Big East Tournament predictions, picks: Providence vs. Georgetown

Why do I love this time of year?

Because a seventh-seeded afterthought from Stony Brook can end up one shot from sending Long Island dancing.

Because a six-day span can transform a sub-.500, No. 6 seed from Wagner into Staten Island’s first NCAA Tournament team in 21 years.

Because Fordham — fresh off an overtime win at Barclays Center — is too. 

Because any sport bold enough to ignore an entire season for the sake of instant gratification should take a bow.

Here are two against the spead best bets for Wednesday’s Big East Tournament matchups.

The Friars need a win to feel optimistic entering Selection Sunday. They should secure it, facing a team whose only wins in the new year have come against DePaul.

But this game may be even more meaningful for Ed Cooley, who has absorbed a mountain of criticism and derision since leaving his hometown team for D.C.

It wasn’t a coincidence that the under-equipped Hoyas kept it close for most of their two regular-season meetings against Providence. Cooley hasn’t forgotten how to coach. 

The Blue Demons are an embarrassment to basketball. They should have been banished from the Big East years ago.

But their annual struggles often pay off with house money at this time of year, having pulled outright upsets in the conference tournament opener in three of the past four years.

It’s a good bet that Villanova — the league’s greatest underachiever — has already begun planning for a season-defining quarterfinal matchup with Marquette.