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Scouting reports and predicted order of finish, as determined by the Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo, who covers Pitt basketball:
1. Connecticut
Last season: 23-10, 10-6, lost to Texas in the third round of the NCAA tournament
Coach: Jim Calhoun, 18th year, 399-159; 32nd overall, 647-296
Top players: Emeka Okafor, F, 6-9, Jr. (15.9 ppg, 11.2 rpg), Ben Gordon, G, 6-2, Jr. (19.5 ppg, 4.7 apg, 4.2 rpg), Taliek Brown, G, 6-1, Sr. (7.7 ppg, 4.8 apg)
Outlook: The Huskies are the consensus preseason No. 1 and have all the ingredients to go deep into the NCAA tournament. Okafor is the premier defensive forward in the country. He is the reigning Big East defensive player of the year and his 4.7 blocked shots per game led NCAA Division I. Calhoun also has one of the premier guards in the country in Gordon, who shot 41.9 percent from 3-point range last season. Point guard Brown also returns and some strong sophomores are ready to step in as is Big East preseason rookie of the year, incoming freshman forward Charlie Villanueva, who declared for the NBA draft last spring, then withdrew his name. The Huskies are national championship material, and it will be an upset if they don't at least reach the Final Four.
2. Syracuse
Last season: 30-5, 13-3, beat Kansas, 81-78, in the NCAA championship game
Coach: Jim Boeheim, 28th year, 653-226
Top players: Hakim Warrick, F, 6-8, Soph. (14.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg), Gerry McNamara, G, 6-2, Soph. (13.3 ppg, 4.4 apg), Billy Edelin, G, 6-4, Soph.
Outlook: Boeheim lost the best player in the country in Carmelo Anthony, who left for the NBA after leading the Orangemen to the national championship. But don't underestimate Boeheim's ability to put a contender together again. Warrick is a strong inside presence. The backcourt is led by McNamara, who burst onto the scene last season as a freshman and played a big part in the team's success. Edelin is a quality guard who can distribute the ball. Boeheim is worried about the center position that will be manned by Craig Forth and Jeremy McNeil. If they can step up and become forces in the middle, the Orangmen could challenge Connecticut for the conference title. But that's a big if.
3. Pitt
Last season: 28-5, 13-3, lost to Marquette in the third round of the NCAA tournament
Coach: Jamie Dixon, 1st year
Top players: Julius Page, G, 6-2, Sr. (12.2 ppg), Jaron Brown, G, 6-4, Sr. (10.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Chevy Troutman, F, 6-7, Jr. (11.0, 5.1 rpg), Carl Krauser, G, 6-2, Soph. (6.0 ppg, 2.9 apg)
Outlook: Dixon is walking into a great situation with three returning seniors and some quality underclassmen who should make the Panthers one of the top teams in the conference for the third year in a row. Krauser has been patiently waiting for his turn to the run the team and will bring a new dynamic to the team with his ability to push the ball up the court. Dixon won't stray far from the formula that predecessor Ben Howland used to transform the Panthers from pretender to contender. A lack of experience and depth on the bench will prevent the Panthers from repeating as conference champs, but a top-four finish in this conference and a third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament should be attainable goals for this team.
4. Notre Dame
Last season: 24-10, 10-6, lost to Arizona in the third round of the NCAA tournamen.
Coach: Mike Brey, 4th year, 66-31; 9th overall, 165-83.
Top players: Chris Thomas, G, 6-1, Jr. (19.7 ppg, 6.9 apg), Torin Francis, F, 6-10, Soph. (11.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg)
Outlook: Brey has led the Irish to 66 victories during his first three seasons and has made the NCAA tournament all three years. Last season was the best yet with a 24-10 record and a Sweet 16 appearance. Thomas is the league's all-time leader in assists average (7.4). Francis should be one of the top forwards in the league. With Thomas leading the way and Francis in the low post, the Irish have a strong inside-outside presence that should enable them to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in a row.
5. Seton Hall
Last season: 17-13, 10-6, lost to Rhode Island in the first round of the NIT
Coach: Louis Orr, 3rd year, 29-31; 4th overall, 49-42
Top players: Andre Barrett, G, 5-10, Sr. (16.7 ppg, 5.3 apg), John Allen, F, 6-5, Jr. (13.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Marcus Tony-El, F, 6-6, Sr. (6.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Kelly Whitney, F, 6-8, Soph. (11.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg)
Outlook: Orr has four starters returning from a team that won 10 of its final 14 games, including eight in a row against conference foes. Barrett is a preseason Big East first-team selection. The Pirates won with some tenacious defense last season, holding opponents to 66.2 ppg, which was second in the conference. If the Pirates are going to take a step forward, they'll have to find more ways to score. In their seven conference losses, they failed to score more than 70 points. If they can avoid a slow start (they dropped their first three in the conference last season), the Pirates should be in the upper echelon of the league.
6. Providence
Last season: 18-14, 8-8
Coach: Tim Welsh, 6th year, 81-73; 9th overall, 151-95
Top players: Donnie McGrath, G, 6-4, Soph. (9.1 ppg, 4.3 apg), Ryan Gomes, F, 6-7, Jr. (18.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg), Marcus Douthit, C, 6-10, Sr. (5.1 ppg, 3.0 bpg)
Outlook: The Friars could be a dark horse as Welsh returns almost everyone from a team that won 8 of its final 11 games and advanced to the third round of the NIT. Gomes, a preseason first-team all-league selection, leads the frontcourt. He had 17 double-doubles last season. Welsh will get a boost from G Abdul Mills, who sat out last season with a hip injury. He led the team in scoring two years ago with a 14.5 average. The Friars should finish in the upper half of the conference, but if they want to contend, they're going to have to do a better job against the top teams. They were 1-4 against Pitt, Connecticut and Notre Dame last season.
7. Boston College
Last season: 19-12, 10-6, lost to Temple in the second round of the NIT
Coach: Al Skinner, 7th year, 98-84; 16th overall, 236-211
Top players: Craig Smith, F, 6-7, Soph. (19.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg), Nate Doornekamp, C, 7-0, Jr. (3.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
Outlook: Boston College shared the Big East East Division with Connecticut but did not make the NCAA tournament because it had only one win against a team that made it to the tournament, an early February win over Connecticut. G Troy Bell (25.2 ppg) was the heart and soul of that team, but he graduated. They also will not have off guard Ryan Sidney, who averaged 12.4 points and 6.9 rebounds. He left the team for personal reasons. Skinner will be hard-pressed to have the Eagles reach .500 in the league.
8. St. John's
Last season: 21-13, 7-9, beat Georgetown in the NIT championship game
Coach: Mike Jarvis, 6th year, 108-57; 19th overall, 361-198
Top players: Elijah Ingram, G, 5-11, Soph. (10.5 ppg), Kyle Cuffe, F, 6-7, Sr. (7.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Willie Shaw, F, 6-5, Jr. (8.3 ppg)
Outlook: The Red Storm cleaned up a sloppy start to last season (a 6-9 record in their first 15 league games) by winning 9 of its final 10, including regular-season wins against Duke and Notre Dame before running off five consecutive victories to claim the school's record sixth NIT championship. Jarvis is going to have to replace Marcus Hatten (22.2 ppg). Sophomore Darryll Hill is the likely candidate. Jarvis will need some contributions from his freshman class and some good fortune to finish among the top eight n the league, which means the Red Storm likely will be shut out of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.
9. Villanova
Last season: 15-16, 8-8
Coach: Jay Wright, 3rd year, 34-29; 10th overall, 156-114
Top players: Randy Foye, G, 6-3, Soph. (10.3 ppg), Allan Ray, G, 6-2, Soph. (9.9 ppg), Jason Fraser, F, 6-9, Soph. (7.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
Outlook: What once looked like a promising season turned ugly when injuries and suspensions to 12 players who misused telephone access codes led to a second-half free fall. The Wildcats lost 11 of their final 14, including their final six to put a damper on Wright's second season. Wright will field a young team, with seven underclassmen among his top nine. He will not have the services of senior G Derrick Snowden, who had knee surgery in August. Wright will look to guards Foye, the leading returning scorer, Ray and freshman Mike Nardi, the New Jersey prep player of the year. Without rapid improvement or some contributions from the freshman class this team is destined for a second consecutive losing season.
10. West Virginia
Last season: 14-15, 5-11
Coach: John Beilein, 2nd year, 14-15; 26th overall, 461-272
Top players: Drew Schifino, F, 6-3, Jr. (20.1 ppg), Tyrone Sally, F, 6-7, Jr. (8.3 ppf, 4.6 rpg), Kevin Pittsnogle, C, 6-10, Soph. (11.6 ppg), Johannes Herber, G, 6-6, Soph. (7.2 ppg, 3.8 apg)
Outlook: The Mountaineers have not finished a season with a winning record in the conference since 1998-99. Beilein is trying to change that, but it's unlikely to happen this season. He still has a young team with two juniors and three sophomores likely to make up the starting five. Penn Hills product Schifino will lead this team. He was fifth in the league in scoring and one of the most improved players in the league. Beilein signed junior transfer D'or Fisher to shore up his front line. He averaged 9.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game last season at Northwestern (La.) State. The Mountaineers won't sneak up on as many teams as last season, but they will have a shot at .500 in league play because Beilein is one of the most underrated coaches out there.
11. Georgetown
Last season: 19-15, 6-10, lost to St. John's in the NIT championship game
Coach: Craig Esherick, 6th year, 90-59
Top players: Gerald Riley, F, 6-6, Sr. (14.1 ppg), Brandon Bowman, F, 6-8, Soph. (7.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Courtland Freeman, F, 6-9, Sr. (6.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
Outlook: This once-proud program has made the NCAA tournament once in Esherick's first five seasons. Former coach John Thompson built the program around big centers such as Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo. The tallest player on this year's roster is Freeman, who is 6 feet 9. But no one will mistake him for any of the Hoya greats in the middle. And because Mike Sweetney left one year early for the NBA, the Hoyas will look to Bowman to step up his play in the low post. On the perimeter, Riley is an accurate outside shooter who made 41.5 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point line. But after that, there isn't much to shout about. A long way from the glory days, indeed.
12. Miami
Last season: 11-18, 4-12
Coach: Perry Clark, 4th year, 51-38; 15th overall, 236-183
Top players: Darius Rice, F, 6-10, Sr. (18.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Armando Surratt, G, 5-11, Soph. (6.5 ppg, 3.3 apg), Robert Hite, G, 6-2, Soph. (7.2 ppg)
Outlook: The Hurricanes were the league's hard-luck team last season. Eight of their 12 league losses were by five points or less. Two of those losses came in overtime. The close losses resulted in Miami's first losing season in the Big East since the 1995-96 season. Rice returns for his senior season and should be one of the conference's premier players. The telling sign for this team will be whether Clark get Rice's supporting cast to play better. If Clark can get solid contributions from some of his new players, the Hurricanes can be competitive, but don't expect to see them in the postseason.
13. Rutgers
Last season: 12-16, 4-12
Coach: Gary Waters, 3rd year, 30-29, 8th overall, 122-89
Top players: Ricky Shields, G, 6-4, Jr. (11.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Herve Laminzana, F, 6-10, Sr. (10.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.0 bpg)
Outlook: After a successful first season with the Scarlet Knights, Waters found himself coaching one of the worst teams in the league last season. The biggest problem was shooting. They were 13th of 14 teams in field-goal percentage (39.2 percent). Waters tried to solve that problem by signing freshman Quincy Douby, who led the New York City Public League in scoring. Another freshman, Byron Joynes, is expected to provide some immediate help in the frontcourt. Even with improved scoring, Rutgers will struggle to win more than five or six games in the league and likely will battle Virginia Tech for the cellar in the league standings.
14. Virginia Tech
Last season: 11-18, 4-12.
Coach: Seth Greenberg, 1st year; 14th overall, 213-170
Top players: Bryant Matthews, G, 6-7, Sr. (17.3 ppg, 2.1 apg), Carlos Dixon, G, 6-7, Sr. (13.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Outlook: If Greenberg wanted to coach in the Big East, he should have stayed at South Florida. The Hokies are leaving for the ACC and South Florida will be a new addition to the Big East in the near future. Greenberg has a tough task in turning around this moribund program. The Hokies have not won more than four games in the league since joining in 2000-01. Matthews became the first player in Big East history to lead his team in scoring, assists, steals and blocks. Greenberg led South Florida to five winning seasons in seven years there. If he does that at Virginia Tech, they'll be dancing in the streets of Blacksburg.
