So, Uh, Who’s the Team to Beat in the Big East?
College Basketball January 5th. 2009, 5:15pm
Now that mighty North Carolina has fallen, the door is wide open from a team from the BEST CONFERENCE IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL CONFERENCES to swoop in and collect that coveted “team to beat” honor.
Pittsburgh: 14-0. A win over young Georgetown – a convincing one – on the road, but still largely untested.
Connecticut: 12-1. Probably has the most talented starting five in the league; so they’re like the Chargers or Cowboys that way.
Georgetown: 10-2. Lost to Tennessee, beat Maryland, beat Memphis, beat Connecticut, lost to Pitt. Could be up-and-down all year due to youth. Next year: Scary.
Syracuse: 14-1. Freak loss to Cleveland State aside, Boeheim’s beaten Kansas, Memphis and Florida, all of which are teeming with potential, but none of which are ranked.
Notre Dame: 10-3. Just lost at St. John’s. These guys are way too in love with the three-pointer. Smells like a 2nd round NCAA loss, right? Host the Hoyas tonight, and we’re predicting a victory.
Louisville: 9-3. This is just a joke. The media just really loves Rick Pitino, which is why everyone was on the Cards’ in the preseason. Needing a 30-footer to beat Kentucky? Prepare for a bevy of “Louisville is working out the kinks now, and by March, it’ll be ready!”
21 Responses to “So, Uh, Who’s the Team to Beat in the Big East?”
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January 5th, 2009 at 5:20 PM
I’m glad to see Elton Brand decided to return to school to get his degree.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:22 PM
UConn.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Pittsburgh I guess.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Georgetown won’t be so scary next year when Greg Monroe jumps to the league
January 5th, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Ummmm, who cares?
January 5th, 2009 at 5:32 PM
As the resident Big East apologist, it’s Pitt and it’s not close. DaJuan Blair is probably the best big man in the conference (yes including Thabeet) and Sam Young might be the best scorer in the league. Put those with a tested pg (Fields) another nice Big man (Biggs) and some great role players with Brown and now Wannamaker stepping up it’s just a well rounded team. Also they have the best defense in the league by far.
The one issue with them is when they face teams that pack it in, will they be able to score from the outside consistently. But that should be cancelled out by their defense keeping them in games.
We’ll see how Pitt plays tonight in a hostile environment against a bunch of great shooters. But even if they lose tonight I think they win the league.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:33 PM
Still liking UConn, just wait
January 5th, 2009 at 5:33 PM
whoops thought pitt was playing ND tonight.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:40 PM
monroe to the league after one season? really? they’d be even stronger if the 2 kids Rivers and Macklin hadn’t transferred. macklin’s loss has killed them inside. mack and monroe next to each other would be tough inside.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:49 PM
I had completely forgotten that Pitt had Sam Young. Fields is outstanding in his role, and Blair is All-Conference. They might be a one seed.
As for Louisville – from a personnel/talent standpoint, this is team that best matches what Pitino tries to do. But they make SO many mental errors *coughSOSAcough* and take a ton of bad shots. They’ll come around eventually.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:49 PM
As a UCONN fan it kills me to write it, but you’re right. Pitt will flat out lock people down on defense, and they’ll score and rebound enough to keep most of the top 25 at bay.
Huskies are overrated — Thabeet is an enigma. Outside scoring is inconsistent, and Price, while great, can disappear in the clutch.
I like Syracuse a lot, too, but Pitt is the class of this league and should be considered one of the handful that can win it all. I wouldn’t put this UCONN team in that same group.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:51 PM
guys – just a reminder: Pitt seems to do this every year. they have a good PG and a nice inside player and ride defense to a BE title game … and then fall short of the f4. the road block usually is offense … and MAYBE this year is different because Sam Young is their go-to guy, and the bench can provide some pop (looked good vs. gtown)
let’s just not go way overboard on pitt because it beat a young Gtown team.
i’ll wait for the game with conn.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:53 PM
Also – boy I never get sick of people blowing smoke up UCONN’s ass. Loaded with talent, with the mental discipline of a six year old girl watching four episodes of “Powerpuff Girls” at the same time. Just like the team that lost to George Mason, they think they can turn it on at any time. I can’t wait til they get beat by someone like VCU in the 2nd round.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:54 PM
And then, what, get bounced in the Sweet 16 again?
January 5th, 2009 at 5:58 PM
USC
January 5th, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Nick Holt switches from USC DC to UW DC/Assistant Head coach.
http://gohuskies.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010509aaa.html
/pumped
January 5th, 2009 at 6:01 PM
Saw that cassino. Carroll has got to be slightly pissed.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:06 PM
I thought the question was Best Team in the Big East? Pitt is the best team in league play because their D keeps them in it for a grueling 18 game stretch. If we’re talking about best NCAA tourney team I think that opens it up to everyone again. If it’s best tourney team I go in this order.
UConn (Most talent and Calhoun has done it before)
Pitt
Georgetown/Syracuse tie (Gtown is very efficent and can dictate play, and SU’s zone can give guys fits and they can score)
ND (Great shooters for a run)
West Virginia (Funky defense and they are getting better)
Marquette
Nova
Louisville
January 5th, 2009 at 6:12 PM
Pitt has wins over 5 likely tournament teams — Miami, Vermont, Siena, Florida State and Georgetown.
Don’t understand making predictions about a team based on past tournament performance. Reminds me of everyone bashing Arizona because Lute Olson had that rough stretch of first round games. Could say similar things about Boeheim. Yet both have rings …
January 5th, 2009 at 6:24 PM
TBL check this out: Draft Watch
Monroe is currently #4 on Chad Ford’s big board
January 5th, 2009 at 9:02 PM
Nice win by ND tonight… I continue to wait… and wonder… Will a Mike Brey team every be able to step on a team’s throat in the final minutes. Georgetown was completely outplayed tonight but ND always makes its fans blood pressure rise by blowing leads late in the game.
It also didnt’ help that with Gody’s foul situation, Georgetown was playing ND 5 on 4 for the last 15 minutes of the game.
Damn the Big East is brutal this year.