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Two teams remain standing as the Big East Tournament reaches its apex. While they are two teams that were not expected to be here, the presence of neither team is truly a surprise. Both Georgetown and West Virginia started the season ranked in the preseason top 25 and remained throughout the campaign. Both squads had NCAA Tournament bids sewn up at the end of the regular season, but both have also taken advantage of the opportunity to make their case for preferential seeding, not to mention staked their claim for a Big East title.

West Virginia is yet to win a Big East championship in their 15th year in the conference. They entered the conference tournament with a slim chance of securing the fourth #1 seed in the big dance, but so far, have held up their own end by defeating Cincinnati and Notre Dame. While neither is the marquee team they were supposed to face in the tournament (Louisville and Pittsburgh were the teams expected to advance by seeding), the Mountaineers claimed their 25th and 26th wins and kept that dream of a one-seed alive. With one of the highest strength of schedule rankings and a top-5 RPI, a stumble by Duke and a WVU win could equal that final #1 seed. After an inconsistent season, Georgetown has put all the pieces together and rattled off three impressive wins in a row. Victories over South Florida, Syracuse, and Marquette have likely propelled the Hoyas into a #5 seed in the NCAAs and a win over West Virginia would likely give them a #4 seed and the preferential game locations that accompany it. With things clicking this well for Georgetown, their eighth Big East title could earn them some light travel that could help them reach their third Sweet 16 in five years.

Big East Championship – #8 Georgetown (23-9) vs. #3 West Virginia (26-6)
West Virginia took down the regular season tilt less than two weeks ago in Morgantown, 81-68. Da’Sean Butler was excellent in his final home game as a Mountaineer, topping the team with 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists as WVU used first half runs of 13-3 and 10-1 to take a stranglehold on the contest. West Virginia, who also scored the first ten points after the break for a 27-point lead barely three minutes into the second half, got major contributions from Devin Ebanks (15 points) and Kevin Jones (14). Georgetown, who was without Austin Freeman, undermined their chances by committing 20 turnovers in the contest while only squeezing eight out of the Mountaineers. The only Hoyas in double figures were Greg Monroe, who had nine rebounds to go with his 22 points, and Chris Wright, who scored 21.

KEYS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Can anyone slow down Greg Monroe? The Hoyas’ big man has been the best player in the tournament, posting 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game thus far while showing a consistent level of aggression that seems almost out of character for him. He has been a dominant force in wins over Syracuse and Marquette and West Virginia not only lacks a true center, but also anyone in their regular rotation who can offer both height and bulk to match up with him. The Mountaineers best hope is that Monroe will be forced to guard one of their three best players, likely Devin Ebanks or Kevin Jones and they can use this matchup to drive to get the big man in foul trouble. If Monroe is able to play big minutes, Georgetown has a great chance.

Can anyone slow down Da’Sean Butler? The Butler has done it for the Mountaineers in both their games, leading the team in scoring at 19.5 points per game and burying 57.7 percent of his field goals in the tournament. He’s also been timely, banking home a buzzer-beater to knock out Cincinnati and demanding the ball for all the big possessions in the win over Notre Dame. The swingman has been held to single digits in scoring four times this season and never wrote less than “eight” next to his name in the scorebook. Likely to draw this assignment for the Hoyas is Austin Freeman, who at 6’3”, will be giving up four inches to the Mountaineers’ top scorer and team leader. Butler’s versatile offensive game may lead to him taking Freeman into the post to exploit his length.

Whose supporting cast will play better? Chris Wright and Jason Clark have been marvelous in the tourney and Austin Freeman has rebounded with a pair of good games. Wright has hit over 50 percent of his shots in the three games after closing the regular season on a 27-for-74 (36.5 percent) slide and is averaging 19 points and four assists per contest. Clark, who averaged 10.8 points per game during the season, has scored 16.0 points per game at the Garden and knocked down 9-of-17 from beyond the arc. Freeman rebounded from a poor game against South Florida to score 30 in the last two games. West Virginia offers three players who averaged double figures in scoring on the season, as well, in Kevin Jones, Devin Ebanks, and Darryl “Truck” Bryant. Jones has been solid on offense in the first two BET contests for WVU, reaching double figures in both low-scoring affairs and averaging 13.5 points in those low-scoring games (54 and 53 points have been the winning totals). Ebanks had trouble buying a shot against Cincinnati (3-for-13 from the floor), but still has tallied 18 points in the two games combined. Bryant, however, has been a trouble spot for West Virginia, following a 1-for-10 game against Cincy with an 0-for-2 last night and spent most of the second half on the bench against Notre Dame in favor of the steady Joe Mazzulla, who does not normally offer much offensive punch, but scored eight big points. Mazzulla will need to be ready to go if Bryant is having issues again.

Who will win the battle to establish tempo? Georgetown has shown an ability to get out and run to take advantage of transition opportunities, but those opportunities will be rare against the grinders from West Virginia. That is not necessarily a huge problem for the Hoyas, as they have shown the ability to execute in their half-court in this tournament, getting Greg Monroe into the high post against both man and zone defenses to create opportunities for himself and his mates. The Mountaineers’ slowdown style is more rooted in their ability to bang and wear down opponents in their defensive sets. Their offense is not strictly a walk-it-up unit, but tends to get slowed by their defensive pace and their low scoring thus far (107 points in two games) have been a function of playing two slow-paced teams.

With the way the two teams have played thus far in the tournament, the outcome seems to rely on West Virginia’s defense. Georgetown has made 90-of-172 shots (52.3 percent) in their stay in New York, including 19-of-44 (43.2 percent) from beyond the arc due to taking advantage of transition opportunities that are presented and making the extra pass in halfcourt sets, particularly on backdoor cuts or kickouts to the wings and corners. While the transition opportunities will be easier to take away, the Mountaineers must remain diligent in sticking to their man on defense, call out screens and for help, when needed, and close out hard to the three-point shooters to take away open looks. By uglying up the game, West Virginia can keep it close. However, the Mountaineers simply do not have anyone on their roster who can match up well enough with Greg Monroe to neutralize him. If they cannot get Monroe to the bench due to fouls, West Virginia is done. Look for the Hoyas to pull out a six-point win and Monroe to receive the Big East Tournament MVP award.