THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE

[vutomcat]

The number one college basketball team in the country according to Sagarin??


Villanova!!!

[Seahawks08]

The number one college basketball team in the country according to Sagarin??


Villanova!!!

Also #2 behind Kentucky at kenpom. But now the schedule begins to harden with vs. Stanford, @ St. Josephs, and then Oklahoma in Hawaii as the next 3 games. And despite the loss, I am still looking forward towards the game at UVA!

[GannonFan]

I think Arcidiacono is a fine support player, but I think he struggles when he has to be the scorer and when he has to be the one who creates for nova. Sure he got abused in that NC State game, but that just pointed out the flaw that's there. With Brunson, Arcidiacono is free to float and free to find that place to set up and shoot. He's like a modern day John Paxson - surely useful, key even at times, but has to rely on someone else to start the action. Especially late in games or in big moments, Brunson's going to be the guy doing that for nova and they are certainly better because of it.

So this is the second time in a week that you decided to talk out of your ass. Arci is a fine support player? You do realize he won the co-big east player of the year award last year. Who's the other player he won it with? Oh right, future nba player, Kris Dunn. I guess dunn is just a fine support player as well.

Then there's the fact that apparently you either a) don't watch nova games, or b) don't understand basketball. Arci doesn't need to put up monster stats because he is the facilitator and leader of the Nova offense. Nova O rank last year? 4th. He is the primary PG, so it is up to him to control the flow and he does it beautifully. A fine support player does not do that.

And finally, again, your argument he puts up stats in a weak Big East is flawed since, again, the Big East was one of the best conferences last year (3rd behind ACC and Big12). And guess who ranks first right now in conference rpi?

Now it makes sense why you can't reach the truly delusional.

This is where I do the copy and paste again:

How did the Big 10 and ACC do in the past couple of NCAA tourneys? How'd the Big East do?

The new Big East might be the best November conference on record. Sadly, only March matters.

[vutomcat]

Xavier runs USC(PAC 12) off their own court and the Providence Friars beat Arizona (PAC 12) away as well. And, oh yeah, Nova keeps rolling along with a win against Georgia Tech(ACC). Three very solid teams. With Butler, Georgetown and a young Marquette team that will be very dangerous this might be an even better conference than last year. Still very early though.

[GannonFan]

Nah, it's not early for the Big East. This is when they shine, just like last year. Best November conference in men's basketball. Once they get the schedule change to stop the season right after Thanksgiving it'll be national title time. November Madness!

[Seahawks08]

Nah, it's not early for the Big East. This is when they shine, just like last year. Best November conference in men's basketball. Once they get the schedule change to stop the season right after Thanksgiving it'll be national title time. November Madness!

Yea fuck November basketball! Big East teams should lose those games and not worry about the implications later on when they are used as criteria for entering March Madness!

[GannonFan]

Nah, it's not early for the Big East. This is when they shine, just like last year. Best November conference in men's basketball. Once they get the schedule change to stop the season right after Thanksgiving it'll be national title time. November Madness!

Yea **** November basketball! Big East teams should lose those games and not worry about the implications later on when they are used as criteria for entering March Madness!

Nonsense, of course they should worry about it. But it pales in comparison to the real season which starts in March.

Btw, great article on Jalen Brunson in SI this week (not sure if it's on the website yet, read it in the magazine this weekend). He's the reason why this should be the year that nova finally overcomes the lethargy that is the new Big East regular season and actually go deep in the tourney - the kid's a beast and he's going to be the guy who makes things run in March.

[vutomcat]

Yea **** November basketball! Big East teams should lose those games and not worry about the implications later on when they are used as criteria for entering March Madness!

Nonsense, of course they should worry about it. But it pales in comparison to the real season which starts in March.

Btw, great article on Jalen Brunson in SI this week (not sure if it's on the website yet, read it in the magazine this weekend). He's the reason why this should be the year that nova finally overcomes the lethargy that is the new Big East regular season and actually go deep in the tourney - the kid's a beast and he's going to be the guy who makes things run in March.

Brunson is very good. Agreed. They should have gone deep last year as well though. Most experts had them going quite far. I think you called them a "really great team" in one of your posts last year.

You couldn't be more wrong with your comment about "lethargy that is the new Big East regular season". There are lots of great games during the regular season and tremendous reason to get excited about this excellent conference. Go over to the Wells Fargo Center this year and then let me know about the "lethargy". Methinks you went a little overboard here.

Thanks for the fyi on the Brunson article.

[GannonFan]

Nonsense, of course they should worry about it. But it pales in comparison to the real season which starts in March.

Btw, great article on Jalen Brunson in SI this week (not sure if it's on the website yet, read it in the magazine this weekend). He's the reason why this should be the year that nova finally overcomes the lethargy that is the new Big East regular season and actually go deep in the tourney - the kid's a beast and he's going to be the guy who makes things run in March.

Brunson is very good. Agreed. They should have gone deep last year as well though. Most experts had them going quite far. I think you called them a "really great team" in one of your posts last year.

You couldn't be more wrong with your comment about "lethargy that is the new Big East regular season". There are lots of great games during the regular season and tremendous reason to get excited about this excellent conference. Go over to the Wells Fargo Center this year and then let me know about the "lethargy". Methinks you went a little overboard here.

Thanks for the fyi on the Brunson article.

Eh, I thought they were too soft last year. That killer instinct that Brunson has is something they didn't have last year. With that said, they still should've made the second weekend, they just got a bad pairing against an NC State team that matched up great against them.

I prefer games at the ski lodge - only the Georgetown game has enough juice and opposing fanbase to make the Wells Fargo feel filled enough.

[vutomcat]

Brunson is very good. Agreed. They should have gone deep last year as well though. Most experts had them going quite far. I think you called them a "really great team" in one of your posts last year.

You couldn't be more wrong with your comment about "lethargy that is the new Big East regular season". There are lots of great games during the regular season and tremendous reason to get excited about this excellent conference. Go over to the Wells Fargo Center this year and then let me know about the "lethargy". Methinks you went a little overboard here.

Thanks for the fyi on the Brunson article.

Eh, I thought they were too soft last year. That killer instinct that Brunson has is something they didn't have last year. With that said, they still should've made the second weekend, they just got a bad pairing against an NC State team that matched up great against them.

I prefer games at the ski lodge - only the Georgetown game has enough juice and opposing fanbase to make the Wells Fargo feel filled enough.

A little bit of revisionist history by you here. In retrospect, you think they are too soft. That's not how you were posting last year.

And, you haven't gone to a Nova game for awhile if you think the Wells Fargo games don't rock. The last five years have been awesome in South Philly. The Syracuse games, Georgetown, the Louisville games, the Creighton game when McBuckets was playing, ... I could go on and on. You really don't know poop about Nova at Wells Fargo. All three games this year will be sellouts or near sell outs. The only seats available are upper tier behind the basket.

[GannonFan]

Eh, I thought they were too soft last year. That killer instinct that Brunson has is something they didn't have last year. With that said, they still should've made the second weekend, they just got a bad pairing against an NC State team that matched up great against them.

I prefer games at the ski lodge - only the Georgetown game has enough juice and opposing fanbase to make the Wells Fargo feel filled enough.

A little bit of revisionist history by you here. In retrospect, you think they are too soft. That's not how you were posting last year.

And, you haven't gone to a Nova game for awhile if you think the Wells Fargo games don't rock. The last five years have been awesome in South Philly. The Syracuse games, Georgetown, the Louisville games, the Creighton game when McBuckets was playing, ... I could go on and on. You really don't know poop about Nova at Wells Fargo. All three games this year will be sellouts or near sell outs. The only seats available are upper tier behind the basket.

Well, seats should be harder to come by at Wells Fargo this year since nova had to drastically cut back the number of games there. Hard to justify the rent for the place when you can't fill it. Marquette drawing only about half capacity last year, despite nova's ranking, was a tough pill to swallow. And Creighton is back on campus probably for good now. When did nova last sellout Wells Fargo? Georgetown was close last year and was the only game to top 20k, but the other ones didn't come all that close. Even Syracuse was just 18k (around 80% capacity). G'town and St. John's will do well, and Providence has the star factor with Dunn coming in. Maybe if they get some more of the teams that left the Big East on the schedule they can play more dates at Wells Fargo?

[vutomcat]

A little bit of revisionist history by you here. In retrospect, you think they are too soft. That's not how you were posting last year.

And, you haven't gone to a Nova game for awhile if you think the Wells Fargo games don't rock. The last five years have been awesome in South Philly. The Syracuse games, Georgetown, the Louisville games, the Creighton game when McBuckets was playing, ... I could go on and on. You really don't know poop about Nova at Wells Fargo. All three games this year will be sellouts or near sell outs. The only seats available are upper tier behind the basket.

Well, seats should be harder to come by at Wells Fargo this year since nova had to drastically cut back the number of games there. Hard to justify the rent for the place when you can't fill it. Marquette drawing only about half capacity last year, despite nova's ranking, was a tough pill to swallow. And Creighton is back on campus probably for good now. When did nova last sellout Wells Fargo? Georgetown was close last year and was the only game to top 20k, but the other ones didn't come all that close. Even Syracuse was just 18k (around 80% capacity). G'town and St. John's will do well, and Providence has the star factor with Dunn coming in. Maybe if they get some more of the teams that left the Big East on the schedule they can play more dates at Wells Fargo?

The Center officially seats 20,318 for NBA and NCAA basketball. Georgetown was over 20,000 and a virtual sellout last year.

The Syracuse attendance last year was 18,467. How is that 80 %?

Nova scheduled only three games at the Center this year so they can be eligible to play there during the tournament. Over three games and the committee looks at the venue as a "home" venue. Next year there will be 5 games there.

[GannonFan]

Well, seats should be harder to come by at Wells Fargo this year since nova had to drastically cut back the number of games there. Hard to justify the rent for the place when you can't fill it. Marquette drawing only about half capacity last year, despite nova's ranking, was a tough pill to swallow. And Creighton is back on campus probably for good now. When did nova last sellout Wells Fargo? Georgetown was close last year and was the only game to top 20k, but the other ones didn't come all that close. Even Syracuse was just 18k (around 80% capacity). G'town and St. John's will do well, and Providence has the star factor with Dunn coming in. Maybe if they get some more of the teams that left the Big East on the schedule they can play more dates at Wells Fargo?

The Center officially seats 20,318 for NBA and NCAA basketball. Georgetown was over 20,000 and a virtual sellout last year.

The Syracuse attendance last year was 18,467. How is that 80 %?

Nova scheduled only three games at the Center this year so they can be eligible to play there during the tournament. Over three games and the committee looks at the venue as a "home" venue. Next year there will be 5 games there.

The 20,318 does not include the club seats and the luxury suites, so the paid attendance number can be higher (21,600 is the normal estimate). You should try them sometime, the ones at the mezzanine level are nice (the ones up at the roof, well, not so nice). That's how the nova/UConn game (back in the halcyon days of the real Big East had over 20,800 - surely you were there, no?) Seriously, have you even been to Wells Fargo? The stadium, not the bank.

[GannonFan]

By the way, no hindsight needed on my opinion of nova last year - see post below - I was worried about them before getting into the tourney and it came to fruition. I think they've corrected things a bit this year with a stone cold assassin like Brunson - even if they aren't tested again during the regular season (and again the OOC schedule is not giving them any help this year) I think nova finally has a real shot to make some noise in the tournament with Brunson running the show.

I think you have it backwards. Nova hasn't faced a top Defensive team yet and that will be the true test. Nova is #5 in the country in offensive efficiency (kenpom), so I would much rather face someone like Notre Dame (#4 offense) in the tournament rather than Utah (#5 defense).

Also, Big East is #2 in RPI at the moment. Not too shabby for a mid-major conference.

Nah, I think I'd still be worried about a team that puts up a lot of points on the board. nova's had the luxury of playing some teams that just aren't very offensively talented. nova's offense has been very good, but they've also have not had the pressure of trying to keep up with a team that is scoring at the same clip they are. Wisconsin isn't the best defensive team in the world, but they score every time down the floor so it doesn't matter. Same with Duke, they don't play great defense but they score in bunches. I don't think Utah, even with their defensive ranking, being able to outscore nova - I would take that matchup in an instant.

And as for the conference RPI, eh, let's see if anyone other than nova makes it to the second week of the tournament. It could be like the Big 10 conference of a decade ago - tons of teams make the tourney, and a lot of them lose right away. nova's legit, the rest, eh, not so much.

[vutomcat]

Same problem as last year for the Big East - a super, single team in villanova (same as last year) and then a bunch of hanger-ons. nova won't play another top 25 team outside of a rematch against Seton Hall (assuming they are still ranked by then) and won't play a team in the top 15 until the tournament. Meanwhile, teams in the ACC has 5 teams in the top 15 and the Big 12 has 7 teams in the top 25. Still going to see the other Big East teams end up with tough seeds come tourney time (the 7-11 range) and that means playing the big boys in the second game, assuming they get through to there.

Here is just one of your posts stating Nova is "super team".

[GannonFan]

And again you prove your inability to comprehend things, including reading apparently. Here's the post I made right before then. You can try to twist it anyway you want, but I've been consistent in saying that nova has had a good team these past few years and has been tragically let down by the shell of the conference they're in as they coast through the regular season and don't get tested enough. Once they hit the tourney, they've been woefully unprepared for the quality of competition there. The hope is that a player like Brunson will help them to overcome that this year. I think he can do it.

Just when I thought you were seeing the light. Long season and lots of games to be played to get too worked up about this but based on the results to date, you are incorrect. Sagarin would have 6 teams as LOCKS for the tourney. Seton Hall would be the 6th team in at #39. All five others are lower-12,21,22,29 and 35.

Right now they are ranked as the second toughest conference behind only the BIG 12.

Sagarin? Who uses Sagarin for basketball? I don't even think Jeff Sagarin uses his own system for basketball.

RPI is better, as is kenpom. RPI has Seton Hall as the highest Big East team and they're at #25. Kenpom, which I think is better, has nova where they should be (#6 - has them ahead of Arizona, which I would disagree with, but still behind UVA, which I can agree with - UVA is likely the second best ACC team). Some teams in the Big East just fade away though. St. John's has a January game against Duke but that's it in terms of OOC quality games. Same with Seton Hall - heck, the game against Wichita St is it for the Pirates this year. This is where nova is hurt by the Big East - just not enough top quality, glamor games. The top Big 10 or ACC or Big 12 teams will play 4-6 big games in conference. nova, not so much. It hurt them last year come tourney time and it could come back to bite them again. One big dog does not a conference make.

[vutomcat]

The Big 10 of this year looks pretty weak to me. We will see though.

You make the only argument left in questioning the Big East this year. Without a doubt, the conference is legit top two, three, or four conferences for the regualr season. The one knock still left is whether any of the teams are capable of making it to the second week of the tourney. None of us know the answer to that and it will depend on matchups, injuries and seeding to some extent.

March Madness! Can't beat it.

Eh, they are who we thought they were. No god awful teams, one really great team, and a bunch of teams that are middling at best. And this in a year with a lot of veteran lineups. nova could really use some company in the conference at the elite level and they aren't getting it. It's like C-USA when Memphis was left holding the bag when all the other elite teams left. Looks good RPI-wise, but still lonely at the top.

You and I must have a different dictionary. Super and great are your words used to describe Nova last year. The only thing you questioned last year was the strength of the conference in preparing them for the rigors of the tournament. I don't see anything like "soft" in your descriptions.

[GannonFan]

Eh, they are who we thought they were. No god awful teams, one really great team, and a bunch of teams that are middling at best. And this in a year with a lot of veteran lineups. nova could really use some company in the conference at the elite level and they aren't getting it. It's like C-USA when Memphis was left holding the bag when all the other elite teams left. Looks good RPI-wise, but still lonely at the top.

You and I must have a different dictionary. Super and great are your words used to describe Nova last year. The only thing you questioned last year was the strength of the conference in preparing them for the rigors of the tournament. I don't see anything like "soft" in your descriptions.

Uh, they were "soft" because they weren't "hardened" through the rigors of a tough regular season. I'm not sure why you have such a hard time understanding that as I've said it over and over. Again, reading comprehension on your part is strangely lacking. Uber-talented team that doesn't get tested enough and then bombs out early in the tourney when they face less-talented teams who have had to scrape all year. That's been nova's MO now since they got left behind in the Big East. That's what makes Brunson so indispensable for them this year - he stays tough no matter the softness of the schedule (and once again, the OOC schedule isn't helping nova out as well - Oklahoma and UVA might be the only good, tough teams they see until they see someone in March.

[Seahawks08]

You and I must have a different dictionary. Super and great are your words used to describe Nova last year. The only thing you questioned last year was the strength of the conference in preparing them for the rigors of the tournament. I don't see anything like "soft" in your descriptions.

Uh, they were "soft" because they weren't "hardened" through the rigors of a tough regular season. I'm not sure why you have such a hard time understanding that as I've said it over and over. Again, reading comprehension on your part is strangely lacking. Uber-talented team that doesn't get tested enough and then bombs out early in the tourney when they face less-talented teams who have had to scrape all year. That's been nova's MO now since they got left behind in the Big East. That's what makes Brunson so indispensable for them this year - he stays tough no matter the softness of the schedule (and once again, the OOC schedule isn't helping nova out as well - Oklahoma and UVA might be the only good, tough teams they see until they see someone in March.

Now I know you're trolling. Seriously, go watch Xavier, Providence, and Butler and get back to me on that statement.

Funny that you say Brunson is the difference-maker when they had someone better than him last year (Hilliard). Granted, Brunson has the higher ceiling, but at this point, Hilliard was and still is the better player.

[bluehenbillk]

The 20,318 does not include the club seats and the luxury suites, so the paid attendance number can be higher (21,600 is the normal estimate). You should try them sometime, the ones at the mezzanine level are nice (the ones up at the roof, well, not so nice). That's how the nova/UConn game (back in the halcyon days of the real Big East had over 20,800 - surely you were there, no?) Seriously, have you even been to Wells Fargo? The stadium, not the bank.

GF that attendance statement just isn't true.

There are LESS general public seats in the Wells Fargo than there were in the Spectrum. Sellout # in the Spectrum was about 17,077 for hockey & about 18,126 for hoops. The Wells Fargo Center had to be built to ADA code where the Spectrum never was, so you had to account for both wider aisle ways & seats. 40 less seats in lower level row 1, creates a domino effect - 80 less in Row 2, 120 less in row 3, you get the point. When you're talking numbers over 18,000 in basketball you're most definitely counting premium seating as well, those numbers are included in every attendance # they publish for events at the Center, why wouldn't they be?

[GannonFan]

The 20,318 does not include the club seats and the luxury suites, so the paid attendance number can be higher (21,600 is the normal estimate). You should try them sometime, the ones at the mezzanine level are nice (the ones up at the roof, well, not so nice). That's how the nova/UConn game (back in the halcyon days of the real Big East had over 20,800 - surely you were there, no?) Seriously, have you even been to Wells Fargo? The stadium, not the bank.

GF that attendance statement just isn't true.

There are LESS general public seats in the Wells Fargo than there were in the Spectrum. Sellout # in the Spectrum was about 17,077 for hockey & about 18,126 for hoops. The Wells Fargo Center had to be built to ADA code where the Spectrum never was, so you had to account for both wider aisle ways & seats. 40 less seats in lower level row 1, creates a domino effect - 80 less in Row 2, 120 less in row 3, you get the point. When you're talking numbers over 18,000 in basketball you're most definitely counting premium seating as well, those numbers are included in every attendance # they publish for events at the Center, why wouldn't they be?

21,600 is the wiki number for the capacity of the arena (generally). They've gotten 20,800 or so in there for basketball before yet they list 19,500 as the capacity for basketball. Whatever they count, they can clearly get closer to the 21,600 than the list 19,500 basketball capacity. Are all the extra SRO tickets?

[GannonFan]

Uh, they were "soft" because they weren't "hardened" through the rigors of a tough regular season. I'm not sure why you have such a hard time understanding that as I've said it over and over. Again, reading comprehension on your part is strangely lacking. Uber-talented team that doesn't get tested enough and then bombs out early in the tourney when they face less-talented teams who have had to scrape all year. That's been nova's MO now since they got left behind in the Big East. That's what makes Brunson so indispensable for them this year - he stays tough no matter the softness of the schedule (and once again, the OOC schedule isn't helping nova out as well - Oklahoma and UVA might be the only good, tough teams they see until they see someone in March.

Now I know you're trolling. Seriously, go watch Xavier, Providence, and Butler and get back to me on that statement.

Funny that you say Brunson is the difference-maker when they had someone better than him last year (Hilliard). Granted, Brunson has the higher ceiling, but at this point, Hilliard was and still is the better player.

I don't see that at all. Brunson's already projected to be a first round pick (Hilliard went 38th I think) when he comes out and I think he can do more from the PG spot, especially with this team, than Hilliard could do as a shooting guard. They're different players, but Brunson's a kid who can make those around him better - I didn't see that a lot with Hilliard, but truth be told, that wasn't his role either. Brunson's the type that could win that NC State game for nova and get them deeper in the tournament and I fully expect that to happen this year.

I like Xavier, they're legit and likely the next best team after nova. I think Xavier could make noise again come tourney time. Butler's alright and still have some players that were there with Brad Stevens so this is likely their last hurrah. I don't see a tourney run out of them, but Dunham and Jones make them interesting. I'm not sold on Providence at all though - after Dunn they have very little. They're a microcosm of what's wrong with the new Big East and what the conference is missing after the exodus of the big programs. This Providence team would be pretty modest in the old Big East - they're decent enough to surprise someone on a given night, but game in and game out they just aren't good enough to compete with the big boys. Yet they could be the 3rd or 4th team coming out of the Big East this year - again - have a relatively gaudy record, and be one and done again in the tourney. In the old Big East, they'd be an NIT team or a last team in type of team because they would've gotten exposed in conference. Now they get exposed in March.

[bluehenbillk]

GF that attendance statement just isn't true.

There are LESS general public seats in the Wells Fargo than there were in the Spectrum. Sellout # in the Spectrum was about 17,077 for hockey & about 18,126 for hoops. The Wells Fargo Center had to be built to ADA code where the Spectrum never was, so you had to account for both wider aisle ways & seats. 40 less seats in lower level row 1, creates a domino effect - 80 less in Row 2, 120 less in row 3, you get the point. When you're talking numbers over 18,000 in basketball you're most definitely counting premium seating as well, those numbers are included in every attendance # they publish for events at the Center, why wouldn't they be?

21,600 is the wiki number for the capacity of the arena (generally). They've gotten 20,800 or so in there for basketball before yet they list 19,500 as the capacity for basketball. Whatever they count, they can clearly get closer to the 21,600 than the list 19,500 basketball capacity. Are all the extra SRO tickets?

Put it this way - the 76ers & Lakers game the other night got 20,510. You should know better than to pull a Wikipedia page as fact, "cmon man". 19,500? The Flyers draw more than that & you can fill more seats for basketball than hockey so that # is just plain wrong. SRO tickets - the Center doesn't sell SRO tickets technically, but if you are a suite holder (not a club box ticket holder) you can buy more tickets than seats. Typically most suites come with 12 tickets but they can get up to 50% extra (18 total in a 12 seats suite) if they want. All those tickets count in the # you hear. In reality, the # announced is ALWAYS more than the real #, which can be defined as the turnstyle count or more accurately as the industry calls it - the drop (not everyone with a ticket goes through a turnstyle or has their tix scanned).

[GannonFan]

21,600 is the wiki number for the capacity of the arena (generally). They've gotten 20,800 or so in there for basketball before yet they list 19,500 as the capacity for basketball. Whatever they count, they can clearly get closer to the 21,600 than the list 19,500 basketball capacity. Are all the extra SRO tickets?

Put it this way - the 76ers & Lakers game the other night got 20,510. You should know better than to pull a Wikipedia page as fact, "cmon man". 19,500? The Flyers draw more than that & you can fill more seats for basketball than hockey so that # is just plain wrong. SRO tickets - the Center doesn't sell SRO tickets technically, but if you are a suite holder (not a club box ticket holder) you can buy more tickets than seats. Typically most suites come with 12 tickets but they can get up to 50% extra (18 total in a 12 seats suite) if they want. All those tickets count in the # you hear. In reality, the # announced is ALWAYS more than the real #, which can be defined as the turnstyle count or more accurately as the industry calls it - the drop (not everyone with a ticket goes through a turnstyle or has their tix scanned).

I don't disagree, but it still puts the real capacity closer to the 21k range.

[Seahawks08]

Now I know you're trolling. Seriously, go watch Xavier, Providence, and Butler and get back to me on that statement.

Funny that you say Brunson is the difference-maker when they had someone better than him last year (Hilliard). Granted, Brunson has the higher ceiling, but at this point, Hilliard was and still is the better player.

I don't see that at all. Brunson's already projected to be a first round pick (Hilliard went 38th I think) when he comes out and I think he can do more from the PG spot, especially with this team, than Hilliard could do as a shooting guard. They're different players, but Brunson's a kid who can make those around him better - I didn't see that a lot with Hilliard, but truth be told, that wasn't his role either. Brunson's the type that could win that NC State game for nova and get them deeper in the tournament and I fully expect that to happen this year.

I like Xavier, they're legit and likely the next best team after nova. I think Xavier could make noise again come tourney time. Butler's alright and still have some players that were there with Brad Stevens so this is likely their last hurrah. I don't see a tourney run out of them, but Dunham and Jones make them interesting. I'm not sold on Providence at all though - after Dunn they have very little. They're a microcosm of what's wrong with the new Big East and what the conference is missing after the exodus of the big programs. This Providence team would be pretty modest in the old Big East - they're decent enough to surprise someone on a given night, but game in and game out they just aren't good enough to compete with the big boys. Yet they could be the 3rd or 4th team coming out of the Big East this year - again - have a relatively gaudy record, and be one and done again in the tourney. In the old Big East, they'd be an NIT team or a last team in type of team because they would've gotten exposed in conference. Now they get exposed in March.

Excellent response. I disagree, but I can see that angle as well for both points.