Big East January '26 Thread - Take Two | Page 14 | The Boneyard

Big East January '26 Thread - Take Two

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shizzle787 said:
Creighton stinks.

It's up to either Seton Hall or Butler to get the league a fourth bid.
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Yeah, draw a line through them. I don't feel great about that fourth team, other than the fact someone has to get in.

Getting schelacked in a trap game is never what you want before a visit.
 
St. John's is going to be tough as hell. We need to take one of the regular season games off them and only drop one other regular season game.

They're a much different team than they were earlier in the season. Dillon Mitchell moving to the starting lineup changed everything for them and they make threes now.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
Do people understand that the other bubble teams are not all going to win 70% of their remaining games?

20 wins probably gets Butler a bid, 21 wins very likely gets Butler a bid.
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21 wins means they need to run the table against the rest of the schedule minus UConn and @ Nova (highest probability losses). 20 wins gives them slack to lose another (probably Seton Hall or Creighton)

I don’t see it
 
StJ is going to be a test. A good one, as will be a chance to see how good this team is and if this is a Jan swoon, or not. Jonnies handed Butler a new one at MSG. They'll be going in cresting. Shot the ball really well. They're going to be ready.
 
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REB1094 said:
21 wins means they need to run the table against the rest of the schedule minus UConn and @ Nova (highest probability losses). 20 wins gives them slack to lose another (probably Seton Hall or Creighton)

I don’t see it
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If they don't win 20, it is a moot point.

Texas, LSU, USC and Cal had tough losses today, and Wisconsin is down big at home against Minnesota at halftime. UCLA has a must win game tonight.

Most years the bubble is not a case of who deserves to make it, it is a case of who is the least deserving of not being denied a bid.
 
RuffRuff said:
StJ is going to be a test. A good one, as will be a chance to see how good this team is and if this is a Jan swoon, or not. Jonnies handed Butler a new one at MSG. They'll be going in cresting. Shot the ball really well. They're going to be ready.
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They'll be on fire the rest of the season, maybe even win the BET, cost the Big East bubble teams at least one additional bid, then lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to a power conference 6-seed or 7-seed like NC State, Iowa or Auburn. It's who they are. Most predictable thing ever.
 
TyroneShoo said:
Eyeball test so far…Providence has significant talent. They seem to refuse to defend without fouling at needless moments.
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LOL "mucking it up" (crashing into opponents to break up good screening etc.) does have its limitations as a defensive scheme. That is for hockey teams; not basketball.
 
jibsey said:
In case no one has noticed St. John’s has been beating teams in the BE rather easily compared to us. Some concern as I don’t like them or their coach.
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I’d be more concerned if it wasn’t for their one lost being to the last place team at home.
 
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People are more concerned about playing StJ now that they blew out Butler? We blew them out at home too
 
Does anyone have the stats on St. John’s defensive rating?
 
Tyler2Rings said:
People are more concerned about playing StJ now that they blew out Butler? We blew them out at home too
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St johns has gotten better, we have not. Will need to play better or some losses are on the horizon. Very little margin of error to capture the 1 seed path.
 
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Fan1978 said:
St johns has gotten better, we have not. Will need to play better or some losses are on the horizon. Very little margin of error to capture the 1 seed path.
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And they have a good roster, and coach. It was always going to take time for Pitino to pull this group together.
 
Fan1978 said:
St johns has gotten better, we have not. Will need to play better or some losses are on the horizon. Very little margin of error to capture the 1 seed path.
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They were down 15 to Seton Hall at home 2 games ago. They’ve gotten better because their low point was losing to Providence at home.

That’s not to say we don’t need to be on point heading into the game, but that’s not the reason why.
 
I get that Matta does not have the budget that other schools have, but Ajayi and Bizjack could not have been cheap. Why does he go for so many unathletic players? Bizjack is a perfect example. He has major "game". He has moves on top of moves, and can do them in succession without hesitation. He has tremendous court vision and can get his shot off quickly and accurately, and he does really well against the weaker teams on the schedule. But he is so slow that as soon as he runs up against a top tier athlete, he is pretty easy to shut down.

I think you could hide his lack of athleticism if he was surrounded by top athletes, but Ajayi is pretty athletic, and then it is a bunch of meh. Decent players, but no blazers, which means good teams can D up aggressively. I do think Jackson's injury was a HUGE loss because he was quick and could have forced more help and gotten Bizjack more space.

This has been a problem for Matta every year at Butler. The lack of athleticism also shows up in the KenPom DRtg, which is pretty bad at 95. It was 76 in 2024 and 169 last year. This issue makes them more upsettable than more athletic teams, and results in just enough losses to keep them out of the tournament. The 2024 Butler team was decent, but they had the same issue and they ended up not getting a bid. They were 16-8 in early February 2024, but lost 6 of their last 8, including very winnable games to Villanova, Seton Hall and Xavier, and didn't make the dance.

This year's Butler could win a play in game if they get a bid, but I don't see them getting past that.
 
Fan1978 said:
No point, he will be at st johns within 2 years
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Why? This isn’t a situation where Pitino should be able to hand pick his successor after only 3 or 4 seasons. SJU has money to spend I hope they can go bigger and better than Pitino Jr.
 
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REB1094 said:
St Johns caught fire from 3 and is smoking Butler at halftime

Butler needs this win. They have very limited opportunities for impressive wins after this one
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bendm said:
Why? This isn’t a situation where Pitino should be able to hand pick his successor after only 3 or 4 seasons. SJU has money to spend I hope they can go bigger and better than Pitino Jr.
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I am sure rick has it spelled out in his deal with repole. Do you even where st johns was 3 years ago. His son will be next coach, no doubt
 
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Fan1978 said:
I am sure rick has it spelled out in his deal with repole. Do you even where st johns was 3 years ago. His son will be next coach, no doubt
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Quite the theory. why would Repole be beholden to Pitino after he’s retired? Pitino wanted a shot at redemption as much as SJU wanted to be relevant. If anyone’s calling the shots it’s the guy with the money so Use the money to get a better coach than Pitino Jr.
 
Last edited:
jibsey said:
Does anyone have the stats on St. John’s defensive rating?
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Some additional stats...

St. John's
95th
FG% (46.9)
89th
3P% (35.8)
42nd
Pts (1793)
70th
Reb (35.0)

UConn
46th
FG% (48.2)
114th
3P% (35.3)
143rd
Pts (1653)
110th
Reb (33.8)
 
SwingDog said:
Some additional stats...

St. John's
95th
FG% (46.9)
89th
3P% (35.8)
42nd
Pts (1793)
70th
Reb (35.0)

UConn
46th
FG% (48.2)
114th
3P% (35.3)
143rd
Pts (1653)
110th
Reb (33.8)
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Sure looks like we are DOOMED!!!!!
 
bendm said:
Quite the theory. why would Repole be beholden to Pitino after he’s retired? Pitino wanted a shot at redemption as much as SJU wanted to be relevant. If anyone’s calling the shots it’s the guy with the money so Use the money to get a better coach than Pitino Jr.
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Time will tell, last good coach was carniseca. Not a great job. No big names clamoring for st johns job. It will be young pitino
 
SwingDog said:
Some additional stats...

St. John's
95th
FG% (46.9)
89th
3P% (35.8)
42nd
Pts (1793)
70th
Reb (35.0)

UConn
46th
FG% (48.2)
114th
3P% (35.3)
143rd
Pts (1653)
110th
Reb (33.8)
Expand ...
The 114th on 3’s has to change if we are to be great.
 
Fan1978 said:
Time will tell, last good coach was carniseca. Not a great job. No big names clamoring for st johns job. It will be young pitino
Expand ...
Open up the checkbook for Shaheen. He’d kill it in nyc.
 
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