Big East Tournament Preview: Best Teams Look to Improve Seeds in NCAA

Three Teams that Will Challenge Pittsburgh in Tourney

Todd Jacobs, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Feb 20, 2011 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

The Big East Tournament will tip off Tuesday March 8th and run through Saturday night in New York City's famed Madison Square Garden with most Big East powerhouses looking to improve their seeds. The Pittsburgh Panthers will enter the tournament as the team to beat but do they have anything to prove?

The Big East is a stacked conference and the Pittsburgh Panthers will have to dodge many land mines on their way to the Big East Finals. Teams such as St. Johns and Syracuse will be lying in the weeds waiting to sneak up on the Panthers as they fight for their number one NCAA Tournament bid.

No. 3 St. Johns Red Storm

St. Johns is unranked late in the season but they have beaten Duke, Notre Dame, Connecticut and Pittsburgh this season. The St. Johns team is unflappable in pressure situations which makes them a great tournament team.

Dwight Hardy has played well all season and he is averaging over 17 points per game. This St. Johns team is not a great shooting team from the outside and they rank 98th in the country overall in shooting percentage. Steve Lavin has made tremendous strides with this team and he will want to make a statement in the conference tournament. St. Johns is the long shot pick to win it all.

No. 2 Villanova Wildcats

Villanova is not the best overall shooting team in the NCAA (they rank 125th) but they do have the best Corey combination of any team in the country. Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes are the glue that holds this team together and they have been separated recently with Stokes going down with a hamstring injury.

Stokes is expected to be available for the Big East Tournament an his 93 percent free throw shooting will be huge in tournament play. Stokes is also the better three point shooter of the two Coreys. He is hitting at o'er 40 percent from the outside. The Villanova Wildcats can make the Big East Tournament finals if Stokes is healthy.

No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Ben Hansbrough and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will have an opportunity to improve their NCAA Tournament seeding with a good run in the Big East Tournament and they do match up well against the competition. Notre Dame rattled off seven consecutive win in the Big East before losing to West Virginia and they are capable of going on that big run.

Hansbrough is a big time outside shooter, hitting at over 41 percent and his teammate Tim Abromaitis is no slouch from downtown either. He is hitting at a 39 percent clip from three point land.

One aspect of this team that will lead them to a big run is their free throw shooting. Hansbrough, Abromaitis and Carleton are all hitting over 80 percent at the charity stripe with Carleton hitting 88 percent. Notre Dame will take Pitt down if they face each other.

What Will Pittsburgh Accomplish by Running the Table?

The question for Pittsburgh in the Big East Tournament will be an easy one. What will they accomplish by winning the Big East Conference Tournament?

Jim Boeheim and Syracuse are famous for tanking in the first round of the Big East Tournament but can Pitt afford to bow out early? Pittsburgh currently is looking at a number one seed but if they fall out early they could drop to a number two seed.

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Big East Tournament Preview: Best Teams Look to Improve Seeds in NCAA

Three Teams that Will Challenge Pittsburgh in Tourney

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