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!

BETology 3/7

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.

With just 1 weekend remaining in the regular season, very little has been decided in way of seeding for the conference tournament.  We are currently looking at a 3-way tie for 1^st place, a 3-way tie for 4^th place and now a chance for a 3-way tie at the bottom of the standing.  What a wild Wednesday it was in the Big East.  Home court proved to be supreme.  We had our 1^st team clinch their exact spot in the Big East Tournament bracket.  It is set up to be a crazy Saturday afternoon for the Big East.

STANDINGS:

*#Georgetown Hoyas 13-4
3-9 vs Syracuse

*#Louisville Cardinal 13-4

3-9 vs Notre Dame

*#Marquette Golden Eagles 13-4

3-9 @ St. John’s

#Pittsburgh Panthers 11-6

3-9 @ DePaul

#Syracuse Orange 11-6

3-9 @ Georgetown

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-6

3-9 @ Louisville

#Villanova Wildcats 10-8

REGULAR SEASON COMPLETE

UCONN Huskies 9-8 (ineligible for BET)

3-9 vs Providence

#Providence Friars 9-8

3-9 @ UCONN

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-9

3-9 vs Marquette

#Cincinnati Bearcats 8-9

3-9 vs South Florida

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-13

3-8 @ Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 3-14

3-8 vs Rutgers

South Florida Bulls 3-14

3-9 @ Cincinnati

14) DePaul Blue Demons 2-15

3-9 vs Pitt
#- Clinched Opening Round Bye
*- Clinched Bye into Quarterfinal Round
Clinched Seeds Represented by number next to name.

YESTERDAYS RECAP:

Syracuse- 78
DePaul- 57
Syracuse snapped a 3 game losing streak and dominated DePaul after struggling early with the Blue Demons.  Syracuse now moves into a 3-way tie for 4^th place in the conference with Notre Dame and Pitt.  1 of those teams will claim the double bye in New York, while the other 2 will start the conference tournament on Wednesday.  Syracuse can still get that final double bye if they beat Georgetown on Saturday and Pitt loses to DePaul.  Despite Notre Dame also being tied with the Orange, they play a non-factor in Syracuse’s final position since Syracuse beat the Fighting Irish in early February.  Syracuse can finish anywhere from 4^th to 6^th in the final Big East standings, but we won’t know which of those spots it will be until Saturday afternoon.

DePaul stakes claim to the last place position for the 5^th straight season.  The Blue Demons are the only team at this point to know exactly when they will be playing in New York.  DePaul has one game left, against Pitt on Saturday, but cannot catch South Florida in the standings, because the Bulls just beat DePaul this past Sunday.

Villanova- 67
Georgetown- 57
Georgetown has never won 12 straight games against Big East opponents.  The Hoyas entered Wednesday night’s game with an 11 game win streak, and they exited the game still having never won 12 straight.  Villanova throws a wrench into the standings and all the tiebreaker procedures by knocking off the 1^st place Hoyas. 

Georgetown is still in position to win the Big East regular season title, as they hold all the tiebreakers with Marquette and Louisville, but now they have to beat Syracuse in the season finale on Saturday to lock up the title and #1 seed in New York.  The interesting things about the Big East tiebreaker system is that the 2^nd tiebreaker is “best win,” so all the other tiebreakers in the conference will have to wait and see how the top of the standings pan out before their ties are figured out.

Villanova now assures themselves of either the 7 or 8 seed in New York.  Villanova is done their regular season schedule and will have to watch the Providence-UCONN game on Saturday to figure out where they will land in New York.  If Providence wins, the Friars will be the #7 seed and Villanova will drop to #8.  If UCONN wins, Villanova claims the #7 spot.

South Florida- 65

UCONN- 51
South Florida had lost 10 in a row before beating DePaul on Sunday, now they have won 2 in a row.  The Bulls win assures them of not finishing in last place, as DePaul is now locked into that spot.  USF now knows that they will be playing in the opening game of the Big East Tournament, as either the 12 or 13 seed, but they won’t know their seed or opponent until after their game with Cincinnati of Saturday afternoon.

TODAY’S GAMES:

NO GAMES SCHEDULED

UPCOMING GAMES:

Friday:
Rutgers @ Seton Hall, 7:00pm ESPN Regional TV

Saturday:
Providence @ UCONN, NOON ESPNU
Syracuse @ Georgetown, NOON ESPN
Pitt @ DePaul, 2:00pm, ESPN Regional TV
Marquette @ St. John’s, 2:00pm ESPN
South Florida @ Cincinnati, 4:00pm ESPN Regional TV
Notre Dame @ Louisville, 4:00pm CBS

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!

BETology 3/6

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.

At one point last night, it looked like we might be getting one more wrench thrown into the Big East standings in the final week of the season.  It was all for not however, as all the favorites were able to fight back for wins.  With that we have just 10 games left in the regular season and there is still yet to be a team to clinch their seed in the tournament.

STANDINGS:

*#Georgetown Hoyas 13-3
3-6 @ Villanova
3-9 vs Syracuse

*#Louisville Cardinal 13-4

3-9 vs Notre Dame

*#Marquette Golden Eagles 13-4

3-9 @ St. John’s

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-6

3-9 @ Louisville

#Pittsburgh Panthers 11-6

3-9 @ DePaul

#Syracuse Orange 10-6

3-6 vs DePaul
3-9 @ Georgetown

UCONN Huskies 9-7

3-6 @ South Florida
3-9 vs Providence

#Providence Friars 9-8

3-9 @ UCONN

#Villanova Wildcats 9-8

3-6 vs Georgetown

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-9

3-9 vs Marquette

#Cincinnati Bearcats 8-9

3-9 vs South Florida

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-13

3-8 @ Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 3-14

3-8 vs Rutgers

South Florida Bulls 2-14

3-6 vs UCONN
3-9 @ Cincinnati

DePaul Blue Demons 2-14

3-6 @ Syracuse
3-9 vs Pitt
#- Clinched Opening Round Bye
*- Clinched Bye into Quarterfinal Round
 

YESTERDAYS RECAP:

Notre Dame- 66
St. John’s- 40
The Johnnies had a 30-28 lead in the 2^nd half of this game only to be outscored 38-10 by the Irish to close out the game.  The only fight from St. John’s in the 2^nd half of this game came in the final 2 minutes when a brawl broke out on the court after Sir’Dominic Porter of St. John’s punched Notre Dame’s Cameron Biedscheid.  Both players were ejected from the game and will have to serve a one game suspension in their team’s final game of the season.  Amir Garrett also was ejected for leaving the bench during the fight, but since he did not throw a punch in the brawl, his availability for St. John’s game Saturday will be decided after further review by the Big East and NCAA.

Notre Dame kept their hopes alive for the final double bye in next week’s conference tournament.  With 1 last game left on the schedule Notre Dame needs to beat Louisville on Saturday or have Syracuse lose to both DePaul and Georgetown to get the 4 seed. 

St. John’s closes the season at home against Marquette.  The Red Storm will either be the 9 or 10 seed in New York depending on Saturday’s results.  St. John’s has losses to Providence, and Villanova, so the only team that they win a tiebreaker with is Cincinnati, who they beat early in the season.

Marquette- 60

Rutgers- 54
The Golden Eagles scored the 1^st basket of the game to get a 2-0 lead and didn’t have another lead until they went ahead 55-52 with 3 minutes to go in the game.  Rutgers was up by 10 at halftime, but could not hold on to the lead, as Marquette finished the game on a 17-4 run.  Marquette is still in play for the Big East regular season title, but they would need some help for that to happen.

Rutgers could have clinched the 11 seed in the conference tournament had they held on for the victory, but now they will have to defeat state rival Seton Hall on Friday to get that.

Providence- 76

Seton Hall- 66
The Friars got a double-double from Kadeem Batts as they slowly but steadily continue their climb up the standings.  Providence has moved up to 7^th in the standings after the win, and can do no worse than 8^th.  The Friars could have the 7^th seed clinched without playing tomorrow.  If Villanova loses to Georgetown, the Friars will be the 7^th seed.  If Villanova wins the game, Providence will have the chance to clinch it themselves when they play their season finale against UCONN Saturday afternoon.

Seton Hall already knows that they will be playing on the opening day of the Big East Tournament, they just don’t know who and when they will be playing.  If the Pirates beat Rutgers on Friday, they will clinch the 11^th seed and play the last place team at 9pm on Tuesday.  If they lose to their rival Friday, they will be playing at 7pm.

TODAY’S GAMES:

DePaul @ Syracuse,
6:00pm ESPN Regional TV

Georgetown @ Villanova

7:00pm ESPN2

UCONN @ South Florida

9:00pm ESPNU

UPCOMING GAMES:

Friday:
Rutgers @ Seton Hall, 7:00pm ESPN Regional TV

Saturday:

Providence @ UCONN, NOON ESPNU
Syracuse @ Georgetown, NOON ESPN
Pitt @ DePaul, 2:00pm, ESPN Regional TV
Marquette @ St. John’s, 2:00pm ESPN
South Florida @ Cincinnati, 4:00pm ESPN Regional TV
Notre Dame @ Louisville, 4:00pm CBS

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 – Villanova
Vs
9 - St. John’s

2:00

5 – Pitt
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner

7:00

7 – Providence
Vs
10 - Cincinnati

9:00

6 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY March 14th:

NOON
1 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner

2:00

4 – Notre Dame
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!

BETology 3/5

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.

Just one game into the final week of the regular season and we have already seen some things clearing up in the standings.  There is now only 1 double bye spot remaining after Louisville staked claim to the 3^rd last night.  It still looks like most of the seeding won’t be decided until the final day of the regular season on Saturday.  However, with 3 games today and 3 more tomorrow the Big East standings will begin to sort itself out leading into the weekend.

STANDINGS:

*#Georgetown Hoyas 13-3
3-6 @ Villanova
3-9 vs Syracuse

*#Louisville Cardinal 13-4

3-9 vs Notre Dame

*#Marquette Golden Eagles 12-4
3-5 @ Rutgers
3-9 @ St. John’s

#Pittsburgh Panthers 11-6

3-9 @ DePaul

#Syracuse Orange 10-6

3-6 vs DePaul
3-9 @ Georgetown

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-6

3-5 vs St. John’s
3-9 @ Louisville

UCONN Huskies 9-7

3-6 @ South Florida
3-9 vs Providence

#Villanova Wildcats 9-8

3-6 vs Georgetown

#Providence Friars 8-8

3-5 vs Seton Hall
3-9 @ UCONN

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-8

3-5 @ Notre Dame
3-9 vs Marquette

#Cincinnati Bearcats 8-9

3-9 vs South Florida

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-12

3-5 vs Marquette
3-8 @ Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 3-13

3-5 @ Providence
3-8 vs Rutgers

South Florida Bulls 2-14

3-6 vs UCONN
3-9 @ Cincinnati

DePaul Blue Demons 2-14

3-6 @ Syracuse
3-9 vs Pitt
#- Clinched Opening Round Bye
*- Clinched Bye into Quarterfinal Round

YESTERDAYS RECAP:

Louisville- 67
Cincinnati- 51
Louisville clinched a bye into the Quarterfinals for the Big East Tournament as Rick Pitino gained his 300^th win with the school.  The Cardinal can still earn the top seed in the conference tournament in New York, but will need some help for that to happen.  Since Louisville lost to Georgetown in their only match-up this season, the only way for the Cardinals to win the regular season title is if the Hoyas lose both of their remaining games.  Georgetown plays Villanova on the road Wednesday and hosts Syracuse in the season finale Saturday.  Louisville does own the head-to-head tiebreaker with Marquette however, so either a loss by the Golden Eagles in either of their final 2 games or another win by Louisville and they clinch at worst the 2-seed in New York.

Cincinnati in now locked into playing on Wednesday and with losses to all the teams immediately ahead of them in the standings, the Bearcats will likely need to win their season finale with South Florida if they want to move out of the 10^th seed.  With the USF-Cincinnati game being played at 4pm Saturday, after Providence, St. John’s and Villanova complete their seasons, it is likely that Cincinnati will know their destiny before tip-off.

TODAY’S GAMES:

St. John’s @ Notre Dame
7:00pm ESPN2

Marquette @ Rutgers

7:00pm ESPN Regional TV

Seton Hall @ Providence

9:00pm ESPN Regional TV

UPCOMING GAMES:
Wednesday:
DePaul @ Syracuse, 6:00pm ESPN Regional TV
Georgetown @ Villanova, 7:00pm ESPN2
UCONN @ South Florida, 9:00pm ESPNU

Friday:

Rutgers @ Seton Hall, 7:00pm ESPN Regional TV

Saturday:

Providence @ UCONN, NOON ESPNU
Syracuse @ Georgetown, NOON ESPN
Pitt @ DePaul, 2:00pm, ESPN Regional TV
Marquette @ St. John’s, 2:00pm ESPN
South Florida @ Cincinnati, 4:00pm ESPN Regional TV
Notre Dame @ Louisville, 4:00pm CBS

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!

BETology 3/4

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. 

One week left in the Big East regular season and nobody has nailed down their definitive spot yet in the conference tournament.  Georgetown and Marquette have both clinched 2-day byes and Louisville has a line on one as well.  That leaves 1 double bye remaining and that one won’t be decided until the final day of the regular season.

STANDINGS:

*#Georgetown Hoyas 13-3
3-6 @ Villanova
3-9 vs Syracuse

#Louisville Cardinal 12-4

3-4 vs Cincinnati
3-9 vs Notre Dame

*#Marquette Golden Eagles 12-4

3-5 @ Rutgers
3-9 @ St. John’s

#Pittsburgh Panthers 11-6

3-9 @ DePaul

#Syracuse Orange 10-6

3-6 vs DePaul
3-9 @ Georgetown

#Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-6

3-5 vs St. John’s
3-9 @ Louisville

UCONN Huskies 9-7

3-6 @ South Florida
3-9 vs Providence

#Villanova Wildcats 9-8

3-6 vs Georgetown

#Providence Friars 8-8
3-5 vs Seton Hall
3-9 @ UCONN

#St. John’s Red Storm 8-8

3-5 @ Notre Dame
3-9 vs Marquette

#Cincinnati Bearcats 8-8

3-4 @ Louisville
3-9 vs South Florida

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-12

3-5 vs Marquette
3-8 @ Seton Hall

Seton Hall Pirates 3-13

3-5 @ Providence
3-8 vs Rutgers

South Florida Bulls 2-14

3-6 vs UCONN
3-9 @ Cincinnati

DePaul Blue Demons 2-14

3-6 @ Syracuse
3-9 vs Pitt

#- Clinched Opening Round Bye
*- Clinched Bye into Quarterfinal Round

YESTERDAYS RECAP:

Pitt- 73
Villanova- 64
Pitt used a late surge to force overtime and get a win in the Panthers last ever Big East home game.  The Panthers now have a half-game lead over Notre Dame and Syracuse in the fight for 4^th place in the Big East.  Due to the odd tiebreaker rules within the Big East, none of the 3 teams actually control their own destiny to get that final 2-day bye.  That being the case, Pitt is in the driver’s seat because they currently hold the 3-way tiebreaker with those teams.  Pitt holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Syracuse, but not with Notre Dame.  The Panthers need to either finish in a 3 way tie for 4^th place and have Georgetown finish in 1^st place (2^nd tiebreaker is best win, ND and Syracuse each lost to Georgetown) or they need Notre Dame to lose on of their final two games to St. John’s or Louisville.

Villanova blew an 8 point 2^nd half lead to the Panthers and any hopes, as slim as they may have been, of a double bye in the conference tournament.  With just 1 game left, Villanova can still finish anywhere from 5^th in the final regular season standings all the way down to 11^th.  Despite the Wildcats playing their final game of the regular season Wednesday against Georgetown, they will not know their tournament seed until Saturday afternoon.

South Florida- 83

DePaul- 73
South Florida grabs their 2^nd win of conference play with a win over now last place DePaul.  Both teams are 2-14, but with USF winning the only match-up of the year the Bulls move into place to claim the 13 seed in NYC.  DePaul has finished in last place the past 4 seasons and unless they upset Syracuse or Pitt this week that is where they will finish for a 5^th straight year.

TODAY’S GAMES:

Cincinnati @ Louisville
7:00pm ESPN

UPCOMING GAMES:

Tuesday:
St. John’s @ Notre Dame, 7:00pm ESPN2
Marquette @ Rutgers, 7:00pm ESPN Regional TV
Seton Hall @ Providence, 9:00pm ESPN Regional TV

Wednesday:

DePaul @ Syracuse, 6:00pm ESPN Regional TV
Georgetown @ Villanova, 7:00pm ESPN2
UCONN @ South Florida, 9:00pm ESPNU

Friday:

Rutgers @ Seton Hall, 7:00pm ESPN Regional TV

Saturday:

Providence @ UCONN, NOON ESPNU
Syracuse @ Georgetown, NOON ESPN
Pitt @ DePaul, 2:00pm, ESPN Regional TV
Marquette @ St. John’s, 2:00pm ESPN
South Florida @ Cincinnati, 4:00pm ESPN Regional TV
Notre Dame @ Louisville, 4:00pm CBS

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!