Bracketology 2020: Virginia, DePaul and Washington among week's losers

Bracketology 2020: Virginia, DePaul and Washington among week’s losers

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 08: Quade Green #55 of the Washington Huskies drives passed Admon Gilder #1 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and scores on a breakaway late in the 2nd half at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on December 8, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mike Tedesco/Getty Images) /

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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 21: Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

BIG EAST

1. DePaul

The dream isn’t quite dead for the Blue Demons, but it’s getting there. After two losses to open Big East play, DePaul lost on Saturday to St. John’s in the team’s only game of the week. The Red Storm aren’t a bad team, to be sure, but if the Demons want to get back to the tournament, this is the kind of game they need to be winning.

Dave Leitao’s bunch has dug a hole for itself in the hypercompetitive Big East, falling to 0-3 in league play with the loss to the Johnnies. They’ll most definitely get some punches in, but in a conference that promises to have razor-thin margins between its bubble teams, DePaul has given itself quite a bit of work to do.

Those wins over Texas Tech, Iowa, and Minnesota feel like a lifetime ago, and the buzz surrounding this team has started to fade, which is never a promising sign.

2. Marquette

The Golden Eagles are certainly no strangers to buzz, as their star player Markus Howard commands more than just about anybody in the country. But while Howard’s scoring touch has been reliable, the recent results haven’t been.

Marquette lost to Providence and Seton Hall last week, bringing their Big East record to 1-2 in the early going. The biggest saving grace for Steve Wojciechowski’s team is that their lone victory in conference play so far came against Villanova.

That win, as well as November wins over Purdue and USC, are all the Eagles have to hang their hats on. Perhaps more importantly at this juncture, they don’t have a truly bad loss. Still, they need to stop losing—no matter who the opponent is.

3. Xavier

The Musketeers also dropped both of their games last week, despite playing in the cozy confines of the Cincinnati’s Cintas Center. Like the teams ahead of them on this list, Xavier has had a rough start to what will surely be an arduous battle through the Big East.

Though neither Seton Hall nor Creighton are bad losses in the least, the Muskies won’t like seeing their 1-3 mark in the league standings, but they’ve already got games against SHU and Villanova out of the way.

But in a league packed to the gills with teams trying to force their way into the Big Dance, these guys can’t afford to lose back-to-back home games.

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