Big East race less of a cavalry charge, thanks to upset
Holy cow, what a difference a week can make in the Big East.
What started out seven days ago as a four-way tie in the loss column is now down to Connecticut and Louisville, as the Huskies beat Marquette and Pitt, for the second time this season, lost a Big East road game after reaching No. 1 in the polls, this time at Providence.
If UConn beats visiting Notre Dame on Saturday, and U of L beats Marquette the following day and Seton Hall on Wednesday, the scenario will hinge entirely on the result of the UConn-Pitt game Mar. 7. A Panther win would give the Cards the chance to capture the title outright by winning at West Virginia that night; a Husky victory would clinch the title regardless of the U of L-WVU result, since UConn won its only meeting with U of L.
Similarly, under those conditions Louisville would capture the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament regardless of a possible loss to the Mountaineers, by virtue of its January win over Pitt. Unless Pitt shocks the rest of college basketball by losing at Seton Hall, a win over Marquette not only would clinch at least the No. 3 seed, it would also put Marquette's hopes for the No. 4 seed (and the last double bye) in grave jeopardy.
In fact, should Villanova win its Saturday game against Georgetown and win again Monday at Notre Dame, Marquette would have to beat Pitt and hope for a Nova loss against Providence on Thursday in order to make its season finale against Syracuse relevant. A loss to Pitt would mean the best Marquette could achieve would be a tie with Nova, which would give the Wildcats the No. 4 seed by virtue of an earlier win over Pitt.
Confused? Don't feel bad -- figuring all this stuff out gives me a headache, and I'm the idiot writing this piece. Here, however, is the essence: if Louisville wins out, it can finish no worse than tied for first and seeded No. 2 in the tournament. If UConn wins out, it wins the title. If Pitt wins out, it can finish no worse than second. If Nova wins out, it finishes fourth. If Marquette wins out -- that would entail road upsets at both Louisville and Pitt. Not likely.
The one thing I know without doubt is, in another week this will all make more sense.
Holy cow, what a difference a week can make in the Big East.
What started out seven days ago as a four-way tie in the loss column is now down to Connecticut and Louisville, as the Huskies beat Marquette and Pitt, for the second time this season, lost a Big East road game after reaching No. 1 in the polls, this time at Providence.
If UConn beats visiting Notre Dame on Saturday, and U of L beats Marquette the following day and Seton Hall on Wednesday, the scenario will hinge entirely on the result of the UConn-Pitt game Mar. 7. A Panther win would give the Cards the chance to capture the title outright by winning at West Virginia that night; a Husky victory would clinch the title regardless of the U of L-WVU result, since UConn won its only meeting with U of L.
Similarly, under those conditions Louisville would capture the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament regardless of a possible loss to the Mountaineers, by virtue of its January win over Pitt. Unless Pitt shocks the rest of college basketball by losing at Seton Hall, a win over Marquette not only would clinch at least the No. 3 seed, it would also put Marquette's hopes for the No. 4 seed (and the last double bye) in grave jeopardy.
In fact, should Villanova win its Saturday game against Georgetown and win again Monday at Notre Dame, Marquette would have to beat Pitt and hope for a Nova loss against Providence on Thursday in order to make its season finale against Syracuse relevant. A loss to Pitt would mean the best Marquette could achieve would be a tie with Nova, which would give the Wildcats the No. 4 seed by virtue of an earlier win over Pitt.
Confused? Don't feel bad -- figuring all this stuff out gives me a headache, and I'm the idiot writing this piece. Here, however, is the essence: if Louisville wins out, it can finish no worse than tied for first and seeded No. 2 in the tournament. If UConn wins out, it wins the title. If Pitt wins out, it can finish no worse than second. If Nova wins out, it finishes fourth. If Marquette wins out -- that would entail road upsets at both Louisville and Pitt. Not likely.
The one thing I know without doubt is, in another week this will all make more sense.
Labels: basketball, Big East Conference, college, Louisville Cardinals
posted by Alan at 10:39 PM
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