Bracketology 2020: Biggest winners and losers from Feast Week games

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 28: Jordan Schakel #20, Yanni Wetzell #5 and KJ Feagin #10 of the San Diego State Aztecs celebrate after teammate Joel Mensah (not pictured) #35 dunked against the Creighton Bluejays during the 2019 Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on November 28, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Aztecs defeated the Bluejays 83-52. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 14: Head coach Ed Cooley of the Providence Friars reacts after being defeated by the Villanova Wildcats during the Quarterfinals of the 2019 Big East men’s basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2019 in New York City. Villanova defeated Providence 73-62. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

Winner – Butler (7-0)

Feast Week record: (2-0)
Beat Missouri, 63-52
Beat Stanford, 68-67

With all due respect to the undefeated Blue Demons over in Chicago, the Bulldogs might be the most impressive surprise in the Big East so far. Butler also stands unbeaten at 7-0 after racking up two good wins against Missouri and Stanford early in the week. Add to that their earlier victories over Minnesota and Wofford, and suddenly, LaVall Jordan has built a pretty nice resume.

Kamar Baldwin is angling for an all-Big East nod if he continues to play the way he has, leading Butler with 15.6 points per game. The Bulldogs are reaping the double benefit of being better than preseason projections while many of their Big East compatriots struggle. Butler looks like a top-3 team in the league and, increasingly, like they should find themselves on the right side of the bubble this spring.

Loser – Providence (5-4)

Feast Week record: 1-2
Lost to Long Beach State, 66-65
Lost to Charleston, 63-55
Beat Pepperdine, 80-77

https://twitter.com/CarayChimp/status/1201318077989900288?s=20

Like Oklahoma State and West Virginia, the Friars were a popular pick to make it back to the NCAA Tournament in 2020. But unlike the Cowboys and Mountaineers, the wheels are already starting to come off for Providence. After losing to Penn in their final tune-up before the Wooden Legacy, Ed Cooley’s bunch dropped their first two games in Anaheim. On Sunday, they snuck past a Pepperdine team that had designs on knocking off Arizona. Still, Providence was favored in all three games but only won one.

As mentioned above, the Big East is not going to be an easy league to win games in this season. The Friars have set themselves up for a difficult challenge, as they will likely need to finish well above .500 in the league to salvage their at-large hopes at this point. That mark will also need to include a couple wins over Seton Hall and Villanova, too. Providence does have a chance to win back some favor over the month of December, as they tangle with Rhode Island, Florida, and Texas, all before Christmas.

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