NCAA Tournament Tickets - Sifting through the Big East's Chase Pack

For college basketball teams, being part of the NCAA Tournament can make or break a season. Regardless of how well your team does in the actual Madness of March, just being invited to the dance is reason enough to celebrate. Only 64 teams out of the 300-plus teams in D-I NCAA basketball get to play in the NCAA Tournament, meaning a lot of good teams will end their seasons somewhere other than the limelight. Major conferences like the Big East hope to send upwards of eight schools to the Tourney, and only one of those teams will get the conference's automatic bid. As of February 17, 2009, several Big East teams are in a fight in the middle of the standings. Which ones will get an invitation on Selection Sunday? First let's set up the situation by eliminating the shoe-ins.

-The Locks-
The Big East is chock full of great teams. At certain times in the season nine Big East teams were ranked in the AP Top 25. UConn, Pitt, Louisville and Marquette seem like the most secure teams in the Big East. They're all currently ranked in the AP's top ten. We're throwing them out of this discussion, because they seem to be a step above the fray.

-The Messy Middle-
The Big East's trenches already look like Somme in November, 1916. Syracuse (19-7, 7-6), Providence (16-9, 8-5), Villanova (20-5, 8-4), Cincinnati (17-9, 7-6) and West Virginia (17-8, 6-6) are our belligerents for the sake of discussing the muck and the confusion of the Big East's dirty underbelly. In truth, it's possible that all four of these teams in the Messy Middle make the Tourney, but there are more than a few people out there willing to bet that you're not going to get to see at least one of these teams by purchasing the right NCAA Tournament tickets.

These teams all have at least five more Big East games to play, and if the end of the conference schedule is as unpredictable as the beginning, this could be a bumpy ride for these teams. Be on the lookout for West Virginia's potent defense to come through in the clutch. Kenpom.com has the Mountaineers ranked No. 6 in the nation in defensive efficiency. Providence's schedule is difficult down the stretch. One of the long shots could sneak in past the Friars.

-The Long Shots-
Notre Dame, Seton Hall and Georgetown are long shots at making the Tourney, but based on their potential and their positioning, they're not out of the running yet. Notre Dame, especially could get hot. After an atrocious seven-game losing streak, they demolished No. 7 Louisville and beat up on South Florida. They have the best offensive efficiency rating in the Big East besides Pittsburgh, and could once again regain that home court magic. Georgetown, another strong offensive team, will have games against DePaul and St. John's to end the year, and they face South Florida on February 18th.

They face both Louisville and Marquette at home, so their schedule is relatively advantageous to a flourish of wins at the end. Will Seton Hall fans get to see their team's name appear on NCAA Tournament tickets this year? The next few weeks will be critical, as Seton Hall must play Marquette, Louisville and Pittsburgh.