Roughly a third of the way through the Big East Conference season, the obvious big three have emerged: Marquette, Connecticut, and St. John's. They are a somewhat safe bet to make the NCAA Tournament.
Three people are separated in one match. Marquette remained undefeated after defeating DePaul on Tuesday night, but St. John's and UW, which held off Georgetown 63-58, each had only one loss and fell behind narrowly on the road to Creighton and Villanova, respectively. .
These three lead the league in every national ranking metric from NET to KenPom.com to Bart Torvik.
The trio also ranks in the NET Top 30, the selection committee's go-to screening tool, giving them a chance to make Quad 1 at home or on the go for the remainder of the conference.
The two teams have yet to meet, and that matchup will almost certainly determine the regular season champion.
The first matchup will take place on February 1st, when No. 7 Marquette will take on No. 14 Connecticut. That same week, on February 4th, Marquette will visit St. John's at the Garden, and the Johnny family will head to Storrs, Conn., three days later.
A crucial few days for the top level of the conference.
Other takeaways from the Big East situation:
Check out the latest Big East standings and St. Louis. John's statistics
Villanova is dangerous
The team, which didn't play games in November against Columbia, Virginia or St. Joseph's, has made great strides in a few months.
The Wildcats have the look of an NCAA Tournament team, even if losses keep them from getting there.
They have won eight of their past 10 games, with their only losses coming against Creighton and St. John's.
That includes a home win against UConn.
Eric Dixon is the nation's top scorer, Miami transfer Uga Poplar is coming into his own, and another transfer, La Salle's Jameel Bricas, is a pass-first point guard who can shoot from deep. As such, he is perfect for this roster.
It's going to take a big league season for the Wildcats to go dancing.
If they can win the remaining three games without losing any worse against St. John's, Marquette, and Connecticut, they will qualify.
Right now, I think they are the fourth-best team in the conference, just ahead of Creighton.
Seton Hall is not a pushover.
A 6-10 overall record and 1-4 league record may not say much, but Seton Hall is improving.
Sophomore Isaiah Coleman is shaping up to be a difference-maker, averaging 21.2 points and 5.8 rebounds over the past seven games. Also, freshman guard Jaseem Felton has been a bright spot lately.
The Pirates have lost six of seven games, but with the exception of the rout at Xavier, they have lost every other game.
This feels like a team that could ruin someone's resume like Villanova or Creighton.
Will history repeat itself?
Last year, the Big East received just three bids to the NCAA Tournament, the fewest since 1993.
Seton Hall, Providence, and St. John's all got snubbed. It's not crazy to think it could happen again.
Creighton is firmly on the bubble, with Villanova right behind the Blue Jays. Both teams are well placed in the NET rankings, with Villanova at No. 51 and Creighton at No. 54.
I think Creighton will be in the mix eventually. They haven't had a bad loss, with home wins over Kansas, St. John's and Villanova.
Creighton's 2-5 record on the road is concerning, and the Blue Jays will need to do better on the road to earn a ticket.
One thing that helps the Big East: The Mountain West and ACC are done.
Last year, these two leagues sent a combined 11 teams to the tournament. That won't happen this March.
