs quite yet). Unfortunately, Kamar Baldwin took his own page of the BET history and went all Kemba Walker on the Hall.

Both semifinals should be good and I really wouldn't be all that shocked to see the PC-Butler final.

[Bill Marsh]

I like Butler's chances of an upset a lot more than Providence, unfortunately. Butler is 3-1 vs. Nova the last two years - they will go in confident that they can beat them. And while both PC and Butler may be tired from back-and-forth games, Butler is a bit deeper and did not have to go to OT in their game.

I also think Xavier is 100% locked in the last ~month or so, Nova home loss notwithstanding. They are hunting for a BET title and a #1 seed, while I think the Nova guys may be fine if they did not win the BET and got some rest. Those Nova players know they can make a title run even if they aren't a #1 seed - in fact, going in as a #2 may keep them a bit under the radar.

Don't be discouraged, Go Friar. Your guys have been playing great defense, which is the key to any upset. Xavier is definitely going to have a battle on their hands. As you know, the Friars were battling injuries in the 2nd half of the BE season, so they were up and down. But when they were right, they were capable of beating both Villanova and Xavier. They've won 3 of their past 4 and are now healthy & at full strength.

The Friars have picked off Xavier each of the past 2 seasons. No reason why they can't do it again. I expect both of the favorites to win tonight, but I also expect both of these games to be hard fought. I give just Providence as good a chance as Butler to pull off an upset.

[American X]

Providence seemed relieved just to beat Creighton and solidify their NCAA Tournament bid. I'm alright with a less than full effort against Xavier tonight.

[gofriars08]

I expect a full effort, and the team clearly knows they have what it takes to beat Xavier, but X is playing great ball right now and PC played a really short bench in an OT game yesterday. A team without a ton of depth that is on a back to back for the first time all year playing a superior talent team tells me it's going to take an off night by X or a huge night from 2 key Friar contributors to result in a win.

[Bill Marsh]

Providence seemed relieved just to beat Creighton and solidify their NCAA Tournament bid. I'm alright with a less than full effort against Xavier tonight.

Nice try.