The New Big East is a really good conference.

[longtimefan]

...And the atlantic coast extends as far west as indiana and western Pennsylvania. Not sure what the point is.

The point is it's a Brave New World, and not necessarily a better one.

 

[HOFCeluck]

The point is it's a Brave New World, and not necessarily a better one.

Oh...Yeah I hear ya.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

That is not true in my opinion. Teams like Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's are better at this point of the year than they normally have been since 2000 (certainly Seton Hall and Providence). Ken Pom Rankings of 25, 29, 52.


Actually there is less "sluff" in this season's Big East --
a) All 3 of the above are at peaks. If those teams were all their "average" level the past 15 years, the conference would suffer.
b) They brought in 3 solid programs in Butler, Xavier and Creighton
c) They were also able to rid themselves of perennial losers in Rutgers and South Florida. Of course Depaul sticks around to stink it up.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/index2.html

As of now, teams with the following projected records entering conference tourney will be in play for a bid on Selection Sunday.
St. John's 20-10
Providence 19-12
Georgetown 17-12
Xavier 20-11

Actually all those teams may have better resumes than a 19-12 Syracuse team, because they will be able to get top 50 wins against each other.

Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's are all looking better because a bunch of teams aren't in their way anymore.

 

[jncuse]

Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's are all looking better because a bunch of teams aren't in their way anymore.

Conference games don't really start until January so that is not really relevant.

Their KP rankings AS OF JANUARY 3, are much higher than they normally are. They are better teams heading into conference play then they are typically.

 

[jncuse]

Nah, don't be fooled. It's crap.

Whether you think they suck or not its a 5-6 bid league. Certainly not top heavy, but that is deep for a 10 team league.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Conference games don't really start until January so that is not really relevant.

Their KP rankings AS OF JANUARY 3, are much higher than they normally are. They are better teams heading into conference play then they are typically.

I'm saying they've improved because their competition thinned out. It's not just about this season.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

You mean unlike today's first 4 ACC games where home teams NC St, Notre Dame won and Duke is winning big. Of course our 2 point win at VT must have proved we are a much better league ref wise.

What might very well happen though is Big East teams, like the ones of old, may beat up on each other not being as top heavy and more evenly matched.

I'm with you. I always check Fox1 to see if there are any Big East games on.

Nova and the Johnnies on Wednesday.

 

[billsin01]

It reminds me of the old Big 5 in Philly, made up of schools for whom basketball is king. Tons of enthusiasm in the student bodies and alums. Well matched Catholic schools with similar resources. Great traditions. Mostly city schools. Hard not to like.

Could not agree more. I like it far more than the ACC. I know people will flip out on that, but I think there is something really cool about schools having some general things in common outside of just an insatiable desire for every dollar they can find. I realize that the new BE schools are probably every bit as money hungry but the fact that they are basically hoops-only tones it down about 19000%.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I think they are just what they have shown - not unlike the majority of good teams this year - capable of beating many very good teams and then losing to some mediocre teams.

The fact they have beaten Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Stanford, Alabama, Missouri, Michigan, VCU, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Temple, Ariz St, Minn, Syracuse, Fla St, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Miami , UNC in their OOC schedules sure wouldn't let me sleep on them if I was an opposing coach or fanbase.

Marquette, Georgetown, Providence and St John's have all beaten different ACC teams. In fact Providence alone has beaten Notre Dame and Miami. Note: Providence lost yesterday in the Big East.

Going from, in my opinion, the best overall basketball conference, the old Big East, to the new Big East still makes them a solid conference. To say they aren't a good conference sure doesn't seem proven by their OOC wins. Their win - loss record will probably deteriorate because they will now play each other.

 

[billsin01]

I understand the following Eastern cities are represented in the league:

Cincinnati
Milwaukee
Chicago
Indianapolis
Omaha

Well, if the ACC is THE premier east coast conference then how does it explain not having any sort of presence in Philly, DC, Baltimore and New York? Last I checked those cities tend to be thought of as east coast. Even BC, which is truly an east coast university, is on a complete island with SU six hours away and then it's next closest 'rival' another, what, 10 hours beyond that (UVA?)?

Regardless, we can throw geography out the window -- b/c god knows the conferences have -- and what you have in the BE is teams that share a ton more in common than the vast majority of the ACC.

 

[Zippy1808]

I know everyone is always going to be looking to get Georgetown and Nova on the non-conference schedule, but we could also be well-served by looking to get in a rotation with the likes of old foes Providence and Seton Hall, plus maybe a Xavier or Butler. We'd sell their tickets. Big East TV rights holder Fox would like the games at their arenas. And they could very well become quality wins too.

 

[TheCusian]

That is not true in my opinion. Teams like Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's are better at this point of the year than they normally have been since 2000 (certainly Seton Hall and Providence). Ken Pom Rankings of 25, 29, 52. Actually there is less "sluff" in this season's Big East -- a) All 3 of the above are at peaks. If those teams were all their "average" level the past 15 years, the conference would suffer. b) They brought in 3 solid programs in Butler, Xavier and Creighton c) They were also able to rid themselves of perennial losers in Rutgers and South Florida. Of course Depaul sticks around to stink it up. http://www.rpiforecast.com/index2.html As of now, teams with the following projected records entering conference tourney will be in play for a bid on Selection Sunday. St. John's 20-10 Providence 19-12 Georgetown 17-12 Xavier 20-11 Actually all those teams may have better resumes than a 19-12 Syracuse team, because they will be able to get top 50 wins against each other.

My projected record is 400-2.

 

[TheCusian]

I know everyone is always going to be looking to get Georgetown and Nova on the non-conference schedule, but we could also be well-served by looking to get in a rotation with the likes of old foes Providence and Seton Hall, plus maybe a Xavier or Butler. We'd sell their tickets. Big East TV rights holder Fox would like the games at their arenas. And they could very well become quality wins too.

And if we had the same refs from the Nova game, they'd all own us.

 

[kirbivore]

MSG has lawyers working around the clock finding a way to escape their contract with the BET

 

[sufandu]

Average Big East Team is certainly better than the ACC.

But the powers of the ACC make it close.

I will tell you this -- it will be easier for a middle of the pick team from the Big East to get in the tourney this year vs one from the ACC,

After Duke, Virginia, Louisville (and maybe include UNC in that group) there is a lack of tourney level teams to play against. So the majority of your quality games end up being against really elite teams. It will be easier for a bubble level team in the Big East to garner top 50 victories this year.

So it's pretty much like the ACC has always been?

 

[Briancuse]

I know everyone is always going to be looking to get Georgetown and Nova on the non-conference schedule, but we could also be well-served by looking to get in a rotation with the likes of old foes Providence and Seton Hall, plus maybe a Xavier or Butler. We'd sell their tickets. Big East TV rights holder Fox would like the games at their arenas. And they could very well become quality wins too.

What does adding prov and seton hall do for us, neither one is a rival, and more often than not, those programs are bad.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

You mean unlike today's first 4 ACC games where home teams NC St, Notre Dame won and Duke is winning big. Of course our 2 point win at VT must have proved we are a much better league ref wise.

What might very well happen though is Big East teams, like the ones of old, may beat up on each other not being as top heavy and more evenly matched.

One more reason to really like the new Big East: Raftery on FOX.

The man could broadcast paint drying and I would tune in.

Listening to Battier was painful the other night.

Raf is always a pleasure.

 

[Shermthegeneral]

MSG has lawyers working around the clock finding a way to escape their contract with the BET

I was just about to post something about how most people on this board were predicting the ACC pushing out the Big East at MSG.
The big east isn't going anywhere and if St. John's continues to be ranked and Seton Hall continues to play well MSG will be sold out this year. Right now they are projected to get seven teams out of 10 into the tournament, that's a pretty solid league.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I was just about to post something about how most people on this board were predicting the ACC pushing out the Big East at MSG.
The big east isn't going anywhere and if St. John's continues to be ranked and Seton Hall continues to play well MSG will be sold out this year. Right now they are projected to get seven teams out of 10 into the tournament, that's a pretty solid league.

St. Johns has lost three in a row and is a Senior laden team. If they dont due something this year they will be lucky to make the NIT next year.

 

[Shermthegeneral]

St. Johns has lost three in a row and is a Senior laden team. If they dont due something this year they will be lucky to make the NIT next year.

They lost to two top 10 teams and two very solid teams in Seton Hall and Butler but I wasn't really arguing whether St. John's is good or bad. I'm simply saying that if St. John's continues to be ranked and the league continues to do well and have a few ranked teams in it that the garden Will be packed for the big east tournament.