2015 NCAA Tournament: Big East Bids
By Mike Marteny
Here we are. March. This is the month that provides so many things for sports fans. The NHL and NBA are jockeying for playoff spots. The official beginning of the NFL “year” is here, and so are the cuts and trades that will form next year’s championship landscape. The Cubs have hopes of ending their championship drought. And the 2015 NCAA tournament is just a little less than a week away.
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Here at Fantasy CPR, we will keep you up to date on which teams are fighting for a tournament berth, which teams are in, and which teams should be in. We will go conference by conference for the major conferences. The traditional one bid conferences will all get their day in print as well. Follow along as we unveil our projected teams up until Selection Sunday!
Here we will take a look at the Big East. Sure, it isn’t the same since the conference fails to exist in football anymore. There is still some good basketball played in this league though. Who will get in? Let’s find out!
Just in case you missed any:
ACC
A-10
American
LOCKS:
Villanova (30-2, 16-2 Big East, RPI: 5, SOS: 29)
Big Wins: vs. (21)Virginia Commonwealth 77-53, vs. (31)Temple 85-62, vs. (24)Butler 67-55, at (35)St. John’s 90-72, vs. (40)Xavier 88-75, vs. (19)Georgetown 69-53, at (23)Providence 74-68, at (24)Butler 68-65, vs. (23)Providence 89-61, vs. (40)Xavier 78-66, vs. (35)St. John’s 105-68
Bad Losses: NONE
The Wildcats’ only losses were at Georgetown and at Seton Hall. Otherwise, they destroyed nearly everyone. A 24 point win over VCU. 25 point win over Michigan. They beat Illinois by 24, and those were just the non-conference ones.
Daniel Ochefu takes up an awful lot of space in the middle, and proves to be a tough matchup on the glass for everyone. Ryan Arcidiacono is a good shooter from the outside, but also leads the team in assists. JayVaughn Pinkston combines with Ochefu in the middle to provide this team with size that few teams can match. Combine that with their good outside shooting, and you have a team that is tough to beat. The Wildcats are 20th in the country with 76.9 points per game. They are unselfish, and take good shots. They won’t beat themselves. Someone is going to have to earn it.
The Big East was a little down last year, but not this year. They have come roaring back as a conference. The only team that is not improved over last year is Creighton, who lost four of their starting five. Combine Nova’s dominance of the Big East with their impressive out of conference showings, and I doubt that they lose their number one seed. Though it will likely be out west if they lose in the Big East tournament.
Projected seed: 1 (Los Angeles)
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Go Joe Bruin
Jan 31, 2015; Omaha, NE, USA; Georgetown Hoyas center Joshua Smith (24) dunks over Creighton Bluejays forward Toby Hegner (32) at CenturyLink Center Omaha. Georgetown defeated Creighton 67-40. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Georgetown (21-9, 12-6 Big East, RPI: 19, SOS:4)
Big Wins: vs. (24)Butler 61-59, vs. (6)Villanova 78-58, vs. (35)St. John’s 79-57, at (24)Butler 60-54
Bad Losses: NONE
Georgetown narrowly missed beating Wisconsin in November. They also got nice out of conference wins over Florida and Indiana. They also met conference foe Butler at a holiday tournament, so they have actually played the Bulldogs three times already. They were denied an unprecedented fourth meeting when Xavier ousted Butler yesterday in the Big East tourney.
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera makes the Hoyas go. He is an impressive passer and a natural scorer. He is a tough matchup for anyone. Josh Smith is a massive presence in the middle. At 6’10” 350 pounds, he is very hard to move. He does not just take up space though. He is the second leading scorer on the team and an accomplished rebounder. The inside-outside tandem make the Hoyas a tough team to beat.
Georgetown is looking to erase a first round exit last year. One part of that is getting off the five line. Have they done enough to do that? Is the Big East really as tough as the RPI suggests? These are just a couple of questions that the committee will have to answer. Some have the Hoyas off the five line already as a six! If they win the Big East tournament, they might get as high as a four, though not facing Butler again will hurt more than it helps.
Projected seed: 5
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Busting Brackets
Mar 7, 2015; Providence, RI, USA; Butler Bulldogs forward Kelan Martin (left) and guard Kellen Dunham (center) celebrate against the Providence Friars during the first half at Dunkin Donuts Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Butler (22-10, 12-6 Big East, RPI: 24, SOS: 26)
Big Wins: vs. (14)North Carolina 74-66, vs. (19)Georgetown 64-58, at (35)St. John’s 73-69, vs. (40)Xavier 88-76, vs. (35)St. John’s 85-62, vs. (23)Providence 68-64
Bad Losses: at (106)Tennessee 55-67
Butler turned some heads with wins against North Carolina and Georgetown in November. They lost to Oklahoma in the Bahamas at that tourney as well, but the point was made that they would be contenders in the Big East this year.
Roosevelt Jones does a little bit of everything for the Bulldogs. He is only 6’4″, but plays more like a forward than a guard. He is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, and leads the team in assists. The Bulldogs are a little undersized, but Kameron Woods is an athletic big. Butler is a good rebounding team because they are quick to the ball. They are not particularly good shooters, so they have a tough time against defensive minded teams.
Butler has kind of stumbled to the end this year, finishing 6-4 in their last ten games. The loss to Xavier wont knock them out, but it could cost them a seed.
Projected seed: 6
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Busting Brackets
Feb 14, 2015; Providence, RI, USA; Providence Friars forward LaDontae Henton (23), guard Kris Dunn (center) and forward Tyler Harris (25) celebrate against the Seton Hall Pirates during the second half at Dunkin Donuts Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Providence (22-10, 11-7 Big East, RPI: 23, SOS: 6)
Big Wins: vs. (25)Notre Dame 75-74, at (24)Butler 66-62, vs. (19)Georgetown 60-57, vs. (40)Xavier 69-66, at (19)Georgetown 74-71
Bad Losses: at (161)Boston College 60-69, vs. (243)Brown 67-77, at (136)Marquette 66-75
All of the Friars’ bad losses came before January 3rd. They had nice wins against Notre Dame, Florida State, Yale (58th in RPI), Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Miami on their out of conference schedule.
Kris Dunn is a lot of fun to watch. He is the heart of this team averaging 7.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game. He is also the second leading rebounder and second leading scorer on the team. LaDontae Henton is one of the few guys that averaged more than 20 points per game this year, and he also led the Friars in rebounding. Dunn and Henton look to lead Providence on a tournament run that never quite materialized last year. They took North Carolina to the wire as an 11 seed last year. They should have a better seed this year.
The Friars failed to take out Villanova or St. John’s during the regular season, but they knocked the Johnnies out of the Big East tourney last night, and will get another crack at Villanova this evening. Is the third time a charm against the Wildcats too? If so, Providence might move up a seed.
Projected seed: 6
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The J-Notes
St John’s (21-11, 10-8 Big East, RPI: 35, SOS: 22)
Big Wins: at (23)Providence 83-70, vs. (23)Providence 75-66, vs. (40)Xavier 58-57, at (40)Xavier 78-70, vs. (19)Georgetown 81-70
Bad Losses: at (195)DePaul 67-71, at (140)Creighton 74-77
Both of their bad losses were on the road in the conference, so they aren’t all that bad. A win against conference heavyweight Georgetown at the end of February has them comfortably in as of now, even with the loss to Providence. The Red Storm collected some nice out of conference wins against teams in the RPI top 100 like Minnesota, Syracuse, St. Mary’s, and Long Beach State.
Sir’Dominic Pointer is an all-around stud for St. John’s He averages 13.5 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. They are a good shooting team from the outside, and can score in a hurry if they are on. Then again, if they are off, they can lose by 37 like they did to Villanova last week.
Pointer is going to be one of those guys that tournament viewers want to watch. The out of conference wins, and the win over Georgetown have St John’s getting in comfortably. Their seed could fall a little as some teams that are equal with them are still alive in conference tournaments.
Projected seed: 7
Next: Which Teams Will Sweat It Out On Sunday?
Feb 18, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Xavier Musketeers guard Dee Davis (11) talks to Xavier Musketeers center Matt Stainbrook (40) shoots during the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena. Xavier won 59-57. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Bubble Teams:
Xavier (20-12, 9-9 Big East, RPI: 40, SOS: 17)
Big Wins: vs. (43)Stephen F. Austin 81-63, vs. (19)Georgetown 70-53, at (19)Georgetown 66-53, vs. (23)Providence 78-69, at (32)Cincinnati 59-57, vs. (24)Butler 73-56
Bad Losses: at (154)Auburn 88-89, at (195)DePaul 68-71, vs. (140)Creighton 72-79
Two of their bad losses were in overtime. The Musketeers had Georgetown’s number, and six wins against the RPI top 50 is impressive. They also got three more out of conference wins against the RPI top 100 in Long Beach State, Murray State, and Alabama.
Matt Stainbrook is a matchup nightmare. He is 6’10” 263 pounds, and a very good passer. Not quite Joakim Noah, but the offense is always going through him in some way. Stainbrook is second in the team in scoring and assists, and leads the team in rebounds. This is a disciplined team who passes the ball very well (16.7 assists, 7th in the nation) to get good shots. They are 25th in the country with a 47.6% shooting percentage. Not coincidentally, they average 74.5 points per game, good enough for 32nd in the nation. To beat them you have to disrupt their passing and force bad shots.
Their overtime win against Butler likely has them in. A third win over Georgetown might even move them out of the 8-9 game.
Projected seed: 9
Seton Hall dropped nine of their last ten games, and could have trouble making the NIT now!
Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the rest of the tournament hopefuls leading up to Sunday!
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