Teams: Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. Johns (W) Villanova, Xavier (Ohio)

What to Watch: Carmel, Indiana will host the 2014 Big East Cross Country Championships on Friday, which features several Saucony Flo50 ranked squads. In the men’s race, we’ve got Saucony Flo50’s No. 4 Villanova, No. 16 Providence, and No. 20 Georgetown headlining the conference showdown. Villanova has yet to race a full squad this season, but have recorded several impressive individual performances, including a dominating win by Patrick Tiernan at the UW Invite in August. Tiernan will return to defend his individual title and help lead the Wildcats to back-to-back conference wins.

Providence started the season off with a third-place finish at the Battle in Beantown and an aggressive start from front-runners Brian Doyle and Shane Quinn. The Friars have since recorded an 11th-place finish at Wisconsin with a 10th-place individual showing from Quinn. The Georgetown Hoyas have emerged after finishing third at Pre-Nats a couple weeks ago, behind No. 1 Colorado and No. 7 Oregon. Their 10-second spread with four underclassmen shows that with the right timing, this young squad can turn heads heading into the championship season. In the individual race, Butler’s Erik Peterson is coming off of an impressive 10th-place showing at Pre-Nats and will look to contend with the top pack on Friday. 

On the women’s side, No. 2 Georgetown will look to continue their momentous season with a win over 2013 conference champs Providence. The Hoyas won their second consecutive Pre-Nats title after placing three in the top 20 and having a 48-second spread between their 1-5. Katrina Coogan has demonstrated standout leadership for the Hoyas after placing fourth at the Battle in Beantown and third at Pre-Nats behind Rachel Johnson of Baylor and Megan Curham of Princeton. With a consistent tight pack all season, the Hoyas seek to power through another team victory Friday. 

Prediction: The Villanova men will roll through the competition with a team title, and Patrick Tiernan will take the individual race. The Georgetown women will be untouchable in the team race, and earn an individual title with Katrina Coogan.