Thur 2/27, Georgetown (7-8) at Marquette (8-6), 9pm FS1.

[stever20]

Things don't look good for Georgetown, but I'm not writing them off yet. This is the same team that beat Michigan State, Providence, and Xavier without Josh Smith. They played Marquette tough last night on the road. They get played a close game against Villanova last time and get Creighton at home. When they're on their game, they're a very dangerous team.

Last night was a tough loss, a missed opportunity. But it was a game they weren't supposed to win and they showed up anyway, giving Marquette all they could handle. They have 2 more opportunities before the season ends. Will they win them? Not likely. But if they could win even one of them, it would change the conversation going into the Big East tournament.

Marquette win a game they were supposed to win. They have a lot of work left to do to get into the tournament conversation. They also have opportunities. They need to run the table in the regular season just to get on the bubble. Villanova and Providence are big opportunities for them. We'll see if they can take advantage of them.

For Georgetown to get into the tourney in my opinion now, they would need 2 wins over Villanova or Creighton and 1 other win to include the BET. If they do like you said and split them, they will be almost certainly locked into the 7 seed. That puts them in the 7/10 game first and then a QF game with the 2 seed. They would need a win in that game to get into the tourney. Or if they win both next week, they would need a QF win to feel safe I think.

I think for Marquette if they win vs Villanova and split Providence/St John's they are clearly on the bubble. If they win out they are 20-11 and 12-6 with RPI of 48. If that isn't in the tourney, the Big East is in a LOT of trouble quite frankly. (also not sure why you say Providence is a big oppurtunity but St John's isn't).

[billyjack]

I think CU, VU and XU are in.
For a 4th bid, I think St John's is in the best shape. I think SJU will get the 4 or 5 spot, and if they can get to the BET semis, they'll get in too (this is because of their Creighton win). Really I think the 4 vs 5 winner is in.

[Bill Marsh]

Things don't look good for Georgetown, but I'm not writing them off yet. This is the same team that beat Michigan State, Providence, and Xavier without Josh Smith. They played Marquette tough last night on the road. They get played a close game against Villanova last time and get Creighton at home. When they're on their game, they're a very dangerous team.

Last night was a tough loss, a missed opportunity. But it was a game they weren't supposed to win and they showed up anyway, giving Marquette all they could handle. They have 2 more opportunities before the season ends. Will they win them? Not likely. But if they could win even one of them, it would change the conversation going into the Big East tournament.

Marquette win a game they were supposed to win. They have a lot of work left to do to get into the tournament conversation. They also have opportunities. They need to run the table in the regular season just to get on the bubble. Villanova and Providence are big opportunities for them. We'll see if they can take advantage of them.

For Georgetown to get into the tourney in my opinion now, they would need 2 wins over Villanova or Creighton and 1 other win to include the BET. If they do like you said and split them, they will be almost certainly locked into the 7 seed. That puts them in the 7/10 game first and then a QF game with the 2 seed. They would need a win in that game to get into the tourney. Or if they win both next week, they would need a QF win to feel safe I think.

I think for Marquette if they win vs Villanova and split Providence/St John's they are clearly on the bubble. If they win out they are 20-11 and 12-6 with RPI of 48. If that isn't in the tourney, the Big East is in a LOT of trouble quite frankly. (also not sure why you say Providence is a big oppurtunity but St John's isn't).

Steve, if Marquette wins out in the regular season, that puts them on the bubble. That's what a 48 is. Their fate would be decided by what they do in the BE tournament and what all the other contenders do as well as whether there are any extreme upsets in conference tourneys for auto bids.

The Providence game is a big opportunity because it's on the road and right now it projects as a loss for Marquette. Winning a game they're supposed to lose changes their narrative. They're supposed to win the St. John's game since they have that game at home. If they lose a game they're supposed to win at this stage of the season, they're in serous trouble since they're struggling just to get on the bubble. Right now they aren't even in the conversation.

[Bill Marsh]

I think CU, VU and XU are in.
For a 4th bid, I think St John's is in the best shape. I think SJU will get the 4 or 5 spot, and if they can get to the BET semis, they'll get in too (this is because of their Creighton win). Really I think the 4 vs 5 winner is in.

Agree, but the Xavier loss was a huge set back for St. John's and at the same time, a big boost for Xavier.

With the BE tourney in NY, St. John's has to continue to be considered a factor. If they could finish out with a win over DePaul and an upset over Marquette, they'd be in very good shape.

[stever20]

Things don't look good for Georgetown, but I'm not writing them off yet. This is the same team that beat Michigan State, Providence, and Xavier without Josh Smith. They played Marquette tough last night on the road. They get played a close game against Villanova last time and get Creighton at home. When they're on their game, they're a very dangerous team.

Last night was a tough loss, a missed opportunity. But it was a game they weren't supposed to win and they showed up anyway, giving Marquette all they could handle. They have 2 more opportunities before the season ends. Will they win them? Not likely. But if they could win even one of them, it would change the conversation going into the Big East tournament.

Marquette win a game they were supposed to win. They have a lot of work left to do to get into the tournament conversation. They also have opportunities. They need to run the table in the regular season just to get on the bubble. Villanova and Providence are big opportunities for them. We'll see if they can take advantage of them.

For Georgetown to get into the tourney in my opinion now, they would need 2 wins over Villanova or Creighton and 1 other win to include the BET. If they do like you said and split them, they will be almost certainly locked into the 7 seed. That puts them in the 7/10 game first and then a QF game with the 2 seed. They would need a win in that game to get into the tourney. Or if they win both next week, they would need a QF win to feel safe I think.

I think for Marquette if they win vs Villanova and split Providence/St John's they are clearly on the bubble. If they win out they are 20-11 and 12-6 with RPI of 48. If that isn't in the tourney, the Big East is in a LOT of trouble quite frankly. (also not sure why you say Providence is a big oppurtunity but St John's isn't).

Steve, if Marquette wins out in the regular season, that puts them on the bubble. That's what a 48 is. Their fate would be decided by what they do in the BE tournament and what all the other contenders do as well as whether there are any extreme upsets in conference tourneys for auto bids.

The Providence game is a big opportunity because it's on the road and right now it projects as a loss for Marquette. Winning a game they're spoked to lose changes their narrative. They're supposed to win the St. John's game since they have that game at home. If they lose a game they're supposed to win at this stage of the season, they're in serous trouble since they're struggling just to get on the bubble. Right now they aren't even in the conversation.

If they or any other BE team is 12-6 in conference and 20-11 overall- and they are out- that would be devastating to the conference. Very few top 50 RPI teams from major conferences get left out of the tourney. They may have to win 1 game in the BET against a 6 seed to seal the spot- but they would feel very safe at 21-12.

And, I'm sorry but beating PC doesn't change the narrative at all. Beating Nova on the other hand totally would.

[XUFan09]

Makes me wonder what happens if Marquette goes 2-1 next week, and wins one game at MSG. That would put the Warriors at 20-12, and probably with a third-place Big East finish (Xavier has to play Creighton and Villanova, and Marquette has the tiebreaker over Xavier for now). You may be in Dayton. You may not even be in, but you'll be in the conversation with that kind of finish.

How does Marquette have the tiebreaker right now over Xavier? Just wondering.

[Bill Marsh]

For Georgetown to get into the tourney in my opinion now, they would need 2 wins over Villanova or Creighton and 1 other win to include the BET. If they do like you said and split them, they will be almost certainly locked into the 7 seed. That puts them in the 7/10 game first and then a QF game with the 2 seed. They would need a win in that game to get into the tourney. Or if they win both next week, they would need a QF win to feel safe I think.

I think for Marquette if they win vs Villanova and split Providence/St John's they are clearly on the bubble. If they win out they are 20-11 and 12-6 with RPI of 48. If that isn't in the tourney, the Big East is in a LOT of trouble quite frankly. (also not sure why you say Providence is a big oppurtunity but St John's isn't).

Steve, if Marquette wins out in the regular season, that puts them on the bubble. That's what a 48 is. Their fate would be decided by what they do in the BE tournament and what all the other contenders do as well as whether there are any extreme upsets in conference tourneys for auto bids.

The Providence game is a big opportunity because it's on the road and right now it projects as a loss for Marquette. Winning a game they're spoked to lose changes their narrative. They're supposed to win the St. John's game since they have that game at home. If they lose a game they're supposed to win at this stage of the season, they're in serous trouble since they're struggling just to get on the bubble. Right now they aren't even in the conversation.

If they or any other BE team is 12-6 in conference and 20-11 overall- and they are out- that would be devastating to the conference. Very few top 50 RPI teams from major conferences get left out of the tourney. They may have to win 1 game in the BET against a 6 seed to seal the spot- but they would feel very safe at 21-12.

And, I'm sorry but beating PC doesn't change the narrative at all. Beating Nova on the other hand totally would.

Steve, no need to apologize. It's all good. I was talking about a Marquette win over PC in the context of my earlier post with regard to Marquette winning out in the regular season. Perhaps you would have preferred that I would have said, ". . . helps to change the narrative."

The point I was trying to make in response to your question about why PC is an opportunity and SJU is not is that a win at home over St. John's is what MU is supposed to do, so it changes nothing. A loss would change the conversation. In contrast, MU is supposed to lose to PC on the road, so a road win there would change the trajectory.

A Villanova win wouldn't change their narrative by itself. I believe that they need both Villanova and PC.

As for MU feeling safe with a 48 RPI at the end of the regular season, there is no guarantee that their RPI would remain at 48 by selection Sunday. Ranking a are based on what everyone does, so the 48 could change based on what other teams do in their conference tournaments as well as what MU does in the BE tourney. IMO, they would still have to win a game in the BE tourney to secure a bid. Not saying that a loss would kill their chances, but it sure wouldn't help.