Get over the Big East Hubris!

[juckerrules]

Lord, I'm sick of all the talk of how the BE is the best conference outside of the NBA.

Look, it's a very good conference...at the top, maybe the strongest 1-4 or 5 teams in the country - but it's not the rest of the way down...it's still good, but there are a lot of fair to middlin' (read mediocre) teams in the conference.

The best teams in smaller conferences are better than most of the BE teams. Outside of the top 4 teams, who's really all that great?

I think the top 4 teams in either the Big 10 or 12 stack up pretty well against the BE top 4.

Old Dominion would finish in the top 6 in the BE (they've already beaten Georgetown and Notre Dame)

Butler, Xavier, Temple, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, BYU, heck, maybe even Murray State would all have a shot of finishing in the top 8 or so...

My point is that the conference is strong....definitely one of the 3 top conferences in the country, but it's not the be all and end all that posters on this board want to make it.

Witness: ND...bye bye...Villanova ...wins by the skin of their teeth, Ohio (the mighty MAC) beating the crap out of Georgetown - Marquette is struggling with Washington

Not to mention the NIT where only UC has saved the conference honor (oh yeah, I almost forgot, UConn squeaked by powerful Northeastern)

Outside of the 1st 4 or 5 teams, it's an average to strong conference...a grind to play against night in and night out, but not so stellar that other teams aren't just as good or better - it's just that there are more teams in the BE

I mean, I guess the top 10 are better than anyone else's top ten, but some leagues don't have much more than 10 anyway

Just trying to play devil's advocate and keep things in perspective - we'll see how it all works out - Maybe the BE will be 3 of the final 4....not in my bracket though

[OhioFootball]

Agreed. Look at the OOC losses and it's pretty obvious that hype helps the conference big time.

[Billy Don]

The way things are going with Big East teams in the tourney right now can't argue with anything in your post.

[CincyEngGrad02]

Love when the Tournament time rolls around. When team from conference A beats team from Conference B, then automatically A is better than B.

Also love how a Big 10 team generally makes the Final Four (usually Mich St or OSU), and then all the Big 10 fans scream how great the Big 10 is.

Its the Tournament people. Anything can happen. And whatever happens, doesn't take away from the great season the Big East had.

[ucat4]

It's really, really easy to say this kind of stuff after watching the BigEast struggle a little bit (which doesn't mean a whole lot, IMO).

Whatever might happen in this tourney, the Big East is still the best conference in the land.....it's just the way it is.

[CincyEngGrad02]

It's really, really easy to say this kind of stuff after watching the BigEast struggle a little bit (which doesn't mean a whole lot, IMO).

Whatever might happen in this tourney, the Big East is still the best conference in the land.....it's just the way it is.

Exactly right.

[MDW79]

Love when the Tournament time rolls around. When team from conference A beats team from Conference B, then automatically A is better than B.

Also love how a Big 10 team generally makes the Final Four (usually Mich St or OSU), and then all the Big 10 fans scream how great the Big 10 is.

Its the Tournament people. Anything can happen. And whatever happens, doesn't take away from the great season the Big East had.

Amen, you can play this game all day long. UCONN, who finished 12 in our league, pasted Texas and LSU by 25 so they would surely beat Team A from Big12 and Team B from the SEC by 25...and Notre Dame beat UCONN so...blah, blah, blah.

We had 7 teams seeded 6 or higher. 5 seeded 3 or higher. Those are amazing numbers. 5 of the top 12 seeds given were BE. That's 40% from one conference. Think about that, it's crazy. Even if you wanted to say some we're seeded too high, we'd still have 5 in the top 20.

The league is as good as it gets.

[coach]

the big east this year had a lot of good teams, and a couple very good teams. that's why our performance is that much more disappointing.

[Thegreatone]

HAHAHA the haters got to bit*h about something!

The Big East got 8 teams in and so far the #7 and #8 teams have lost. Our two lowest teams.

Relax and let it play out.

[ME80]

Love when the Tournament time rolls around. When team from conference A beats team from Conference B, then automatically A is better than B.

Also love how a Big 10 team generally makes the Final Four (usually Mich St or OSU), and then all the Big 10 fans scream how great the Big 10 is.

Its the Tournament people. Anything can happen. And whatever happens, doesn't take away from the great season the Big East had.

Thank you for some common sense!

[Jmac84]

Since when is hubris capitalized at the end of a sentence? :-)

[Cats4Ever]

Just saw Marquette lose. BEast is now 1 - 3.

Ouch.

[Billy Don]

Yes and 2-3 in the NIT. 6 losses and all but 1 to real high seeded teams. Makes you at least wonder if the Big East isn't overrated this year.

[jdlhale]

Jucker, if you read your post you contradict the point you are trying to make, the top of the A-1O would be in the middle of the Big East, The committee did a terrible job of seeding which is why there have been so many upsets ODU's rpi is 27 and ND is 48, yet ND is a 6 and ODU is an 11, Marquette's RPI is 5O and Washington's is 41 yet the seedings are reversed. Both Big East teams had great shots at winning which says that the Big East is very tough if a lower rated team can almost beat the higher rated team The Gtown loss is inexplicable, I thought they were playing as well as anyone. I just picked Big East teams.

How well would X do if they were playing in the Big East night in and night out when the 6th team in the conference blew out Duke and there are 12 teams in the Big East with RPI's higher than the 4th team in the A-Ten. Heck UC took them to 2 overtimes and they are the tenth rated team in the Big East.

[BearcatAlum1]

College basketball as a whole is down this year.

However, I still think the BE offers the best brand of basketball and is the best conference in the country.

I will admit that some of the results are very suprising thus far.

Both Marquette and ND lose in the final seconds.

Georgetown completely forgot how to play defense and let Ohio drop 95+ points on them. That is inexcuseable. JT3 is one of the most overrated coaches I've ever seen. Let's not forget that Gtown was 10-8 in the conference, right? #7 seed in the BET?

Nova played poorly. Horrible. Fischer, Stokes and Reynolds failed to show up. Reynolds was 2-15 from the field. Ouch.

[Idaho Jay]

Lord, I'm sick of all the talk of how the BE is the best conference outside of the NBA.

Look, it's a very good conference...at the top, maybe the strongest 1-4 or 5 teams in the country - but it's not the rest of the way down...it's still good, but there are a lot of fair to middlin' (read mediocre) teams in the conference.

The best teams in smaller conferences are better than most of the BE teams. Outside of the top 4 teams, who's really all that great?

I think the top 4 teams in either the Big 10 or 12 stack up pretty well against the BE top 4.

Old Dominion would finish in the top 6 in the BE (they've already beaten Georgetown and Notre Dame)

Butler, Xavier, Temple, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, BYU, heck, maybe even Murray State would all have a shot of finishing in the top 8 or so...

My point is that the conference is strong....definitely one of the 3 top conferences in the country, but it's not the be all and end all that posters on this board want to make it.

Witness: ND...bye bye...Villanova ...wins by the skin of their teeth, Ohio (the mighty MAC) beating the crap out of Georgetown - Marquette is struggling with Washington

Not to mention the NIT where only UC has saved the conference honor (oh yeah, I almost forgot, UConn squeaked by powerful Northeastern)

Outside of the 1st 4 or 5 teams, it's an average to strong conference...a grind to play against night in and night out, but not so stellar that other teams aren't just as good or better - it's just that there are more teams in the BE

I mean, I guess the top 10 are better than anyone else's top ten, but some leagues don't have much more than 10 anyway

Just trying to play devil's advocate and keep things in perspective - we'll see how it all works out - Maybe the BE will be 3 of the final 4....not in my bracket though

Boy, I bet it sure was easier to write this post after seeing the events of the day unfold.

[CatsClaw]

Lord, I'm sick of all the talk of how the BE is the best conference outside of the NBA.

Look, it's a very good conference...at the top, maybe the strongest 1-4 or 5 teams in the country - but it's not the rest of the way down...it's still good, but there are a lot of fair to middlin' (read mediocre) teams in the conference.

The best teams in smaller conferences are better than most of the BE teams. Outside of the top 4 teams, who's really all that great?

I think the top 4 teams in either the Big 10 or 12 stack up pretty well against the BE top 4.

Old Dominion would finish in the top 6 in the BE (they've already beaten Georgetown and Notre Dame)

Butler, Xavier, Temple, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, BYU, heck, maybe even Murray State would all have a shot of finishing in the top 8 or so...

My point is that the conference is strong....definitely one of the 3 top conferences in the country, but it's not the be all and end all that posters on this board want to make it.

Witness: ND...bye bye...Villanova ...wins by the skin of their teeth, Ohio (the mighty MAC) beating the crap out of Georgetown - Marquette is struggling with Washington

Not to mention the NIT where only UC has saved the conference honor (oh yeah, I almost forgot, UConn squeaked by powerful Northeastern)

Outside of the 1st 4 or 5 teams, it's an average to strong conference...a grind to play against night in and night out, but not so stellar that other teams aren't just as good or better - it's just that there are more teams in the BE

I mean, I guess the top 10 are better than anyone else's top ten, but some leagues don't have much more than 10 anyway

Just trying to play devil's advocate and keep things in perspective - we'll see how it all works out - Maybe the BE will be 3 of the final 4....not in my bracket though

I'm guessing you were one of the same people saying this last year, when the Big East struggled on the first day. They then dominated after that. As far as the teams you picked having a chance to finish in the Top 8, Gonzaga barely beat Cincinnati on a neutral court, a Cincinnati team that finished 11th in the conference, and many people thought UC should have won that game. Murray State? You mean the same Murray State that barely beat Vandy, again, the same Vandy that Cincinnati mauled? I love how people make idiotic comments after one day of NCAA Tournament play. And, yes, the Big East is the best basketball conference in America.

[CatsClaw]

Jucker, if you read your post you contradict the point you are trying to make, the top of the A-1O would be in the middle of the Big East, The committee did a terrible job of seeding which is why there have been so many upsets ODU's rpi is 27 and ND is 48, yet ND is a 6 and ODU is an 11, Marquette's RPI is 5O and Washington's is 41 yet the seedings are reversed. Both Big East teams had great shots at winning which says that the Big East is very tough if a lower rated team can almost beat the higher rated team The Gtown loss is inexplicable, I thought they were playing as well as anyone. I just picked Big East teams.

How well would X do if they were playing in the Big East night in and night out when the 6th team in the conference blew out Duke and there are 12 teams in the Big East with RPI's higher than the 4th team in the A-Ten. Heck UC took them to 2 overtimes and they are the tenth rated team in the Big East.

Exactly. Didn't Xavier have their season stopped by a Big East team last year? I love how the alleged "fans" come out of the woodworks to rip the Big East after one day of NCAA Tournament play.

[CatsClaw]

Just saw Marquette lose. BEast is now 1 - 3.

Ouch.

With 4 games left to play.

[CatsClaw]

Agreed. Look at the OOC losses and it's pretty obvious that hype helps the conference big time.

So it was hype that sent 5 Big East teams to the Sweet 16 last year, 4 to the Elite Eight and 2 to the Final Four!?

[London 'Cat]

My take on the BEast is this. The teams in it are not fast. They are physical and athletic. But, on defense, generally, they cannot stay in front of the player they are guarding. This was most evident in the Georgetown game. Ohio's guards were blasting past Georgetown's defenders, leading to layups or passes to open shooters. Terrible defensive effort by Georgetown. The score does not indicate how thoroughly dominant Ohio was in this game. It is comparable to the Big Ten in football with its physical style as opposed to the speed in the SEC, which is why the Big Ten generally does not fare well in bowl games against SEC opponents. In the BEast in basketball, the teams are used to physical play not the finesse and speed that many other teams play. In some cases, the BEast teams can compensate by scoring on offense and rebounding on defense. But if they aren't making shots or taking bad shots, like Georgetown was tonight and Notre Dame and Villanova were earlier today, they are very vulnerable.

[Don L]

I would like to know where OHIO U got all those good shooters and why Mick can't seem to find any. Ohio U completely dominated their game and it was such a beautiful game to watch instead of the grind it out drudgery Micks makes us go through.

[OhioFootball]

My take on the BEast is this. The teams in it are not fast. They are physical and athletic. But, on defense, generally, they cannot stay in front of the player they are guarding. This was most evident in the Georgetown game. Ohio's guards were blasting past Georgetown's defenders, leading to layups or passes to open shooters. Terrible defensive effort by Georgetown. The score does not indicate how thoroughly dominant Ohio was in this game. It is comparable to the Big Ten in football with its physical style as opposed to the speed in the SEC, which is why the Big Ten generally does not fare well in bowl games against SEC opponents. In the BEast in basketball, the teams are used to physical play not the finesse and speed that many other teams play. In some cases, the BEast teams can compensate by scoring on offense and rebounding on defense. But if they aren't making shots or taking bad shots, like Georgetown was tonight and Notre Dame and Villanova were earlier today, they are very vulnerable.

That's just Ohio State football. Everybody else in the Big Ten does just fine against the SEC.

[JasonS]

I would like to know where OHIO U got all those good shooters and why Mick can't seem to find any. Ohio U completely dominated their game and it was such a beautiful game to watch instead of the grind it out drudgery Micks makes us go through.

All of those "good shooters" combined to average less than 8 three point makes per game for the season. They had 8 in the first half alone. Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle and everything starts to go in. It happens. OU is not a great shooting team by any means but since Georgetown decided not to guard anyone, they got good looks and buried them. A one and out Tourney is a crap shoot. If a team gets hot, you could be done. The better team usually wins a best of 7. It's not always the case in a one and done.

And I don't remember who made the comment about JTIII being one of the most overrated coaches but I couldn't agree more. I have never been that impressed with him and when he made that Final 4 run a couple years ago, it seemed to me like he was completely out-coached on several occassions in the tournament but just happened to have a way more talented team. When Thad Matta out-coached him in the Final 4, his players couldn't pull it out and weren't far and away more talented (maybe less talented) than OSU.

[Cincycat06]

Outside of the 1st 4 or 5 teams, it's an average to strong conference...a grind to play against night in and night out, but not so stellar that other teams aren't just as good or better - it's just that there are more teams in the BE


What conference would be a strong if you took away its top 4 or 5 teams?

[ou_bearcat]

I usually root for the big east, but not when they are playing the Bobcats! Easily the best night I've ever had on campus! Beat the VOLS!!!!

[Scheids21]

I usually root for the big east, but not when they are playing the Bobcats! Easily the best night I've ever had on campus! Beat the VOLS!!!!

Yes we get it, you're an OU fan

[juckerrules]

Since when is hubris capitalized at the end of a sentence? :-)

I thought it looked more (to coin a word) "Hubrisy"

[juckerrules]

HAHAHA the haters got to bit*h about something!

The Big East got 8 teams in and so far the #7 and #8 teams have lost. Our two lowest teams.

Relax and let it play out.

I have no qualms about the top teams....just as you said, our 7 & 8 teams are out...so maybe they should never have been in and some other teams could have had a chance

[juckerrules]

What conference would be a strong if you took away its top 4 or 5 teams?
What other conference gets 3 teams in the tourney after the first 5 teams? It's too many is all

[juckerrules]

The worst part is, I had both Marquette and G-town winning 2 games in my bracket :-(


At least I picked ND to bomb

[loshow22]

When it is tourney time, throw the reputation out the window...

[MicksTheGuy]

Why would you bash the big east like that unless you are a troll? I will leave it at that but you starting post is worthless and just the mindset of people on this board. Always looking at a way to tear something down. It would be a lot easier to take if you would have just said something like. Looks like maybe were weren't as strong of a conference as we thought. It was supposed to be a down year.

Of course it is the best conference. The tournament is full of surprises which is why it is so much fun for most people. Personally I can't watch it because my team is not in it and it just becomes depressing.

[Pruke]

Lord, I'm sick of all the talk of how the BE is the best conference outside of the NBA.

Look, it's a very good conference...at the top, maybe the strongest 1-4 or 5 teams in the country - but it's not the rest of the way down...it's still good, but there are a lot of fair to middlin' (read mediocre) teams in the conference.

The best teams in smaller conferences are better than most of the BE teams. Outside of the top 4 teams, who's really all that great?

I think the top 4 teams in either the Big 10 or 12 stack up pretty well against the BE top 4.

Old Dominion would finish in the top 6 in the BE (they've already beaten Georgetown and Notre Dame)

Butler, Xavier, Temple, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, BYU, heck, maybe even Murray State would all have a shot of finishing in the top 8 or so...

My point is that the conference is strong....definitely one of the 3 top conferences in the country, but it's not the be all and end all that posters on this board want to make it.

Witness: ND...bye bye...Villanova ...wins by the skin of their teeth, Ohio (the mighty MAC) beating the crap out of Georgetown - Marquette is struggling with Washington

Not to mention the NIT where only UC has saved the conference honor (oh yeah, I almost forgot, UConn squeaked by powerful Northeastern)

Outside of the 1st 4 or 5 teams, it's an average to strong conference...a grind to play against night in and night out, but not so stellar that other teams aren't just as good or better - it's just that there are more teams in the BE

I mean, I guess the top 10 are better than anyone else's top ten, but some leagues don't have much more than 10 anyway

Just trying to play devil's advocate and keep things in perspective - we'll see how it all works out - Maybe the BE will be 3 of the final 4....not in my bracket though

Where was this post before the tourney began?

[shaunsimpson]

OU got one of their shooters from Indiana. I think he was even better than Crawford when there but could be wrong.
The ncaa tournament's first two rounds are guard oriented. GT didn't play defense and got beat.

They were probably over rated anyway. 8th in big east and 3 seed. Still unbelieveable.

[Helicopter]

Lord, I'm sick of all the talk of how the BE is the best conference outside of the NBA.

Look, it's a very good conference...at the top, maybe the strongest 1-4 or 5 teams in the country - but it's not the rest of the way down...it's still good, but there are a lot of fair to middlin' (read mediocre) teams in the conference.

The best teams in smaller conferences are better than most of the BE teams. Outside of the top 4 teams, who's really all that great?

I think the top 4 teams in either the Big 10 or 12 stack up pretty well against the BE top 4.

Old Dominion would finish in the top 6 in the BE (they've already beaten Georgetown and Notre Dame)

Butler, Xavier, Temple, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, BYU, heck, maybe even Murray State would all have a shot of finishing in the top 8 or so...

My point is that the conference is strong....definitely one of the 3 top conferences in the country, but it's not the be all and end all that posters on this board want to make it.

Witness: ND...bye bye...Villanova ...wins by the skin of their teeth, Ohio (the mighty MAC) beating the crap out of Georgetown - Marquette is struggling with Washington

Not to mention the NIT where only UC has saved the conference honor (oh yeah, I almost forgot, UConn squeaked by powerful Northeastern)

Outside of the 1st 4 or 5 teams, it's an average to strong conference...a grind to play against night in and night out, but not so stellar that other teams aren't just as good or better - it's just that there are more teams in the BE

I mean, I guess the top 10 are better than anyone else's top ten, but some leagues don't have much more than 10 anyway

Just trying to play devil's advocate and keep things in perspective - we'll see how it all works out - Maybe the BE will be 3 of the final 4....not in my bracket though

You discount the very teams you are trying to praise. If UCONN loses you'd probably argue Northeastern should be in the conference if UCONN wins you are sarcastic using terms like "mighty".

Big East teams get no reward for playing mid majors. Most the time its a super bowl for the mid-majors and posters like you discount the mid-majors when they lose and build their praises when they win. The fact of the matter is regardless of the few tournament games that have been played and the unfavorable outcome for the Big East the BE still has much more depth then any other conference.

[Helicopter]

Where was this post before the tourney began?

Good Call.

[ou_bearcat]

Yes we get it, you're an OU fan

Sorry, just got a little excited last night. My bad.

[Former Lurker]

Good Call.

Here's mine, from 1/26...

"I've been watching basketball for a lot of years, and I think that most of this 'my conference is better than your conference' stuff is just dumb. While in any given year, one of the 'Big 6' majors may be down, like the PAC 10 this year or SEC last year, year in and year out they trade wins, both in the regular season and in the NCAAs.

There's no conference clearly better than the BE; OTOH, there's no reason to think that the BE is clearly better, perennially, than the other top conferences.

In the Sagarin ratings, the BE is currently ranked behind the ACC and B-12 using three different methodologies:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc0910.htm. Last year, Sagarin had the BE 4th, using two different methodologies: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc0809.htm.

I'm not posting this to down the BE; I love seeing the 'Cats there. But it does rub me the wrong way when, following a poorly-played game against a league also-ran like St. John's, some posters excuse the performance with an 'it's OK, after all, it's the BE.' When UNC, UK, IU, etc, lose ugly, I don't think their boosters post 'It's OK, after all, it's the ACC, SEC, B-10, etc.'

Just my two cents' worth."

What impresses me about the tournament is all the guys playing for mid-majors who could've helped us. They don't come with labels that say "mid-major" or "BE." Mick needs to stop recruiting off of magazines' top 150 lists, and start recruiting with his eyes and brain.

[CincyEngGrad02]

Sorry, just got a little excited last night. My bad.

No apologies needed. Its that time of year, nothing wrong with getting excited about your team.

[bearcatbret]

My thought is that maybe the selection committee did not seed teams correctly like an earlier poster stated that the rpi's were better for teams beating ND and Marquette. Also, maybe Murry State is 31-5 for a reason. It is hard to win 31 games and not be a good team. Sometimes it is easy to discount a good record if it is from a mid major but you still have to win the games. Heck, UC football was 12-0 but got killed by Florida. Does that mean that UCwas not a good team, NO.

[milfordcats]

Here's mine, from 1/26...

"I've been watching basketball for a lot of years, and I think that most of this 'my conference is better than your conference' stuff is just dumb. While in any given year, one of the 'Big 6' majors may be down, like the PAC 10 this year or SEC last year, year in and year out they trade wins, both in the regular season and in the NCAAs.

There's no conference clearly better than the BE; OTOH, there's no reason to think that the BE is clearly better, perennially, than the other top conferences.

In the Sagarin ratings, the BE is currently ranked behind the ACC and B-12 using three different methodologies:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc0910.htm. Last year, Sagarin had the BE 4th, using two different methodologies: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/bkc0809.htm.

I'm not posting this to down the BE; I love seeing the 'Cats there. But it does rub me the wrong way when, following a poorly-played game against a league also-ran like St. John's, some posters excuse the performance with an 'it's OK, after all, it's the BE.' When UNC, UK, IU, etc, lose ugly, I don't think their boosters post 'It's OK, after all, it's the ACC, SEC, B-10, etc.'

Just my two cents' worth."

What impresses me about the tournament is all the guys playing for mid-majors who could've helped us. They don't come with labels that say "mid-major" or "BE." Mick needs to stop recruiting off of magazines' top 150 lists, and start recruiting with his eyes and brain.

Let's look at his recruiting history (starting with the current JRs):
Alvin Mitchell JR (no longer with the team)- Kid could play just couldn't get is head in the right place.
Larry Davis JR- Kid can hit open shots in practice and warmups but can't figure it out in the game. Kid always plays hard.
Kenny Belton JR (no longer with the team)- Got hurt, can't blame Mick.
Biggie McClain JR- 7-footers are always a risk. Biggie had an offer from UCONN as well, can't blame Mick for taking him.
Rashad Bishop JR (with team?)- By far the best player in the JR class but his present situation is interesting...
Darnell Wilks JR- Has improved enourmously since the beginning of the BE tourney. Really think he will be a key piece next year.

So for the JRs, 4 of 6 are still with the team. Of the four we have, two will play a vital role next year. (3 if Davis can figure out how to hit an open shot)

Yancy Gates SO- Kid can play. Needs to play with 100% effort all the time and he can be a force down low.
Dion Dixon SO- Plays with hustle. I know a lot of people are down on him for a sub-par sophomore season, but I think he can be a good player off the bench his JR and SR seasons.

So of the SOs, don't really see why we wouldn't want either of those players. I know Dixon slumped this year but he still plays with hustle and he cares about the game.

Lance Stephenson FR- Do I need to say anything?
Cashmere Wright RSFR- Has improved leaps and bounds this year. Going to be a very fun player to watch throughout the rest of his career.
Jaqoun Parker FR- Still inconsistent but has shown flashes of how good he can be.
Sean Kilpatrick FR- Always seems to be in the gym working out. Has a lot of heart and really cares. I really think he will be a good player by the time he graduates.

I love all the freshmen and wouldn't trade any of them away.

Incoming:
Gaines- Kinda confused about him, but time will tell.
JJ- Sounds like he will play a few minutes next year. Heard he plays tough and hard. Again time will tell.

Transfers:
Steve Toyloy SR- Isn't as good as we expected, but we needed a body down low and he has been at least servicible.
Ihrabima Thomas JR- Plays with a lot of heart and has improved quite a bit since that X game. Can't wait to see him as a SR.

So looking at that, all of the 'problems' are from the JR class when Mick hasn't had a full recruiting period to work out the class. I'd say he gets a bye for that class. All the other classes I have been happy with, and I think he is going to put together a dynamite '11 class.

Just my opinion.

[Thegreatone]

No apologies needed. Its that time of year, nothing wrong with getting excited about your team.

That is fine. I agree but to most of us our team is UC. Good for OU and hope you had fun with it. Big time win.

I don't believe that ND losing by 1 and Marquette by 2 indicates the Big East is down this year. Let it play out is all I am saying.

If they go 1-3 and only have 1 team make the elite 8 I will call us over rated.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

So it was hype that sent 5 Big East teams to the Sweet 16 last year, 4 to the Elite Eight and 2 to the Final Four!?

Last year was last year. Wer'e talking about this year, are we not? Last year, North Carolina won the NC. This is a different year, different circumstances.

[BearcatAlum1]

How about we let the first weekend playout and see who makes the Sweet16 before you judge a conference overrated or underrated based on 2 razor thin losses.

[bearcatbbllfn]

I dont think we should be judging our conf strength based on tourney performance. Its not just Bearcat fans that think the Big East is the strongest conf, most of the professional sports world have stated the same. The better teams are not a lock to win. Intensity, determination and desire are the differece this time of year. These are upsets. The better teams are losing. When the Yankees lose, we still know their talent and coaching is top shelf, they just didnt get it done.

[Former Lurker]

I dont think we should be judging our conf strength based on tourney performance.

It's not perfect, but how else can you judge? There's very little inter-conference play after Jan. 1.

A few more points...

Early NBA defections are definitely a strong force tending to equalize the high- majors and mid-majors. The guys leaving the college game early aren't leaving the OUs and Xs of the world; they're leaving the UNCs and GTowns.

Milfordcats, I've posted before that I really think that Mick is a pretty good recruiter. However, I also think that he is sufficiently blinded by the cult of "athleticism" that he leaves finesse players behind who could help us. Every team needs a blend. Undoubtedly, if you asked Mick why he doesn't recruit shooters, he say something like, "Well, I do recruit them, but there aren't many BE-quality shooters out there, and I just haven't been lucky enough to sign any..." My response would be, "Fine, then sign the best mid-major shooter you can find." At least we'd have somebody who could shoot the ball, like those guys who beat GTown last night.

[BigDaddyCornHusker]

Great recap of the recruiting, milfordcats.

[shadyo]

Once the Big East gets rid of it's "hubris" and realizes that it is no better than the MAC we at least have a solution to a potential Big 10 raid. Not only are they our equal in basketball as demonstrated by Ohio beating Georgtown, but Toledo beat Pittsburgh last year and Miami holds a lifetime advantage over UC in football. Should the Big 10 raid the Big East for one or more teams we can merge with the MAC and become the BIG MAC. :D

[bearcated]

Just trying to play devil's advocate and keep things in perspective - we'll see how it all works out - Maybe the BE will be 3 of the final 4....not in my bracket thoughDo you fill your bracket out after the games are played. It's always easier to be the sage prognosticator when you know the outcome of the games. The bototm line is Marquette and ND lost on buzzer beaters, and UD shot in a ridiculous number of 3's. Anyone who knocks down 3s like UD did will win. Let's see if they do it again.

The BE is a league, not just one or two games.

[Cats4Ever]

Way to rationalize the recruiting milford. Is it the development or the recruits that aren't living up to the billing?

[juckerrules]

Boy, I bet it sure was easier to write this post after seeing the events of the day unfold.

Hey, I said the following back in December:

Opponents in the Big East - so far
So far, everyone in the BE looks quite beatable to me - with the exceptions of WV and Syracuse. 'Nova, while unbeaten, hasn't been all that impressive....same for G-Town and Seton Hall.

(I'm leaving UC out of the equation for now)

Based on level of competition, so far WV & Syracuse look to be a cut above the rest

Still way early, just an initial impression


And again in January:

Time for BE to put up or shut up
Hmmmm...I have a sneaking suspicion that the greatest conference know to humankind may be no better than equal to, or even below the hated Big 11.

I will be curious to see how WV performs against OSU.

So far, on the court, the Big 11 has eaten the BE's lunch.

A .500 team in conference, Purdue, was immensely better than WV, supposedly one of our better teams. Northwestern took care of ND, Indiana whupped one of our best (Pitt), Wisconsin beat Marquette, Michigan is the only team to lose, and they split...losing to Marquette, but beating UConn

That's 5-1 for the Big 11...they haven't played our best of the day (Syracuse, but we haven't played their best either (Mich St)

Time for WV (or someone) to give the BE some pride

[Carin's Dad]

Yes and 2-3 in the NIT. 6 losses and all but 1 to real high seeded teams. Makes you at least wonder if the Big East isn't overrated this year.You see what happens if you're Big East and you lose in the NIT. You get fired. Hear that Mick?

[milfordcats]

I realized after I posted that this wasn't necessarily the right thread for it...

And I wasn't trying to rationalize it. I was just saying how I think that the recruiting up til now has been fine. Just my opinion.

[Jmac84]

So, is anyone going to mention how the Big East is now 4-4? Now watch Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia and possibly Pittsburgh make runs. I'd bet 2 make the Final Four.

[juckerrules]

So, is anyone going to mention how the Big East is now 4-4? Now watch Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia and possibly Pittsburgh make runs. I'd bet 2 make the Final Four.


My original premise, in the 2nd line stated:
Look, it's a very good conference...at the top, maybe the strongest 1-4 or 5 teams in the country

So 4 teams won....1-3 seeds generally do win on the first day - they're playing 14-16 seeds

[juckerrules]

So, is anyone going to mention how the Big East is now 4-4? Now watch Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia and possibly Pittsburgh make runs. I'd bet 2 make the Final Four.

Villanova just ran off the road

[MST83]

I think the NCAA results to date, bring to question the MC results excuse about "The BE is so strong every night".

Sure I don't think ODU. OU, etc. found that to be true.

[ME80]

I think the NCAA results to date, bring to question the MC results excuse about "The BE is so strong ever night".

Sure I don't think ODU. OU, etc. found that to be true.

Seriously, please give it a break.

[bearcated]

Hey, I said the following back in December:

Opponents in the Big East - so far
So far, everyone in the BE looks quite beatable to me - with the exceptions of WV and Syracuse. 'Nova, while unbeaten, hasn't been all that impressive....same for G-Town and Seton Hall.

(I'm leaving UC out of the equation for now)

Based on level of competition, so far WV & Syracuse look to be a cut above the rest

Still way early, just an initial impression


And again in January:

Time for BE to put up or shut up
Hmmmm...I have a sneaking suspicion that the greatest conference know to humankind may be no better than equal to, or even below the hated Big 11.

I will be curious to see how WV performs against OSU.

So far, on the court, the Big 11 has eaten the BE's lunch.

A .500 team in conference, Purdue, was immensely better than WV, supposedly one of our better teams. Northwestern took care of ND, Indiana whupped one of our best (Pitt), Wisconsin beat Marquette, Michigan is the only team to lose, and they split...losing to Marquette, but beating UConn

That's 5-1 for the Big 11...they haven't played our best of the day (Syracuse, but we haven't played their best either (Mich St)

Time for WV (or someone) to give the BE some pride
Yeah right. Give us the original links, or it's all BS.

[bearcatjoey]

I think the NCAA results to date, bring to question the MC results excuse about "The BE is so strong every night".

Sure I don't think ODU. OU, etc. found that to be true.

Good point. The Big East is big in terms of the number of teams in its conference, but it hasn't been big in the tournament. Folded like a cheap suit. But perhaps Syracuse or WVU will make it to the championship game, redeeming the Big East.

[juckerrules]

Do you fill your bracket out after the games are played. It's always easier to be the sage prognosticator when you know the outcome of the games. The bototm line is Marquette and ND lost on buzzer beaters, and UD shot in a ridiculous number of 3's. Anyone who knocks down 3s like UD did will win. Let's see if they do it again.

The BE is a league, not just one or two games.

Yeah, and Georgetown got stomped, as did Louisville, and Nova squeaked by a 15 seed before losing the next game
One upset, ok, it happens, 5 on the first weekend? Someone was overrated (better hope X doesn't take out Pitt)
maybe we should have seen one more PAC-10 team or another SEC team, or even an at-large MAC team instead of 8 BE teams

[bearcatbret]

Kansas was over rated, they stink, the big 12 is over rated, Kansas's coach should be fired,.......

It is the NCAA tourney and this is the time of year that we all love. Let the kids play the game and let the upsets happen. This is why they play the game a chance for the huge upset and legends are made. But in a year, no one will remember any of it except who won it all.

[Jmac84]

My original premise, in the 2nd line stated:
Look, it's a very good conference...at the top, maybe the strongest 1-4 or 5 teams in the country

So 4 teams won....1-3 seeds generally do win on the first day - they're playing 14-16 seeds

And who beat those teams (Syracuse, West Virginia, Pittsburgh) during the season and conference tournament? Louisville, Georgetown, Seton Hall, South Florida, Notre Dame, Uconn, Villanova...

I know most conferences beat up on each other, but not like in the big east. I'll give you that the Big 12 was also tough this year, but the Big East has more teams over .500 than the Big 12 has total.