NCAA Basketball: Predicting all 32 autobids for 2022 NCAA Tournament

Big East

Winner: Villanova Wildcats

Any of the top 5 teams could win the league but Villanova has shown once again that they are the class of the Big East. Around this time last year, the Wildcats were bitten by the injury bug and they were still able to make it to the sweet 16. This year Villanova is healthy again and they are still using their full-court pressure defense and their three heavy offensive attack to run through the league.

The Big East tournament went crazy last year as Georgetown ended up winning the league, but this year I would be shocked if this tournament didn’t end up with one of the top 5 teams. Collin Gillespie is healthy this year and is playing like one of the top point guards in the country. He is also one of the best players in the Big East and he led Villanova to the league title.

Sleeper: Seton Hall Pirates

Much like Iowa State the Pirates had a great early part of the season. Seton Hall outplayed their expectations and has now come back down to reality a bit. The Pirates are a dangerous team in the tournament because they play great defense, have a star in Jared Rhoden, and have shown they can beat some of the top teams in the country as they did in November and December. If the Pirates can regain that magic, they should find themselves in the NCAA tournament.

Seton Hall is a bubble team and would benefit greatly from a few wins in the league. Outside of losing to Georgetown, the Pirates can’t do much damage to their resume but a win against anyone would help them immensely.