The Big East (apparently) doesn’t have a regular season championship. They call their postseason tourney the Big East Conference Championship. The “bracketologists” over ESPN project that the conference will get eight bids — UConn, Pitt, Louisville, Marquette, Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia and Providence, with the Friars being one of the last teams in. That leaves Cincinnati and Notre Dame on the outside looking in.

Cincy plays at South Florida and at home against Seton Hall this week, so with two wins, they would finish the regular season at 20-11 and 10-8 in conference. If that happens, it would be tough for the selection committee to leave them out. However, they are just 1-6 against Top 25 teams and the one win was against an overrated Georgetown team. Basically, they’ve been winning games that they should win, but aren’t beating any “superior” opponents. They don’t have a single marquee win on the season, so unless they win out and make some noise in the Big East tourney, they may not get a bid.

Notre Dame is in an even tougher position…

For the sixth time in less than eight weeks, the #1 team in the nation has lost. This time it was #1 Pittsburgh losing to unranked, on-the-bubble Providence.

Weyinmi Efejuku scored 16 points for Providence, which took a 20-point lead and then turned back one last rally by No. 1 Pittsburgh for an 81-73 victory Tuesday night, the school’s second win ever over a top-ranked team.

The victory greatly improves the at-large resume for the Friars (17-11, 9-7), who are in sixth place in the 16-team Big East, a league considered by most as the toughest in the country.

“I think they made a big step to be able to continue their collegiate careers tonight,” [Keno] Davis said of his seniors after their final home game. “We’re in a pretty good situation: we’re in the top half of the best conference in the country. It puts us in the conversation. I’m sure if we had lost, they wouldn’t be talking about us anymore.”

This is a huge win for the Friars, but it’s only the team’s second win against a ranked opponent this season. Providence is just 2-5 against Top 25 opponents, so they’re not out of the woods yet. A win against #12 Villanova on March 5 would certainly help, but the game is on the road. If they lose to the Wildcats (or Rutgers on March 1), they’ll also need to win a game or two in the Big East tournament to get a bid.