Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Big East: Overrated? Well, Maybe a little
I’ve made some comments about the Big East being overrated nationally this year. And while, yes, the conference was very deep and 8 teams ended up in the tournament despite beating up each other, the quality OOC victories for the BE this year are very sparse.
Here is a list of the Top Ten (imo) the Big East’s OOC Wins:
Pitt @ Duke
Marquette @ Wisc
UConn @ Indiana
ND over KSU (N)
Prov over Arkansas
LV @ Kentucky
Pitt @ Ok St
Cuse over St Joe’s
USF over FSU
Nova over LSU
I mean, look at that list. OK, the first two were big victories, the next 3 were solid wins over quality tournament teams, and the next one only gained prominence b/c Kentucky eventually turned its season around. But the rest? That was really the best I could come up with; seriously. You could make a case that some losing efforts (Marquette vs. Duke, WVA vs. Tenn., Upon vs. Memphis) were better that half the wins on this list. Note how 3 of the victories came from teams not in the tournament.
Also, note how many times Georgetown, the consensus ‘Best team in the BE’ and #2 seed, appears on the list. Um, ZERO. Can you name GT’s best OOC win this year? They don’t have one. Look in it up. American? William & Mary? Throw in a game where GT got killed (don’t let the final score fool you; GT was destroyed in this game and couldn’t keep up) and it’s safe to say that GT beat no one outside the BE all year. Is this a bad thing? Not neccessiary, but it doesn’t make them (or anyone else in the BE) look good. On Saturday, I was thinking GT might have an outside shot at a 1 seed; in retrospect, after reviewing their schedule, they would have been one of the worst 1 seeds of all-time.
So I’m not saying that the Big East CAN’T beat anyone nationally this year. It’s just that they haven’t, and for a conference with 8 tournament, that’s a bit of of a rarity. I hope it doesn’t bite them in the ass this week; and while I don’t think it will b/c of the talent of some of the teams, it’s not a stretch to say that they may be a touch overrated.
Here is a list of the Top Ten (imo) the Big East’s OOC Wins:
Pitt @ Duke
Marquette @ Wisc
UConn @ Indiana
ND over KSU (N)
Prov over Arkansas
LV @ Kentucky
Pitt @ Ok St
Cuse over St Joe’s
USF over FSU
Nova over LSU
I mean, look at that list. OK, the first two were big victories, the next 3 were solid wins over quality tournament teams, and the next one only gained prominence b/c Kentucky eventually turned its season around. But the rest? That was really the best I could come up with; seriously. You could make a case that some losing efforts (Marquette vs. Duke, WVA vs. Tenn., Upon vs. Memphis) were better that half the wins on this list. Note how 3 of the victories came from teams not in the tournament.
Also, note how many times Georgetown, the consensus ‘Best team in the BE’ and #2 seed, appears on the list. Um, ZERO. Can you name GT’s best OOC win this year? They don’t have one. Look in it up. American? William & Mary? Throw in a game where GT got killed (don’t let the final score fool you; GT was destroyed in this game and couldn’t keep up) and it’s safe to say that GT beat no one outside the BE all year. Is this a bad thing? Not neccessiary, but it doesn’t make them (or anyone else in the BE) look good. On Saturday, I was thinking GT might have an outside shot at a 1 seed; in retrospect, after reviewing their schedule, they would have been one of the worst 1 seeds of all-time.
So I’m not saying that the Big East CAN’T beat anyone nationally this year. It’s just that they haven’t, and for a conference with 8 tournament, that’s a bit of of a rarity. I hope it doesn’t bite them in the ass this week; and while I don’t think it will b/c of the talent of some of the teams, it’s not a stretch to say that they may be a touch overrated.
Labels: Big East, College Basketball
# posted by Bryan
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Did you ever think that the Big East teams cant afford to schedule tougher OOC games bc they know the battle they will have to face with their tournament schedule. Look at Cuse this and last year(Look up their stats this year compared to Kentucky and Oregon), people claim if they won one more game they probably would have made it. Cant afford to waste wins when you can get them. Look at how many teams the Big East has with 2-5 seeds. Thats tough enough without scheduling other top teams. Memphis and those schools need OOC games or they wouldnt be respected with their weak conference schedules and would get lower seeds.
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# posted by 
: 11:59 AM
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