Bracketology 2024: Analyzing bubble resumes of 6 Big East at-large contenders
As February winds down and the final regular season games play out, competition in the Big East is heating up. The top-three have all but punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, but for those still in the mix, these next few weeks are pivotal. There's only one question: Who's going dancing in March?
By Kyle Craib
Don’t look now, but it’s almost March.
In less than one month from today, a new field of 68 will step onto the court for a chance to write their names in NCAA history. As the tournament approaches, many programs in the Big East are sizing up their chances to break into the bracket.
Five schools from the conference received the nod on Selection Sunday in 2023. With less than a month left to play this season, nine Big East teams are still within reach of college basketball’s promised land.
Last year’s champions at the University of Connecticut followed up their title win by cruising atop top of the AP Top-25 poll. Dan Hurley has seemingly assembled the best team in the nation once again and essentially booked his ticket back to the Big Dance.
The same goes for the birds of the Big East. The Marquette Golden Eagles and Creighton Bluejays have put together an impressive resume so far this year; a few questionable losses aside. Both programs should be heading back to the tournament bar any drastic turns in the final few weeks.
The waters start to get murkier the deeper you go into the conference. With final regular season games and the Big East tournament still to play, anything can happen for these six teams vying for a ticket.
Let’s examine how the season has unfolded for each of these squads; what to watch for down the stretch and how each can punch their ticket to the Big Dance.