If you have ever competed in the first or second round of the NCAA tournament, then you know that the crowd loves the downtrodden and lower seeded teams.
As the intensity increases and the score stays tight, fans in the stands are pulling for that huge upset. But in this crazy time of COVID-19, many fans will not be in the stands. I really believe that this will ease the pressure on the favorites, as the arena will not be filled with fans screaming against them. There will be upsets, but keep this in mind when picking up your bracket sleeper teams.
As far as pressure, what could be different for this week’s conference tournament? Some teams always get it right at home in conference tournament week. Examples? St. John’s in Kansas Square Garden, Kansas City, Indiana, and T-Mobile Center in Purdue when the Big Ten tournament takes place in Indianapolis (as it is this week) … and of course Duke and North Carolina usually have the Greens Coliseum Let’s pack .
But St. John’s played on campus at Carnesca Arena this year and didn’t get their usual “home” game at MSG, to get acquainted with the surroundings and the background of the shooting. Which brings us to the breakdown and prediction of my Big East tournament.
If you are a Villanova fan, you must be feeling ill. No team in America can match the culture surrounding Coach Jay Wright’s program. But the injury bug hit the Wildcats in a terrible way in the last two weeks. Collin Gillespie’s torn MCL is destructive in more ways than one. Gillespie is a senior leader who knows what Wright needs to see in court. He knows when to take his money jump shot or reduce it to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Gillespie is the heart and soul of the team. If he wasn’t bad enough, stud’s sophomore guard Justin Moore moved to Providence last weekend and spent the rest of the game in ankle boots. The initial term Moore suspects for the Big East tournament.
Creighton has the same aggressive firepower as any team in the country when she is clicking. The Blues have five players, who average in double figures, led by junior guard Marcus Zagrowski. But negative discussion surrounds coach Greg McDermott following suspension for insensitive language at the team meeting. McDermott is one of the top coaches in the country, and would welcome his experience on the Bluejays sideline.
Not many teams are playing better basketball than Danny Hurley’s Connecticut Huskies. UConn is led by the National Player of the Year candidate, James Boyit, who has returned from an elbow injury. With a healthy Bucheit, the Huskies look like the team to defeat. A possible semi-final matchup of UConn and Creighton will be to watch on Friday night.
The second quarter-final took place against St. John on Thursday at Seton Hall. The winner gets a shot at Villanova, and I look for the winner to beat the top-seeded Wildcats in the semi-finals. The Pirates and the Red Storm are on the wrong side of the bubble, but if the winner can send Villanova, it will have the attention of the selection committee. Would have been a loser.
My pick: Creighton
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