Big East Race: Champions UConn Finish at Old Dominion as Temple Chase Last Playoff Spot
The Big East title is already decided. The fight for the last playoff spots very much isn’t.
UConn are regular-season champions and close their conference slate on the road at Old Dominion, who sit in the chasing pack at 11-3 overall. The Huskies have won with three straight shutouts and already had the trophy wrapped up before this trip, but ODU need the points more: they’re level in the logjam fighting for seeding behind the champions.
Here’s how tight it is. Liberty are second. Behind them, Old Dominion, Providence and Villanova are all tied, and Temple are a game back knowing only the top four reach the Big East Championship, held 6-8 November at Temple’s Howarth Field.
Temple’s nightmare path
Temple’s problem is simple to say and hard to do. They host No.12 Liberty on Friday, a team they basically have to beat, then they need Providence too, and even winning both might not be enough without help from results elsewhere.
That’s the cruelty of the last weekend. Temple could win twice, defend their home turf perfectly, and still watch the championship happen at their own ground without them in it.
For UConn, the job is different: stay healthy, keep the shutout streak warm, and arrive at Howarth Field in November looking like champions. For everyone in the middle, Friday is the season.
The awards behind the race: the Big East weekly honours, the NFHCA national players of the week, and the ACC stretch run.
