In this, the last season of the Big East as we have known
it, the last Big East tournament is of course a must see. Though some consider
this a down year for the league, it will still likely have 8 representatives in
the NCAA Tournament, a few of which have legitimate Final Four aspirations.
Let’s take a brief look at what to expect from the
ballyhooed final true Big East Tournament
The Favorite
There are two favorites in this year’s tourney, Louisville and Georgetown. These two finished the regular season tied at the top,
along with an up-start Marquette
squad. They faced each other only once this season, with Georgetown winning a
two-point game in DC. Louisville would love the chance for a rematch on a
neutral floor.
Louisville has won 10 of 11 games since that loss to the
Hoyas in January and has an extremely balanced team led by their backcourt
tandem of Peyton Siva and Russ Smith.
Georgetown has rattled of 12 victories in their last 13
games and seemed to gel when their rotation was shortened by the suspension of
key contributor Greg Whittington. Since then, Player of the Year candidate Otto
Porter has taken on more of a leadership role and been a force at both ends of
the court. Porter is a tremendous all-around player and is the type who can
dominate a game by scoring 30 points or just 10.
The league championship should come down to these two teams
and given Rick Pitino’s track record in this tournament, it would be unwise to
bet against him and the Cardinals.
Best of the Rest
As stated earlier, Marquette did finish tied for the league
lead as well. You can be sure that coach Buzz Williams will have his team ready
to go and it will be no surprise if the Golden Eagles wind up crashing the
Madison Square Garden party.
Syracuse has
struggled of late, losing five of their last 8 games and taking a rivalry-ending
beat down from Georgetown in their last appearance. But, you can bet that Jim
Boeheim will do all he can to get his team to perform at their highest possible
level in his last Big East Tournament go-round. The Cuse has the horses to
compete with any team in the country, so expect a spirited effort to yield
results.
Pittsburgh has
been under the radar all season and are definitely capable of making serious
noise. Remember, this will be the Panthers’ last Big East tournament as well.
Jamie Dixon has had great success in the Garden throughout his career, so
expect Pitt to come into this tournament focused and confident.
Sleepers
Jay Wright has gotten his Villanova squad to overachieve this season. The team that was
predicted to finish 13th in the league comes into this tournament as
the 7th seed. Moreover, the Cats beat the likes of Louisville,
Syracuse, Marquette and Georgetown, so they have what it takes to make a run.
Guess what? Notre
Dame is leaving the Big East after this year as well. So add them to the
list of teams with “this is our last Big East Tournament” motivation. The
Fighting Irish have been solid all year and proved that they can grind out
tough victories over the best of teams, as they showed in their 5 Overtime win
versus Louisville in February.
The Big East Tournament will once again be a can’t miss
priority for this Championship week. Expect nothing different in this “last”
Big East clash at Madison Square Garden. You’ll get the same gritty, intense,
nail-biting basketball you have become accustomed to under the bright lights of
the big city.
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