Analysis: Big East Basketball '08-'09
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All-Big East choice Sam Young
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The most highly anticipated season in the history of the Big East Conference begins this week. Some national experts are calling it the most competitive conference in the history of college basketball. Eight of the 16 teams in the conference start league play in the top 25 of the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll. Five are in the top 15. As many as 9 or 10 teams could get invited to the NCAA tournament in March. So get ready for 10 weeks of pre-March madness. It all starts tomorrow when Connecticut plays host to Georgetown. PG basketball writer Ray Fittipaldo offers fans a CliffsNotes guide to the new Big East season.
• Connecticut: The Huskies have the most talent in the league. That doesn't always guarantee success, but Jim Calhoun has a pretty fair track record of getting his players to play to their potential.
• Pitt: The Panthers will compete for the league title because of their ability to defend and rebound. Whether they win it will depend upon how they shoot in big games.
• Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish have a great inside-outside duo with Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney. But will the supporting cast contribute enough to earn a championship?
• Louisville: The Cardinals play Pitt and Connecticut once apiece, and both games are at home. That's a huge advantage in an unbalanced schedule.
• Syracuse: The talent is there and injuries won't be as big an issue as last season. How the team handles Eric Devendorf's reinstatement will be a telltale sign.
• Villanova: A guard-dominated team for the past several years, the emergence of Dante Cunningham in the frontcourt gives the Wildcats a chance to surprise.
• Georgetown: Don't discount experience. The Hoyas have won more conference games than anyone else the past two seasons.
The Big East is third in the Ratings Percentage Index behind the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten. Here is the good and the bad of the Big East in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and how the games factor into the league's standing and, quite possibly, NCAA seeding, come March.
The good
Connecticut def. Gonzaga: The Huskies beat No. 7 Gonzaga in a virtual home game for the Bulldogs in Seattle. They and Pitt are the only two remaining unbeatens in the conference.
Notre Dame def. Texas: The Irish beat the No. 9 Longhorns in the Maui Invitational. They lost in the championship game to No. 1 North Carolina, their only loss of the season.
Pitt def. Florida State: The Tucker Center in Tallahassee has been witness to many an upset the past few years, but the Panthers came out on top last week. The Panthers get bonus points because the Seminoles were 11-1 entering the game and making a push to crack the top 25.
Syracuse def. Florida and Kansas: These victories came on consecutive nights at the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Kansas City in November. It showed that a second-tier team in the league is quite capable of beating upper-echelon teams in two other BCS conferences.
The bad
Louisville lost to Western Kentucky: Western Kentucky is a very good program as evidenced by the trip to the Sweet 16 last season. Still, it's not a good thing when a mid-major knocks off a team that's supposed to be one of the top dogs in the league.
Marquette lost to Dayton: Pitt fans know Dayton is strong at home, but this game was played at a neutral site in Illinois. Losing to a mid-major at a neutral site is one of the reasons the Golden Eagles are now borderline top 25.
DePaul lost to Morgan State: This loss at home, and some other bad losses detailed below, are the major reasons the Big East finds itself behind the ACC and the Big Ten in the RPI.
Providence lost to Northeastern and Saint Mary's at home: That's a sure-fire way to drag down the rest of the conference in the RPI.
Rutgers lost to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Binghamton at home: Yet an even better recipe for the league plummet in the RPI.
Jan. 3 Pitt at Georgetown
A rematch of the past two Big East tournament championship games. This is the only scheduled meeting between these teams that have split their past six games.
Jan. 17 Pitt at Louisville
Home-court advantage has meant little in this series, but this game represents another tough road contest for the Panthers. The schedule maker did the Panthers no favors in January.
Jan. 31 Notre Dame at Pitt
Notre Dame's first trip to Pitt in three seasons. The last time the Irish visited the Petersen Events Center it was a triple-overtime thriller.
Feb. 2 Connecticut at Louisville
If you can't get excited for a Jim Calhoun-Rick Pitino matchup then you're not a college fan. Calhoun has gotten the better of Pitino since the Cardinals joined the league, winning 3 of 5.
Feb. 11 Syracuse at Connecticut
Nothing says the Big East like Connecticut-Syracuse. The Huskies have won 9 of the past 14 in the series.
Feb. 22 Villanova at Syracuse
Jay Wright has won five of the past seven games against Syracuse, including two of three meetings last season.
Feb. 28 Georgetown at Villanova
The Hoyas have taken five of the past seven in the series vs. old Big East rivals. Villanova fans still have 1985, though.
Feb. 28 Notre Dame at Connecticut
Part of a brutal five-game stretch to end the regular season for the Huskies, who have won the past three vs. the Fighting Irish.
March 1 Marquette at Louisville
The Cardinals have won four of the past five games between these old Conference USA rivals. This one could be important for Big East tournament seeding.
March 7 Connecticut at Pitt
The Big East schedule makers are banking on this game deciding the regular- season champion. The Huskies are one of six Big East teams to win a game at the Petersen Events Center.
• Luke Harangody, Notre Dame: Big East player of the year leads the conference in scoring (22.7 ppg) and is No. 2 in rebounding (12.0 rpg).
• Kyle McAlarney, Notre Dame: Averaging almost five 3-pointers per game.
• Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut: Triple-threat in the middle as a scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker.
• Jerome Dyson, Connecticut: Huskies' leading scorer has been stepping up his game.
• Sam Young, Pitt: A go-to player who possesses power and finesse.
DeJuan Blair, Pitt: Double-double machine is the best offensive rebounder in the country.
• Wesley Mathews, Marquette: Has scored 25 points or more on five occasions this season.
• Jerel McNeal, Marquette: Can score (17.8 ppg), rebound (4.5 rpg) and set up those around him (3.2 apg).
• Jonny Flynn, Syracuse: Can score (17.5 ppg) and dish (5.3 apg) with the best of them.
• Scottie Reynolds, Villanova: Has scored in double figures in all but one game and is shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range.
First Published December 28, 2008 12:00 am
