The Big East and the Final Four: A Match Made in Heaven?

The college basketball season begins with preseason tournaments in Hawaii, and the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It seems to have a familiar ending, which will most likely continue this year, here in Indianapolis.

When you look at the ACC, you usually talk about Duke and Carolina, and occasionally Maryland, Wake Forest, or Georgia Tech. This year it looks like Duke might be the only contender at a chance to reach the Final Four.

The SEC fields a few impressive teams, such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Kentucky is probably the only one with a decent shot at the Final Four from this conference.

The Big Ten is a very competitive conference, without a clear cut No. 1. There are five teams in the Big Ten that have a chance to win the regular season championship as we head into the final week of the regular season.

The loss of Robbie Hummel to Purdue really hurts their chances at a hometown Final Four. Evan Turner may be the best player in the country, but can he really carry the Buckeyes to the end? Wisconsin and Michigan State are also legit contenders, but they have had their moments where they just look pedestrian.

The Big 12 also features a few good teams, with Kansas, Kansas State, Texas A&M, and some might still consider Texas. Texas has been heading downhill with the wind at their backs at 90mph, and Kansas State had their hands full tonight, all after Kansas fell earlier in the day to Oklahoma State.

Lets face it, the PAC 10 is a joke this year.

When you get to the Big East, it is pretty obvious to anyone that knows basketball that this is the best conference in college basketball. Syracuse should be the new No.1 after this weekend's dominating performance against Villanova.

The Big East currently has five teams in the Top 20, and a few that may get in the Top 25 next week. Even the teams that aren't in the rankings are considered very good teams, such as Louisville, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Marquette, and UConn.

In last year's tournament, the seven Big East teams in the tournament combined for 17 wins, and two of them (UConn, Villanova) made it to the Final Four. Looking at the teams in the Big East this year, perhaps they could even get three there.

The Big East Tournament was obviously the best post-season conference tournament last year, which is the case very often. The six-overtime game between Syracuse and UConn last year was probably the greatest college basketball game I have seen in my life, and the tournament as a whole was spectacular.

A Big East team hasn't made a Final Four appearance in Indianapolis in 30 years, when Louisville did it in 1980. The last time the Final Four was held in Indianapolis, George Mason shocked the world and punched their ticket. This year I will be shocked if there aren't at least two Big East teams playing here at Lucas Oil Stadium.