Villanova doesn’t host Providence until tomorrow night, but the fight for the double-bye in the Big East Tournament starts this evening. Other than LOST, you should keep a close eye on Marquette’s trip to Pittsburgh.
VUHoops has a great outline of all the situations to get the double-bye, but the most simple way is for Marquette to go down to Pitt tonight, and then for Villanova to beat Providence at The Pavilion tomorrow. That would lock up the 4th seed.
#15 Marquette at #4 Pittsburgh (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2) – Since Dominic James left early in the loss to UConn, most people have written off the Golden Eagles and believe they will enter a tailspin. They were feisty in a loss to Louisville, however, and now look to try and keep hold on a Top 4 seed heading to Pitt. The Panthers lost to Providence last week as DeJuan Blair struggled with fouls, but rebounded over the weekend to take out Seton Hall.
And if you already have your eye on the NCAA Tournament like I do, keep an eye on this matchup tonight as well.
#5 Oklahoma at #12 Missouri (9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN360) – Mizzou has made an incredible run in the last month, soaring to the top end of the Top 25. They placed themselves in direct competition with Villanvoa for a 3 seed in the dance. They were humiliated at Kansas on Sunday. Oklahoma struggled when Blake Griffin was out before rebounding for a win when he returned. It will be a good matchup between the Griffin brothers and Mizzou’s DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons in the frontcourt.
In case you weren’t keeping score, it’s Go Panthers! and Go Sooners! tonight for ‘Nova Nation.
