The busiest day of the Big East Tournament is upon us!
It’s the busiest day of the Big East Tournament! Here’s a look at the four-game Thursday quarterfinal slate.
No. 1 UConn (28-3) vs. No. 9 Xavier (16-16)
When: 12 p.m. ET
Key players for UConn: #2 Tristen Newton (6-5, 195) Sr., G; #5 Stephon Castle (6-6, 215) Fr., G; #10 Hassan Diarra (6-2, 190) Sr., G; #11 Alex Karaban (6-8, 220) So., F; #12 Cam Spencer (6-4, 205) Sr., G; #32 Donovan Clingan (7-2, 280) So., C
Key players for Xavier: #1 Desmond Claude (6-6, 207) So.,G; #8 Quincy Olivari (6-3, 200) Sr., G; #20 Dayvion McKnight (6-0, 195) Sr., G; #24 Abou Ousmane (6-10, 244) Sr., F
2023-24 season series: UConn swept Xavier
- UConn defeated Xavier on the road, 80-75, on Jan. 10
- UConn defeated Xavier at home, 99-56, on Jan. 28
Xavier’s standout guard trio of Desmond Claude, Quincy Olivari and Dayvion McKnight combined for 65 of the Musketeers’ 76 points in their win over Butler. They also shot the ball pretty well, combining for a 50.9% clip in the winning effort.
Although Xavier would love a repeat performance or something similar, the key for the Musketeers will be their effort on defense. Xavier came away with the win, but did so mostly by hitting shot after shot, or answering a Butler basket with a make of its own, until it pulled away with a late run in the final minute of action.
Butler shot 53.6% on the floor in a closely-contested second half. That won’t fly against a talented team like UConn, who’s hellbent on winning a Big East Tournament title.
Despite reaching the national summit last season, the Huskies are determined to win their first Big East Tournament title since the Cardiac Kemba Huskies in 2011. They did win an American Athletic Conference tournament in 2016, but that moment will pale in comparison to what a potential title finish could bring.
UConn is blessed with an abundance of talent at all corners of its lineup. All-Big East first teamers Tristen Newton and impact transfer Cam Spencer lead the charge, alongside unanimous Big East Freshman of the Year Stephon Castle and Big East Sixth Man of the Year Hassan Diarra.
Frontcourt monster Adama Sanogo moved on, but the Huskies never really missed a beat, with 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan anchoring the interior and stretch big man Alex Karaban building off of his solid freshman season with an even better sophomore campaign. Both players didn’t get much love with Big East awards, with Clingan only earning honorable mention recognition and Karaban getting left off of everything.
Despite the attention and praise that UConn has received, you can expect Big East Coach of the Year Dan Hurley to get his guys to buy into the “getting slept on” narrative, as they go on a warpath to the top.
UConn doesn’t have many weaknesses, and they measure well statistically, entering in the top 15 for both offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. The Musketeers can’t manage to try and shoot their way to an upset, they’ll need to muck it up and bring their best defensive effort yet.
Justin hitting a game winner after some tough injuries
KenPom predicts: UConn wins, 81-69, and is an 86% favorite
Vegas says: UConn is a 15-point favorite, per DraftKings Sportsbook
My prediction: UConn over Xavier
No. 4 Seton Hall (19-11) vs. No. 5 St. John’s (19-12)
When: 2:30 p.m. ET
Key players for Seton Hall: #1 Kadary Richmond (6-6, 205) Sr., G; #2 Al-Amir Dawes (6-2, 185) Sr., G; #14 Dre Davis (6-6, 210) Sr., G; #15 Jaden Bediako (6-10, 240) Sr., F
Key players for St. John’s: #3 Jordan Dingle (6-3, 196) Sr., G; #5 Daniss Jenkins (6-4, 180) Sr., G; #8 Chris Ledlum (6-6, 225) Sr., F; #11 Joel Soriano (6-11, 255) Sr., C
2023-24 season series: Seton Hall swept St. John’s
- Seton Hall defeated St. John’s at home, 80-65, on Jan. 16
- Seton Hall defeated St. John’s on the road, 68-62, on Feb. 18
A lot has changed for St. John’s, since Rick Pitino lambasted his players after getting swept by Seton Hall on Feb. 18, which marked the Red Storm’s sixth loss in seven games at that point of the season.
The Red Storm responded by closing the regular season on a five-game winning streak, which includes a 14-point win over Creighton and a 23-point win over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Have they improved enough to finally defeat the Pirates?
Seton Hall has enjoyed an improved year under Shaheen Holloway, finishing 13-7 in Big East play after going .500 in his debut season. The Pirates won seven of their last 10 games to finish the season, a stretch that also includes lopsided losses to Villanova, Creighton and UConn on the road.
Kadary Richmond was named first-team All-Big East for his career year, while Dre Davis has also been having big season, with 14.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.4% on the floor — but went unnoticed in Big East accolades. Al-Amir Dawes has been a solid option in the trio, and Jaden Bediako brings a physical presence in the frontcourt.
Holloway has always adopted a defense-first, toughness mentality that resonates throughout the roster. The Pirates rank in the top 40 for defensive efficiency for the second straight year. While they may have issues with team-wide scoring consistency, you can always expect a hard-nosed effort from his players.
Holloway also has some coaching history against Pitino, dating from their days in the MAAC, when Holloway was at Saint Peter’s and Pitino at Iona.
St. John’s has been playing well though, dropping 80 or more points on each of their final five games to end the regular season.
Iona transfer Daniss Jenkins has seamlessly transitioned to the Power 6 level and was named all-conference. Chris Ledlum has provided good minutes, while Joel Soriano has been up-and-down this year — but remains a threat. Penn transfer Jordan Dingle and R.J. Luis Jr. have been scoring well throughout this five-game winning streak. Dingle is averaging 15.4 points per game, and Luis is chipping in 12.6 points per game off the bench.
Can Seton Hall pour some water on the Red Storm’s red-hot offense, or will the third time be the charm for the Johnnies?
KenPom predicts: St. John’s wins, 75-70, and is a 66% favorite
Vegas says: St. John’s is a 4.5-point favorite, per DraftKings Sportsbook
My prediction: Seton Hall over St. John’s
No. 2 Creighton (23-8) vs. No. 7 Providence (20-12)
When: 7 p.m. ET
Key players for Creighton: #1 Steven Ashworth (6-1, 170) Sr., G; #11 Ryan Kalkbrenner (7-1, 270) Sr., C; #23 Trey Alexander (6-4, 190) Jr., G; #55 Baylor Scheierman (6-7, 205) Sr., F
Key players for Providence: #0 Davonte “Ticket” Gaines (6-7, 190) Sr., G; #13 Josh Oduro (6-9, 240) Sr., F; #22 Devin Carter (6-3, 195) Jr., G
2023-24 season series: 1-1 series split
- Creighton defeated Providence at home, 69-60, on Jan. 6
- Providence defeated Crieghton at home in overtime, 91-87, on Feb. 7
Creighton is ready for its Madison Square Garden entrance. The Bluejays have reached at least the semifinals in each of the last three years, and they hope to continue that streak.
The Bluejays enter the postseason after staving off a Villanova comeback attempt with a last-second shot by Trey Alexander, which allowed Creighton to close the regular season with wins of seven of its last eight games.
They did suffer a 16-point loss to St. John’s on the road during this stretch, but they also got impressive wins over UConn (19 points) and Marquette, which helped them lock in the No. 2 seed.
Creighton is an all-around machine this season, headlined by three-time Big East Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner, and all-conference picks Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander. They rank in the top 25 in offensive and defensive efficiency in the country. They’re also shooting 61.0% inside the arc, and a solid 36.5% from three-point range as a team.
Interestingly, they have the lowest fouling rate in the country, so they’re just playing straight-up good old fashioned defense. They did split the season series with Providence, though, with the overtime loss coming in a game where they failed to keep Devin Carter and Josh Oduro in check as they combined for 60 points.
Providence faltered down the stretch to close out the regular season, losing three of its last four games, before bouncing back with an opening round win over Georgetown.
Devin Carter is the newly-minted Big East Player of the Year, and he is the lone player since conference realignment to earn the award on a team that is seeded outside of the top five. As a result, there are dissenting opinions regarding the validity of his crowning moment, and he’ll enter Thursday with something to prove against one of the top teams in the conference and in the country.
Him and Oduro have been a one-two punch that has singlehandedly kept the Friars afloat — plus solid coaching from Kim English and a defense-first approach — since Providence standout Bryce Hopkins went down with a season-ending injury.
If Carter and Oduro can cook, and get some timely plays or baskets from their teammates, they’ll make it interesting in the first game of the Thursday night session, but it’s an uphill climb for sure.
KenPom predicts: Creighton wins, 74-67, and is a 75% favorite
Vegas says: Creighton is a 7.5-point favorite, per DraftKings Sportsbook
My prediction: Creighton over Providence
No. 3 Marquette (23-8) vs. No. 6 Villanova (18-14)
When: 9:30 p.m. ET
Key players for Marquette: #1 Kam Jones (6-5, 200) Jr., G; #11 Tyler Kolek (6-3, 195) Sr., G; #13 Oso Ighodaro (6-11, 235) Sr., F, #23 David Joplin (6-8, 225) Jr., F
Key players for Villanova: #0 T.J. Bamba (6-5, 215) Sr., G; #5 Justin Moore (6-5, 210) Sr., G; #43 Eric Dixon (6-8, 255) Sr., F
2023-24 season series: Marquette swept Villanova
- Marquette defeated Villanova at home, 87-74, on Jan. 15
- Marquette defeated Villanova on the road, 85-80, on Jan. 30
This was always going to be a tough matchup either way — but it appears the Wildcats may be receiving a lifeline, as 2023 Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek possibly remains out with an oblique injury.
Stadium’s Jeff Goodman first broke the news on Wednesday morning, and Marquette coach Shaka Smart elaborated on the situation before the Big East Tournament tipped off by saying, “He’s still day-to-day and not planning on playing tomorrow, but he’s close. The plan is absolutely for him to play next week and he’s really made good progress.”
Kolek missed the last three games of the regular season. In the two games against the ‘Cats this year, he scored a combined 53 points and dished out 20 assists.
Throughout his career, he is averaging 16.3 points and 7.7 assists per game over the six times he played the ‘Cats.
Although Marquette is most definitely talented, the Golden Eagles aren’t as good without him, given the way he makes all of his teammates around him better and dictates the flow of the game.
They still have plenty of weapons. Kam Jones has elevated his game even higher during Kolek’s absence. The Golden Eagles’ leading scorer did it all and finished the regular season with a 30-point, 5-rebound, 9-assist performance in an 86-80 win over Xavier. Oso Ighodaro is a dynamic threat inside and was just named to the All-Big East second team.
The Wildcats have yet to solve Shaka Smart, since he first came to Marquette. Smart is 6-0 against Villanova, which includes the Final Four season in Jay Wright’s last dance, and continued sweeps against Kyle Neptune.
Villanova’s calling card has been defense all-season long, and while there’s been inconsistencies on the scoring end, if it can muck things up and channel a high-intensity effort on defense — the ‘Cats will have a puncher’s chance to pull off the upset.
The narrow one-point win over DePaul probably doesn’t instill much confidence, though, but Vegas may have more faith than the fanbase. An hour after the game, the spread was listed Villanova as just 2.5-point underdogs (per FanDuel) against Marquette — which is the narrowest margin of all the quarterfinal games, even with the lacklaster outing against DePaul.
Kolek’s absence gives Villanova one less threat to worry about, but Ighodaro and Jones have proven to give Villanova fits. If the ‘Cats can keep them in check, who knows what will happen Thursday night.
KenPom predicts: Marquette wins, 71-67, and is a 37% favorite
Vegas says: Marquette is a 4.5-point favorite, per DraftKings
My prediction: Marquette over Villanova