The St. John's Red Storm and Seton Hall Pirates received a boost to their slim NCAA men's basketball tournament hopes even before hitting the floor at Madison Square Garden.
The Butler Bulldogs' victory over the Xavier Musketeers on Wednesday cleared one team out of the picture, which should help the winner of the Big East tournament quarterfinal.
The victor of the No. 4-versus-No. 5 matchup could see a path to the championship game open up since the top-seeded Villanova Wildcats will be without Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore.
Even though Villanova is down two key players, it is listed as an 8.