Big East Tournament - Predictions

[sju88grad]

OK.....now that the bracket is set, I'm predicting the following:

Wednesday:
SJU over Gtown - hard to beat a team 3x in one season
Xavier over DePaul - X needs this one to stay in the NCAA mix

Thursday Afternoon:
Creighton over SJU - CU on a roll.....8/9 winner has to come back to play at noon....plus a little revenge from last week's loss to SJU
Providence over Butler - I think this could be the best game of the tournament.....PC squeaks by....

Thursday Night:
Villanova over Xavier - I know this goes against my Weds night SJU/Gtown comment but it feels like X is at a disadvantage having to play the night before...
Seton Hall over Marquette - Really would love to see MU win this one since they need to reverse their slide before the NCAAs

Friday:
PC over Creighton - have to pick one upset although the way PC is playing, it wouldn't really be an upset...
Villanova over Seton Hall - Villanova really heating up....very close game.....

Saturday:
PC over Villanova - very tough pick but PC is really rolling right now....

[scoscox]

...I have no f'in clue.

[kayako]

Georgetown over SJU
Xavier over DePaul

Creighton over Georgetown
Butler over Providence
Nova over Xavier
Hall over Marquette

Creighton over Butler
Hall over Nova

Creighton over Hall

This is assuming Zegarowski is healthy. If not, they could be headed back to Omaha Thursday afternoon especially if SJU advances. I think Hall's depth gives them an edge vs. Nova, but I don't think they have the personnel to beat Creighton's lineup with Mahoney at 5.

[Django]

...I have no f'in clue.

[gtmoBlue]

Ev'ryone will be singing... George Benson version.

"They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway
They say there's always magic in the air..."

"They say that I won't last too long on Broadway
I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home they all say
But they're dead wrong I know they are
'Cause I can play this here guitar
And I won't quit till I'm a star on Broadway"

Roll Damn Jays! Anticipating a Jays vs Xavier Final...

[DanofXav76]

Ev'ryone will be singing... George Benson version.

"They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway
They say there's always magic in the air..."

"They say that I won't last too long on Broadway
I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home they all say
But they're dead wrong I know they are
'Cause I can play this here guitar
And I won't quit till I'm a star on Broadway"

Roll Damn Jays!

Sing it Gtmo Sing it Loud and Proud my Man!!

[GumbyDamnit!]

A few interesting things to watch for...

1). "Just get in baby." - Marq and X need to win at least one (X might be 2) to take a big sigh of relief and not sweat Selection Sunday. SJU, G'town and Depaul need to win 4 in a row.

2). "We're #2!" - I think the committee probably looks at VU, CU and SHU as basically equal at this point. I think if 1 of these 3 win the BET, they'll be a 2 seed. The other 2, if they win their first game, are probably locked in as 3's.

3). "Mr. EdCo Risin." - How high can PC climb? Could they get to a 4/5 seed by beating Butler, CU and then Nova/SHU in the BET? They're rolling and PC usually does well at the BET. Can they remain HOT?

4). "Start spreading news, I'm leaving today..." The Cats and the Pirates may have more than just a BET final on the line if they meet up in the semis. A return to MSG as the 2 seed (or the 3) in the East may be on the line. One of them will probably stay close to home with a protected seed Albany--MSG while the other will be shipped out Albany--????. I think it might actually be more beneficial to SHU to hit the road. They seem more focused away. Also Gonzaga in the West, KU in the Midwest and Baylor in the South seem like locks. That 4th #1 seed (in the East) might be those Dayton Flyers. Tough out for sure but I think I'd prefer to see them in my bracket than any of the other 3. That's especially true if it is in MSG.

5). "Catching some Zzzz's" - Will the Jay's rise to the occasion if Marcus can't play or will it be night-night time early? If he can't go does that open up the door to someone like the Johnnies or G'town to make a run?

6). "M.A.S.H." - Besides Marcus Z, who's playing and who's not? Mac and Yurt7? Reed? Scruggs? Is everyone going to be healthy or TBD?

7). "East Coast bias"- Will this be the year one of the midwestern schools break through?

[adoraz]

Given that we're likely to revisit the Fox contract this summer, ratings for the BET this year could be a factor.

With the latest AP (4 ranked teams), we're almost guaranteed that the finals will have 1 (or 2) ranked teams AND/OR have a bid thief (St. John's, Georgetown, DePaul). Typically we only have 1 ranked team and 0 bid thieves (I think only happened once, Providence in year 1).

Will be interesting to see if ratings are higher this year with UConn joining.

[Hall2012]

I think we'll see Providence reach the final on one side of the bracket. On the other side, my head says it's really tight between Seton Hall and Villanova - with a slight edge to the Pirates in that game, should that game happen, due to their depth and the back-to-back nature of the tournament. That said, while I hope I'm wrong and Seton Hall goes all the way, the 2 non-Nova champions since realignment were both schools that needed at least a deep run to feel safe on selection Sunday, and the BET can be all about crazy. I think that happens again - Markus Howard goes Kemba Walker all over this tournament and Marquette win the title.

[XUFan09]

Georgetown over SJU
Xavier over DePaul

Creighton over Georgetown
Butler over Providence
Nova over Xavier
Hall over Marquette

Creighton over Butler
Hall over Nova

Creighton over Hall

This is assuming Zegarowski is healthy. If not, they could be headed back to Omaha Thursday afternoon especially if SJU advances. I think Hall's depth gives them an edge vs. Nova, but I don't think they have the personnel to beat Creighton's lineup with Mahoney at 5.

On paper individually, these predictions make sense, but that set of predictions is way too chalky for how this conference slate has gone lol.