Hawks, Explorers, Wildcats sweat out tourney tiebreakers

The final day of the regular season in the Atlantic Ten and Big East Conferences finds three of the City Six teams still wondering about seedings and opponents when their postseason tournaments get underway on Tuesday.

Or, in the case of St. Joseph's and La Salle, whether either will get a much-coveted first-round bye.

Here's a look at "Tiebreaker Saturday:"

St. Joseph's. The Hawks have completed the regular season with a 9-7 mark. As many as four other teams can finish with the same record by the end of play Saturday, setting all kinds of tiebreaking criteria into motion.

According to the A-10 office, St. Joe's can finish with the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye under two scenarios: a three-way tie with La Salle and Xavier that happens with an Explorers home win over St. Bonaventure and a Musketeers loss at home to Charlotte, or a four-way tie with La Salle, Xavier and Dayton, if the Flyers defeat George Washington.

If neither happens, the Hawks gain a No. 5 seed under most criteria, which means a home game on Tuesday night against either Charlotte or George Washington. They could be a 6 seed in a three-way tie with Xavier and Massachusetts.

La Salle. The Explorers' lone shot at a first-round bye comes if they finish tied at 9-7 with St. Joseph's, Xavier and Massachusetts. That means they must defeat St. Bonaventure at Tom Gola Arena, Xavier must lose at home to Charlotte, and the Minutemen must win in Amherst against Rhode Island.

The range of finishes for the Explorers is larger. With a win over the Bonnies, they could place anywhere from fourth to seventh in the seeding. A loss puts them at 8-8, either solo or with as many as three other teams, and gives them either a seventh or eighth seed. In any case, it means a first-round playoff game Tuesday at home.

Villanova. The Wildcats are 5-12 in the Big East and can finish anywhere between 11th and 14th depending on their game at the Pavilion against Cincinnati combined with the results of other games.

A victory over the Bearcats would put Villanova in at No. 11, 12 or 13 depending on two contests - St. John's at Rutgers and Pittsburgh at Connecticut. The Red Storm, Scarlet Knights and Panthers all can move into a four-way tie with the Wildcats at 6-12, and only the Big East office can figure that one out.

Should Villanova lose and finish at 5-13 in the league, it most likely would finish 14th except for one scenario - wins by St. John's and Pitt - that would place the Cats at No. 13.

Got all that?