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ESPN Predicts Five Big East Teams to Make March Madness

A hot streak has a new challenger rising in the Big East.

Gavin Dorsey

Mar 5, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) reacts after his three point basket against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 5, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) reacts after his three point basket against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Xavier's late surge has the Big East in position to send five teams to the NCAA Tournament.

The Musketeers have won six straight games, including a 22-point victory over Creighton on March 1. The hot streak has Xavier as ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi's "Last Team In" in his latest March Madness tournament prediction.

Xavier is now 20-10, including 12-7 in the Big East. The Musketeers are locked into the fifth seed of the Big East Tournament, regardless of whether they beat Providence on Saturday. However, Sean Miller's squad will still likely need to win its final regular season matchup against the Friars and at least one Big East tournament game in order to protect itself from potential bid stealers.

Four other Big East teams are on the right side of the bubble in Lunardi's prediction. St. John's, having already locked up the regular season conference title, is the final No. 3-seed and is 12th overall. Marquette (No. 6 seed), UConn and Creighton (both No. 8 seeds) are all firmly in the bracket entering the final weekend of regular season play.

The Musketeers will soon face off against the top teams in their conference to try to solidify their place in the national tournament, but they've already performed well this season against the Big East's best.

Despite going 0-2 against the Red Storm, Xavier split the season series, 1-1, against Marquette, UConn and Creighton, having won the most recent matchup against all three.

The last time the Big East sent five teams to the NCAA Tournament was in 2023, when Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, eventual National Champion UConn and Providence made it into the 68-team bracket.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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