Misery of Big East Football Leads to Basketball Bliss

It's not a very well-kept secret by Mike Tranghese that this season's Big East is the worst BCS football conference in the nation—maybe ever.

Now that basketball season has officially begun, it's out of the bag that this season's basketball Big East is the best conference in the nation—probably ever.

The Big East is loaded from top to bottom, and even the experts are suggesting a record eight teams from one conference could make it to the big dance. Consider that there are only eight Big East football teams total, and now it comes to light why football season will be forgotten quickly and the month of March welcomed with open arms.

West Virginia and South Florida marked the only teams in the preseason coaches' poll for Big East football. The Bulls have entered a three-game skid, catapulting them from the rankings. The Mountaineers have since taken exit stage left out of the top 25 for the second time this year.

Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have crept in to barely hold spots at 19th and 20th, respectively, for Tranghese's conference.

The football situation is so bad, in fact, that Tranghese felt it a good time to step down as commissioner of the Big East—at least after basketball season is over in June of 2009. You know, to allow a period of adjustment. It has nothing to do with him going out on a high note of crowning a Big East National Champion in early April.

But we're still in November, and early basketball season marks a time of official water cooler talk transition, where the Big East transforms from the whipping boy to the playground bully.

A stunning seven teams start the season in the top 25, and two others received votes in the preseason.  If Syracuse and West Virginia get off to a solid start, they could position themselves as one of the top 25 best teams in America—also known as the bottom half of the Big East.

Thank goodness for the decision made to include all 16 Big East teams in the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.  As recently as last year, only 12 were invited to the seed-boosting, bracket-changing event.  So yes, the possibility still exists for another Syracuse of '05-06 to sneak up and steal a bid to play onward.

More than anything, basketball season is about redemption of the name for schools having less than stellar football seasons.  Teams like Syracuse (2-8), Louisville (5-5), and Connecticut (fifth in the Big East) are all set to go deep in the tournament—maybe not the Big East tournament, also known as World War III, but the 65-team version that creates a nightmare for anyone having to play a Big East school in the first round.

So when watching America's best college basketball conference this year, remember Player of the Year candidate Luke Harangody can combat Louisville's entire lineup, which could easily have three All-Americans at season's end. 

Also remember that although Hasheem Thabeet may be 12 feet tall, DeJuan Blair is ready to put a butt on Thabeet's knees and back his head right into the rim.

It wouldn't be a foul.  This is the Big East.  It's not basketball, but a four-month war, pitting 16 monsters against each other.  A record number look to survive, and if it was up to me, they would.

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