Pat’s Picks Post: With a small slate of College hoops games tonight, there will not be any plays for the day. A great motto I heard once in Vegas fits here, “sometimes no play, is the best play”, tonight this holds true. However, this gives me a free night to break down the upcoming Big East Tournament! Below will be some in-game analysis, as well as my predictions.
#8 Georgetown VS. #9 St. Johns:
Georgetown has had St. Johns number this year. The Hoyas won both meetings this year, 69-66 and 93-89. This might be the only game in the big east that will be centered around the teams’ coaches and not the players. Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin have been tasked with the challenge of reviving their once powerhouse alma maters. The bad blood these two had from their playing days makes this must watch TV. While both have had flashes of success this year, they also have seen their fair share of struggles. The bottom line is this game will come down to Shamorie Ponds. Ponds was a first team all Big East player this year. Sidelined the last two games with injury, if Ponds plays and plays well, St. Johns will win. If Ponds is unable to go or is rendered ineffective, the fighting Ewings will move on. I think St. Johns is a more talented team with Ponds, so I will take the Johnnies to move on.
St. Johns 68 Georgetown 62
#7 Marquette V. #10 DePaul:
Marquette has been a tough team to read all year. They have some good wins (Seton Hall x2 and Creighton x2), but they also have some puzzling losses this year. One of those losses was to DePaul. The Golden Eagles will look to avenge this loss Wednesday on the backs of their big three players. Howard, Rowsey, and Hauser all average over 15 ppg and make the three at a high level. There is no reason to expect the Golden Eagles to change their strategy for DePaul
There isn’t much to say about DePaul, because quite frankly, they just aren’t good. Give me Marquette by a landslide.
Marquette 77 DePaul 54
#9 St. Johns VS. #1 Xavier:
Xavier is one of the best teams in the nation and for good reason. The Musketeers have a potent offense that is averaging 84.5 ppg. Trevon Bluiett is one of the nations most versatile guards. He is able to get to the rim at ease while being able to shoot the three at a 43% clip. However, what makes this Musketeer team so impressive is their ability to share the ball. Xavier has 8 players that average over 7 ppg.
Shamorie Ponds might be able to keep his Red Storm in the game for a while, but expect Xavier to pull away late.
Xavier 82 St. Johns: 68
#7 Marquette VS #2 Villanova
This is another one of those patented Coach Wright Villanova teams. The Wildcats have one of, if not the best 1-2 punches in college basketball. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges average over 36 ppg combined and shoot it at a blistering 52% from the field. What make the wildcats so deadly is their versatility. All but one of their rotation players are able to step out and knock down the three. As a team, Villanova shoots the ball from three at a 39% success rate.
Marquette has played Nova tough in the two matchups prior to the tournament. Marquette is the only team in the conference that can go three for three with Villanova. If Marquette can find a way to hang around in this game, they could be able to steal this one. The Golden Eagles have three players who are shooting over 80% from the free throw line. Two of those three are shooting above 90%. The first true upset of the tourney could happen in this game. Hell, as a Purdue fan it would be a nice resume booster if Marquette won this game.
Marquette 86 Villanova 81
#4 Creighton VS #5 Providence:
Creighton is safely in the NCAA tournament with what they were able to accomplish this year. Their win vs Villanova a few weeks back secured their entry. The Blue Jays have shown their ability to compete at the highest level. Creighton will want to get out and run in this game, and rightfully so. Providence was able to dictate the tempo in the game the last two times these teams met, and the Friars were able to pull out a 85-71 win. Providence is firmly on the bubble coming into this game. A win would go a long way to help their chances. I expect this game to be a lower scoring game than anticipated.
Creighton 67 Providence 68
#3 Seton Hall VS #6 Butler
Seton Hall has been one of the most frustrating teams in the Big East. They have a couple of big black eyes on their resume that have been given out to them by Rutgers and Georgetown. They also went on a four-game skid in February that put their NCAA tournament hopes in jeopardy. The Pirates were able to right the ship (corny pun alert) and should be a lock to make the tourney. Seton Hall comes with one of the most dynamic players in the league. When Desi Rodriguez is on, he is fascinating to watch.
Butler has had a pretty seamless transition on from Coach Holtmann. The Bulldogs were able to beat their old coach earlier in the season and it looked to be another patented plug and play Butler team. However, as of late the bulldogs have started to skid. With losses in 4 out of 6 of their last games, a good showing in the Big East tournament will be important for their confidence. I expect this to be a slugfest.
Seton Hall 73 Butler 66
#1 Xavier VS #5 Providence
This is exactly the game Providence would need to cement their tournament status. Xavier isn’t going to let Providence just take this game from them. The Friars just don’t have the firepower to keep up with the Musketeers.
Xavier 81 Providence 65
#3 Seton Hall VS # 7 Marquette
This is matchup of contrasting styles. Seton Hall is going to look to attack the rim, while Marquette would look to get out in transition to create open three-point opportunities. The biggest question mark for this game will be how much gas is left in the tank for Marquette? Shooting tends to diminish as consecutive games are played. This will be the Golden Eagles third game in three days.
Seton Hall 73 Marquette 63
#1 Xavier VS # 3 Seton Hall
This is not the championship game the people wanted and it won’t be the championship game the people need. The depth just isn’t there for Seton Hall to keep up in this game. The Musketeers will go on to win this game and wrap up the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament .
Xavier 77 Seton Hall 61