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Big East Breakdown: Conference Takes Over The Bubble In Final Weekend

By Casey Pazzalia

Feb 15, 2017; Newark, NJ, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Myles Powell (13) celebrates a three points basket during the second half against the Creighton Bluejays at Prudential Center. Seton Hall won, 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2017; Newark, NJ, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Myles Powell (13) celebrates a three points basket during the second half against the Creighton Bluejays at Prudential Center. Seton Hall won, 87-81. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 21, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; St. John’s Red Storm guards Marcus LoVett (15) and Shamorie Ponds (2) react against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Carrier Dome. St. John’s won 93-60. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; Syracuse, NY, USA; St. John’s Red Storm guards Marcus LoVett (15) and Shamorie Ponds (2) react against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Carrier Dome. St. John’s won 93-60. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /

Out But Can Still Earn Auto-Bid:

The once rock solid Georgetown Hoyas are now in a state of disaray.

In the season finale, as Georgetown was on their home floor getting their doors blown off by Villanova, a once loyal fan base was raining down chants to fire longtime head coach John Thompson III.

Honestly, you can’t blame them at this point. The Hoyas are under .500 for the second straight season, something the program hadn’t done in over a decade. The worst part about the ordeal is that the 2016-17 season was once filled with promise and potential.

As Georgetown’s non-conference schedule came to a close, the Hoyas were looking like a team on the rise. They stood at 8-4 overall, complete with victories against powerhouse programs Oregon and Syracuse.

However, once Big East play started, the dream ended as they posted a 5-13 conference record, including seven losses in their last eight games.

With all that said, I don’t know if there’s anyone out there who doesn’t think the Hoyas can make a run and win the Big East Tournament. After all, it’s the same roster who had the non-conference success and historically the program plays well at Madison Square Garden.

If the Hoyas want to make at the auto-bid, they’ll need to improve on their No. 175th ranked defense. Effort is the key to defense, so with their head coaches job on the line, it’s the perfect time to play with some extra juice.

Georgetown plays St. John’s on Wednesday night at 7:00 P.M ET in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

Chris Mullin is St. John’s favorite son, so it’s only right that he was brought in as the new head coach before last season. Steve Lavin, the Red Storm’s previous coach, had the program headed in the right direction, but mutually agreed to part ways with the team following the 2014-15 season.

St. John’s was confident that Mullin could pick up where Lavin left off and keep New York City’s best talent at home.

Now two years in, Chris Mullin and company are indeed headed in the right direction, regardless of what their record says. So far this year they’ve won five more games than they did last year, including six wins over KenPom Top-75 teams.

The main reason for the optimism at St. John’s is due to the freshmen duo of Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett. Interestingly enough, both Ponds and LoVett are left-handed players and both play a very similar style.

Throughout the year, they’ve both proven to be reliable scorers, with Ponds averaging a team-high 17.6 points per game and LoVett not far behind at 16.4 per night. Both guards earned spots on the Big East All-Freshman team.

Ponds is one of the recruits Mullin was able to keep at home, coming to St. John’s from Thomas Jefferson HS in Brooklyn.

With their dynamic freshmen duo, the Johnnies make an intriguing case to make a run in the conference tournament. If they can heat up collectively, don’t be surprised if they make it all the way into the weekend.

After all, the Red Storm play a lot of their home games at MSG, so they have the advantage of competing right in their own backyard.

Looking ahead, if Ponds and LoVett stick around for a while, they will definitely bring St. John’s back to national relevancy.