BETology 3-6

BETology 3-6
This is The Rant’s daily look in at the Big East conference as we creep closer to the BET in New York City, which begins March 9th.
STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
X**Syracuse Orange 15-2
**Villanova Wildcats 13-4
**Pittsburgh Panthers 12-5
**West Virginia Mountaineers 12-5
X*Marquette Golden Eagles 11-6
*Louisville Cardinals 10-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-8
Georgetown Hoyas 9-8
South Florida Bulls 8-9
Seton Hall Pirates 8-9
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-10
Connecticut Huskies 7-10
St. John’s Red Storm 6-12
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-12
Providence Friars 4-13
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-17

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

LAST NIGHT:

ST. JOHN'S RED STORM 90
DePaul Blue Demons 82
(3 OT)
Pittsburgh native D.J. Kennedy dropped in 32 points going 7-9 from 3-point range to help the Red Storm get to 6-12 in conference play. Amazingly both teams have completed their conference schedule and we still don't know where St. John's finishes in teh standings. They will either be 13 or 14 depending on what Rutgers does today in Pittsburgh. If Rutgers wins, StJ drops to 14, if Pitt wins StJ is 13.

TODAY:
Cincinnati @ Georgetown, NOON, ESPN360.com
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Georgetwon needs a win to secure the opening round bye. They can still get it with a loss, but they will then have to depend on getting a bunch of help from elsewhere in the conference.
* Cincinnati cannot claim that bye, but can claim a virtual bye if they win and get help and finish in 9th place. That would place them against DePaul on Tuesday, and that is about as close to a bye as you can get.

West Virginia @ Villanova, NOON, CBS
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Lots! Both teams have clinched the double bye and won't be playing in MSG until Thursday but seeding is very important. Both teams can finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th depending on this game and the Pitt result. Oddly enough, this game will help determine seeding elsewhere down the line as "best win" is a tiebreaker used by the BIg East. So teams further down the standings will be pulling for teams that they have already beaten atop the standings. Being that Syracuse has only 2 losses, WVU, Villanova and Pitt are going to determine seeding for a lot of other teams as well today.

UCONN @ South Florida, 2:00 pm, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* With Help South Florida can still get a opening day bye, something they have never gotten before at the BET. They need a win and have Georgetown lose.
* UCONN really can't do much to improve itself right now as the are assured of playing on Tuesday after losing to Notre Dame Wednesday. UCONN can get to the 9th spot, which as we said is like getting a bye since you get to play DePaul in the 1st round.

Notre Dame @ Marquette, 2:00 pm, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* For Marquette, NOTHING. The Golden Eagles locked up the #5 spto by beating Louisville Tuesday and Pitt and WVU both also winning earlier in the week. They will open at 2:00 pm Wednesday against the 12/13 winner from Tuesday.
* Notre Dame can clinch 7th with a win. If they lose they could finish anywhere between 7th and 9th, finishing 9th would drop them out of a bye.

Syracuse @ Louisville, 2:00 pm, ESPN
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Syracuse is playing for NCAA Tournament seeding at this point. If they can continue to win they may be able to get the #1 overall seed in the tournament. As for the BET, they have already locked up the #1 seed and will be playing at NOON on Thursday.
* Louisville is assured of a bye and is playing for positioning right now. They will finish in 6th with a win today, and could even with a loss if ND also win. If they lose and Georgetown wins AND Notre Dame loses teh Cardinals drop to #7.

Rutgers @ Pitt, 4:30 pm, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* As mentioned before, Pitt has a double bye, but like Villanova and WVU can finish anywhere from 2-4. That final seeding will also determine positions for other teams based on the BIg East tiebreaker system.
* A win for Rutgers and they can bump St. John's down to the 14 spot. A loss, combined with a Providence win and Rutgers could drop to 15.

Seton Hall @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPN360.com
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
*Seton Hall can still claim that last opening round bye with a win and a little help. Seton Hall needs wins from Georgetown and Marquette to still have a chance for that bye.
* Providence will either be 14 or 15. A loss and they are 15, a win and a Rutgers loss they are 14.

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
9 – South Florida
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – UCONN
Vs
13 – St. John's
7:00
10 – Seton Hall
Vs
15 – Providence
9:00
11 – Cincinnati
Vs
14 – Rutgers

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Marquette
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Notre Dame
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 11th:
NOON
1 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – West Virginia
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!