Mighty Big East = No Show
The Big East widely considered to be the best conference in the country didn't show up for the NCAA tournament. No more than 3 Big East teams will advance to Sweet 16. Big Ten has a legitimate shot of getting 3 teams(OSU, Purdue and Wisconsin) making it to the final 4. Big 10 are 6-2 in the NCAA tourney so far. The so called mighty Big East are 8-6(including Cincy/UConn game) for the tournament.
March 19th, 2011 at 11:29 PM ^
Doesn't this pretty much happen every year?
Edit: Also, I negged you for thinking the b10 can only get 3 teams in the final four. I'm pretty sure we can get 4, including Michigan.
March 19th, 2011 at 11:36 PM ^
but going through the gauntlet of Duke, Texas and SDSU is pretty tough for Michigan to get to the final 4.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:30 AM ^
well if they do make it, at least everyone will know they belong there.
Aaand, stranger things have happen in this fantastic tournament. It would be surprising, but definitely not unheard of.
WE GON SHOCK THE WORLD!
Then we gon be on the Cosby show. Coach said we got a letter.
They FAXED the letter!
March 20th, 2011 at 12:48 AM ^
I admire your optimism.
but that's what my bracket says. :)
Go Blue!!! (With maize, of course.)
March 19th, 2011 at 11:36 PM ^
Watch out for Butler. Their flow is good.
March 19th, 2011 at 11:37 PM ^
It's worse than it might appear at first glance. So far, the Big Ten has held serve (that is, won when expected to win) in every game. Illinois got them a +1 (winning when not expected) yesterday.
Contrast that to the Big Least:
* -1 (a big one) for #4 Louisville losing to #13 Morehead State
* -1 for #6 Georgetown losing to #11 VCU
* -1 for #1 Pitt losing to #8 Butler
* -1 for #6 St. John's losing to #11 Gonzaga
* They get a +1 for #11 Marquette beating #6 Xavier.
Net: -3
Again, imagine what would happen (in the coastal media) if the Big Ten screwed the pooch like that.
March 19th, 2011 at 11:46 PM ^
The B1G is top heavy while the big east has depth but no true powerhouse, so who's to say which is the better conference. The possible matchup between ND and Purdue might be a better way to judge, or possibly an OSU Syracuse matchup in the elite eight
March 19th, 2011 at 11:48 PM ^
is really really weak with South Florida, Rutgers and DePaul. Iowa and Indiana are better than them.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:09 AM ^
First off the Big East has 16 teams, so the bottom should be weaker. Even then I'm not sure what would put Iowa and Indiana over the other three. If you're comparing out of conference schedules, the only significant victories (or near victories) are Iowa over Alabama, USF over VCU and BYU over USF in double overtime. The rest is pretty much chumpy teams or losses, which doesn't really seem to indicate that any team is definitely better
Not to be a jerk, but to say they are big, so their bottom will be weaker is a silly defense of the Big East. Yes, their bottom should be weaker, but their top should be stronger - the size argument cuts both ways. If you randomly selected 5 teams to pull out of the Big East, and then had the B10 & the BE play each other B10/ACC Challenge style, does anyone really wonder who'd win that?
March 20th, 2011 at 10:14 AM ^
You want to randomly select 5 teams and you are sure the B10 would come out on top...
Matchup wise the B10 vs BE is this..
(assuming you picked the "middle of the pack")
- GTown vs. Illinois
- UConn vs. PSU
- Villanova vs. MSU
- Northwestern vs. Marquette
- Minnesota vs. Seton Hall
I dont see any guarentees on that list..
Also, Syracuse beat both MSU and UM. I get that a 1 seed lost, on a last minure bonehead foul, but this is march madness. It wouldnt suprise me in the least to see both UConn and ND make the final 4, and I wouldnt count out Syracuse considering their sweet 16 bracket is located in Newark NJ
I feel you might be singing a different tune if 3/4 of the final 4 are from the BE..
Indiana: 73
Rutgers: 76
Iowa: 78
Providence: 94
USF: 124
DePaul: 198
March 20th, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^
Go back to your mother's basement with all those numbers, nerd! Games aren't played by computers! Nobody could ever be better than the Big East and their 36 teams
You shut your mouth when you're talking to me
March 19th, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^
Their depth is out of its depth in this tournament.
See what I did there?
March 19th, 2011 at 11:47 PM ^
Not only did Georgetown and St. John's get beat, they got whupped. Georgetown lost to a VCU team that shouldn't have been in the tournament, and lost by almost 20. St. John's lost by 15 to a Gonzaga team that got destroyed by BYU. The Big East better hope that Notre Dame wins tomorrow. I wouldn't count on it.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:16 AM ^
Maybe that VCU team SHOULD have been in the tournament?
March 19th, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^
A #9 seed beating a #8 seed (Illinois over UNLV) is not a +1. I mean, the #9 seed wins 54% of the time.
Well, then the #8 seed is not expected to win so Michigan earns the +1?
Same goes for the 7/10 and even the 6/11.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:30 PM ^
This is correct. The seven beats the ten a lot, and even the six losing to the eleven is only a mild upset.
It works every time.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:08 AM ^
March 20th, 2011 at 12:09 AM ^
And Georgetown...and St. John's...
March 20th, 2011 at 12:20 AM ^
March 20th, 2011 at 12:33 AM ^
I think the BigEast is a solid and deep conference, but it has (no doubt) performed poorly this tourney. 4 upset losses (including a #1 and #3 seed) on the first weekend??? It's not like Louisville lost to Kansas or Georgetown to OSU. They lost to lesser teams (and somewhat convincingly).
I think we're seeing that it probably was overrated this season. Did all those teams deserve to make it in? Yes, but the losses to lesser teams show that it's not a superpower.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:48 AM ^
They're "deep" because there are 16 teams. It sounds to me as if you're trying to justify all the hours you wasted watching basketball games involving teams from a second-rate conference.
"Styles of play" "translate" to the tourney like this: two teams play each other, and one wins.
I negged because the implication that Big Ten basketball isn't worth my time was too strong.
We will have to see. Graduating 9 seniors you would think they should be there not on the rise.
March 20th, 2011 at 10:18 AM ^
they were bottom dwellers for a while..
Not to mention they just signed the #2 overall recruiting class in the country.
March 20th, 2011 at 10:21 AM ^
They have a very highly rated recruiting class coming in.
Both Georgetown and St. John's had significant injuries either late in the regular season or in the conference tourney....no excuses, just data.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:15 AM ^
I tend to think the pac 10 games are the most fun to watch, followed closely by the high level ACC games. I guess its all just a matter of opinion. I do think the b10 is just as good as the Big East from top to bottom though. The Big East has 16 teams. 11/16 and 7/11 are almost the same fraction (.68 vs .63) so both conference got about the same chunk of teams into the tourney. Also, your point about Conn playing Cincy is valid, although it also guarantees that one of the two makes the S16. So it works both ways. Either way, I don't think the Big East is this unstoppable force that the talking heads at ESPN make it out to be. Teams at the top of good conferences are solid and can beat teams at the top of other good conferences, independent of where they are from.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:15 AM ^
Top Big East teams lost to lower rated teams like VCU and Morehead State.
Big Ten > Big East and the computer shows it. Human thinks that Big East are tough because there are 16 teams but there are no dominant team like OSU. I would say OSU, Wisconsin and Purdue would finish 1-2-3 in the Big East IMO.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:25 AM ^
March 20th, 2011 at 12:27 AM ^
but human does.
Big East is not a more talented conference than Big 10. Big 10 is better than Big East, period. This is not a homer in me talking. Yes, OSU, Wisconsin and Purdue would finish top 3 in Big East. If you combine both Big 10 and Big East, Michigan would finish 7th-8th IMO.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:42 AM ^
CRACKED Magazine is parody-filled. So is Bored of the Rings. If you're saying that most of the teams in the Big East play a parody of basketball, I don't think I can go so far as to agree with you. But the Big Ten is better.
Time to implement the master troll plan. Whatever that is.
Obviously, not a troll is obviously not. You are entitled to your opinion without being a troll.
Sir, I admire your patience.
/s