Big East Basketball: Keys to both opening night games
DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette and St. John’s are all in a do or die scenario Wednesday night in the Big East basketball tourney.
Before the class of the conference takes the floor on Thursday, four teams will slug it out for the rights to advance to the quarterfinals and possibly shock a higher seed.
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We will see grit, energy, toughness and a “fight for your life” attitude, as the schools try to survive another day in what should be a dramatic conference tournament at The Mecca of Basketball, Madison Square Garden.
So without further ado, let’s take a peak at the two battles: the DePaul Blue Demons versus the Georgetown Hoyas and the Marquette Golden Eagles versus the St. John’s Red Storm.
No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 9 DePaul (7 p.m. ET FS1)
Clearly, the Hoyas should have the upper hand in this match-up, but it might not be as cut and dry as everyone might think.
In the preseason, Georgetown was projected to finish second in the Big East Conference and possibly challenge Villanova for league supremacy. Instead, the Hoyas (14-17, 7-11) fell flat on their face and had a brutal season that consisted of a down year from D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera.
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A normally stout defensive team showed signs of inconsistency while the offense relied too heavily on Smith-Rivera, who had an increase in turnovers and a decrease in efficiency.
Meanwhile, DePaul had a rough go in Dave Leitao’s first year on the job. The team finished 9-21 overall and 3-15 in conference play due to Myke Henry and Tommy Hamilton IV’s on-and-off play. But the Blue Demons have showed signs of potential with wins over George Washington and on the road at Marquette.
Also, the Blue Demons have received excellent production, as of late, from freshman Eli Cain and point guard Billy Garrett Jr.
In addition to Smith-Rivera snapping out of his funk and controlling the pace, the Hoyas also will need Isaac Copeland and L.J. Peak to provide instant offense on Wednesday night. John Thompson III’s team will also need to limit Cain’s lanes to the basket and looks from the perimeter while they must keep Garrett in front when he looks to penetrate.
With Bradley Hayes (broken hand) likely headed for a game time decision (according to Brad Standig), Jessie Govan and Marcus Derrickson have to control the glass with the guards also gang rebounding on some possessions.
Prediction: Georgetown 79 DePaul 73
No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 St. John’s (9:30 p.m. ET FS1
The Johnnies are in the midst of a rebuilding season and have only one conference victory all year long (against DePaul at home), but one area that they seem to have the upper hand on their opponent every night is their passion.
The Red Storm consist of four freshman who play major minutes and three seniors who don’t want their college careers to end.
Under the bright lights on their “home court,” Chris Mullin‘s unit will have to draw up a perfect game plan to pull off an upset against the Golden Eagles.
Marquette finished the season seven games over .500 and just two games under .500 in conference play, but they too have a young squad. Freshman Henry Ellenson, Haanif Cheatham and Traci Carter all play critical roles on a nightly basis and struggle on occasion against high level Big East competition.
The Red Storm actually played the Golden Eagles tough twice this year – losing by six on the road and five at Carnesecca Arena – without one of their best players, big man Yankuba Sima.
With the rim protection and improvement on the interior from both Sima and Kassoum Yakwe, St. John’s may have a chance to match Ellenson and Luke Fischer‘s production.
While the physicality of Sima and Yakwe will be crucial, the Johnnies likely will need to throw a press at Marquette early. The Golden Eagles have major turnover issues (15 per game) and did not respond well to Mullin’s intense defense in the second meeting on the road (the Johnnies came back down 20 in that one).
Be tough, force giveaways that lead to easy points, and get Federico Mussini hot? Will that be enough?
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Prediction: St. John’s 70 Marquette 69