The Big East title race won't go into the final week of the regular season. St. John's made sure of that on Saturday by surviving a closer-than-expected meeting with Seton Hall.
The 7-22 Pirates were a 19-point underdog but they didn't go out without a fight. It was a one-possession game with nearly eight minutes remaining. Then the Red Storm put their foot on the gas to clinch the Big East title. RJ Luis Jr. led all scorers with 21 points and Zuby Ejiofor dropped 17 with 10 rebounds.
The top seed in the conference is now locked in but that doesn't mean the intrigue is completely gone. The rest of the seeds in the Big East Tournament are still open to drastic changes. That's why UConn's win on Saturday over Providence, Villanova's win over Butler and, especially, Xavier's win over Creighton mattered on Saturday.
Updated Big East standings
- St. John's (17-2)
- Marquette (13-5)
- Creighton (13-5)
- UConn (12-6)
- Xavier (11-7)
- Villanova (11-8)
- Georgetown (7-11)
- Butler (6-12)
- Providence (6-12)
- DePaul (2-16)
- Seton Hall (2-16)
Three different pairs of teams are deadlocked going into the final week of play. Marquette and Creighton need to be separated after the Bluejays tripped up. Meanwhile UConn is lurking not far behind. The Huskies themselves need to look over their shoulder at Xavier and Villanova, who could drop them down the order.
Big East Tournament bracket if season ended today
First round
Team vs. | Team | |
|---|---|---|
Game 1 | (8) Providence | (9) Butler |
Game 2 | (7) Georgetown | (10) Seton Hall |
Game 3 | (6) Villanova | (11) DePaul |
Quarterfinals
Team vs. | Team | |
|---|---|---|
Game 4 | Game 1 winner | (1) St. John's |
Game 5 | (5) Xavier | (4) UConn |
Game 6 | Game 2 winner | (2) Creighton |
Game 7 | Game 3 winner | (3) Marquette |
Semifinals and final
Team vs. | Team | |
|---|---|---|
Game 8 (Semifinal) | Game 4 winner | Game 5 winner |
Game 9 (Semifinal) | Game 6 winner | Game 7 winner |
Game 10 (Final) | Game 8 winner | Game 9 winner |
Marquette won't be able to grab the No. 1 seed, but they're still jockeying for the No. 2 seed with Creighton. The Golden Eagles have to survive a road trip to UConn before finishing the regular season against St. John's. Creighton has an easier road, at least on paper. They've got an away date with Seton Hall and then finish the campaign at home against Butler. Whichever team comes out of those two games with the better record will prevail.
Seton Hall and Butler have something to play for. The Bulldogs are even with Providence. They'll hope to jump ahead for the No. 8 seed. The Pirates and DePaul are tied for dead last in the conference. The more winning squad will land the No. 10 seed.