Nov. 4, 2009

[11:12 a.m.] ESPN.com college sports analyst Graham Hays shares his thoughts on some of the bigger conference tournaments taking place this week.

Below is his pick as the favorite and sleeper to win BIG EAST Conference Tournament taking place Nov. 6 and 8 at Morrone Stadium on the campus of the University of Connecticut.

Skinny: Notre Dame appeared vulnerable, at least by its standards, entering the conference season but rolled to the No. 1 seed. After last week's opening round of tournament games, it's down to Notre Dame, Marquette, St. John's and West Virginia.

Favorite: Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish put an emphatic punctuation mark on their dominance with a 5-0 win against South Florida in the quarterfinals. It has been a process of fitting pieces into places, but behind the goal production of Melissa Henderson, Lauren Fowlkes and Taylor Knaack, they've outscored opponents 20-1 in their past seven games.

Sleeper: Marquette

West Virginia is the true sleeper after upsetting Rutgers, but Marquette has the best shot to knock off the Irish. It's an experienced team with an organized, composed back line that won't blink if faced with protecting a one-goal lead in the closing minutes.

For a complete preview of all of the major conference tournaments click here.

The Golden Eagles are set to depart Milwaukee following practice tonight at 5 p.m. They will arrive in Hartford around midnight and have a late-morning training session Thursday in Storrs before the BIG EAST Tournament banquet Thursday night at the Hartford Hilton.