Big East - Home/Away

[X-band '01]

Just like last year, teams get +1 for a road win and -1 for a home loss. Here's how things look for all 10 Big East teams through Saturday:

+1 Villanova (W @ St. John's)
+1 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton)
+1 Providence (W @ Butler)
+1 DePaul (W @ Creighton)
0 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence)
0 Xavier
0 Georgetown
0 Marquette
-2 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova)
-2 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall)

As you may have guessed, Xavier, Georgetown and Marquette have won all their home games and lost all road games to date. There have been 19 conference games played to date with a grand total of 5 wins away from home.

Besides DePaul, the one surprise here is St. John's. While losing at home to Villanova isn't much of a surprise, their loss at home to Butler is. They will have a couple of opportunities to get back in the Big East race with games at Providence and DePaul this week. Likewise, DePaul is in a position where they could really make some hay at home this week with Georgetown and St. John's coming into Chicago.

Even Villanova hasn't separated itself from the pack yet - Seton Hall now has a 2-game winning streak against the Wildcats dating back to last March.

[X-band '01]

Updated through last night:

+1 Georgetown (W @ DePaul)
+1 Villanova (W @ St. John's)
+1 Providence (W @ Butler, L vs. St. John's, W @ Creighton)
+1 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall)
0 DePaul (W @ Creighton, L vs. Georgetown)
0 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton, L vs. Butler)
0 Xavier
0 Marquette
-1 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova, W @ Providence)
-3 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Providence)

[pimpinthebox]

I like the analysis. Good numbers. It's clear that X needs to be in the plus territory to avoid the sweating the bubble - although I think they'll be sweating either way.

[X-band '01]

Updated through Sunday 1/25/15:

Updated through last night:

+2 Georgetown (W @ DePaul, W @ Marquette)
+1 Villanova (W @ St. John's)
+1 Providence (W @ Butler, L vs. St. John's, W @ Creighton)
+1 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall)
+1 DePaul (W @ Creighton, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Seton Hall)
0 Xavier
-1 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton, L vs. Butler, L vs. DePaul)
-1 Marquette (L vs. Georgetown)
-1 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova, W @ Providence)
-3 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Providence)

In theory, this is good for Xavier in that this puts them in the Top 6 of the conference (meaning a 1st-round bye in the Big East tournament) if home court holds up throughout the season. Georgetown has separated itself a bit at the top, although they do have a return game at Nova in the 2nd half of the conference season.

[drudy23]

Just win a damn road game...anyway, anyhow.

[kyxu]

We need to win some road games, yo.

[X-band '01]

Seton Hall is in a 1-4 skid right now (including 3 straight losses). Win that one and Xavier can really begin to separate itself from the bottom 4.

If they can somehow pull off a win at Georgetown tomorrow night, then the league is wide open at the top.

[bourbonman]

Seton Hall is in a 1-4 skid right now (including 3 straight losses). Win that one and Xavier can really begin to separate itself from the bottom 4.

If they can somehow pull off a win at Georgetown tomorrow night, then the league is wide open at the top.

Where's BAND? I want an update, even if minor in count. I want to see X in the PLUS column!

[X-band '01]

I do this on a weekly basis, but I will gladly add a midweek update after the Thursday matinee between DePaul and Providence.

[X-band '01]

Midweek 1/29/15 Update:

+1 Providence (W @ Butler, L vs. St. John's, W @ Creighton)
+1 Georgetown (W @ DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Xavier)
+1 Villanova (W @ St. John's)
+1 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall)
+1 Xavier (W @ Georgetown)
+1 DePaul (W @ Creighton, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Seton Hall)
0 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton, L vs. Butler, L vs. DePaul, W @ Marquette)
-1 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova, W @ Providence)
-2 Marquette (L vs. Georgetown, L vs. Seton Hall)
-3 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Providence)

In short, the Georgetown win puts Xavier securely in the Top 6 and a 1st-round bye in the Big East tournament. Seton Hall can overlap DePaul if they win their rematch in Chicago, but they'd be in a more precarious position if they slip up against Xavier on Saturday. Villanova's schedule was also frontloaded a bit as their remaining road games include DePaul, Marquette and Creighton (very winnable for an NCAA protected seed).

[danaandvictory]

Xavier's 4 remaining road games are against probably the 4 worst teams in the league. You'd like to think that 3-1 or at least 2-2 in those games is possible.

[DC Muskie]

Only three conferences in the country where every team has at least ten wins.

Big 12
Big 10
Big East

And Tony Kornheiser thinks this conference is much diminished.

[danaandvictory]

I bet Kornheiser couldn't name 6 current Big East teams.

[DC Muskie]

I bet Kornheiser couldn't name 6 current Big East teams.

6? He can't name anyone other than Nova, Georgetown and Marquette.

He is such a loser.

[LA Muskie]

6? He can't name anyone other than Nova, Georgetown and Marquette.

He is such a loser.

I think he remembers Xavier. Now.

[DC Muskie]

I think he remembers Xavier. Now.

No way. Tony's game is acting stupid. Not remembering Xavier plays right into that.

[Masterofreality]

No way. Tony's game is acting stupid. Not remembering Xavier plays right into that.

Although on his show Wednesday morning, Nigel gave the report that Xavier beat GTown and Kornheiser said that "Well, Xavier is better than GTown" then Nigel pointed out the sweep of the two games and Tony repeated "Yep, Xavier is better than Georgetown".

That being said, his "old guy radio" schtick is to act stupid and out of touch, I agree.

[DC Muskie]

Although on his show Wednesday morning, Nigel gave the report that Xavier beat GTown and Kornheiser said that "Well, Xavier is better than GTown" then Nigel pointed out the sweep of the two games and Tony repeated "Yep, Xavier is better than Georgetown".

That being said, his "old guy radio" schtick is to act stupid and out of touch, I agree.

Yeah two weeks before he called the BE is much diminished. That just sticks with me. If we play Gtown again in the BE tournament, or even next year, Tony will go back to not remembering us.

I just don't like the guy frankly. I saw him once at an event at a country club. Business causal attire, Tony showed up in shorts and loafers, went to the putting green for about 30 minutes, then came in the dining hall and acted like everyone was overdressed. He's the original knobber.

And Nigel is a Red Sawwkxx douchebag.

[waggy]

Why you give me Kornheiser in shorts mental image?

Child please.

[PMI]

No way. Tony's game is acting stupid. Not remembering Xavier plays right into that.

It's not an act. I used to work for the guy. I am not kidding or being sarcastic in the least when I say HE DOES NOT WATCH SPORTS. Dead serious. He watches the Redskins, golf, and the absolute biggest games of each given major sports season, but he does not watch sports on the regular. He loves American Idol and all of the singing and dancing shows, but he has no interest in watching a random game of any kind. He loves looking at results and reading things and consequently coming up with narratives that he can whip up by drawing his conclusions, but he does not watch. Tony Kornheiser is not the worst guy, but he's an asshole and he is not apologetic about it. A long, long time ago, he accepted that he made it as a sports media coverer, and he stopped actually putting the time in. All that said, I don't hate the guy. He's got a sweet side. But he is who he is and he's someone you can only take in doses. Trust me.

[GoMuskies]

Xavier's 4 remaining road games are against probably the 4 worst teams in the league. You'd like to think that 3-1 or at least 2-2 in those games is possible.

DePaul is one of the four worst teams in the Big East.

[XUFan09]

DePaul is one of the four worst teams in the Big East.
Am I crazy for thinking about that game EVERY SINGLE DAY?

[X-band '01]

Update through yesterday:

+2 Villanova (W @ St. John's, W @ DePaul)
+2 Georgetown (W @ DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Xavier, W @ Creighton)
+2 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall, W @ Marquette)
+1 Providence (W @ Butler, L vs. St. John's, W @ Creighton)
+1 Xavier (W @ Georgetown)
0 DePaul (W @ Creighton, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Seton Hall, L vs. Villanova)
0 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton, L vs. Butler, L vs. DePaul, W @ Marquette)
-1 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova, W @ Providence)
-3 Marquette (L vs. Georgetown, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Butler)
-4 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Providence, L vs. Georgetown)

The DePaul loss puts Xavier into the top half of the Big East; the Muskies were helped in that Providence missed an opportunity to separate themselves by losing at St. John's. Seton Hall also has work to do to avoid the 1st round in the Big East tournament.

[paulxu]

Boy we've let some opportunities slip away. Ugh.

[LA Muskie]

Boy we've let some opportunities slip away. Ugh.

We certainly have. Although just about everyone has. That's the thing about playing in a conference like this.

[X-band '01]

Updated through this week's games:

+2 Villanova (W @ St. John's, W @ DePaul)
+2 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall, W @ Marquette)
+2 Providence (W @ Butler, L vs. St. John's, W @ Creighton, W @ Georgetown)
+1 Georgetown (W @ DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Xavier, W @ Creighton, L vs. Providence)
0 Xavier (W @ Georgetown, L vs. Creighton)
0 DePaul (W @ Creighton, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Seton Hall, L vs. Villanova)
-1 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton, L vs. Butler, L vs. DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Marquette)
-1 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova, W @ Providence)
-2 Marquette (L vs. Georgetown, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Butler, W @ Seton Hall)
-3 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Providence, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Xavier)

What hurt Xavier (with the Creighton loss) is that they're unable to separate themselves from DePaul for the time being, although the Demons are now getting into the meat of their schedule now. Seton Hall has a couple of road wins against the dregs of the Big East, but they're going to need a notable road scalp to stay on the good side of the bubble right now.

Xavier has a critical home-and-home coming up with bubble buddy St. John's, but they CANNOT overlook Marquette this week. If they can win at Seton Hall without Matt Carlino in the lineup, that is scary schidt.

[X-band '01]

Updated through Valentine's Day:

+4 Villanova (W @ St. John's, W @ DePaul, W @ Providence, W @ Butler)
+2 Georgetown (W @ DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Xavier, W @ Creighton, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall)
+1 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall, W @ Marquette, L vs. Villanova)
+1 Providence (W @ Butler, L vs. St. John's, W @ Creighton, W @ Georgetown, L vs. Villanova)
0 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova, W @ Providence, W @ Xavier)
0 Xavier (W @ Georgetown, L vs. Creighton, W @ Marquette, L vs. St. John's)
0 DePaul (W @ Creighton, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Seton Hall, L vs. Villanova)
-2 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton, L vs. Butler, L vs. DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Marquette, L vs. Georgetown)
-3 Marquette (L vs. Georgetown, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Butler, W @ Seton Hall, L vs. Xavier)
-3 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Providence, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Xavier)

And here is the Big East bracket through Saturday:

(7) DePaul vs. (10) Creighton
(8) Seton Hall vs. (9) Marquette

(1) Villanova vs. Seton Hall/Marquette
(4) Georgetown vs. (5) St. John's
(2) Butler vs. DePaul/Creighton
(3) Providence vs. (6) Xavier

Nova/Hall/Marq vs. Gtown/St. John's
Butler/DePaul/Creighton vs. Prov/Xavier

Semifinal winners

[X-band '01]

Update through Saturday:

+5 Villanova (W @ St. John's, W @ DePaul, W @ Providence, W @ Butler, W @ Marquette)
+2 Georgetown (W @ DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Xavier, W @ Creighton, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall)
+2 Providence (W @ Butler, L vs. St. John's, W @ Creighton, W @ Georgetown, L vs. Villanova, W @ DePaul)
+2 Butler (W @ St. John's, L vs. Providence, W @ Seton Hall, W @ Marquette, L vs. Villanova, W @ Creighton)
0 Xavier (W @ Georgetown, L vs. Creighton, W @ Marquette, L vs. St. John's)
0 St. John's (L vs. Butler, L vs. Villanova, W @ Providence, W @ Xavier)
-1 DePaul (W @ Creighton, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Seton Hall, L vs. Villanova, L vs. Providence)
-2 Seton Hall (W @ Creighton, L vs. Butler, L vs. DePaul, W @ Marquette, L vs. Marquette, L vs. Georgetown)
-4 Marquette (L vs. Georgetown, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Butler, W @ Seton Hall, L vs. Xavier, L vs. Villanova)
-4 Creighton (L vs. DePaul, L vs. Seton Hall, L vs. Providence, L vs. Georgetown, W @ Xavier, L vs. Butler)

Big East tournament bracket if the season ended today:

FIRST ROUND (Wednesday, March 11)
Game #1: (7)DePaul vs. (10)Creighton
Game #2: (8)Seton Hall vs. (9)Marquette

QUARTERFINAL ROUND (Thursday, March 12)
Game #3: (1)Villanova vs. Seton Hall/Marquette
Game #4: (4)Butler vs. (5)Xavier
Game #5: (2)Georgetown vs. DePaul/Creighton
Game #6: (3)Providence vs. (6)St. John's

SEMIFINAL ROUND (Friday, March 13)
Game #7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Game #8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner

CHAMPIONSHIP (Saturday, March 14)
Game #9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner

[xukeith]

Looking at the Big East Tourney bracket, I want X to be 3rd seed or 6th seed.
If they win out and get help form BE opponents, they will finish 3rd. I want to play Providence or G'Town or Butler in semis.
http://www.interbasket.net/news/17146/2015/02/2015-big-east-basketball-tournament-bracket/

X will get a bye no matter what but where would you like X to end up? Hope for a big run! Win out and be 9-1 in last 10 and an rpi in 15-19 range.

[LA Muskie]

Looking at the Big East Tourney bracket, I want X to be 3rd seed or 6th seed.
If they win out and get help form BE opponents, they will finish 3rd. I want to play Providence or G'Town or Butler in semis.
http://www.interbasket.net/news/17146/2015/02/2015-big-east-basketball-tournament-bracket/

X will get a bye no matter what but where would you like X to end up? Hope for a big run! Win out and be 9-1 in last 10 and an rpi in 15-19 range.
I want us to get the best seed we can possibly get. The rest would take care of itself.

[bourbonman]

...X will get a bye no matter what but where would you like X to end up? Hope for a big run! Win out and be 9-1 in last 10 and an rpi in 15-19 range.

Help me understand that "X will get a bye no matter what". X with 8 losses has a strong chance to end up with 10 losses (something I hope doesn't happen) with Villanova and a road game to a team that they've already lost to. Then with 10 losses and DePaul & St John's winning out X would slip to the 7 seed. DePaul has the 2 bottom teams left and a broken down Butler at home. A hot St John's (winner of 5 of last 6 including 2 over X) has a tougher road with games against G'town, Villanova and Marquette. But they have the head to head tie breaker with X so could lose one more than X and still be seeded higher. X has to win at least one more and both would be huge. I'll be there Saturday to help with the first one.

[X-band '01]

Xavier would win a tiebreaker over DePaul based on better records against Georgetown and Providence. The Demons have to win out and Xavier needs to lose out to knock X down to the #7 line. I'm not sold on DePaul even beating a shorthanded Butler team at home. As for the game at Marquette, that would also depend on Matt Carlino returning from his concussion earlier this month. Creighton at home is the closest DePaul has to a gimme.

Seton Hall would need to win out (Creighton and Providence at home and Georgetown on the road) to finish ahead of Xavier. That ain't happening.