Big East Predictions for the NCAA Tournament

The Big East basketball teams get the praise from sports commentators around the nation about being the toughest conference top to bottom. However, many opposing fans from the ACC, SEC, Big TEN and so forth seem to disagree. Big East basketball is physical and any team on any given night can be beat. The Big East teams seem to fade away during March Madness because of their grueling schedules. Will this year be different for the Big East? The Big East Conference has placed 11 teams in the field of 64 with the hopes of winning the NCAA Championship.

Below is a breakdown of the eleven teams that are representing the Big East:

In the East bracket:

#5-West Virginia will play the winner of #12 UAB/Clemson. I'm predicting Clemson to win the game and face the Mountaineers on Thursday. Can the players take WV back to the Final Four? If Joe Mazzula and Truck Bryant play their game the Mountaineers have a shot of going to the Sweet 16 this year. In the field of 32, I'm predicting that the West Virginia Mountaineers will play Kentucky and move on and face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Sweet 16. However, this is where the Mountaineers will falter as they have all year with no consistency.

#11-Marquette will face #6-Xavier in the first round and I'm predicting Marquette to advance to the field of 32 where they'll face the Syracuse Orangemen in a classic Big East showdown. However, the Orangemen come out on top in this game in a heated contested game.

#3-Syracuse will square off with #14 Indiana State in the first round where they'll move on and face Big East foe the Marquette Golden Knights. Syracuse will win the game and advance to the Sweet 16 where they'll fall to up-and-coming North Carolina Tarheels.

#9-Villanova Wildcats will face off with #8 George Mason in the first round. The Wildcats will advance to the round of 32 falling to the #1 seed Ohio State Buckeyes.

In the West bracket:

#6-Cincinnati Bearcats will face off with #11-Missouri Tigers. This game will be close but the Missouri Tigers will pull off the victory and eliminate the Bearcats.

#3-Connecticut Huskies will face #14-Bucknell in the first round of the tournament. The Huskies will beat Bucknell and move on to the field of 32 where they'll face the Missouri Tigers. UCONN will beat the Tigers and advance to the Sweet 16 where they'll face #2-San Diego State. The Huskies led by All-American Kemba Walker will lead the Huskies pass San Diego to the Elite 8 where the Huskies will face the Duke Blue Devils. The Huskies will fall to the Blue Devils in the Elite 8.

In the Southwest bracket:

#4-Louisville Cardinals will face off with # 13-Morehead State. The Cardinals will storm pass Morehead State and advance on into the field of 32 where they'll face off with #5 -Vanderbilt. Louisville's defense will lead them onto the Sweet 16 where they'll square off with #1-Kansas Jayhawks. Louisville will lose this game as the Jayhawks advance onto the Elite 8.

#6-Georgetown Hoyas will square off with the winner of the USC/VCU winner in the first round. The Hoyas will advance to the round of 32 with a matchup up with #3 Purdue. Austin Freeman will keep the Hoyas in the game but will fall to the Boilermakers in the closing minutes of the game.

#2-Notre Dame will play #15 Akron Zips in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Irish will advance to the round of 32 to face #10 Florida State and beat the Seminoles. Notre Dame will advance to the Sweet 16 to face #3 Purdue. In a close game, Notre Dame wins this game and advances on to the Elite 8. Notre Dame will square off in a tough game with Kansas Jayhawks and lose in the closing minutes just missing the chance to advance to the Final Four.

In the Southeast bracket:

#1-Pittsburgh Panthers will face UNC-Asheville/Arkansas Little-Rock winner during the first round and win the game with ease as Ashton Gibbs has a big game. The Panthers will advance to the round of 32 and face #9 Old Dominion in a classic matchup; however, the Panthers size is too much for the Monarchs. Pittsburgh advances to the Sweet 16 to face #5 Kansas State. The game will be close, but the Panthers will squeak out a victory and advance on to the Elite 8. The Panthers will face #6- St. John's another Big East team in the Elite 8. The Panthers will beat the Red Storm this time and advance to the Final Four where they'll face the Kansas Jayhawks. The Panthers will advance to the NCAA Championship game to face Duke. Duke will beat the Panthers in the Championship game with tight defense and hot shooting.

#6- St. John's Red Storm will play #11 Gonzaga and win the first round. The Red Storm will advance to the field of 32 to face #3 BYU. The Red Storm's defense will smother Jimmy Fredette and beat BYU and advance to the Sweet 16 to face Big East foe the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers eliminate the Red Storm in a close game where Ashton Gibbs leads the Panthers to victory.