2015 Big East Conference Tournament Preview

(SportsNetwork.com) – The fourth-ranked Villanova Wildcats are the team to beat in this year’s Big East Conference Tournament, which kicks off Wednesday, March 11 at Madison Square Garden and culminates with Saturday’s title game.

Villanova, after posting its best regular-season record in school history at 29-2, is a potential top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Winners of 12 straight, the Wildcats are the Big East’s best scoring team (76.7 ppg) and are the No. 2 scoring defense (61.5 ppg) for a huge +15.1 scoring margin. As has typically been their identity under coach Jay Wright, they shoot well from outside (.383) but also have gotten strong interior play this season from forwards JayVaughn Pinkston (9.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Daniel Ochefu (9.3 ppg, 8.3 ppg, 1.3 bpg). Along the perimeter, first-team All-Big East guards Darrun Hilliard (14.2 ppg) and Ryan Arcidiacono (10.7 ppg, 3.6 apg) team up with Dylan Ennis (9.8 ppg, 3.5 apg).

The No. 2 seed belongs to Georgetown (20-9, 12-6 Big East), which played its regular-season finale without leading scorer D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera because of a lower body injury. The Preseason Big East Player of the Year, Smith-Rivera averages 16.0 points and is second in the league in free-throw shooting at 86.6 percent. He has also knocked down 63 3-pointers this season at a 40- percent clip. Down low, Joshua Smith shoots 64 percent from the floor and averages 11.1 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per tilt. The Hoyas have been a strong defensive squad throughout the season, limiting foes to 39.9- percent shooting from the field. Georgetown boasts a league-best 50 Big East Tournament wins and seven titles, although the last came in 2007.

Along with Villanova and Georgetown, each of the top six seeds get a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinal round.

The 21st-ranked Butler Bulldogs (22-9, 12-6) are the No. 3 seed. They will take on No. 6 seed Xavier in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Butler and Xavier split the regular-season series, with each team winning on its home floor. The Bulldogs shoot 36.1-percent from 3-point range as a team. All-Big East guard Kellen Dunham is the headliner, as he leads the squad in scoring with 16.6 ppg and is a 42.4-percent shooter from distance, third-best in the conference. The junior is also an 87-percent free-throw shooter. Roosevelt Jones does a little bit of everything for Butler, averaging 12.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Andrew Chrabascz also averages double figures with 10.9 ppg.

Butler no doubt faces a tough test against the sixth-seeded Musketeers (19-12, 9-9), who lead the Big East in free-throw percentage (.735) and field-goal percentage (.477). In fact, Xavier already beat the Bulldogs by 17 a few weeks ago in Cincinnati. Freshman Trevon Bluiett paces the squad in scoring with 12.2 ppg to go with 4.5 rebounds. Matt Stainbrook, a 62-percent shooter from the floor, is next in line with 12.0 points and a team-best 6.8 boards per tilt. Myles Davis, a 40-percent shooter from the perimeter, rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.0 ppg.

Providence (21-10, 11-7) won this tournament last season by beating Creighton in the title game. This time around, the Friars enter as the No. 4 seed and will take on fifth-seeded St. John’s Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals. They lost both head-to-head meetings during the regular season. Still, the Friars are armed with a couple of unanimous first-team All-Big East selections in forward LaDontae Henton and guard Kris Dunn. Henton leads the league in scoring with 20.1 ppg and also ranks eighth with 6.3 rebounds per tilt. Dunn not only averages 15.5 points and 5.6 rebounds for the season, but he is also the first player in Big East history to lead the league in assists (7.7) and steals (2.8) during conference play. Tyler Harris (10.4 ppg) rounds out the team’s double-digit scorers.

St. John’s (21-10, 10-8) carried a four-game win streak into its regular- season finale at Villanova before getting blasted, 105-68. Certainly, it was a concerning performance by a Red Storm squad that has held foes to 40.5-percent shooting from the field on the season. All-Big East guard D’Angelo Harrison leads the way with 17.8 ppg to go with 5.5 rebounds. He ranks ninth on the league’s all-time scoring list. Harrison can step outside and shoot the three (.376) along with teammates Rysheed Jordan (14.1 ppg, .369 from long range) and Phil Greene IV (13.3 ppg, .400). Down low, Sir’Dominic Pointer stuffs the stat sheet with 13.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. On Monday, he was named the Big East’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year and also earned the league’s Most Improved Player award.

The bottom four seeds will take part in Wednesday’s first-round action. The tournament kicks off with eighth-seeded Seton Hall (16-14, 6-12) taking on the No. 9 seed Marquette Golden Eagles (12-18, 4-14) at 7 p.m. The teams split their home-and-home series during the regular season, and the winner here will advance to face top-seeded Villanova in Thursday’s quarterfinal round. Marquette beat DePaul in its last contest to snap a six-game slide, while Seton Hall enters the conference tournament having dropped eight of nine. Marquette is led by Matt Carlino, who was fourth in the Big East in scoring during league play with 17.2 ppg. A 42-percent shooter from beyond the arc, Carlino paced all Big East players with 2.8 threes made per game. Freshman Duane Wilson (12.1 ppg) is the Golden Eagles’ second-leading scorer, followed by Luke Fischer (11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg).

On the other side of the floor, Seton Hall’s Sterling Gibbs ranked second in the league in scoring during Big East play with a 17.5 average. Isaiah Whitehead (12.0 ppg), Brandon Mobley (10.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Angel Delgado (9.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg) have all made steady contributions for the Pirates. Delgado and Whitehead are on the league’s all-rookie team.

The nightcap of Wednesday’s first round pits the No. 7 seed DePaul Blue Demons (12-19, 6-12) against the 10th-seeded Creighton Bluejays (13-18, 4-14). Each team posted a road victory in the two regular-season meetings. Georgetown awaits the winner. DePaul has not tasted victory in more than a month, as the team is currently mired in a seven-game slide. Four players average double figures, led by Billy Garrett with 12.4 ppg. However, center Tommy Hamilton (10.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg) is questionable for Wednesday’s game due to illness.

Creighton, which ended its schedule with three consecutive losses, is led by Austin Chatman and his 11.6 ppg. But Chatman is the only player averaging double figures for the Bluejays, who shoot just 41.7 percent as a team.

No team from the Big East made it out of the opening weekend of last year’s NCAA Tournament. While Villanova is a good bet to end that trend, the Wildcats must first navigate the Big East field. Battle-tested and capable of beating opponents in a variety of ways, it is tough to envision the Wildcats not cutting down the net at the conclusion of Saturday’s title game.

Sports Network Predicted Champion: Villanova

Categorized in: NCAA Basketball