The Big East came into the season with a ridiculous amount of hype and they have, for the most part, lived up to it. The depth of the league wasn’t what it was supposed to be, but the top three teams are very good and could all win it without a huge surprise. If I had to pick one conference from which the winner will come it would be this one.
I’ve got this fascination with Big East basketball this year. Part of it has to do with the up and coming Syracuse Orange, another part has to do with the Luke Harangody-led Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and another part has to do with unpredictable clubs like the Providence Friars. But overall, the Big East has my full attention because five of the top-10 spots in the AP poll are occupied by Big East clubs.
Here’s the way it looks as of today: (more…)
Early in conference play the Big East sure is living up to it’s advance billing. The conference is so tough, and it is beating itself up. Tonight it was Georgetown that totally beat up on Syracuse. That creates some upheaval in the standings and the rankings, as Syracuse was higher ranked coming into the game. The single most telling game coming up this weekend will be when Louisville hosts Pitt. The Panthers are the top ranked team in the country, and it’s hard to dispute that they deserve it. Louisville has had a few rough patches this year, but I had them tabbed as a Final Four team coming into the season, and I’m not wavering on that yet. They have won four in a row,including a win at Villanova and a big win over Notre Dame in their last two. They are finally playing up to their potential, and Samardo Samuels is showing why he was such a highly touted recruit. Pitt has looked almost flawless, but they haven’t been challenged at all, with Georgetown being their only top rate opponent. This is going to be a very tough game, and the winner is going to be a formidable force in the Big East.
Wow, is this ever a terrible Monday night game. If someone paid me to come up with something nice to say about these teams or this game I would have to give the money back. With one exception – Steve Slaton has had a very good game, and that’s becoming a trend for him. The biggest problem is that we are getting exactly the same game that it looked like we would get. I just wish the league would do something about these terrible Monday night matchups – like cancel them.
