Joe Lunardi, ESPN’s resident men’s basketball bracketologist, has been updating his field of 68, reacting to each game for weeks. With the calendar officially turned to March and the NCAA Tournament less than three weeks away, there are only three certainties when it comes to the Big East’s representation — UConn, Marquette, and Creighton.
The three teams that many predicted to be atop the Big East — maybe not in this order — have survived and are locks to play past the Big East Tournament. The No. 3 UConn Huskies will likely remain as one of the four No. 1 seeds. The No. 5 Marquette Golden Eagles will fall somewhere as a No. 2 or No. 3 seed. And the No. 12 Creighton Bluejays, who knocked off UConn last week, could be as high as a No. 3 seed or potentially as low as a No. 5 depending on how they wrap up the regular season. Let’s take a look at the Big East bubble watch.
Big East Bubble Watch According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi
Per Lunardi’s latest bracketology (March 1, 2024 at 8:43 a.m.), five Big East members will make the cut and go dancing. The ESPN insider has Seton Hall and Providence as his final two teams in the field joining UConn, Marquette, and Creighton. However, Villanova is Lunardi’s first team looking in at Providence and St. John’s is not far behind in the Big East bubble watch.
Seton Hall Pirates
The Seton Hall Pirates had tons of potential early in conference play but struggled to keep their footing. The Pirates flirted with the AP Top 25 after wins over No. 5 UConn, No. 23 Providence, and No. 7 Marquette. Star guard Kadary Richmond missed some time after those wins, however, and Hall didn’t handle their ranked opponents quite as easily the rest of the way. They’ve suffered losses to No. 18 Creighton, No. 14 Marquette, and again versus No. 12 Creighton.
Seton Hall has a chance to solidify their tournament resume with three games to go. UConn awaits them on Sunday at noon. After falling to No. 3 in the top 25, the Huskies likely won’t let anything slip past them this weekend, but Hall was the only team to get the better of UConn in the last two months before last week. A strong game against UConn could still serve as a positive even in defeat. The Pirates will get Villanova and lowly DePaul to finish things out.
Providence Friars
The Providence Friars have been a tough out for a handful of the Big East’s best all season, but have become too familiar with losing streaks along the way. Lunardi’s last team in has defeated No. 6 Marquette, Seton Hall, and gave UConn a tough time in Connecticut in January. However, they’ve also suffered a four-game losing streak and lost three out of four just a couple of weeks after that.
Luckily for Providence, their home-court advantage is one of their greatest advantages, and they’ll have a chance to use it in their final three games. The Friars will host Villanova on Saturday followed by a trip to Georgetown. The regular season finally will be a shot at redemption with UConn visiting Providence. Similar to Seton Hall, a strong showing against UConn could go a long way, especially if they come out on the right side against Villanova.
Villanova Wildcats
Directly behind Providence in Lunardi’s latest bracketology are the Villanova Wildcats. Lunardi’s 69th team is still trying to recapture the magic of their previous regime and will be fighting an uphill battle the rest of the way in 2024. The Wildcats went through a stretch losing seven of nine before winning four of their last five. It’s also worth noting that two of those wins came over Georgetown while the loss was on a trip to Connecticut.
Villanova has perhaps the toughest remaining schedule given the tournament implications that come along with each opponent. Their next two come against the aforementioned Seton Hall Pirates and Providence Friars who are fighting to stay alive. Nova’s regular season finale will be a bout with Creighton who is attempting to solidify themselves as a No. 3 seed by selection Sunday.
St. John’s Red Storm
The polarizing St. John’s Red Storm was bound to go one of two very different directions following Rick Pitino’s remarks after a loss to Seton Hall. In true Pitino fashion, however, he got the ear of the room. Since losing three straight as a part of a 2-8 stretch, the Storm have won their last three including an 80-66 rout of No. 15 Creighton.
As Lunardi’s third team out of the field, St. John’s literally could not have asked for a more forgiving end to their regular season. Just two games remain for Pitino’s bunch including a trip to DePaul and a game against Georgetown. If they take care of the Big East’s basement as they should, St. John’s will be squarely in the mix. However, suffering a loss in the next two could drop them out of contention before the Big East Tournament even kicks off.
