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Big East Basketball: 2018 Conference Tournament bracket and preview

By Lukas Harkins

CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 28: Xavier Musketeers players celebrate after winning the Big East Conference regular season title with an 84-74 win over the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 28: Xavier Musketeers players celebrate after winning the Big East Conference regular season title with an 84-74 win over the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – FEBRUARY 28: Xavier Musketeers players celebrate after winning the Big East Conference regular season title with an 84-74 win over the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – FEBRUARY 28: Xavier Musketeers players celebrate after winning the Big East Conference regular season title with an 84-74 win over the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

The Big East Basketball conference tournament is upon us. As fans start piling into Madison Square Garden, let’s break down each team and their prospects.

Move aside, Big Ten. While it was interesting and fun that you moved your conference tournament to Madison Square Garden this year, that venue is the home of Big East basketball. Even though it is a trek for some schools, the tradition of holding the Big East Tournament at MSG needs to be upheld.

I would go on a minor rant about this but I will leave that to Jay Wright, who spoke on this subject earlier this week (Jerry Carino): “We own it. It’s natural and authentic for the Big East. When the ACC or Big Ten comes in, it’s not natural for them. If they get to enjoy it, that’s good. It’s our home. It’s what we’ve done and who we are.”

We are now in the final week before Selection Sunday and the bracket for the Big East Tournament (BET) has been released. The hope is that the conference can send six or seven teams to the NCAA Tournament but there is work left to be done by several teams to make this happen.

The BET is a great place for teams to add high-quality wins at a neutral site. With eight of the conference’s 10 teams in the RPI top-100, there are a ton of chances for Quadrant 1+2 wins in the conference tournament.

With that being said, it is clear that nothing comes easy in this league. Teams will have to brave adversity throughout the four-day event leading up to Selection Sunday. The favorites to win the whole thing are clearly Xavier and Villanova. Yet, there are several teams with the ability to catch fire. This is one of the highest-scoring conferences in the nation and if one team starts to rain down threes from the heavens, then the mecca of basketball could be seeing an upset bid by somebody other than those two squads.

This weekend is bound to be a fun one, so let’s jump into breaking down each team, the top players in the league, the Bracketology hopes, and my predictions for the tournament.

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