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No. 2 Villanova is gunning for a top seed at the NCAA Tournament. To get there, the Wildcats are going to have to go through Big East Player of the Year Kris Dunn and Providence College.
Dunn's Friar team already has a road win over Villanova on its resume, but a second victory over one of the nation's elite teams would bury the narrative that the Friars are stumbling into the postseason. Providence suffered through a rough patch in which it lost five out of six games, including an inexplicable defeat at the hands of nine-win DePaul, but the dominant combination of Dunn and forward Ben Bentil have the team trending upwards. The Friars have won four straight games since backsliding down to the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Villanova hasn't had to deal with the same struggles. The Wildcats have sustained winning streaks of seven, nine, and seven games en route to a 27-4 record this winter. A balanced lineup with five different players who average double-digit scoring and the rangy inside-out game of Josh Hart have pushed this team to college basketball's top tier. Two more wins will lock down a No. 1 seed, but they won't be easy.
Bracket
You can keep up with the Big East Tournament bracket, schedule and scores here.
Schedule (all times Eastern)
Thursday, March 10 (Quarterfinals)
Game 3: No. 1 Villanova 81, No. 8 Georgetown 67
Game 4: No. 4 Providence 74, No. 5 Butler 60
Game 5: No. 2 Xavier 90, No. 7 Marquette 72
Game 6: No. 3 Seton Hall 81, No. 6 Creighton 73
Friday, March 11 (Semifinals)
Game 7: No. 1 Villanova 76, No. 4 Providence 68
Game 8: No. 3 Seton Hall 87, No. 2 Xavier 83
Saturday, March 12 (Finals)
Game 9: No. 3 Seton Hall 69, No. 1 Villanova 67
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