Five Big East talking points from the weekend

It's all about survival
DePaul, Seton Hall, Creighton, and Marquette have all more or less faded from at-large consideration in the last two weeks. For the other six teams in the league, a loss to any of those four down the stretch is a toxic black mark on the resume. Beyond that, any lone league loss isn't going to be enough to drop one of the top six out of the NCAA tournament. The bubble teams in the top six (Georgetown, St. John's, Xavier) just need to avoid stringing losses together to stay above the cut line come Selection Sunday.

Villanova should still be in consideration for a one seed
The Wildcats went into the home floor of a consensus top-20 team and beat them in a hard-fought game. Villanova's two losses (in OT @Seton Hall, by 20 @Georgetown) and Nova boasts 8 wins against top-50 teams. Nova defends well, but their offense is what really makes them special. They share the ball well, have five guys who have hit at least 30 threes and a sixth who is shooting 42.5% in 40 attempts. Whatever they are seeded, they're going to be a tough out in March.

The Big East tournament will be gripping
Land a top two spot and you get the reward of playing the winner of a game of bad teams. Land anywhere in the top six and you are instantly looking at a chance to boost your NCAA credentials. Right now, Nova and Butler lead the way with St. John's playing Providence and Xavier and Georgetown meeting again. Whoever climbs to third likely has enough wins to get in, whoever lands sixth will need to win at least one, and the fourth and fifth teams will very likely be playing the game that gets them solid bubble footing or dooms them to a desperate Selection Sunday.

Kreklow gives Creighton a puncher's chance
Almost imperceptibly quietly, Creighton's Blue(no space)jays have won 3 out of their last 5, quite possibly playing spoiler along the way for both St. John's and Xavier. This has coincided with the move to put journeyman wing Ricky Kreklow in the starting lineup, and he has responded by going 13-23 from three in those three wins. He is 3-9 in the losses, but the plan seems to be formulating for Creighton to try and use the senior to simply bomb opponents out of their game plan.

Seton Hall is not playing nice
As their season has imploded into a mess of infighting and sudden departures, Seton Hall has also seen their production on the basketball court take a marked turn for the selfish. 24 assists for 55 made baskets in their last three games is a bit below their season average, but the return of Isaiah Whitehead, and his prompt falling out with Sterling Gibbs, has seen 13 assists to 29 turnovers in their last pair of losses. Seton Hall is a team adrift in a season ruining slump right now, but Kevin Willard's job for the rest of this season is to keep the residual effects from spilling into next year as well.