Six BIG EAST Teams Going Dancin’
PHILADELPHIA – Villanova, Providence and UConn earned top-five seeds when the NCAA Selection Show was broadcast Sunday night, while Creighton, Marquette and Seton Hall are each set to compete in the NCAA Tournament beginning Thursday. Villanova, the BIG EAST Tournament champion, earned a No. 2 seed, while Providence, the regular-season champion, is a No. 4 seed. UConn claimed a No. 5 seed, followed by Creighton and Seton Hall as No. 8 seeds and Marquette as a No. 9 seed.
No. 2 Seed Villanova Wears Big East Title Crown, (Again)
The eighth-ranked and second-seeded Villanova Wildcats earned a trio of hard fought victories in the 40th BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep played at Madison Square Garden to win the sixth BIG EAST Championship in program history. After a ferocious comeback moved the Wildcats past St. John’s 66-65 in the quarterfinals, Villanova edged UConn 63-60 in the semifinals. In the finals, Villanova outlasted Creighton 54-48 in a dramatic showdown to improve to 5-1 in the tournament finals since conference realignment. The ‘Cats guard Collin Gillespie won the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player.
BIG EAST Fans Flocked to The Garden
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Tournament was a sellout at Madison Square Garden for four of the five sessions on March 9-12. The attendance for the four sellouts was 19,812. The Garden was filled to 97.3 capacity over the four days. The BIG EAST
was playing its tournament at the World’s Most Famous Arena for the 40th straight year. It is the longest running conference tournament played at the same venue. The sight of thousands of UConn fans entering MSG brought back all the memories of years gone past.
BIG EAST Averages More Than Five Team Bids Per Year
With six NCAA bids in 2022, the BIG EAST has received a total of 42 NCAA
Tournament invitations since reconfiguration in 2013-14, averaging 5.3 per
season. That average discounts 2020 when the NCAA Tournament was not
played. Villanova won the national championship in 2018 and 2016. The BIG
EAST earned a high of seven NCAA bids in 2017.
Villanova has the Top Nine-Year Record of Teams
In the last nine seasons since conference realignment, Villanova has the best record in conference play with a 130-31 (.808) mark. The Wildcats have won or shared seven of the nine regular-season titles. Providence won outright this season and Xavier won outright in 2017-18.