Big East Tiers: 3/13/19

We said from day one the Big East would be a wild west of mediocrity, and boy did it deliver. Had the regular season drawn out another week, we legitimately could have seen all 10 teams clustered in Tier 3 of TRank’s rankings.

As it is, we still saw 70% of the conference in Tier 3 with DePaul just a smidge outside of joining the party.

Anyone can beat anyone has been true all season, but with Marquette and Villanova both slumping, it is now more true than ever. Don’t bother wagering on the Big East tournament, it’s not worth it.

As always, you can find this chart, and so much more at BartTorvik.com. I highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t yet.

Tier 1 – None

Not only were there no Tier 1 teams, there wasn’t a team even close to Tier 1.

Tier 2 – Villanova, Marquette

Villanova grabbed the Big East crown as well as the TRank crown. It was the close, but the defending champs were the best team.

However, don’t let that lull into thinking you they are a great team. Over the last month they are playing like the 57th ranked team  with a defense outside of the top-100. They will be the favorites to win at MSG, but their form has not been impressive.

And yet, Marquette has been significantly worse. During the past 2 weeks it has gone 0-4 and is playing like the 93rd best team, and even that seems high. And the problem has been offensive in nature, ranking 198th in AdjO in that timespan. I can’t pinpoint exactly what happened, but until they prove it on the court, I doubt many will pick them to win a game the rest of the season.

Tier 3A – Creighton

Don’t look now, but the Jays are the 2nd hottest team in the league over the last month and over the last 2 weeks. They still have a bit of work to do to get on the right side of the bubble, but this is a team peaking at the right time.

Tier 3B – St. John’s, Butler, Seton Hall, Xavier, Providence

This jumble of teams includes the hottest and the coldest teams all in one. I don’t even know what to say to make this blurb sound smart. These 5 teams are only separated by 7 spots in the rankings, but their trajectories couldn’t be more different.

Providence and Xavier still have a lot of work to do to make the NCAA Tournament, and even a run to the finals for either might not be enough, but with the way they are playing, they have to be taken seriously as contenders for the crown.

Butler is dead, though.

Tier 4 – Georgetown, DePaul

The Hoyas’ poor statistics are heavily weighted by a clunker against DePaul, as they are 3-1 over the last two weeks, with wins over two tourney teams in Marquette and Seton Hall. They still show up on the periphery of some mock brackets, but will need to be playing until Saturday at minimum to stay in that conversation.

DePaul doesn’t have NCAA aspirations, but can definitely win some games.

With the Big East Tourney set to tip tonight, the conference still has lots of questions to answer. MU, VU and SH are locks, with STJ probably in barring a loss to DePaul.

But as I mentioned 5 times already, there are plenty of bubble lurkers with good chances to make noise and bump up the total. It should be quite a ride.