There’s a lot of potentially momentous games on the men’s basketball side of the conference this week.
Lots of dramatic games on the men’s basketball side of the Big East, not so much on the women’s side. That has more to do with the league coming down to the final two weeks of the regular season with a lot of separation already existing between the squads that will advance straight to the conference tournament quarterfinals and those who will not.
Let’s get to the highlights of the week, shall we?
Tuesday, February 18: Villanova Wildcats at RV Connecticut Huskies (5:30pm Central, FS1) — Okay, look, yes, Villanova probably lit their NCAA tournament hopes on fire by following up a win over St. John’s with a 13 point loss to Providence. But! Here they visit a UConn team that they already beat this season, and the Huskies might be reeling after their own horrible loss to Seton Hall over the weekend.
Tuesday, February 18: Butler Bulldogs at Xavier Musketeers (7pm Central, Peacock) — There’s a tiny bit of NCAA tournament drama surrounding Xavier right now, so this is worth keeping an eye on, but that’s not why it’s here. This is on here because this is the first meeting of the season between these two teams. Weird!
Wednesday, February 19: #5 Connecticut Huskies at Seton Hall Pirates (6pm Central, SNY) — I’m putting this on here just because Paige Bueckers and the Huskies beat the Pirates by 60 in the first meeting. That was the home side of the season series for them, so let’s see what happens when it’s a road game. More rubbernecking than actual intrigue, I admit.
Friday, February 21: #16 Marquette Golden Eagles at Villanova Wildcats (6pm Central, FS1) — Remember what I said about Eric Dixon & Co. lighting their NCAA tourney hopes on fire but visiting a UConn team they beat already? Well, now they host a ranked MU team that beat them by 13. It’s kind of an important one for MU as well, as the Golden Eagles haven’t beaten a team that currently holds a winning record since……. they beat Nova on January 24th.
Sunday, February 23: RV Connecticut Huskies at #10 St. John’s Red Storm (11am Central, Fox) — If we presume that STJ will get through a road trip against DePaul earlier in the week, then this is their last true hurdle to a clear path to a Big East regular season title. Yes, they close the campaign at Marquette, but that would be their last obvious possible loss with a two game lead on the rest of the league. On top of that: Boy, that Villanova game on Tuesday suddenly looks like the only thing standing between UConn and a three game losing streak, huh?
Sunday, February 24: #23 Creighton Bluejays at DePaul Blue Demons (2pm Central, FloSports) — If the mid-week Marquette and Villanova games go in favor of those two teams, then the Blue Demons will be fighting keep their chances to avoid the Day 1 tripleheader at the Big East tournament alive here. Creighton’s also aiming to keep their shot at a regular season title alive in both this one and a Wednesday home game against St. John’s, as their return trip against UConn is coming up next week.
Here’s the full Big East men’s basketball schedule for the week, with all times Central, as always.
Here’s the full Big East women’s basketball schedule for the week, with all times Central, as always.
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