Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 16: The Big East logo before the Championship game of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 16: The Big East logo before the Championship game of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 01: Rutherford of the Red Storm celebrates. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 01: Rutherford of the Red Storm celebrates. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

Breaking down the bottom half

10. DePaul Blue Demons (15-16, 3-15)

DePaul entered this conference season with hopes of potentially competing for an at-large bid. The Blue Demons started the Big East campaign with a 12-1 overall record but quickly fell apart while finding themselves in a familiar spot in the standings. The last two months of the season have been extremely disappointing for DePaul, although the team did win two of its final five games for its best stretch of play during the conference season.

T-8 (9 seed). St. John’s Red Storm (16-15, 5-13)

St. John’s also looked the part of a potential at-large team after non-conference play as the team exceeded expectations with crucial wins over West Virginia and Arizona. The Red Storm were not nearly as successful in the Big East season, though, as they struggled to consistently find wins. With that said, the roster clearly bought into head coach Mike Anderson’s system in Year 1 and plays hard in every single game. It enters the BET as a dark-horse considering it beat both Creighton and Marquette in the NYC area over the past two weeks.

T-8 (8 seed). Georgetown Hoyas (15-16, 5-13)

Georgetown was a bubble team just a couple of weeks ago but that is no longer the case. The Hoyas dropped their final six regular-season games and have fallen completely out of consideration for an at-large bid. This has certainly been a tumultuous season for the program as head coach Patrick Ewing has had to handle outgoing transfers early in the year and then crucial injuries to Mac McClung and Omer Yurtseven during the most important stretch of the season. This is a team that is trending down compared to the rest heading into the BET.

T-6 (7 seed). Xavier Musketeers (19-12, 8-10)

Xavier is sitting right on the bubble for the Big Dance as the Big East Tournament will be huge for their other postseason aspirations. Considering the Musketeers are the No. 7 seed at this event and will have to play in the opening round, they have the longest odds of the teams poised to reach the NCAA Tournament next week to win this conference tournament title Nonetheless, this team boasts an elite defense, can dominate the offensive glass, and will hopefully be getting Paul Scruggs back from injury in time to play big minutes. Xavier is still dangerous even after losing its final two regular-season games.

T-6 (6 seed). Marquette Golden Eagles (18-12, 8-10)

Marquette is trending down in a massive way right now. Although still firmly on the right side of the projected cutline for the NCAA Tournament, the team has dropped six of its last seven games with the only win coming at home over Georgetown, the only team in the conference falling faster. The Golden Eagles have been porous on the defensive end down the stretch and are not getting a ton of offensive support around their star. Nonetheless, any team with Markus Howard can be very very dangerous.

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