Anyone a little worried about the Big East this year?

[80shusky]

You can't ask for more than we've gotten from our team this year but I'm a little worried about the rest of the conference. Creighton looked awful the last two games I saw (no Kalk vs BYU I get that). And some of the other teams have already had some head scratching losses. Who in the BE can we hang our hat on? St John's maybe? Xavier has looked better than their record in some of the games I've seen and Butler might have a shot to make some noise. Can Villanova right the ship? Maybe Marquette and Providence can have strong seasons?

 

[wheelerdog]

Yes

 

[bendm]

we took care of business in the OOC. if we do the same in the BE we'll have no problem getting a #1 seed. Gonzaga used to do it every year in the WCC and a down BE is still stronger than that conference.

 

[navery12]

No. The Big East will get 4-5 teams in even if there's only a few capable of winning a game

 

[Scoe]

Can’t control what other teams do if the other teams big east aren’t doing their job we should run up the score on them.

 

[Scoe]

The big east banned us in 2013 let’s remember that and run up the score on them.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Disappointed? Yes.
Worried? No.

Fortunately, it looks like we're good enough this year that we're not relying on conference performance to buoy our NCAA Tournament standing. Creighton and Villanova have been massive disappointments, but while in prior years that might be the difference between a #4 or a #6 seed, this year it's not going to make a big difference.

 

[shizzle787]

There will be some surprises this year. The OOC has been disappointing compared to last year, but there will be 4-5 tournament teams when all is said and done.

Creighton has been disappointing lately, but I believe they will get better as McDermott will have to develop depth. They will probably be a tournament team.

Villanova has been disappointing as well, but Whitmore is healthy and very good. I'm not sold on Kyle Neptune, but there is enough talent on the roster to be a bubble team.

Xavier is a good team. They have three close losses to three good teams, and they have two solid wins. They will be a 20+ win team and likely make the field.

St. John's to me is an X-factor. They have played a weak OOC schedule but they only have one loss to a good Iowa State team on the road. If they go 12-8 in conference play, they will be a minimum 22-win team heading into Selection Sunday.

Butler is an underrated team. They are 8-3 and got smacked a few times but they don't have a bad loss. If they go 11-9 or better in conference play, I think they have a good chance of making the field.

Marquette has arguably been the second most impressive Big East team. They continue to play difficult schedules, and Shaka Smart is rewarded for it. If they beat ND today, I believe their number to get into the field is 19 wins as long as they don't lose a 6/11 type matchup in the BET.

Providence is an unknown. No bad losses, but no good wins. Time will tell, but Cooley is a really good coach.

Seton Hall has struggled. They have a bad loss to Siena, but they do have a win over Memphis. Their game today against Rutgers is huge for a bid later in the year, but I'm not holding my breath.

DePaul is worse than they were last year. They have one meh loss to Santa Clara and a couple of solid wins, but this is a team that only had one loss going into conference play last year. They are 6-4 (0-1) currently.

Georgetown is bad again. There's really not much to dissect here. It's time for Ewing to be relieved of his duties.

 

[Waquoit]

Nine teams in Ken Pom's Top 71 is pretty good

 

[Kolumbo]

Nah. UConn's a different breed and is going to continue to blaze its own way.

 

[Palatine]

Don't give a damn about the rest of the conference.

 

[Scoe]

Do I hope the big east can do better yes but when has the big East ever cared about us we carried the mantle after the big east raid, now shouldn’t be any different.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Wish it was better, but it doesn’t matter for us.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

If we do what we have to do it doesn't matter what the remainder of the conference does.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Good thread, it’s a conversation not solely based on what UConn is doing but what the conference is doing as a whole.

 

[gtcam]

The NBE is not the BE
Never will be
As long as UConn wins that is all I care about

 

[MJ1]

2 big wins today will help conference net, Marquette over ND at ND and Seton Hall over Rutgers at Rutgers.

 

[HailUConn]

We were in familiar territory. Last time when we worried about the rest of AAC, we won it all!

 

[shizzle787]

We were in familiar territory. Last time when we worried about the rest of AAC, we won it all!

To be fair the last time we worried about the AAC, we left.

 

[willie99]

I can't think of anything about this season worth worrying about

 

[Sole]

The big east should be very grateful uconn joined the big east… we are carrying the conference right now…important year for the bg east with the tv contract expiring in 2025. We need the conference to be good this year…. Probably more important how many people are watching the conference on tv…uconn is a pretty big brand

 

[Waquoit]

I can't think of anything about this season worth worrying about

I'm worried about you Willie. This is a blue collar team with the white collar talent. Are you ready to handle it?

 

[my2cents]

Nobody in the the Big East can match up with our physicality, and then we bring in Clingan. Then I start singing, "Turn off the lights, the party is over".
Nothing to worry about this year.

 

[Zissou]

It’s interesting to see the BY swing from overly pessimistic to unreasonably confident. Conference play has not started yet. Nova is the reigning Big East champ coming off a Final Four with an injured lottery pick that has now started to play (3-0 with Cam). Moore will return in the next month (injured before the Final Four). UConn’s rank is nice. Quality wins potential for Nova.

 

[Rico444]

It’s interesting to see the BY swing from overly pessimistic to unreasonably confident. Conference play has not started yet. Nova is the reigning Big East champ coming off a Final Four with an injured lottery pick that has now started to play (3-0 with Cam). Moore will return in the next month (injured before the Final Four). UConn’s rank is nice. Quality wins potential for Nova.

It's not that interesting. Have you seen us play?

I don't think we're going undefeated in the conference this year, but I think anyone that's watched basketball so far would say UConn is the clear favorite to win the conference, even factoring in Whitmore's return.

 

[Waquoit]

Quality wins potential for Nova.

Unrealized potential

 

[Leebo]

Have you seen us play?

If he thinks it's unreasonable for us to be confident, then the answer is fairly obvious.

 

[BlueMAB]

unreasonably confident.

Please define what we are confident about (you provided no context) and then explain what is unreasonable about it.

 

[Jimdish255]

If you were under the delusion that the Big East is perennially the top conference you might be concerned. But understanding that that's not the case and that we have an excellent team this year drops my level of concern to almost zero. As far as the league goes, I think replacing good coaches is a significant concern. And the increasing ability of the p5 to gain a stranglehold on more sports than just football is a concern. The Big East is very lucky to have us right now

 

[prankster]

There are some talented, well coached teams in the NBE this year.

So far, Villanova is not among the top tier in the NBE, this season. But they could still jump up and surprise some teams.

Hokies knocked off OSU by 5, yesterday (neutral court) We beat them a bit harder than our 10 pt win suggests by the score. Still....

We are a very very good and deep team. But opponents are not going to just turtle when they see the name on the unis.