It's been said once, it'll be said a million times this basketball season, the Big East conference is the greatest collection of teams ever.
It's a fact because when looking at the top nine teams, there are nine NCAA Tournament teams. Notre Dame, UCONN, Louisville, and Pitt will be in the preseason top ten while Villanova and Marquette will float around in the top 20 and Georgetown, Syracuse, and West Virginia are top 30 teams.
But that's only nine teams. What about the other seven?
Four of the remaining seven teams are in a position to take a giant step forward, but the gaggle of powerful teams at the top of the conference could prevent these teams from moving forward.
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Providence is the poster boy for constant conference whippings. The Friars are the only one of the original Big East teams to never win the regular season conference title. For the first time in a long time, PC finally has the players to compete for a conference championship.
Now it may seem like a pretty bold statement, but in a normal year, PC would probably rank fourth or fifth in the conference which means saying they are a conference contender a legitimate statement.
But in 2009, this solid collection of players will at best get the Friars a seventh place finish in the Big East. In essentially any other conference, PC would be projected to finish third or fourth, but not in the Big East. They are projected to finish 10th.
But being 10th in the Big East in 2009 might actually be good enough to go to an NCAA Tournament. Providence should turn itself around from its 15-16 record a year ago to win over 20 games. They won despite not having their best guard Sharaud Curry who sat out all but one game due to injury.
PC returns all but one player. That's four players who averaged double-digit points. That's seven players who played at least ten minutes per game. That's a team loaded with five seniors, two juniors, and three sophomores.
It's a team with a phenomenal coach. Mid-rate coach Tim Walsh was fired after ten so-so seasons in favor of Drake's savior Keno Davis. The new PC coach should be able to work the same magic he did with Drake which was also a very deep, experienced team.
Providence is going to beat a lot of tough teams in 2009, so don't be surprised when the Friars hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
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Rutgers has finally dipped into the good New York and New Jersey talent. Somehow, someway, the Scarlet Knights brought in two stellar freshmen that will eventually be stars in the Big East. With the strength of the conference, having two future stars says a lot.
17 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
L.J. Burgess 9 months ago
Well done Jameson. I like this a lot.
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Ari Kramer 9 months ago
Solid article. I think Providence will make the tourney this year. Manhattan College transfer Jeff Xavier will make his second and final season as a Friar a very good one.
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Jameson Fleming 9 months ago
Yeah as I said Providence is going to be pretty darn good, its a matter of whether the Tournament Committee can get over the fact they'll in all likelihood be putting 10 Big East teams in the tournament.
Xavier is a real nice player. When he came to the Dome last year from what I remember he had a pretty nice game. Very good outside shooter.
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Thomas Brown 9 months ago
Excellent work. Kudos all around.
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Johnny Da Bone 9 months ago
Great Article!!! This story will reverberate throughout the season in all major publications.
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Jux Berg 9 months ago
Good accurate article, although Nick Aldridge was kicked off UC's team about two weeks ago....
Just a thought though about the Bearcats not finishing in the top 10 of the conference this season: Did you notice what Mick Cronin was able to do last year with THAT team??
With a full arsenal of shooters, size, athleticism, and bench depth now, they'll do some damage this season. Trust me. They WON'T be screwed. Cronin can coach.
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Jameson Fleming 9 months ago
Thanks for the tip on Aldridge...wasn't a big enough loss to make headlines and happened after the preview magazines ran so I missed it. I apologize for that.
I'm doubting Cronin as a coach. Where Cincinnati is screwed is the fact they've got nine tournament teams ahead of them plus Providence returns everybody from that team. I think its going to be very tough for them to finish any higher than tenth because they aren't on the same level as those teams.
I think they'll go to the NIT and make some noise however. Give them another year I think.
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Jeff Allen 9 months ago
I liked the article, but to conclude that Cincinnati will somehow not be as successful as last year does not seem to follow sound logic.
1. Last year's non-conference schedule had an absolutely brutal 5-game stretch in it. No such stretch this year. UC should easily win 8 to 10 games before the Big East schedule.
2. As we've already covered - UC is about a billion times more talented this year than they were last year. If THAT team won eight Big East games, then it would make no sense to predict THIS team to win less.
3. UC has a very favorable home/away conference schedule this year. VERY favorable.
Bottom line - 13 wins would be a SEVERE underachivement. I don't expect a trip to the Dance, but a losing record in-conference would be a disappointment.
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Jameson Fleming 9 months ago
First I should have made it clearer, but when I said regress in the win column it was in reference to Big East wins.
Sure fire losses: @Marquette, @Providence, vs. UCONN, vs. Georgetown, @Villanova, vs. Notre Dame, @Georgetown, @Pitt, vs. Louisville, @Syracuse. That's 10 losses right there. Maybe they can steal one or two of those.
They've got several questionable games in there and about six almost surefire wins. That's why I said they would regress in the win total. The Big East is too good this year unfortunately for Cincinnati, hence the title/theme of this article.
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Jeff Allen 9 months ago
I don't know, man. It's barely October, and you've already got 10 "sure losses" marked down. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Especially the Providence call - has Providence EVER been a "sure loss" for anybody? If I were marking down "sure losses" at this time last year, I'd have certainly included road games at Louisville and West Virginia, in addition to any game against Pittsburgh. UC beat all three teams with a pretty untalented team - and lost a fluke to Connecticut. You're underestimating home court advantage. But most of all, it's far too early to be labeling any "sure losses".
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Jameson Fleming 9 months ago
Here's the problem with that statement. You wanted to call 8-10 wins out of conference, so I gave you games I thought UC would lose.
Providence is going be very good and is very tough beat in the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence. Winning on the road last year was nearly impossible in the Big East.
So I understand you in saying its only October, but if I had to shape up the conference I'd put Cincinnati 11th. I labeled those ten games sure-fire losses because all of those games that are on the road, the Bearcats will most likely be double-digit underdogs. Of those ten games I listed, the only home game I can see UC taking is the one against GU unless something drastic happens to those other three teams because UCONN, ND, and Louisville are all top-10 teams.
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Jeff Allen 9 months ago
Well, isn't it much easier to assume a win versus say....USC-Upstate, than it is a loss against a team like Louisville, whom Cincinnati always plays tough and frequently beats regardless of ranking? That's why it's pretty easy to mark down 8 wins out-of-conference. Because UC is going to be far superior to most of those 8 teams.
No need to go back and forth, though. We're all basketball fans here. All I know is, I want basketball here NOW.
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Jameson Fleming 9 months ago
Amen to your last statement.
Can never go wrong with some intelligent banter though!
But no matter the record, Cincy will be better, what it comes down to for them is if they improved as much as everyone else has in the Big East.
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John Reyes 8 months ago
Surprised not to hear a word about Justin Burrell on the Johnnies. He is possibly the best player after Mason Jr.
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Jameson Fleming 8 months ago
Burrell had my attention, but I saw a few St. John's games last year and albeit, Burrell put up solid numbers he didn't really stand out to me as a big time player like a Deonta Vaughn or even Anthony Mason Jr.
But I agree he is the best player after Mason Jr.
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robert carola 8 months ago
The Big East mids need to schedule a lot of SEC, ACC, and Big 12 schools that will off set the poor conference record. The Big East might be the first league to get a team in with a losing record in conference without winning the conference tournament. The Big East is sick and depth will play a major role and I am hoping for a lot of quick whistles to cut down on the physical play. The speed that Pitt, Louisville, Marquette, Georgetown, 'nova, Cinn., ND, and West Virginia possess will lead to many tough physical match-ups that could get ugly. This will truly be the black and blue division if the refs do not control the physical play and could hurt the leagues chances come March. The play will be so much faster and better that the other conferences will cry that the Big East is too physical in order to make there basketball conferences appear to be equal in talent. The truth is that no other league will come close to playing the schedule that the Big East will play and that is why the non-conference portion should be of little value to the top Big East programs.
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Mathias Askew 6 months ago
Great analysis. Thoughts on UC's chances of making the tourney with a 10 loss season? With a current record of 8 and 2 and the development/progression of the big men down front I could think the following games are winnable for the Bearcats:
EKU & APB @ home, Marquette on the road, Prov @ home, Rutgers at home, @ Depaul, @ St. J, Georgetown @ home, St. J @ home, L-ville @ home, WVU @ home, @ S. Florida, Seton Hall @ home.
This would give them a 21-10 record with 11-7 in the Big East. Seems feasible for the Bearcats. I just hope it's enough to get them a shot in the tourney. Thoughts?
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