It's rare for an outright conference champion and projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament to find itself as an underdog in the semifinals of its conference tournament. Regardless, such will be the case for Marquette on Friday night when the Golden Eagles meet UConn inside Madison Square Garden.
Marquette is the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. UConn is the No. 4 seed. And yet it's the Huskies, thanks in part to super-strong computer numbers, who are favored by 3.5 points over a Golden Eagles team that needed overtime Thursday to beat St. John's 72-70 in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
"We faced a lot of adversity [against St. John's] … and the guys just stared down the adversity," said Marquette coach Shaka Smart. "They stayed connected."
UConn advanced Thursday with a 73-66 victory over Providence that pushed the Huskies up to No. 4 at KenPom.com. That ranking doesn't quite correlate with UConn's body of work — though, it should be noted, it's not intended to correlate because a body of work is based on results while KenPom is a predictive metric. Either way, again, it is why this UConn team that finished fourth in the Big East is favored over the Marquette team that finished first. A likely crowd advantage for the Huskies in midtown Manhattan is also something to consider.
Marquette is No. 7 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. UConn is No. 9. Tip-off between the Huskies and Golden Eagles is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 16 points and seven assists in Sunday's 67-65 win at Memphis. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. | -- | 33-4 |
| 2 |  | Amari Bailey finished with 26 points and three assists in Thursday's 80-69 win over Colorado. The Bruins' next game is Friday against Oregon in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. | -- | 31-6 |
| 3 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday's 78-61 win over West Virginia. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against Iowa State in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 28-8 |
| 4 |  | Alabama shot 19.4% from 3-point range in Saturday's 67-61 loss at Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 31-6 |
| 5 |  | ZachBrandon Newman finished with19 points and five assists in Sunday's 76-71 win over Illinois. The Boilermakers are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Brandon Newman finished with19 points and five assists in Sunday's 76-71 win over Illinois. The Boilermakers are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 29-6 |
| 6 |  | Sir'Jabari Rice finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's 60-47 win over Oklahoma State. The Longhorns' next game is Friday against TCU in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 29-9 |
| 7 |  | Tyler Kolek finished with 19 points and six assists in Thursday's 72-70 win over St. John's. The Golden Eagles' next game is Friday against UConn in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. | -- | 29-7 |
| 8 |  | Drew Timme finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 77-51 win over Saint Mary's. The Zags' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 31-6 |
| 9 |  | Jordan Hawkins finished with 19 points and four rebounds in Thursday's 73-66 win over Providence. The Huskies' next game is Friday against Marquette in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. | 2 | 31-8 |
| 10 |  | Oumar Ballo finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 95-84 win over Stanford. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Arizona State in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. | 2 | 28-7 |
| 11 |  | Kansas State shot 23.3% from 3-point range in Thursday's 80-67 loss to TCU. The Wildcats' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 26-10 |
| 12 |  | LJ Cryer, Keyonte George and Adam Flagler combined to go 9 of 31 from the field in Thursday's 78-72 loss to Iowa State. The Bears' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 2 | 23-11 |
| 13 |  | Lamont Butler finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 64-61 win over Colorado State. The Aztecs' next game is Friday against San Jose State in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament. | -- | 32-7 |
| 14 |  | Jordan Miller finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Thursday's 74-72 win over Wake Forest. The Hurricanes' next game is Friday against Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 29-8 |
| 15 |  | Jack Nunge finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 89-84 win over DePaul. The Musketeers' next game is Friday against Creighton in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. | -- | 27-10 |
| 16 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished with 28 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 67-61 win over Alabama. The Aggies are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. | -- | 25-10 |
| 17 |  | Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 27 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 75-73 overtime win over Michigan. The Hoosiers are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 23-12 |
| 18 |  | Josiah-Jordan James finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 70-55 win over Ole Miss. The Vols' next game is Friday against Missouri in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. | -- | 25-11 |
| 19 |  | Jayden Gardner finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 68-59 win over North Carolina. The Cavaliers' next game is Friday against Clemson in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 25-8 |
| 20 |  | Kyle Filipowski finished with 22 points and one steal in Thursday's 96-69 win over Pitt. The Blue Devils' next game is Friday against Miami in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 27-9 |
| 21 |  | Mike Miles Jr. finished with 22 points and four assists in Thursday's 80-67 win over Kansas State. The Horned Frogs' next game is Friday against Texas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. | 2 | 22-13 |
| 22 |  | Saint Mary's allowed Gonzaga to shoot 58.0% from the field in Tuesday's 77-51 loss to the Zags. The Gaels' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | 1 | 27-8 |
| 23 |  | Kobe Brown finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 82-77 win over Ole Miss. The Tigers are the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 24 |  | Arthur Kaluma finished with 18 points and four assists in Thursday's 87-74 win over Villanova. The Bluejays' next game is Friday against Xavier in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. | -- | 24-13 |
| 25 |  | Gabe Kalscheur finished with 24 points and four rebounds in Thursday's 78-72 win over Baylor. The Cyclones' next game is Friday against Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 19-14 |
| 26 |  | Brooks Barnhizer finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in Sunday's 65-53 win at Rutgers. The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 22-12 |
