Big East Tournament 2nd Round Games

After a couple 1st round minor upsets, St. Johns, Notre Dame, DePaul and Seton Hall have moved on to play in the 2nd round of the Big East Tournament.

Providence plays DePaul first at noon, followed by:
- Marquette and St. Johns @ 2 P.M.
- Notre Dame and West Virginia @ 7 P.M.
- and finally, Syracuse and Seton Hall @ 9 P.M.

All games on ESPN.

Providence vs. Depaul

Providence enters the Tournament off a bye, but they are in no situation to relax. The Friars sit at 18-12, 10-8, and in most analyst's eyes out of the tournament.

They should probably rail off at least two wins to secure themselves a bid. DePaul shouldn't be too problematic, but considering they just knocked off a legitimate bubble team in Cincinnati, who knows what to expect?

Dar Tucker and the Blue Demons will put a fight up, but expect Providence to take this by double digits.

Marquette vs. St. John's

Marquette is the No. 5 seed in the Tournament and should enter this matchup heavily favored, but beware the Red Storm.

In the past week, the Red Storm have defeated the Georgetown Hoyas TWICE. The Hoyas were considered a NCAA tournament contender for most of the season. St. John's also has beaten Notre Dame.

With Dominic James out, Marquette hasn't quite played the same, but expect them to win this by double digits. Their players just have too much talent and experience.

West Virginia vs. Notre Dame

These two teams last met February 18th in West Virginia, and the Mountaineers knocked off the Irish by 11 and somewhat burst their bubble.

Now the Irish have a little steam working after cleaning up two in a row against bottom feeders and have revenge on their minds.

West Virginia is a pretty secure tournament team, but don't expect them to show no life. They will come ready to play.

Luke Harangody had a terrible night against the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers (3-17 shooting), but look for him to reverse that trend.

Shooters Kyle McAlarney and Ryan Ayers will prove to be key for the Irish against the Mountaineers.

It should be the most entertaining game in the Big East Tournament tomorrow, and possibly out of all the day's action.

I like Notre Dame to eek this one out by 1 or 2 points, simply because they want it a little more right now, and disparity is sinking in.

Syracuse vs. Seton Hall

Seton Hall is coming off a decent victory against the Bulls of South Florida and definitely wants to keep their season going.

Syracuse has cooled off considerably after a hot start to their season, but don't sleep on the Orange.

Seton Hall doesn't have a notable win all season, but they won't go cold tomorrow night. Johnny Flynn should control the Orange and lead them to victory, but watch out for sharpshooting Jeremy Hazell for the Pirates.

I am picking a bit of a shocker here, Seton Hall wins a last minute game.

Rounds 3, 4, 5

If I get my predictions right, Providence will go on to play Louisville in a chance for another signature win which could easily vault the Friars into the NCAA Tournament.

Marquette would advance and play Villanova, a game which I don't see 'Nova coughing up. Notre Dame would play Pitt, which would be one of the most interesting games in Championship Week.

If that matchup occurred, I will go homer and pick ND. Finally, Seton Hall would lose to UConn.

In Round 4, Nova would play Louisville. I'd go for a Cardinal victory. ND would play UConn and truthfully, I do not see Notre Dame getting beat by UConn 3 times in one season.

Finally, the Champ game, a very unlikely one at that, would feature the Cardinals against the Irish.

Pick the Cards if this matchup bears its head. Cardinals will be mad after that 33 point loss to the Irish earlier this season.