After a record-number 11 Big East teams received NCAA DI men’s basketball national championship bids, just two conference teams are still standing as the tournament heads into the Sweet 16. UConn and Marquette will continue to represent the Big East following losses by Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse, St. John’s, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova.

Although 10 Big East teams were ranked within the top 10 of their region, except Marquette who came in at No. 11 in the East Region, the conference has posted just a 9-9 record after the first two rounds.

Of course, two of the 11 teams were automatically set to lose, as they faced fellow conference teams in the round of 32. Marquette walked away with a close 66-62 victory over No. 3 Syracuse in the East Region, while No. 3 UConn beat No. 6 Cincinnati 69-58 in the West Region.

However, five of the seven remaining Big East losses came against teams ranked below them within their region. Of the losses, the most shocking came to No. 1 Pittsburgh, who lost 71-70 to No. 8 Butler in the round of 16 in the Southeast Region.

Other impressive Big East ousts include No. 13 Morehead State’s 62-61 upset of No. 4 Louisville in round one of play in the Southwest Region, No. 6 St. John’s 86-71 loss in the first round to No. 11 Gonzaga and No. 10 Florida State’s 71-57 thrashing of No. 2 Notre Dame, who was down by as much as 23 points during the game.

The Big East has been without an NCAA title since UConn claimed it in 2004. At the outset of the tournament expectations were high, but with only two teams remaining the question remains, can Marquette and UConn live up the Big East hype?