Villanova Basketball’s Big East Crown Is On The Line

Happy Wednesday Nova Nation! Since conference realignment Villanova has been the king of the Big East. Every year a new challenger seemed poised to take their spot atop the conference, and every year Villanova still came out on top. Sure there were seasons when Nova didn’t win the Big East Tournament (2014 and 2016), but they were still the dominant force in the league those seasons and won the National Championship in 2016. Even in 2018 when Xavier won the regular season, Nova swept them and went on to again claim the National Championship.

But this year Nova was picked to finish second in the pre-season coaches poll. While Nova’s been in the hunt for the title all year, they haven’t been their normal dominant selves. And now the team that was picked #1 overall, Seton Hall, has a chance to officially and figurative knock Villanova off from their perch atop the Big East.

That’s what’s really at stake in tonight’s game. Yes, there’s a share of the Big East Title on the line and the game has NCAA Tournament seeding implications. But for Big East fans this game represents the first time that Nova could get knocked down a peg and be back among the mortals of the conference.

It should be a great game, and an absolute insane atmosphere given Seton Hall could claim the outright championship on Myles Powell’s senior night. So with that said, it’s going to be a real simple game day poll. Will Villanova win tonight?

In other “news”, Villanova’s Mark Jackson is named AD of the year, the BEast is back, and Eric Paschall is the Warriors MVP this season. Enjoy!

Villanova Men’s Basketball

Our all-City 6 men’s basketball team starts in a familiar place: Villanova | The Inquirer
A Villanova player beats out another Villanova player for our City 6 player of the year (so far).

ESPN Bracketology ‘seed scrubbing’ drops Villanova and Penn State one notch each in latest projection | The Inquirer
In a recalculation, the Wildcats dropped one spot from a 3 seed to a 4 seed, and the Nittany Lions fell from a 4 to a 5 seed. Selection Sunday is less than two weeks away.

Villanova vs Seton Hall

Villanova not worried about all the Big East tiebreaking possibilities, focus set on No. 8 Seton Hall | The Inquirer
The 14th-ranked Wildcats still have a chance to tie for the regular season conference championship and grab the No. 1 seed, but they face a tough test against the Pirates on the road.

A Top 15 Showdown at Seton Hall is Next For the Wildcats | Villanova University Athletics
Villanova and Seton Hall meet Wednesday night in a key BIG EAST contest

Big East

NCAA, Big East, Atlantic 10 'monitoring’ coronavirus threat ahead of March Madness | nj.com
No. 8 Seton Hall (21-7, 13-3) can clinch its first outright Big East regular-season crown since 1993 with a win on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 (3/4/20) over No. 14 Villanova (22-7, 11-5).

DB’s Weekly Take: The Big East is great | The Daily Campus
In the words of the late great Andy Williams, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Not Christmas time like Williams was talking about, but March, which is the equivalent of Christmas for NCAA hoops fans. The madness will be starting up this week with conference tournaments followed by the National Tournament which will continue into early April.

College basketball conference rankings: The big, bad Big East is back, baby | Fansided
College basketball conference rankings see the indisputable fact that the big, bad Big East is back and we're loving every minute of it.

2020 NBA Draft

Saddiq Bey Scouting Report - NBA Draft | Basketball Society
Saddiq Bey plays like a veteran while being just a sophomore. He has the IQ and talent needed to be a very good player in the NBA.

2020 NBA draft big board: Top 80 rankings ahead of March Madness | Sports Illustrated
With the NCAA tournament on the horizon and the 2020 NBA draft taking shape, Jeremy Woo unleashes his top 80 prospect big board. Bey is solidly in the first round, while Robinson-Earl projects in the mid-second round.

NBA Wildcats

Every NBA Team's MVP This Season | Bleacher Report
With almost six weeks left in the 2019-20 NBA season, it's nearly time to start thinking about leaguewide awards. Eric Paschall has been sensational for the Warriors.

Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall leading way for Warriors after struggles | NBCS Bay Area
Paschall and Poole are in the best spot of their young careers, helping the Warriors along during their worst season in nearly a decade.

Villanova Women’s Basketball

Women’s City Six notebook: Farewell to Drexel, Penn seniors; Temple, 'Nova prep for tournaments | The Inquirer
It's an emotional time of the year for the senior players in the City Six.

Villanova Football

FCS Football: 10 Best Returning Quarterbacks for 2020 | Athlon Sports
The Walter Payton Award honors the national offensive player of the year in FCS college football and has come to be dominated by quarterbacks. Nova's Daniel Smith comes in at #3 on this list.

Villanova Athletics

Mark Jackson Named a Winner of Under Armour AD of the Year Award | Villanova University Athletics
CLEVELAND, Ohio—Villanova University Vice President and Director of Athletics Mark Jackson was announced as one of 28 winners of the Under Armour AD of the Year

Villanova Drops Snowbird Finale 8-3 to Western Michigan | Villanova University Athletics
Port Charlotte, Fla. – Villanova dropped its final game in Port Charlotte 8-3 to Western Michigan Tuesday afternoon. The Wildcats (5-5) finished the Snowbird Classic

Villanova Named to 2019 Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Division I National Academic Team | Villanova University Athletics
GILBERT, Ariz. – On Monday, the NFHCA announced that Villanova was one of 73 schools in NCAA that was named to the Division I 2019 Zag Field Hockey National Academic

Villanova Heads West to Play Seven Games in Four Days | Villanova University Athletics
VILLANOVA, Pa. — For the past four weekends, Villanova softball has been traveling down the East Coast for three tournaments in Florida and one in Arkansas. Now

Bracketology

NCAA bracketology: March Madness bracket projection | The Washington Post
For the Bruins, just getting to the NCAA tournament bubble has taken an impressive and unexpected hot streak.

Bracketology: NCAA tournament projection as of March 3, 2020 | Inside the Hall
We are officially in the home stretch with less than two weeks until Selection Sunday and with four conference tournaments tipping off today.

College Basketball

March Madness 2020: NCAA tournament bubble heats up | Sports Illustrated
Can Texas, UCLA, Oklahoma, Providence and more steal an NCAA tournament bid on Selection Sunday?

Shot Takers: Bubble teams who can make tourney runs, and ranking NCAA sites | The Athletic
Brian Hamilton and Dana O'Neil talk about the latest in college hoops, including Thomas "Snacks" Lee and this week's conference tournaments.