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Big East Bracketology (4/7): It's never too early!

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has five Big East teams making next year's NCAA Tournament, a step up from the two teams he had making it in last year's first installment of Bracketology

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Although we're less that 24 hours removed from the conclusion of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, ESPN's Joe Lunardi already has his first 2016 NCAA Tournament Bracketology post up. Let's take a look at where the Big East stands.

1-Seed: Villanova

This isn't really a shock to me. They didn't lose much in terms of talent, plus they now have Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson (likely) playing significant minutes. The rich continue to get richer.

7-Seed: Xavier

I might be off base, but I feel like this is a bit too high for the Musketeers. Losing Matt Stainbrook is a big deal, and even though Chris Mack is an awesome coach, it's definitely a risk when the volatile Jalen Reynolds is pegged as a leader on your team.

8-Seed: Butler

No shock here. They lost Alex Barlow and Kameron Woods, sure, but they kept their big three on offense (Kellen Dunham, Roosevelt Jones, Andrew Chrabascz), and assured that they wouldn't have to go through the coaching search process once again by giving Chris Holtmann an extension and raise. Butler may very well be the second-best team in the Big East next season.

9-Seed: Georgetown

Well they had better hope so. The Hoyas are, once again, in an interesting point. After yet another loss in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, coupled with the news that D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera is NBA-bound, Hoya Nation has to be feeling pretty low at the moment. Here's hoping this helps them out a bit.

10-Seed: Providence

This is about right, especially if Kris Dunn comes back. If Kris Dunn comes back, he should also be on the Naismith Preseason Watch List. Sure, the Friars lost LaDontae Henton, but I expect guys like Ben Bentil, who had a great last month of the season, to continue stepping up and helping Dunn replace some of the scoring Henton brought to the table.