Let's put our hands together for the Big East

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SelectionSunday

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The "far & away best conference in the country" (at least that's what ESPN has been telling us for 2 years running) is a paltry 9-9, and the only two teams that advanced to the Sweet 16 (Marquette & UConn) needed to play fellow Big East members (Syracuse & Cincy) just to get there.

Six Big East teams failed to play to their seed (Georgetown -1, Louisville -2, Notre Dame -2, Pitt -3, St. John's -1 & Syracuse -1). Five were seeded to reach the Sweet 16 but of those only UConn made it. So far Big East teams have played to 8 games below their projected seeds. To this point only one (Marquette is +2 & still going) has played above its seed. UConn can as well if it beats San Diego State.

Kudos to the ACC, 7-1 in the tournament so far with three teams in the Sweet 16, including one (Florida State) not even seeded to get past the 2nd (formerly 1st) round.

Put it this way. The ACC and the Big Ten (7-5) only have two less wins than the Big East, and they received 7 and 4 less bids, respectively.

Of the conferences that received multiple bids, to this point in the tournament here's the +/- in terms of teams playing to their seed. For #1 seeds, I'm only projecting out to the Final Four (i.e Pitt was expected to win 4 games), not through it. Also, 1st round games (play-ins) are excluded.

ACC (7-1) +2
Colonial (4-2) +2
Atlantic 10 (3-2) +1
Pac 10 (4-3) +1
Big Ten (7-5) even
Conference USA (0-2) even
Mountain West (4-1) -1
SEC (4-3) -1
Big 12 (4-4) -2
Big East (9-9) -8

As Chuck Barkley said last night in studio (I think the NBA guys have been a great addition to the NCAA's TV coverage) with Rick Pitino sitting right next to him, it's the "Itty Bitty East"

I suspect Slick Rick doesn't like hearing what Chuck has to say, and Barkley has been saying the Big East is overrated since before the tournament started. I'm guessing college coaches like Pitino aren't accustomed to anything other than Dick Vitale-speak, kissing their fannies at every turn.
 

Barkely and Kenny Smith have been absolutely refreshing in studio. Not afraid to ask questions or tackle issues. On more than a few occasions, Pitino looked really uncomfortable. I think if Pitino could do it over, he would not have joined the crew. But it was fun to watch!
 

Oh, but Hodger, there are so many other factors that play into the quality of a conference than NCAA performance. Come on, those powerful media hyped teams in Big Least beat up on each other so much in the regular season and their conference tournament, they can't be expected to get motivated for such inferior competition as Gonzaga and Morehead State.

Sorry, no sympathy for them. The Big Ten gets trashed by those same guys that hype the East for not performing in the post season. I didn't see a lot of the commentary on the weekend, but I also did not hear anything about the Least underperforming.

Agreed, the NBA guys have done well. They don't come to thet table with the agendas that folks covering the college game full-time do.
 

Did anyone else have Marquette it the Sweet 16 besides me?

...I also have them beating UNC to make it to the Elite 8
 

Well said, Selection Sunday. If a conference is going to receive that kind of hype all year long, it had better justify it on the big stage. And let's face it - the Big East hasn't done anything close to justifying the hype. Notre Dame being blown out by Florida State. Louisville showing up about 10 minutes late for Morehead State and then losing late. St. John's rolling over to a team that lost to BYU by 20+. And don't forget about Pitt...while you can't really rip them for losing a close one to Butler, you can rip them for not making it to the Sweet 16 as the top seed in what everyone called the weakest region in the field. There's a chance that a Big East team won't make the Final Four...or even the Elite Eight.

The Big 12 looks rippable too. Only Kansas still alive...and Texas, K State, Missouri and Texas A&M all suffering tough losses in the first week. Not exactly in keeping with what we were seeing/hearing about them a month or two ago.

That said, I think the Power Six conferences (maybe excluding the ACC) are all looking a bit tough. You can always plan on some mid-majors making a run, but this year there are five in the Sweet 16 (VCU, BYU, SDSU, Butler and Richmond). Seems to me like that's more than normal, and probably at least 2-3 spots the Power Six would normally occupy.
 


Some have the said the Big East got unlucky having to play itself in the 2nd round. I would argue the opposite. Look at their wins in the tournament against teams not in their conference. Clemson (12 seed), a 16 seed, a 15 seed, 2 14 seeds, Xavier (6), and Missouri (11). So their marquee wins are against Xavier, Missouri, and Clemson. Not super impressive. To me it seems like they got lucky to play each other. With how Cuse played last night they would not have beaten many other teams in the round of 32
 

UST82Gopher said:
Barkely and Kenny Smith have been absolutely refreshing in studio. Not afraid to ask questions or tackle issues. On more than a few occasions, Pitino looked really uncomfortable. I think if Pitino could do it over, he would not have joined the crew. But it was fun to watch!
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Barkley is half genius, half idiot, but he is refreshing and fun. You know he's not going to be a mouthpiece for anybody, he just is going to say whatever he thinks. Pitino should have brought up Barkley's itty bitty golf swing. :)
 

bga1 said:
Pitino should have brought up Barkley's itty bitty golf swing. :)
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Or that he spat on a little girl during a game (he was aiming for a heckler but missed, being the nice guy that he is), or that he defenestrated a guy (I think this one was at a celebrity golf tourney).

He was the biggest @sshole in the NBA, and should be stroking Dennis Rodman's coin-purse for taking over the league lead in @ssholiness.

I've never had any respect for him. He's kind of like some old hooker who just stays around so long the locals just get used to her. "Oh...that's just old miss Charles, she caused quite a stir back before you were born, son."
 

I had marquette in the 16 but I also had Pitt going much further, I guess I bought into the hype myself. But not sad to see Notre Dame and Cuse going down, has made the tourny fun again.
 



Fortunately, I miss out on a lot of the talking heads and their slobberfest towards the Big East; however, I am able to listen to Mike & Mike in the Morning and today Doug Gottlieb was on the show and was trying to defend ESPN's coverage of the Big East. He was saying things along the lines of "the Big East was the deepest conference" and "he only had one team from the Big East that he saw making it to the Final Four (UConn, who are still in it)". Overall, he was extremely defensive about the Big East though and I thought he/ESPN must have been pimping them all season the way he was on his heels.
 

Chuck was far from the biggest a-hole in the NBA, but he definitely up there and was quite a piece of work. That said, his work along with Kenny in the studio is definitely a breath of fresh air for college commentating. He's literally the first guy I've ever heard rip on the Big East, and no less, does it right in front of Pitino lol, awesome. And then he ends up being proven right. Just like when they were ripping on analyst who were taking VCU and UAB to task for getting into the tourney.

It has gotten a tad ridiculous all the Big East love that they get, but let's be honest, the East coast bias is basically in full effect when that occurs. When the biggest sports television entity (ESPN) is housed right in the middle of Big East country, it surprises me little that they would get over hyped. I had Pitt in my Final Four, but mainly cause I underestimated Butler. Shoulda known better.
 

I'm pretty sure Barkly said the Big East has the best coaches and not the best talent. Should I be surprised that part was left out of this thread?
 

It has gotten a tad ridiculous all the Big East love that they get, but let's be honest, the East coast bias is basically in full effect when that occurs. When the biggest sports television entity (ESPN) is housed right in the middle of Big East country, it surprises me little that they would get over hyped. I had Pitt in my Final Four, but mainly cause I underestimated Butler. Shoulda known better.[/QUOTE]

ESPN probably wasn't very excited about the Big Ten network either. Having the Big East on ESPN every other game creates some of the overhype. Dicky V's love for Duke is the only balance ESPN has.
 



monk10 said:
I'm pretty sure Barkly said the Big East has the best coaches and not the best talent. Should I be surprised that part was left out of this thread?
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He did indeed note that, which was a nod to Pitino, and really, they do have great coaches. But he still called it like it is, the Big East was over hyped and wouldn't make a lot of noise in the tourney and that's pretty much how it played out. Not sure what you mean by being surprised it was left out of the thread?
 

Gotlieb (sp.) was defensive and honest in my mind with his comments on the radio this morning. Admitted a bias based on espn's location. Noted that the conferecene's 11th place team is still in the tournament. He also some of the conference's early season big victories (ND over Wisconsin, UCONN over Texas, St. Joseph's over Duke).

I feel better about the chances of the remaining two teams both advancing to the elite 8 than I do about the BigTen's two. Although I like OSU way better than either of the Big East Teams. Taylor is playing terrible and it will cost the Badgers.
 

Barkley is an idiot that knows little about college basketball.

The Big East was the best conference in college basketball this year.

I did have Marquette going to the Elite Eight (but, that is about the only thing I got right in my bracket... had them beating Washington in the Sweet 16.. also had Pittsburgh winning the national championship).

PS - sorry to those Big Ten lovers that had to suffer through the Marquette / Syrcause game... must be tough to keep up with a game that has more than 45 possessions and 70 combined points.
 

"The Big East was the best conference in college basketball this year."

There's certainly a strong argument for that as far as regular-season performance goes, but the Big East certainly hasn't proven it in the postseason, which is when teams/conferences truly get judged. That's not always fair, but it's the way it is, just as in football conferences are judged by how they perform during bowl season.

The truth is, after the Big Ten the Big East is the conference I most enjoy following/watching. I'm just sick of hearing the last 3 seasons how great the Big East is and then by & large watching its teams flop in the NCAAs despite favorable (but earned) seeds. There are several excellent college basketball conferences. ... the Big East is simply one of 'em. ESPN, specifically, needs to be reminded about that once in a while.
 

Decent teams in the Big East, no great teams. Top teams in the Big Ten were probably better.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
Barkley is an idiot that knows little about college basketball.

The Big East was the best conference in college basketball this year.

I did have Marquette going to the Elite Eight (but, that is about the only thing I got right in my bracket... had them beating Washington in the Sweet 16.. also had Pittsburgh winning the national championship).

PS - sorry to those Big Ten lovers that had to suffer through the Marquette / Syrcause game... must be tough to keep up with a game that has more than 45 possessions and 70 combined points.
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Interesting game to brag about he point total. Marquette was out-scored by 4 of the 5 Big Ten teams in round 2. So our slow, boring offenses must have been doing something right. It was hard to suffer through those two teams combining for over 30 turnovers.

Again give the Big Ten 5 more teams and an even more unbalanced schedule like the Big East and they look as good if not better than the Big East. The Big East was overrated this year and they undoubtedly underperformed in the tourney.
 

Silvio said:
Gotlieb (sp.) was defensive and honest in my mind with his comments on the radio this morning. Admitted a bias based on espn's location. Noted that the conferecene's 11th place team is still in the tournament. He also some of the conference's early season big victories (ND over Wisconsin, UCONN over Texas, St. Joseph's over Duke).
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You mean to tell me that out of the entire Big East non-con slate, Gottlieb was able to hand select several quality wins? Let's continue with that game, with a twist: Tennessee over Pitt and Nova, Kentucky over ND and Louisville. Therefore, SEC > Big East, right Gottlieb? Those results obviously don't mean the Big East is worse than the SEC. But the "look at this list of several quality non-con wins" approach is malleable and a really weak argument.

And I can't really understand the "Big East is the deepest conference" argument. Shouldn't it be the "deepest" conference, considering it has more teams than any other conference? What sort of twisted logic wouldn't expect a pool of 16 teams to have more potential good teams than a pool of 10-12 teams? For the same reason, the Big East has more lousy teams than other power conferences. It works both ways.

This year, the Big East sent 69% of its conference to the big dance. The Big Ten sent 64%. (And both had 18% truly bad teams. Indiana and Iowa in the Big Ten, and DePaul, USF, and Providence in the Big East). Not a huge difference, and not one that warrants the degree of difference in the coverage of the conferences. ESPN makes it seem like it's the Big East and everybody else. That's simply not the case, and this year's NCAA Tournament is just providing more evidence to that fact.
 

Got a laugh from Sir Charles last night when on the set they were talking about bringing back John Adams for a rules Q, and Charles says: "The heck with John Adams, I want a Sam Adams, let's get this over with."
 


ESPN is firmly in bed with the SEC, ACC and Big East. The Big 10 and Pac 10 will just have to learn to ignore/deal with it to some degree. They can dry their tears with dollars from the BTN and Fox Sports.
 

SelectionSunday said:
"The Big East was the best conference in college basketball this year."

There's certainly a strong argument for that as far as regular-season performance goes, but the Big East certainly hasn't proven it in the postseason, which is when teams/conferences truly get judged. That's not always fair, but it's the way it is, just as in football conferences are judged by how they perform during bowl season.
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Can't agree that the postseason is the only time conferences truly get judged (by most basketball people) and I think football is quite a different animal.

But, one of my issues here is that people act like everyone has been slobbering over the Big East all year, when factually that couldn't be further from the truth. The consensus pick as the best conference coming into this season was the Big Ten. The Big East was most often pegged as the third best conference. The Big Ten performed below expectations this season.

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Yahoo/Rivals
Big Ten #1
Big East #3
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-hooppower092110

Jason King said:
the Big Ten was the easy choice for my 2010-11 preseason conference power rankings......
Outlook: Three different Big East teams (Villanova, Connecticut and West Virginia) have advanced to the Final Four the past two seasons. But no one would be surprised if the conference didn’t have a representative there in 2011. Too many programs were hit hard by graduation and early NBA draft defections.
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Big East Loving ESPN
Big Ten #1
Big East #4

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/preview2010/news/story?id=5782969

1. Big Ten: Even with the Robbie Hummel injury, Purdue is still a top-15 team, and the Big Ten is still the deepest, toughest conference in the country.

4. Big East: This conference still has a handful of formidable teams, but the days of its reign as the top league in the country are, for the moment, over.
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CNNSI
Big Ten #1
Big East #3

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_glockner/10/21/conference.rankings/index.html

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CBS Sports
Big Ten #1
Big East #3

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/14205968/college-basketball-season-preview

Here's a look at the nation's best conference (the Big Ten)
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You are correct in saying that generally spreaking the Big Ten was viewed as the #1 conference heading into the season, and I won't argue that the Big Ten (to this point) has fallen a little short of that. But with all due respect, you have your Big East/Marquette head buried in the sand if you've been watching ESPN all season and you fail to see that they've gone overboard (ad nauseum) in their pimping of the Big East. There are college basketball fans who want balance out of those who cover the sport(s) they follow. I don't think balance will ever be a strength of ESPN with regards to college basketball, certainly not while Dukie V remains their face & voice of college basketball.
 

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