Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big East Basketball: Creating the conference’s All-NBA bracket for 2018

By Brian Foley

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 26: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Utah Jazz dribbles around Otto Porter Jr. #22 of the Washington Wizards in the second half at Verizon Center on February 26, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 26: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Utah Jazz dribbles around Otto Porter Jr. #22 of the Washington Wizards in the second half at Verizon Center on February 26, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Dwight Buycks #23 and Jimmy Butler #33 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate late in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second round of the 2011 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Dwight Buycks #23 and Jimmy Butler #33 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate late in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second round of the 2011 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

Semifinals

There are a combined 22 NBA All-Star appearances between the 20 players remaining (hat tip to Wade for doing most of the work there).

1. Marquette vs. 5. Butler

MU: Buycks, Wade, Matthews, Butler, Ellenson

BU: Mack, Savage, Hayward, Martin, Jones

Assuming a healthy Hayward, there is real star power at the top of the ticket between Butler and the current Celtics swingman. But once you move past that front line, the rest of the roster tips heavily in Marquette’s favor. Buycks credibly ran the Pistons’ offense towards the end of the 2017-18 campaign (59 assists in 427 minutes), and Matthews and Ellenson are solid floor-spacers for Wade and Butler.

Mack is certainly a step ahead of Buycks at the point guard spot, but he doesn’t do enough to function as a team’s second-best player. Even the mighty Brad Stevens will fall short with this team. Marquette advances.

2. Villanova vs. 3. Creighton

VU: Lowry, Hart, Bridges, Cunningham, Spellman

CU: Thomas, Korver, McDermott, Tolliver, Patton

I really like this fake Creighton team. There are no real weak links, and everyone fits snugly into a modern offense. The only pieces the Bluejays lack are a true point guard and a primetime scorer, which happen to be the two most essential parts of a quality offense. While the Wildcats have Lowry to run their half-court sets and get buckets in big spots, its hard to imagine McDermott or Korver doing the same thing for Creighton. Equal opportunity offense only gets so far in the NBA, especially without an alpha dog to score off the dribble. Villanova moves to the final.

Championship

1. Marquette vs. 2. Villanova

MU: Buycks, Wade, Matthews, Butler, Ellenson

VU: Lowry, Hart, Bridges, Cunningham, Spellman

And here we are. The top two teams for all the (theoretical) marbles. While only the one and two seeds remain, the bracket wasn’t completely chalked, and a couple of the contests played out pretty competitively in my head.

More from Big East

In building Villanova’s team, I attempted to throw as many switchable wings onto the roster as possible, specifically for this matchup. The Wildcats will need a bevy of options to guard Marquette. Butler is a do-it-all threat who score in a myriad of ways. Injuries have taken their toll on Wade and Matthews, but Wade can still get up for a big game (he topped 25 points twice in the playoffs) and Matthews nailed 38 percent of his threes last season.

Even with the wings surrounding Lowry, Villanova might not have the horses to get consistent stops. Cunningham is on the wrong side of 30 now, and Hart and Bridges are still quite young. Ellenson and Spellman possess similar skill sets – stretch fours who can rebound and play center in a pinch – but Ellenson has a leg up with two years of NBA life under his belt.

Marquette has too much star power and depth to lose. Try again in five years though, when Wade and Matthews are out of the league, Butler is in his mid-30’s, and Villanova has countless of players in their prime, and the answer easily flips towards the Wildcats. But for now, the inaugural Big East All-NBA title goes to the Golden Eagles.

Next. 30 best atmospheres in college hoops. dark

(And no, this wasn’t just a ploy for me, a Marquette grad, to conjure up some measure of basketball success for my school. That would be ridiculous).

Home/Big East