Emerging Big East takeaways as conference schedule is in full swing
We’re roughly a third of the way through the Big East conference season and a clear big three of Marquette, Connecticut and St.John’s has emerged.
They are somewhat safe bets to make the NCAA Tournament.One game separates the three.Marquette remained undefeated after beating DePaul Tuesday night, while St.
John’s, which held off Georgetown, 63-58, and UConn have only one loss, narrow setbacks on the road to Creighton and Villanova, respectively.The three lead the league in every national ranking metric, from the NET to KenPom.com to Bart Torvik.There are also Quad 1 opportunities at home and on the road for the rest of the conference, since the trio are also ranked in the top 30 of the NET, the sorting tool the selection committee relies upon.They have yet to face one another, meetings that will almost certainty decide the regular-season champion.
The first such showdown will take place on Feb.1 when No.
7 Marquette hosts No.14 Connecticut.
That same week, on Feb.4, Marquette will visit St.
John’s at the Garden and the Johnnies will then travel to Storrs, Conn., three days later.A big few days for the top tier of the conference.A few other takeaways on the state of the Big East:CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST.
JOHN’S STATSThe team that dropped November games to Columbia, Virginia and St.Joseph’s has come a long way in a few months.
The Wildcats have the look of an NCAA Tournament team, even if those losses may prevent them from getting there.They have won eight of their past 10 games, with the lone losses at Creighton and St.
John’s.That includes a home victory over UConn.
Eric Dixon is the nation’s leading scorer, Miami transfer Wooga Poplar has hit his stride, and another transfer, Jhamir Brickus of La Salle, fits this roster well as a pass-first point guard who can make shots from deep.The Wildcats will need a huge league season to go dancing.
Three wins the rest of the way against St.John’s, Marquette and Connecticut ...