BETology 3/8: The "What If" Edition

The Rant will be your daily site to find out exactly how your team stacks up against the rest of the conference as we creep closer to the Big East Tournament in New York City, which begins March 12th. 

Last week in this space, we did a special BETology, with a projection of how the final week of the Big East regular season might play out.  This week we tell you every circumstance possible for every team in the Big East conference’s final weekend. 

Heading into the final weekend of the season only Rutgers and DePaul know for sure when they are playing in New York next week.  Rutgers is locked into the 11-seed and DePaul has once again clinched last place in the conference.  The 2 teams will play against each other in the Opening Round of the Big East Tournament Tuesday night. 

STANDINGS:

*Georgetown Hoyas 13-4
Saturday vs Syracuse, NOON ESPN
IF GEORGETOWN WINS:  They clinch the top seed in the Big East Tournament
IF GEROGETOWN LOSES: They can still clinch the top seed in the Big East Tournament if Louisville loses to Notre Dame AND Marquette loses to St. John’s.  If only 1 of those teams lose, Georgetown will finish in 2^nd place, winning the head-to-head tiebreaker with both teams.  If both Louisville and Marquette win Saturday, Georgetown will drop to the 3-seed, as Louisville would be #1 and Marquette would be #2.

*Louisville Cardinal 13-4

Saturday vs Notre Dame, 4pm CBS
IF LOUISVILLE WINS: The Cardinals can do no worse than 2^nd place.  If Georgetown wins, Louisville will be in 2^nd place.  If Georgetown loses, Louisville claims the top seed in the conference.
IF LOUISVILLE LOSES: The Cardinals cannot win the conference title.  If Marquette wins, Louisville drops to 3^rd.  If Marquette also loses, than Louisville finishes in 2^nd place.

*Marquette Golden Eagles 13-4

St. John’s  @ St. John’s, 2pm ESPN
IF MARQUETTE WINS: They can only will the conference if both Georgetown AND Louisville lose.  Marquette loses every tiebreaker with the other 2 teams, so they finish 2^nd if only 1 of those teams win and 3^rd if both win on Saturday.
IF MARQUETTE LOSES:  They finish in 3^rd place and would play the final game of the night on Thursday in New York City.

#Pittsburgh Panthers 11-6

Saturday @ DePaul, 2pm ESPN Regional TV
IF  PITT WINS: They can do no worse than 5^th place and will finish in 4^th place if Syracuse also wins.  If Syracuse loses and Notre Dame wins, then Notre Dame claims the final double bye spot and the Panthers drop to 5^th place.
IF PITT LOSES:  They can finish anywhere from 4^th to 6^th.  They still finish in 4^th if Syracuse and Notre Dame also lose.  They finish 5^th if Syracuse loses and Notre Dame wins.  They finish 6^th if Syracuse wins and Notre Dame loses.

#Syracuse Orange 11-6

Saturday @ Georgetown, NOON ESPN
IF SYRACUSE WINS: They can do no worse than 5^th place.  If Pitt loses then Syracuse will finish 4^th and claim the final double bye.
IF SYRACUSE LOSES: The 4 seed is out of the question.  They can still claim the 5 seed if Notre Dame also loses.  If Notre Dame wins Syracuse will drop all the way to the 6^th seed in New York.

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-6

Saturday @ Louisville, 4pm CBS
IF NOTRE DAME WINS:  They can jump all the way to the 4^th seed if Syracuse loses.  If Syracuse wins and Pitt loses, Notre Dame gets the 5^th seed.
IF NOTRE DAME LOSES:  They will be either 5^th or 6^th.  If Pitt also loses AND Syracuse wins, then the Irish get the 5^th seed.  If Syracuse loses and Pitt wins, Notre Dame is 6^th.  If both Pitt and Syracuse lose, Notre Dame finishes 6^th.

#Villanova Wildcats 10-8

REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE
Villanova will finish 7^th or 8^th depending on the result of the UCONN-Providence game.  A UCONN win leaves Villanova in 7^th, while a Providence win bumps Villanova down to 8^th.

UCONN Huskies 9-8 (ineligible for BET)

Saturday vs Providence, NOON ESPNU

#Providence Friars 9-8

Saturday @ UCONN, NOON ESPNU
IF PROVIDENCE WINS: They claim the 7^th seed.
IF PROVIDENCE LOSES:  They are the 8^th seed.

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-9

Saturday vs Marquette, 2pm ESPN
IF ST. JOHN’S WINS: They are the 9^th seed.
IF ST. JOHN’S LOSES: They are the 9^th or 10^th seed depending on Cincinnati.  If Cincinnati beats USF, then St. John’s drops to 10.  If Cincy loses to USF, then St. John’s stays in the 9 slot.

#Cincinnati Bearcats 8-9

Saturday vs South Florida, 4pm ESPN Regional TV
IF CINCINNATI WINS: They can move up to the 9^th spot if St. John’s falls to Marquette.  If St. John’s wins, then Cincinnati stays in 10^th.
IF CINCINNATI LOSES: They finish as the 10^th seed.

11) Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-13

Tonight @ Seton Hall, 7pm ESPN Regional TV
Rutgers is locked into the 11-seed and will be playing DePaul in the Opening Round of the Big East Tournament Tuesday night.  Rutgers owns all the tiebreakers against Seton Hall and South Florida.

Seton Hall Pirates 3-14

Tonight vs Rutgers, 7pm ESPN Regional TV
IF SETON HALL WINS: They will finish as the 12-seed.
IF SETON HALL LOSES: They will be either the 12 or 13 seed depending on the South Florida-Cincinnati game.  If South Florida also loses then Seton Hall in the 12-seed.  If USF beats Cincinnati, then Seton Hall drops to the 13-seed.

South Florida Bulls 3-14

Saturday @ Cincinnati, 4pm ESPN Regional TV
IF SOUTH FLORIDA WINS: They move up to the 12-seed if Seton Hall loses.  If Seton Hall also wins though, USF stays as the 13-seed.
IF SOUTH FLORIDA LOSES: They are the 13-seed.

14) DePaul Blue Demons 2-15

Saturday vs Pitt, 2pm ESPN Regional TV
DePaul is the 14^th seed regardless of any outcomes this weekend.  They will be playing Rutgers at 9pm on Tuesday in the Opening Round of the Big East Tournament.
#- Clinched Opening Round Bye
*- Clinched Bye into Quarterfinal Round
Clinched Seeds Represented by number next to name.

BETology:

TUESDAY March 12th:
7:00pm
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – South Florida

9:00pm

11 – Rutgers
Vs
14 – DePaul

WEDNESDAY March 13th:

NOON
8 – Providence
Vs
9 - St. John’s

2:00
5 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner

7:00

7 – Villanova
Vs
10 - Cincinnati

9:00

6 – Notre Dame
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY March 14th:

NOON
1 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner

2:00

4 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner

7:00
2 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner

9:00

3 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!