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The best game in the conference in years, and a bunch of games in the middle of the league as people punch each other in the face trying to jostle for space in the league standings by the time the Big East tournament rolls around. DOES THIS LEAGUE KNOW HOW TO PARTY OR WHAT?
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Wednesday, February 24, 2016: #1 Villanova at #5 Xavier (6pm Central, FS1) - I don't have to explain this any further, do I?
Thursday, February 25, 2016: Providence at Seton Hall (6pm Central, FS1) - Seton Hall avoided near disaster on Sunday, as they hung on to get the win against St. John's in Madison Square Garden. That leaves the Pirates alone in third place in the Big East, but they still need Ws to get into the NCAA tournament, as they're hovering near the bubble right now. Meanwhile, Providence has lost five of seven. Their NCAA profile is still fairly solid, but they can't afford to be throwing games away down the stretch here.
Saturday, February 27, 2016: Butler at Georgetown (11am Central, CBS) - After their (expected?) loss to Villanova on Saturday, I don't think Butler's at large profile was hurt all that much. It definitely wasn't helped, though, as SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean had them heading to Dayton for a First Four game on Friday morning. They need wins in the worst way, and a road W against the Hoyas would be exactly what the doctor ordered. At 14-14 overall and 7-8 in Big East action, Georgetown's postseason chances are drying up in a hurry, much like their attendance. At some point, the heat has to start coming for John Thompson III, but a win here would help stave off the torches and pitchforks.
The Big East Women's Basketball Game Of The Week
Saturday, February 27, 2016: DePaul at Marquette (5pm Central, BEDN) - The Blue Demons have clinched the regular season title and the #1 seed in the Big East tournament. There's a three way tie for second place right behind them, but unfortunately, none of those teams are playing each other this week. So we'll go with the homer pick for WBB game of the week, where Marquette, in fifth place right now, can keep themselves out of the first day doubleheader at the conference tournament with a win. Plus, there's the bonus of Allazia Blockton sitting just 14 points away from the Big East's freshman scoring record. Let's not forget that the Golden Eagles had a chance to tie the game with a three pointer with seven seconds left against the Blue Demons in the conference schedule opener back on December 29th.
The Worst American Athletic Conference Game Of The Week
Wednesday, February 24, 2016: East Carolina at Tulane (7pm Central, ESPN News) - Look, this was probably going to be the worst AAC game regardless of what happened last week. ECU plays Cincinnati and Tulane plays SMU this week, so it can't be that. South Florida only plays Connecticut, so it can't be that. BUT: It made things super easy to pick this game as the worst when USF won twice last week, beating East Carolina and Memphis (side note: Memphis is TERRIBLE this year, yet never quite bad enough to make it into this section every week). Those two wins jumped USF up to four league wins on the year and left the Pirates and the Green Wave occupying the final two spots in the standings. By the way: If Connecticut wins the AAC tournament, there's a real chance that this could be a one bid league this year, and that is DELIGHTFUL.