As the NCAA Tournament approaches, the Big East has several teams in the mix but they are split into two different groups.
The first group is made up of teams that can go deep into the tournament and those include St. John’s and Marquette. Both teams are ranked and were near the top 16 of the D1 Men’s Basketball Committee’s last rankings.
The second tier includes Creighton and UConn, two of the best résumés but still not quite nationally relevant. Creighton is second in the conference, and UConn has a top-15 offense on KenPom, but neither has much hype heading into March.
With only a few weeks left in the regular season, there is time for minds to change. Here’s where each team stands before the final stretch.
St. John’s Red Storm (No. 7)
St. John’s is showing its strength again, most notably in a hard-fought win against Butler to secure a share of the Big East title. With three games to go, the Red Storm sit 3 games ahead of the pack in the Big East standings. But this team has aspirations that run further, securing a top-four seed and an extended tournament run. Their largest remaining test will be a game against Marquette to close the season, but they have already established themselves as one of the best teams in college basketball.
Marquette Golden Eagles (No. 21)
Marquette has faced some recent adversity, going three and four in its last seven games including a disappointing fifteen-point loss at unranked Villanova. While they still have a good tournament résumé, recent struggles have raised questions. The Golden Eagles need to build momentum and consistency into March, and two games towards the end of the season at UConn and St. John’s are perfect opportunities to do so. Winning the regular season title is highly unlikely, but a good finish could help their seeding and morale entering the postseason.
Creighton Bluejays
Creighton has flown under the radar very quietly and steadily, but without any bad losses throughout the season. The Bluejays have not lost to a team ranked lower than 37th in the NET rankings since mid December, and their three losses during that time were all by single digits. Their 5-5 Quad 1 record shows that they can compete with top teams even though they are yet to become a full-fledged title contender. Creighton may not be Final Four material, but with their ability to hang tough against top-level competition stands out from the rest, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the tournament.
Connecticut Huskies
Two-time defending national champion UConn isn’t receiving the same buzz this season. The Huskies’ offense has the potential to be explosive, and head coach Dan Hurley has mastered getting his team prepared for the big games. But defensive struggles have left them vulnerable to teams that can stop their flow. UConn possesses the ability to make a run, but inconsistency renders them a wildcard rather than a sure bet. If they can shut it down defensively, they might still be a team nobody wants to face in March.
