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DePaul wins its second consecutive Big East crown against Marquette last night in a 74-73 nail-biter. With last night’s win, DePaul gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Original story:
Last season, No. 2 DePaul defeated No. 1 Marquette in the championship to win its second Big East crown in three years. The two teams are in familiar territory as the top two seeds once more as the Big East Tournament begins today.
Marquette (24-6, 15-3) finished the 2018-19 regular season with an 80-57 win against Providence, which helped it capture the regular-season crown. Meanwhile, DePaul ended the season on an eight-game winning streak, with its last win coming against Creighton. Entering the tournament, DePaul (23-7, 14-4) seems focused, determined and scrappy.
But despite being the top seeds, the Big East is up for grabs. Although DePaul and Marquette are top seeds, any team can have a poor shooting night resulting in a first-game loss.
Once conference tournaments start, every team in the nation gets something of a fresh start. Each of the 10 teams in the Big East play physically and focus on defense. A couple of teams that can challenge Marquette and DePaul include Seton Hall and Providence, due to their backcourts’ abilities to shoot and defend.
Clearly, DePaul and Marquette will enter today’s tournament with a slight advantage. But when any team can craft or create the perfect game plan, this combined with an opponent coming out flat could create some major upsets.
Schedule
When: Saturday, March 9 — Tuesday, March 12
Where: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, IL
How to view: Big East Network (first round), FS2 (quarterfinals), FS1 (semifinals/final)
Bracket
FIRST ROUND
St. John’s opened the first round of the Big East tournament with a 76-51 blowout win against Seton Hall, led by Akina Wellere’s 18-point performance. In the second game of the first round, Providence defeated Xavier, 70-62, despite a solid performance from A’riana Gray.
No. 9 St. John’s vs. No. 8 Seton Hall
Saturday, March 9, 3 p.m. ET, Big East Network
No. 10 Xavier vs. No. 7 Providence
Saturday, March 9, 5:30 p.m. ET, Big East Network
QUARTERFINALS
Marquette set the tone in the quarterfinals by demolishing St. John’s, 88-57, to advance to the semifinals, while Georgetown cruised to the next round with a 76-67 win over Villanova.
DePaul punched its ticket to the semifinals by crushing Providence, 85-60, while Creighton shocked Butler with a 60-51 upset to secure a spot in the next round.
No. 1 Marquette vs. St. John’s
Sunday, March 10, 1 p.m. ET, FS2
No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 5 Villanova
Sunday, March 10, 3:30 p.m. ET, FS2
No. 2 DePaul vs. Providence
Sunday, March 10, 7 p.m. ET, FS2
No. 3 Butler vs No. 6 Creighton
Sunday, March 10, 9:30 p.m. ET, FS2
SEMIFINALS
Marquette punched its third consecutive Big East Championship ticket after defeating Georgetown, 75-62. DePaul fought off a hungry Creighton team for an 80-69 win to advance to the championship game.
No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 1 Marquette
Monday, March 11, 4 p.m. ET, FS1
No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 2 DePaul
Monday, March 11, 6:30 p.m. ET, FS1
CHAMPIONSHIP
DePaul wins its second consecutive Big East crown against Marquette last night in a 74-73 nail-biter. With last night’s win, DePaul gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
No. 1 Marquette vs. No. 2 DePaul
Tuesday, March 12, 8 p.m. ET, FS1