Big East Basketball What To Watch: The Final Countdown

Monday, February 26: Marquette Golden Eagles at Georgetown Hoyas (6pm Central, FS1) - Look, I don’t want to overreact to things all that much, but the fact of the matter is that Marquette’s entire NCAA tournament at-large berth hopes depend on winning this game. At 7-9, they have to win out to finish at 9-9 in the regular season, and then they’ll probably need to at least make it to the Big East semifinals for the selection committee to take them seriously. Lose this one, and it’s Big East tournament title or the NIT for sure.

Wednesday, February 28: Providence Friars at #3 Xavier Musketeers (5:30pm Central, FS1) - Xavier is 13-3. Villanova is 12-4. The Musketeers can clinch at least a share of the Big East title with a win in this game if they can gain revenge for the loss earlier this season in Rhode Island. In fact, they can clinch the title outright depending on the result of the back half of Wednesday night’s doubleheader on FS1, which is.....

Wednesday, February 28: #4 Villanova Wildcats at Seton Hall Pirates (7:30pm Central, FS1) - Villanova’s hopes at a fifth straight Big East title rely on heading into The Rock and coming out with a win. If the Pirates pull the upset and help bolster their postseason profile, then the Wildcats are going to have to hope that Providence has already pulled the road stunner in order to keep them alive for a share of the title.

Saturday, March 3: #3 Xavier Musketeers at DePaul Blue Demons (11am Central, Fox) - We’re going to put this one on the list, because it’s possible, perhaps likely, that the Big East regular season title will still be on the line on Saturday. KenPom favors both Xavier and Villanova in Wednesday’s games, and if that ends up happening, then Trevon Bluiett and the Musketeers will be in Chicago trying to fend off the Wildcats for sole control of the league title.

Saturday, March 3: Creighton Bluejays at Marquette Golden Eagles (1:30pm Central, Fox) - Gonna just go ahead and repeat myself here: Look, I don’t want to overreact to things all that much, but the fact of the matter is that Marquette’s entire NCAA tournament at-large berth hopes depend on winning this game. At 7-9, they have to win out to finish at 9-9 in the regular season, and then they’ll probably need to at least make it to the Big East semifinals for the selection committee to take them seriously. Lose this one, and it’s Big East tournament title or the NIT for sure.

Saturday, March 3: Georgetown Hoyas at #4 Villanova Wildcats (4pm Central, Fox) - If both Xavier and Villanova come through with wins on Wednesday, Villanova will be hoping for a DePaul win earlier in the day in order to give the Wildcats a crack at a share of the Big East title. This is kind of a big deal, as Jalen Brunson and friends swept the season series against the Musketeers. If there’s a tie, Nova will be the #1 seed in the Big East tournament.

Saturday, March 3-Tuesday, March 6: 2018 Big East Women’s Basketball Tournament - I’m just going to drop this note in here to remind you that the tournament kicks off on Saturday afternoon with the 7/10 and 8/9 doubleheader. Marquette is the #1 seed in the tournament, and they’ll kick off action Sunday against the winner of the 8/9 game at noon Central. If you’re in the Chicago area, make your way down to Wintrust Arena and go cheer on the Golden Eagles, alright?