Favorite
Villanova is the odds on favorite to win the tournament. Their only two conferences losses came to Providence (snow make up) and at Xavier. Other than those hiccups, the Wildcats have looked like the best team in the conference. Motivation and execution will be something to watch for during the conference tournament.
Top Contender to Knock off the Favorite
Despite losing to Villanova twice, Seton Hall seems to be in line to be the biggest threat to Villanova. The Pirates are 9-2 in their last 11 with both losses coming to Butler. Luckily for Seton Hall, the Bulldogs are on the same side of the bracket as Villanova.
Fell Off the Radar
Providence is 5-6 in their last 11 and they look like a tired team that has run out of gas. The Friars depend heavily on Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil and both might be wearing down. Lunardi projects Providence as an 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament but they will need to bright lights of New York City to wake them up if they expect to get out of the first weekend.
Players You Want To Get To Know
Isaiah Whitehead (Seton Hall)
Henry Ellenson (Marquette)
Maurice Watson Jr (Creighton)
Eli Cain (DePaul)
Kassoum Yakwe (St. John’s)
Follow Marcus “Mook” Washington on Twitter at @mtcwithmook