THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE

[SeawolvesFan90]

VUtom,

I know you are a fan of Nova. But I'm praying for an upset this Saturday. Just so the Big east can get five bids for sure. We need Georgetown in man, you know it! I won't make you root against your own team, but if they do lose don't feel to bad because Nova is getting at least a 3rd seed no matter what...

Georgetown has five top 50 (VCU, MSU, Oregon, X, and Creighton as of now) wins so all they need is two more wins to be in. Beat Villanova and get one win in the BET and they are in for sure.

Things are getting interesting!

[clenz]

They won't make the second weekend.

I'll eat crow if I'm wrong....but.....

Watching Georgetown last night I was thinking of your prediction of Creighton's late season swoon. Looking like a soothsayer right now! More games to play though.

It's taking longer for it to happen this year but I've said it from the start... They are 4-3 in their last seven games..including a 1 point win over Seaton Hall and wins over Marquette (which is a okay win) and Bulter which...Butler ain't what she used to be...Butler found a way into the new Big East and are laughing their asses off about it right now because...well...this is what they are going to be from now on. The W's vs Nova are impressive though - yet very puzzling in many ways. I'd love to see Providence pull the upset..but on senior day I don't see it happening.

There is zero depth at Creighton. They go 6.5 deep...I guess you could call it 7....and after this year expect a HUGE drop off.

Only 2 are scoring in double figures right now - Doug (25.9) and Wragge (10.7). Both are seniors.

The seniors from this years team (McDermott, Wragge, Gibbs, and Manigat) have
3165 of the 5800 minutes this season (55%)
489 of the 794 FG made (62%)
981 of 1616 FG attempted (61%)
235 of 299 made 3s (80%)
527 of 715 attempted 3s (74%)
232 of 422 made FT (55%)
279 of 560 attempted FT (49%)...yes that means the SRs are shooting 84%)
1447 of 2309 points (63%)
97 of 251 ORB (40%)
392 of 759 DRB (52%)
489 of 1010 rebounds (49%)
251 of 518 assists (49%)
67 of 124 steals (55%)

If you add the JR class (Milliken, Dingman, Chatman, Brooks, Artino) into it you really get a picture of how ugly it *could* get after next year for Creighton as at that point your pushing 90-95+% of every stat recorded for CU......unless there are some SERIOUS improvements and contributions from guys who aren't really even seeing the floor now...and Mc$ finds a way to save his ass in recruiting.

[GannonFan]

and Bulter which...Butler ain't what she used to be...Butler found a way into the new Big East and are laughing their asses off about it right now because...well...this is what they are going to be from now on. .

I agree with you on Butler - they were almost entirely coach-driven when they got to those two title games. Once he left, you could just tell he was taking the magic with him. Some of these schools, and Gonzaga is another one, are almost entirely dependent on their coach for their success - if they lose the coach, they fall back to obscurity. I think you're right, I think Butler is there, and just giddy that they snuck into the new Big East before it happened.

[vutomcat]

VUtom,

I know you are a fan of Nova. But I'm praying for an upset this Saturday. Just so the Big east can get five bids for sure. We need Georgetown in man, you know it! I won't make you root against your own team, but if they do lose don't feel to bad because Nova is getting at least a 3rd seed no matter what...

Georgetown has five top 50 (VCU, MSU, Oregon, X, and Creighton as of now) wins so all they need is two more wins to be in. Beat Villanova and get one win in the BET and they are in for sure.

Things are getting interesting!

Very interesting to have 6 teams still in the hunt in a 10 team league. This would be some coup!

You are correct I won't be rooting for Georgetown, too much of a rivalry game.

I think Georgetown has to win Saturday to have an argument. Otherwise you are looking at 14 losses. Not sure how many teams have gotten in as an at large with that stat. They did have a high SOS this year though. Won't be catastrophic for me if the Cats get upset.

Right now I'm thinking Providence and St. John's have a better shot.

[clenz]

and Bulter which...Butler ain't what she used to be...Butler found a way into the new Big East and are laughing their asses off about it right now because...well...this is what they are going to be from now on. .

I agree with you on Butler - they were almost entirely coach-driven when they got to those two title games. Once he left, you could just tell he was taking the magic with him. Some of these schools, and Gonzaga is another one, are almost entirely dependent on their coach for their success - if they lose the coach, they fall back to obscurity. I think you're right, I think Butler is there, and just giddy that they snuck into the new Big East before it happened.

They are beyond ecstatic right now...no way they aren't. They pulled of the ultimate coup.

Between HC Stevens, Gordon Haywood, and the other guy whose name escapes me right now, they will never come close to that again. They were also REALLY boosted i their W/L by the MidCon and Horizon as they had ZERO competition in them.

They've had some good coaches come through - Stevens, Todd Lickliter (ruined by his days in Iowa City), Thad Matta, and Barry Collier did well there.

However, in the MVC we watched the same thing happen with Evansville coming from the MidCon. Evansville was really good there but have finished with a winning conference record just 3 or 4 (on the high side) in the MVC since joining in 94-95 with 2 of those before the turn of the century..

Creighton may be able to recover in a couple years to a middle of the pack to upper half Big East team...Butler? No.

[GannonFan]

I agree with you on Butler - they were almost entirely coach-driven when they got to those two title games. Once he left, you could just tell he was taking the magic with him. Some of these schools, and Gonzaga is another one, are almost entirely dependent on their coach for their success - if they lose the coach, they fall back to obscurity. I think you're right, I think Butler is there, and just giddy that they snuck into the new Big East before it happened.

They are beyond ecstatic right now...no way they aren't. They pulled of the ultimate coup.

Between HC Stevens, Gordon Haywood, and the other guy whose name escapes me right now, they will never come close to that again. They were also REALLY boosted i their W/L by the MidCon and Horizon as they had ZERO competition in them.

They've had some good coaches come through - Stevens, Todd Lickliter (ruined by his days in Iowa City), Thad Matta, and Barry Collier did well there.

However, in the MVC we watched the same thing happen with Evansville coming from the MidCon. Evansville was really good there but have finished with a winning conference record just 3 or 4 (on the high side) in the MVC since joining in 94-95 with 2 of those before the turn of the century..

Creighton may be able to recover in a couple years to a middle of the pack to upper half Big East team...Butler? No.

Shelvin Mack.

[clenz]

They are beyond ecstatic right now...no way they aren't. They pulled of the ultimate coup.

Between HC Stevens, Gordon Haywood, and the other guy whose name escapes me right now, they will never come close to that again. They were also REALLY boosted i their W/L by the MidCon and Horizon as they had ZERO competition in them.

They've had some good coaches come through - Stevens, Todd Lickliter (ruined by his days in Iowa City), Thad Matta, and Barry Collier did well there.

However, in the MVC we watched the same thing happen with Evansville coming from the MidCon. Evansville was really good there but have finished with a winning conference record just 3 or 4 (on the high side) in the MVC since joining in 94-95 with 2 of those before the turn of the century..

Creighton may be able to recover in a couple years to a middle of the pack to upper half Big East team...Butler? No.

Shelvin Mack.

[vutomcat]

[[quote][/quote]Creighton may be able to recover in a couple years to a middle of the pack to upper half Big East team...Butler? No.



Exactly why we need to be careful when adding teams.

[SeawolvesFan90]

Damn. This is terrible right now. We are looking at three bids at the moment. How the heck is the fourth best league in the country only have 3 bids. We really need a push for 2-3 more bids from St. John's, Georgetown, and Providence.

St Johns MUST beat Marquette on Saturday
Georgetown MUST beat Villanova (this arguably wont have any effect for Nova because it seems like Nova wont get a 1st seed no matter how well they do. They are locked into the 2nd seed even if they lose a game)
Providence MUST beat Creighton

and Xavier needs to earn a 20th victory in the Big East tourney if they want to absolutely lock...

I hate the fact there was so much parity this year... when your third best team is 10-7 that is no good...

Michigan St. defeated Iowa. that should help GTs cause

[Seahawks08]

Georgetown MUST beat Villanova (this arguably wont have any effect for Nova because it seems like Nova wont get a 1st seed no matter how well they do. They are locked into the 2nd seed even if they lose a game)

The only thing I care about is being in the East region. Being a 1 or 2 seed there gives Nova an advantage, especially if the #1 is Kansas as is on Lunardi's bracket. The same can be said for Syracuse.

[bluehenbillk]

Damn. This is terrible right now. We are looking at three bids at the moment. How the heck is the fourth best league in the country only have 3 bids.

4th best league in the country? 3 bids? You're comparing apples & oranges. The Big East isn't the 4th best league in the country. The fact is there aren't very many REALLY GOOD teams in the BEC. Sure I'd bet you could find a measurement index that will say the BEC is #4 based on the lower part of the league not being in the sewer. However, that doesn't translate into how many teams get into the NCAA's. That's reserved for the conference champs & then the next 36-37 or however many at-larges.

The fact of the matter is the Big 12, Pac-12, Big 10, ACC, AAC & this will sting, but the A-10, all have "more really good teams" than the Big East does this year.

[vutomcat]

Damn. This is terrible right now. We are looking at three bids at the moment. How the heck is the fourth best league in the country only have 3 bids. We really need a push for 2-3 more bids from St. John's, Georgetown, and Providence.

St Johns MUST beat Marquette on Saturday
Georgetown MUST beat Villanova (this arguably wont have any effect for Nova because it seems like Nova wont get a 1st seed no matter how well they do. They are locked into the 2nd seed even if they lose a game)
Providence MUST beat Creighton

and Xavier needs to earn a 20th victory in the Big East tourney if they want to absolutely lock...

I hate the fact there was so much parity this year... when your third best team is 10-7 that is no good...

Michigan St. defeated Iowa. that should help GTs cause

Still an outside chance of 6 but some crazy things that you outlined have to happen. Maybe one of our bubble teams can get the automatic by winning the tourney. 5 teams would be 50% of the conference! Clearly one of the elite conferences in the nation. Need some help though.

[GannonFan]

Damn. This is terrible right now. We are looking at three bids at the moment. How the heck is the fourth best league in the country only have 3 bids. We really need a push for 2-3 more bids from St. John's, Georgetown, and Providence.

St Johns MUST beat Marquette on Saturday
Georgetown MUST beat Villanova (this arguably wont have any effect for Nova because it seems like Nova wont get a 1st seed no matter how well they do. They are locked into the 2nd seed even if they lose a game)
Providence MUST beat Creighton

and Xavier needs to earn a 20th victory in the Big East tourney if they want to absolutely lock...

I hate the fact there was so much parity this year... when your third best team is 10-7 that is no good...

Michigan St. defeated Iowa. that should help GTs cause

Still an outside chance of 6 but some crazy things that you outlined have to happen. Maybe one of our bubble teams can get the automatic by winning the tourney. 5 teams would be 50% of the conference! Clearly one of the elite conferences in the nation. Need some help though.

Three teams is still the most likely outcome for the Big East, which can't really be considered elite in a year where the A10, in the Big East's own backyard, is legitimately looking at getting 6 teams in itself.

And if someone had actually wagered that the American Athletic Conference (AAC) would actually be better than the Big East this year after the split they would've made a lot of money - the AAC has a lock right now on 5 teams (half their conference) making the tournament, and probably none will be worse than an 8 seed. Don't think too many people saw that coming.

[vutomcat]

St John's takes care of business with a double ot win on the road. Let's go Providence!!

Nova a #1 seed as of now.

[Seahawks08]

Three teams is still the most likely outcome for the Big East, which can't really be considered elite in a year where the A10, in the Big East's own backyard, is legitimately looking at getting 6 teams in itself.

And if someone had actually wagered that the American Athletic Conference (AAC) would actually be better than the Big East this year after the split they would've made a lot of money - the AAC has a lock right now on 5 teams (half their conference) making the tournament, and probably none will be worse than an 8 seed. Don't think too many people saw that coming.

I'll give you the A-10, but I just at people who say the AAC is better than any of the power conferences. They are the worst of them all and it's not even close. The last place team in the Big East (Depaul) has a better RPi than the sixth place team in the AAC (Houston). So no, the AAC is NOT better than the Big East this year.

[tribe_pride]

Three teams is still the most likely outcome for the Big East, which can't really be considered elite in a year where the A10, in the Big East's own backyard, is legitimately looking at getting 6 teams in itself.

And if someone had actually wagered that the American Athletic Conference (AAC) would actually be better than the Big East this year after the split they would've made a lot of money - the AAC has a lock right now on 5 teams (half their conference) making the tournament, and probably none will be worse than an 8 seed. Don't think too many people saw that coming.

I'll give you the A-10, but I just at people who say the AAC is better than any of the power conferences. They are the worst of them all and it's not even close. The last place team in the Big East (Depaul) has a better RPi than the sixth place team in the AAC (Houston). So no, the AAC is NOT better than the Big East this year.

The comparison with the AAC is different depending on how you want to look at it. If you want to look top to bottom, then Big East is in good shape. If you want to look at teams to make the tournament, then the AAC is in better shape.

The Big East has 2 very good teams, a team that is likely in even though it ended the season poorly and then 3 or 4 that have been hovering on the bubble of which 1 or 2 could make it in. Then a drop to 3 poor teams

The AAC has 5 teams that are in and then a huge drop to 5 poor to very bad teams.

[vutomcat]

Three teams is still the most likely outcome for the Big East, which can't really be considered elite in a year where the A10, in the Big East's own backyard, is legitimately looking at getting 6 teams in itself.

And if someone had actually wagered that the American Athletic Conference (AAC) would actually be better than the Big East this year after the split they would've made a lot of money - the AAC has a lock right now on 5 teams (half their conference) making the tournament, and probably none will be worse than an 8 seed. Don't think too many people saw that coming.

I'll give you the A-10, but I just at people who say the AAC is better than any of the power conferences. They are the worst of them all and it's not even close. The last place team in the Big East (Depaul) has a better RPi than the sixth place team in the AAC (Houston). So no, the AAC is NOT better than the Big East this year.

A10 is 2-8 versus the Big East. That one isn't close either.

[tribe_pride]

I'll give you the A-10, but I just at people who say the AAC is better than any of the power conferences. They are the worst of them all and it's not even close. The last place team in the Big East (Depaul) has a better RPi than the sixth place team in the AAC (Houston). So no, the AAC is NOT better than the Big East this year.

A10 is 2-8 versus the Big East. That one isn't close either.

You know that is not the best comparison even though I agree that Big East is overall better than the A-10.

Villanova and Creighton played 4 teams from the A-10 and none of them are against the top 2 from the A-10. 3 of the A-10's worst teams played 4 games against the Big East (only 1 of those was against Nova or Creighton) and none of the bottom teams from the Big East played any A-10 teams.

[vutomcat]

A10 is 2-8 versus the Big East. That one isn't close either.

You know that is not the best comparison even though I agree that Big East is overall better than the A-10.

Villanova and Creighton played 4 teams from the A-10 and none of them are against the top 2 from the A-10. 3 of the A-10's worst teams played 4 games against the Big East (only 1 of those was against Nova or Creighton) and none of the bottom teams from the Big East played any A-10 teams.

You make a valid point but while it is not the best comparison it is overwhelming in the Big Easts favor.

[Seahawks08]

For the A-10, I would argue the Big East is better than them but not by much. But I could see the argument against the Big East in that case. Richmond, in 7th place is an above average team which is on par with their counterpart in the Big East, Gtown. The thing is, Nova and Creighton are much better than anyone in the A-10, so they skew the conference a little.

And with UVA losing today, the only challenger in my eyes to Nova for the 4th #1 seed is Wisconsin (and that's assuming they win the Big 10 tourny).

[Seahawks08]

With Wisconsin losing, Nova better be the 4th #1 seed now.

[SeawolvesFan90]

Damn. This is terrible right now. We are looking at three bids at the moment. How the heck is the fourth best league in the country only have 3 bids. We really need a push for 2-3 more bids from St. John's, Georgetown, and Providence.

St Johns MUST beat Marquette on Saturday
Georgetown MUST beat Villanova (this arguably wont have any effect for Nova because it seems like Nova wont get a 1st seed no matter how well they do. They are locked into the 2nd seed even if they lose a game)
Providence MUST beat Creighton

and Xavier needs to earn a 20th victory in the Big East tourney if they want to absolutely lock...

I hate the fact there was so much parity this year... when your third best team is 10-7 that is no good...

Michigan St. defeated Iowa. that should help GTs cause

Still an outside chance of 6 but some crazy things that you outlined have to happen. Maybe one of our bubble teams can get the automatic by winning the tourney. 5 teams would be 50% of the conference! Clearly one of the elite conferences in the nation. Need some help though.

I don't know man. I'm losing hope. Providence didn't come through against Creighton. This is fustrating. Even xavier is doubtful now.

Lets see what happens in the Big East tourney

[vutomcat]

AP POLL - Nova is #3 in the country. WOW!

[vutomcat]

The Big East Men's basketball conference has announced the Big East's yearly awards and they are the following:

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Doug McDermott, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-8, 225, Ames, Iowa
Markel Starks, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-2, 175, Accokeek, Md.
Bryce Cotton, Providence, G, Sr., 6-1, 165, Tucson, Ariz.
D'Angelo Harrison, St. John's, G, Jr., 6-4, 204, Missouri City, Texas
James Bell, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-6, 220, Orlando, Fla.
Semaj Christon, Xavier, G, So., 6-3, 190, Cincinnati, Ohio

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM^
Kellen Dunham, Butler, G, So., 6-6, 185, Pendleton, Ind.
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown, G, So., 6-3, 218, Indianapolis, Ind.
Davante Gardner, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-8, 290, Suffolk, Va.
Kadeem Batts, Providence, F, Sr., 6-9, 245, Boston, Mass.
Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall, F/G, Sr., 6-6, 215, Paterson, N.J.
JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova, F, Jr., 6-7, 240, Brooklyn, N.Y.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Ethan Wragge, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-7, 225, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova, G, So., 6-3, 195, Langhorne, Pa.
Darrun Hilliard, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-6, 215, Bethlehem, Pa.
Matt Stainbrook, Xavier, C, Jr., 6-10, 263, Bay Village, Ohio

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM^
Andrew Chrabascz, Butler, F, Fr., 6-7, 225, Portsmouth, R.I.
Billy Garrett Jr., DePaul, G, Fr., 6-5, 194, Chicago, Ill.
Tommy Hamilton IV, DePaul, F, Fr., 6-10, 284, Chicago, Ill.
Deonte Burton, Marquette, F, Fr., 6-4, 230, Milwaukee, Wis.
Rysheed Jordan, St. John's G, Fr., 6-4, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.
Jaren Sina, Seton Hall, G, Fr., 6-2, 180, Lake Hopatcong, N.J.
Josh Hart, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-5, 202, Silver Springs, Md.

[SeawolvesFan90]

Bracketology by Lunardi has Stony Brook/Coastal carolina matched up against nova. We need to win on Saturday against Albany and beat Coastal before we get drilled by Villanova. sucks that we will be a 16 seed.