Game of the Week: Cincinnati vs. No. -/22 West Virginia, Friday, March 4, 5 p.m.

In the opening round of the Big East tournament, the Mountaineers are the only ranked team set to play. They will face a Bearcat team fresh off a 65-62 win over No. 20/23 Marquette that ended a 13-game losing streak. They will be looking to gain some respect after going 2-14 in conference play.

West Virginia ended its regular season with a 69-49 win over St. John’s and is in need of a deep run in the tournament to gain momentum for the NCAAs. The Mountaineers only went 8-8 in the Big East and an early exit would deliver a stinging blow.

Player of the Week: Leondra Doomes-Stephens, South Florida

The senior forward led the Bulls to their second and third conference wins last week and helped South Florida enter the Big East tournament with some momentum. In a 59-58 win at Villanova, Doomes-Stephens put up 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds. She then had a career night against No. 17/21 Georgetown with 25 points and 13 rebounds in a 60-55 upset of the Hoyas.

Big East Tournament Preview

The Favorite: No. 1/1 Connecticut

It’s hard to pick against a team who not only has won 107 of its last 108 games, but also holds home court advantage. The Huskies have flat-out dominated the Big East for the past three regular seasons and are heavily favored to win their third consecutive conference tourney. Connecticut has senior Maya Moore, the nation’s third-best scorer with 23.4 points per game, and a defense that allows opponents to score only 49.7 points per.

With Moore leading the offense and the nation’s second-ranked scoring defense, the Huskies have the most balanced team in the tournament along with a coach who does nothing but win games. Geno Auriemma knows the expectations for his team, but keeps it all in perspective while maintaining great pride in his defense.

“We’re certainly capable of playing great and we’re certainly capable of playing not so great,” Auriemma told the Hartford Courant after a win against Louisville. “The thing we always pride ourselves in doing is playing so well defensively that those nights where you’re not going to score a lot of points and you’re not getting a lot of shots to drop, that you give yourself a chance to win.”

The Runner-Up: No. 7/8 Notre Dame

The Irish are coming into the tournament off a 70-69 road loss to No. 12/13 DePaul, but they have suffered only three conference defeats. Two of those losses were to Connecticut, but Notre Dame is also the Big East team that came closest to knocking off the Huskies.

On Jan. 8, the Irish entered halftime tied at 41 with Connecticut and held a 76-75 lead with 33 seconds left to play, but the game slipped through Notre Dame’s fingers as it fell 79-76.

As a team, the Irish boast the conference’s best scoring average with 79 points per game as well as a defense that surrenders only 54.4 points per.

Much of that scoring comes from junior guard Natalie Novosel (15.0 points per) and sophomore guard Skylar Diggins (14.1 points per) who will lead the Irish into the gauntlet that is the Big East tournament.