NCAA tournament bracketology: Why Xavier, not Villanova, is the Big East's best title contender

Both Xavier and Villanova are projected NCAA tournament No. 1 seeds. But one has better national title odds.

Xavier beat Providence Wednesday night to claim its first Big East regular-season title since joining the re-formed league in 2013. The Musketeers can win the conference championship outright this weekend with a win over last-place DePaul.

Villanova, meanwhile, barely escaped Seton Hall by one point Wednesday to avoid back-to-back losses after getting upset by Creighton on Saturday. The Wildcats (26-4, 13-4) have been the conference kingpins for the last four years and beat Xavier twice — convincingly. The NCAA tournament selection committee doesn't acknowledge conference championships, and although 'Nova and Xavier are both solid No. 1 seeds in the projeted field of 68, the Wildcats hold the better résumé.

No matter. Xavier (26-4, 14-3) is the better national title contender hailing from the Big East, not Villanova. Of course, both teams will get a chance to duke it out in the Big East tournament next week. But we're not evaluating conference supremacy — in the tournament or regular season.


Source: usatoday