Terrific Lunardi - yes, Lunardi - column

[moqui]

explaining why the Catholic Seven is actually pretty weak.

He focuses on a combination of NCAA tournament credits and average RPI over 12 years (that is two full NCAA revenue distribution cycles).

the problem is that Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and DePaul are very, very weak. If you add in the seven other schools that have been rumored as possible partners, those four represent 4 of the 5 weakest.
Lunardi:

The bottom line of all this number-crunching, even if tweaked to the advantage of certain schools or groups of schools, is that the so-called Catholic Seven is a long, long, long way from its Big East glory days. Villanova, Marquette and Georgetown can never be good enough to carry their four average-to-below-average (and we're being kind) partners.
As for any proposed expansion, it would need to add real basketball chops to the new league. Otherwise, the product on the floor -- and broadcast rights for same -- won't come close to matching the rhetoric coming from current and prospective members. Even a 10-team league, adding Xavier and whomever else, won't have enough at the top to consistently place half its members in the Big Dance. More upper-end teams with beneficial RPI/SOS histories will be needed to deliver the expected five to seven NCAA bids per season along with the tourney advancement opportunities needed to pile up revenue units quickly.