Big East Conference: Tournament for all!

With the new vamped style that the Big East conference has put into effect starting this year that will include all 16 teams in the conference tournament in a couple of weeks, it is so tough to figure out what teams will and which ones will be left out of the big dance come mid March. The outlook of the conference has certainly changed from the beginning of the year as now teams like Providence and Cincinnati are in talks for at large bids and others like Georgetown and Notre Dame have basically been forgotten about. But nothing is over until it is over. All teams including 0-16 DePaul have the opportunity to get into the NCAA tournament with a conference title. What teams are truly on the bubble, safely in, and can pack their bags for home in the what has been said to be the toughest conference in Division I basketball?

Safely In:

It is obvious what teams in the Big East we can count on seeing in the big dance. Pitt is safe as well as UCONN, Louisville and Marquette. Those four are going to be my top 4 seeds, not in that order, for the conference tournament. All four, even if they get knocked out early, will all be in the NCAA tourney. After these teams are set, it is tough to say where the others will fall into place. But there are a few schools that in my eyes have already solidified a spot.

Villinova
Nova has proven to be a confident team that can play with any of those 4 I listed above. Yeah, they did get beat recently by West Virginia who ranks about middle of the pack but they have also beaten a lot of other teams who at the time, were ranked pretty high. They were able to sneak by Marquette which is a big win and also not as big but still a competitive Georgetown. What scares me about this team is that yeah they have taken a lot of teams to the wood shed but in some cases, they let teams that they should blow out hang with them. DePaul hung with them and they snuck away with a win 74-72. It is tough to say. They will not make it into the top 4 but have a good shot at a decent run in the Big East tourney and definite in NCAA birth.

Syracuse
Despite me being a huge Orange fan, this is not a homer pick. SU has played mediocre basketball down the stretch. They have dropped every game they have played against teams ranked higher than them in the Big East. Nova has beat them twice. Louisville, Pitt and UCONN have all gotten the best of the Orange. But this team wins games that they should. St. John's was a blow out. Cincinnati looked like a Division II school for most of the game. They have won 21 games this season so far with their only out of conference loss courtesy of Cleveland State who should get a bid to the dance. Syracuse may look like a middle of the road team, but with their schedule remaining, I see them at the very least the 5 or 6 seed in the Big East showdown.

Providence
This is probably the first time that I have ever written about this team before. At the beginning of the season, if you had told me Providence would be in contention for the NCAA's, I would have probably laughed. But this team is the real deal. Beating teams like Pitt and Syracuse makes their story look glorious. If anyone beats Pitt this year, consider yourself a contender especially when they were the #1 ranked team in the nation. Do I think they will win the Big Easy, absolutely not. But 8 teams have to get into the NCAA tourney therefore, Providence, you are in.

On the Bubble:

West Virginia
It is tough to say with this team. They have played some very good basketball this season. But their lack of ability to shut teams out and to hang with teams late in games really scares me. But this team has not really lost to any teams that I would consider a bad loss. Louisvillem Syracuse, UCONN, these are all respectable losses. But only beating Cincinnati by 4. They are winning the games they should be winning but they are not blowing teams out of the water which could cost them.

Cincinnati
After watching them play this weekend, I will confidently say that this team needs help. They did not show up to play Sunday against SU. They have struggled late into this season and if the trend continues, things are not looking good. Right now, Cincinnati sits 9th in the Big East. 9 teams I do not think will get into the dance. It could happen but the selection committee is not going to be impressed by the way the Bearcats have been playing lately.

Pack Your Bags

Notre Dame
Harengody could possibly still win player of the year for the conference with his team not making the NCAA tournament but his team has been just hard to watch. Talk about a team falling apart. I guess that is what you get when your team is supplied points by two players, one from downtown and the other from the paint. A conference title is really their last hope.

Georgetown
Another team that has disappointed a lot of fans this year. Greg Monroe can out of the gate this year like he was in contention for player of the year but then the team forgot that the object of the game is to put the ball in the hoop. As I said, a conference tournament title or bust. Same goes for the rest of the bottom dwellers of the conference.

And just for kickers, I think that this whole lets have all 16 teams play in this tournament is complete crap. The top 4 seeds get double byes with the next 4 getting a single bye. Who wants to watch the first round of DePaul vs. St. John's? And then have a team like South Florida get on a run and beat a team like Marquette (oh right, that actually happened already) and then be a spoiler. Do you really want to watch South Florida play in the quarterfinal round or even possibly the semis? No. No one does. It is a way to make more money for the conference and that is all. Just thought I would voice my disgust with the conference. Any thoughts? Leave me a comment and I will answer.