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2008 Big East Conference Tournament Preview & Predictions
The Big East tournament is set to take place March 12-15 at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Big East is the biggest conference team wise in college basketball with 16 teams. Out of those 16 teams only 12 can earn spots in the Big East Tournament. Where the top 4 seeds will earn first round byes and the rest of the teams have the difficult task of winning 4 games in 4 days. This will be the last year that the Big East excludes the bottom 4 teams from tournament play, as next year they will allow all 16 teams to participate. The 1 and 2 seeds will be decided in a regular season showdown between conference leaders Louisville and Georgetown. The 3 and 4 seed is also tied up between Notre Dame and Connecticut, with the teams splitting conference games it could come down to their final regular season game or a tiebreaker.This conference could see a total of 8 teams getting invitations to the big dance. Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Marquette, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh all look like they are locks to get bids to the tournament. There is still a chance that Syracuse or Villanova can make it with a good performance down the stretch. Both have RPI ratings in the top 65. Syracuse has a big game against Marquette that could push them just a win or two away from getting in. While Villanova will need to handle business against a poor Providence team and get at least two wins in the tournament. A lot might come down to how many teams from other conferences win their tournaments that are not currently looking at getting an at-large bid. Lets take a look at who we think is going to battle their way to a Big East Tournament Title and the team we think will help itself the most with a good performance.
Winner: Connecticut Huskies
While almost any of the top 7 teams could get hot and take home the short 4-day tournament, we are going to take the hottest team coming into the tournament. The Huskies have won 12 of 13, with their only loss in that span being a 2-point loss at Villanova. The have beaten every team in the top 8 except Georgetown, where they suffered a 3-point loss early in conference play. The Huskies could slip into the #2 seed if Georgetown is able to beat Louisville and they win the tiebreaker with Notre Dame. The junior tandem of Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price leads the Huskies. Both players bring in a team leading 15 PPG, while Adrien leads the team with 9.3 RPG, Price leads them with 6 APG. What really makes this team good is that the other 3 starters average over 10 PPG and still have a quality-scoring bench to come in and keep the pressure on their opponents.
Big Mover: Marquette Golden Eagles
While they are already in the tournament we think they will really help themselves with a good showing in the tournament. They are likely looking at getting a 5 seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, but we all know how the #5 seed does in the brackets. The Golden Eagles could easily move to a number #4 seed with a couple wins, and possibly a #3 seed if they can upset one of the power houses and reach the finals of the tournament. The Golden Eagles like the Huskies are coming in as one of the hotter teams in the conference. They have won 6 of their last 7 and their only loss was a tough 2-point loss at highly ranked Georgetown team. The team will be counting on the trio of Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Lazar Hayward to bring their A game to the Garden.
For all your conference tournament and NCAA Tournament betting needs go to Sportsbook.com. It’s fast and easy to get going and will have you ready to get going on this year’s action. Be sure to check out some of our featured articles on the top teams in the NCAA and their odds to win it all found at Sportsbook.com. Also, continue to check back for more NCAA Tournament help.
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