The Big East Conference Tournament starts on Tuesday with four games. View updated college basketball odds.
The Big East Conference hopes to get a record 11 teams into the 2011 NCAA tournament, but a few of them likely have some work to do this week at Madison Square Garden in order to make sure they are off the bubble come Selection Sunday. The 11 teams in contention for the Big Dance all finished 9-9 or better in Big East play, although #11 seed Marquette (18-13), #10 Villanova (21-10) and #9 Connecticut (21-9) might be in trouble if they lose their first-round games in the conference tournament on Tuesday.
Those three teams all finished with 9-9 conference records, and falling to one of the three worst teams in the league could be just enough to burst their bubbles. The Golden Eagles figure to be in the most difficult spot with the toughest matchup in #14 Providence (15-16, 4-14 Big East), featuring the conference’s leading scorer in Marshon Brooks (24.8 points per game this season).
The Friars broke a seven-game losing streak with a 75-74 win over #13 Rutgers (14-16, 5-13) on Saturday behind 28 points from Brooks, who set the Big East single-season scoring record in his final home game against the Scarlet Knights. Marquette crushed Providence 86-62 at home on February 27 in the only regular-season meeting between the teams but dropped its last two games following that victory, including an 85-72 loss at #12 Seton Hall (13-17, 7-11) on Saturday.
No team struggled down the stretch though more than the Wildcats, who ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak and went 4-8 straight-up and 1-11 against the spread in their last 12. Villanova will meet #15 seed South Florida (9-22, 3-15) and beat the Bulls 83-71 on the road during a season-high 11-game winning streak earlier in the year.
UConn was not much better, losing four of the last five, including two at home to Marquette (74-67 in overtime) and Notre Dame (70-67). The Huskies started the season at 17-2 and were a much different team in the second half of their Big East schedule due it part to leading scorer Kemba Walker’s shooting woes.
Walker was an early favorite for National Player of the Year honors but simply ran out of gas despite averaging 40 minutes in the last seven games. That fatigue could definitely be a factor for a team that needs to win five games in five days to capture the Big East tournament title. However, a favorable first-round matchup with #16 DePaul (7-23, 1-17) should help. The Blue Demons have won only one conference game in their last 31 (including the Big East tournament) and will be without leading scorer Cleveland Melvin due to an injured left thumb.
The other first-round matchup on Tuesday involves New Jersey schools Seton Hall and Rutgers. The Pirates and Scarlet Knights split two meetings this season with each of them winning on the other’s home court. The winner will get one of the hottest teams in the conference on Tuesday in the second round on their home court in #5 St. John’s. The Red Storm won seven of their last eight games with the lone loss coming at Seton Hall last Thursday, 84-70. They have six wins against Top 25 opponents this season, the best mark of any team in the country.
Other second-round games on Tuesday include #8 Georgetown (21-9, 10-8) against Connecticut/DePaul, #7 Cincinnati (24-7, 11-7) against Villanova/South Florida and #6 West Virginia (20-10, 11-7) against Marquette/Providence. The Bearcats seemed to be in the most bubble trouble before winning five of their last six games, including a two-game sweep of the Hoyas, who may still be playing without starting point guard Chris Wright. The Mountaineers are the defending tournament champions and made it all the way to the Final Four last year before losing to eventual national champion Duke.
Top seed Pittsburgh (27-4, 15-3) won the regular-season title by completing a sweep of the Wildcats with a 60-50 victory on Saturday. The Panthers earned a double bye to Thursday’s quarterfinals along with #2 Notre Dame (25-5, 14-4), #3 Louisville (23-8, 12-6) and #4 Syracuse (25-6, 12-6). All four of the top teams are locks to be invited to the NCAA tournament but will be playing for seeding in the Big Dance, most importantly Pitt for a #1 seed.
