Other than Providence’s fluky season, they really are about what you might’ve predicted at the start of the year:
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I would’ve had Seton Hall a little higher and Marquette a little lower.
We have five ranked teams in two more who are potential tournaments bubble teams. It is a very solid year for the conference.
Nobody could have foreseen Marquette's success in year one of Shaka with only three (3) returning players. (Over-performed)
Seton Hall's record is somewhat deceptive. They lost several games while being depleted by Covid. Their victories over Texas, at Michigan (I know...talented but bad this year), and vs UConn are nice. (Verdict still out)
Butler. Kudos to Boneyarders who didn't buy into the "lots of seniors and fifth year returnees.". I fell for this, and thought they had a chance to be 6th or 7th in the league. Truth be told, they're just not good, and their coach probably needs to go. (Under-performed my expectations)
Providence. Wow, the power of great team chemistry. Still, in a recent interview Ken Pomeroy stands by his weak ranking of the friars, and believes they will be knocked out of the tournament early. (Over-performed)
Mostly Meeting expectations: UConn, Nova, Xavier, Creighton (slightly better than I thought, however, given the youth...props to Coach McDermott), DePaul, Georgetown. St John's slightly under-performed given Posh and Champagnie. But they had a tremendous amount of turnover.