6 Big East teams will play in the 2013-14 postseason. The conference sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament and two to the NIT.
Leading the way for the Big East are Villanova and Creighton. Villanova had an outside shot at earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but instead the Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the East Region.
Some questioned the Wildcats’ high-seeding, as they have only one truly great win, which came against Kansas in November. The other times they have gone up against top competition, they were blown out by Creighton and Syracuse. Add in a Big East Tournament loss to Seton Hall, and it would not have been surprising to see Villanova drop to a No. 3 or even No. 4 seed.
Creighton had no trouble transitioning to the Big East in its first year as a member of the league. The Bluejays finished second in the conference and then advanced to the conference tournament finals, where they lost to Providence. With their full body of work, the Bluejays earned a No. 3 seed in the West Region.
Xavier is the third at-large team from the Big East. The Musketeers looked safely in the NCAA Tournament field after defeating Creighton on March 1, but they then lost three of four games to end the season. The Musketeers wound up being placed in Dayton for a play-in game matchup against North Carolina State.
Providence, which earned the Big East’s automatic bid by winning the conference tournament, will be a No. 11 seed playing North Carolina.
For the second straight year, St. John’s will play in the NIT. Last season, the Red Storm were a No. 5 seed and knocked off St. Joseph’s on the road. This year, they are a No. 1 seed hosting Robert Morris. Robert Morris was a No. 8 seed in last year’s NIT as well, and the Colonials knocked off No. 1 seed Kentucky.
Georgetown will also represent the Big East in the NIT. The Hoyas face West Virginia in the first round and could potentially face Florida Gulf Coast in the second round. Florida Gulf Coast upset Georgetown in last year’s NCAA Tournament en route to becoming the first No. 15 seed ever to reach the Sweet 16.
