Big East Big Five: Week 4

After featuring the Big East-SEC Challenge in last week's Big Five, the Big East won the Challenge easily, 8-4. This made me wonder: What is the Big East's record in games that have been featured in the Big Five overall? With 15 games played, it turns out the Big East is 7-8. Losses to Mizzou, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi State all make sense. Rutgers dropping at Miami isn't the worst thing in the world, either. South Florida losing to Old Dominion and Providence losing to Northern Iowa aren't great. Let's see if the Big East can get to the positive side of the ledger with this week's Big Five!

Tuesday, December 6: Villanova vs #10/#10 Missouri (Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden, 6pm Central, ESPN) - Look, we all know you're going to turn on ESPN at 8 to watch Marquette take on Washington, so why not turn it on earlier to watch the game immediately preceding from the Garden and cheer on the Big East for a big upset over an undefeated Mizzou team?

Thursday, December 8: #9/#9 Connecticut vs #25/#24 Harvard (6pm, ESPN2) - Tommy Amaker's Harvard squad is freshly ranked, and while a trip to Gampel Pavilion won't be the easiest thing in the world, it would definitely go a long way to guaranteeing the Crimson a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Thursday, December 8: West Virginia at Kansas State (8pm, ESPN2) - The Mountaineers have dropped both of their highest profile games this season, at home against Kent State on the Tip Off Marathon and at Mississippi State in the Big East-SEC Challenge. Handing K-State their first loss of the season while visiting the Octagon would be a big time win for Huggy Bear's squad.

Saturday, December 10: Cincinnati at #8/#8 Xavier (11:30am, ESPN2) - If you don't want to watch a Jesuit university play in a rivalry game against the Bearcats, I don't know why you're reading this blog.

Saturday, December 10: Villanova at Temple (4pm, ESPN2) - It's a Big 5 game, and both teams need the win to bolster their records after two early season slip ups, especially in Nova's case if they can't swing the W against Mizzou.