City of Basketball Love

Austin Petolillo (@AustinPSports)

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For the first time since the Big East was realigned back in 2013, Villanova will not play its opening game in the Big East Tournament at noon on a Thursday at the Garden.

Reserved for the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the winner of the eight vs. nine game played the night before, it will be the regular season champions Xavier playing in the lunch hour time-slot in 2018.

Villanova will have to wait seven hours to play its opening game as the Wildcats tip off at 7 p.m. as the No. 2 seed on Thursday night. They’ll play against the winner of Marquette and DePaul as they begin their quest for a second straight Big East Tournament crown and their third in four years.   

Villanova hasn’t had much of a problem with DePaul, beating them 103-85 in their first matchup this season in Chicago and then beating the Blue Demons 93-62 in Philly.

It should be noted that Marquette has come close to beating Villanova twice this season. In their first matchup, they put up 90 points against the Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center but ultimately fell, 100-90. In their second matchup, Marquette gave Villanova a run for their money but loss 75-72 in Milwaukee.

Compared to the Villanova teams from the past four years, the 2017-18 team has been the worst team in terms of record. Yet, they stand at a very impressive 27-4 with a 14-4 record in conference play and are still very much alive to earn their third No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in four years.

Led by All-Big East first team selections Jalen Brunson (19.0 ppg) and Mikal Bridges (17.6 ppg), Villanova has a better chance to win the Big East Tournament as the two seed than Xavier does as the one seed according to KenPom.

After heading into conference play at 12-0 which included wins over Tennessee, Gonzaga and Penn, Villanova started its quest for a fifth straight regular season Big East title at 1-1 after they beat DePaul and lost at Butler 101-93 on Dec. 30, 2017.

After the loss in Indianapolis, Villanova rattled off nine straight victories to improve their conference record to 10-1.

Then the Wildcats started to struggle.

After losing guard Phil Booth (11.0 ppg) and forward Eric Paschall (10.2 ppg) for extended periods of time due to a broken hand and a concussion, respectively, Villanova was shocked at home by St. John’s, losing 79-75 on Feb. 7.

After a bounce back victory over Butler, Villanova lost again. This time, they lost at Providence on Valentine’s day, 76-71.

Villanova then responded in a huge way by beating then No.4 ranked Xavier in Cincinnati, 95-79. After beating DePaul at home, Villanova then lost to Creighton in overtime 89-83 on Feb. 24 in Omaha.

Villanova closed out their regular season on a two-game winning streak by beating Seton Hall on the road in overtime and by beating Georgetown at home.

Now that everyone is back and healthy, there could not have been a better time for the Wildcats to try and make a run in the Big East tournament heading into the NCAA Tournament.

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Here’s a look at the rest of the Big East tournament:

Favorites

Villanova: Since realignment, Jay Wright has dominated the Big East Tournament as Villanova’s record in the tournament since 2014 is 8-2 with both losses coming to Seton Hall. Once in the quarterfinals in 2014 and once in the finals in 2016. National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson, NBA lottery pick Mikal Bridges, stud freshman Omari Spellman and veterans such as Phil Booth, Donte Divincenzo and Eric Paschall could bring Villanova their first ever back-to-back Big East Tournament championships.

Xavier: The only team that had a better conference record than Villanova, Xavier is a force to be reckoned with. Ninth year head coach Chris Mack posted his best season at Xavier, going 27-4 with a conference record of 15-3. Had it not been for Brunson, Xavier senior wing Trevon Bluiett would be taking home Big East Player of the Year as he averages 19.4 ppg and 5.8 rpg. Senior guard J.P. Macura is a nice sidekick for Bluiett, averaging 12.4 ppg and sophomore guard Quentin Goodin facilitates the offense, averaging 9.0 ppg and 5.0 apg.

Contenders

Seton Hall: Kevin Willard and the Pirates come in as the No. 3 seed in the tournament after going 10-8 in the Big East this season. The senior trio of forward Angel Delgado, wing Desi Rodriguez, and point guard Khadeen Carrington give the Pirates what any team wants in March: Experience. They have already won a Big East Tournament title back in 2016 after knocking off eventual national champions Villanova. Delgado is a double-double machine, averaging 13.4 ppg and 11.6 rpg, good for fourth place in all of Division I basketball in terms of rebounding averages per game. Rodriguez is the leading scorer for the Pirates, averaging 18.1 ppg but is coming off of a sprained ankle suffered on Feb. 21. Carrington averages 14.8 ppg and 4.5 apg as the Pirates point guard. The Pirates will take on No. 6 seeded Butler in the quarterfinals at 9:30 on Thursday night. The 2018 Big East Most Improved Player award went to sophomore guard Myles Powell as he averaged 15.6 ppg after averaging 10.7 ppg in his freshman season last year.

Creighton: Creighton hasn’t been this good since Doug McDermott was running rampid on the Big East in 2014. With a conference record identical to last season (10-8), Greg McDermott’s squad can be a tough out for any team this march as they feature one of the best backcourts in the country. The backcourt duo of Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas is absolutely lethal. Foster handles the offensive end of things as he averages 20.3 ppg and Thomas handles the defensive side of things as he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row. The Bluejays earned the No. 4 seed in the Big East Tournament and will face No. 5 seeded Providence on Thursday at 2:30 pm.

Providence: Ed Cooley and the Providence Friars are currently sitting square on the bubble as conference tournament time rolls around. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has them in the “Last Four Byes”. A win over Creighton in the quarterfinals though, would most likely solidify their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance as Creighton is safely in the tournament as well. Led by a slew of seniors such as Kyron Cartwright (11.4 ppg), Rodney Bullock (14.1 ppg) and Jalen Lindsey (9.1 ppg), Providence brings experience and talent to the Garden. Sophomore guard Alpha Diallo has been one of the better sophomores in the conference as he averages 12.3 ppg.

Butler: First year head coach LaVell Jordan has done a nice job after taking over for Chris Holtmann this season after Holtmann took the Ohio State job. Led by do-it-all senior wing Kelan Martin, Butler finished with a conference record of 9-9 and an overall record of 19-12. Sophomore point guard Kamar Baldwin averages 15.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 3.2 apg and George Washington transfer guard Paul Jorgensen averages 10.7 ppg for the Bulldogs.

Dark Horse

Marquette: If star guards like Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey get hot from beyond the arc, watch out because these guys can light up a scoreboard. Howard averages 20.9 ppg while shooting 40 percent from deep and Rowsey averages 19.9 ppg and also shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Sam Hauser is quietly one of the best big men in the conference as he averages 15.1 ppg and 6.1 rpg. Currently one of Joe Lunardi’s “First Four Out”, Marquette will need to beat Villanova if they want to get in the tournament on their own terms as they face No. 10 seeded DePaul in their first game. A loss to DePaul would pretty much end any speculation if they would get in the big dance. A win over the Blue Demons would match them up against the Wildcats in the quarterfinals where their NCAA Tournament odds would hang in the balance.

Players to Watch

Trevon Bluiett (Sr./Xavier): Bluiett is one of the best scorers in the country as he can do it all. He can hit them from beyond the arc, he can back you down in the paint and he can take it to the hole. His 19.4 ppg shows for it as he leads Xavier into the Garden.

Jalen Brunson (Jr./Villanova): Brunson is most likely the Big East Player of the Year and also the National Player of the Year barring something unforeseen happening. With total control of the Wildcats offense, Brunson can score it and dish it out as he averages 19.0 ppg and 4.8 apg and will go down as one of the many legendary Villanova guards when his collegiate career is all said and done whether that be this year if he decides to enter the NBA Draft or next year when he is a senior.

Khyri Thomas (Jr./Creighton): A back-to-back winner of the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Thomas has seen his draft stock skyrocket as the season went on. Averaging 15.5 ppg and 4.2 rpg, the 6-foot-3 guard is capable of locking down any team's’ best player and giving them fits on the defensive end.

Kelan Martin (Sr./Butler): Martin is Butler’s star player, averaging 21.2 ppg and 6.4 rpg, the 6-foot-7 wing can do it all for the Bulldogs on both the offensive and defensive end and has a similar game to former Butler legend Gordon Hayward.

Shamorie Ponds (Soph./St. John’s): Ponds is a walking bucket. Capable of dropping 30 a game, New York’s own Ponds is one of the best guards in the conference. After he scored only two points in their loss to Butler on Jan. 27, Ponds went on a stretch of seven games where he scored 31, 33, 26, 44, 26, 19, and 25 points. His 33 point performance against Duke and his 26 point performance against Villanova both ended in victories for the Johnnies.

Jessie Govan (Jr./Georgetown): Govan is a big-bodied force to be reckoned with down low in the post for the Hoyas. Govan averages 17.5 ppg and 10.0 rpg and shoots 33 percent from three (14-for-42) which is impressive considering he is 6-foot-10 and 275 lbs.

Max Strus (RS Jr./DePaul): Strus, a D-II transfer from Lewis University, has been a gem for Dave Leitao and the rest of the Blue Demons squad this season. Averaging 16.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg, the 6-foot-6 wing has been one of the most impactful transfers in the Big East this season.