Big East Tournament 2012: Biggest Questions Heading into Conference Tourney

From top to bottom, the Big East is absolutely loaded.

The Big East saw 10 teams win at last 18 games this season, with six 20-game winners and one 30-game winner. That was Syracuse, which had a remarkable season despite having to withstand some troubling off-court drama. The Orange managed to be the best team in the nation's best conference, which is saying something.

The regular season is in the books. On Tuesday, the Big East conference tournament will begin, and it promises to be a doozy. Many questions are going to be answered.

From where I'm sitting, there are four questions that stand out more than all the rest.

Whose Big Dance Hopes Will Be Ruined?

Both ESPN's Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com are projecting the Big East to send 10 teams to the Big Dance.

That's one short of the record 11 teams the Big East sent to the NCAA tournament in 2011, but it's still a lot.

However, it's not a lock that 10 teams are going to migrate from the Big East to the Big Dance. UConn could find itself on the outside looking in without a strong showing in the tourney, and the same is true of Seton Hall and West Virginia. 

There are just as many locks as non-locks in the Big East. If the non-locks are going to go dancing, they're going to have to earn it.

Will Louisville Get Its Act Together?

The Cardinals are a lock for the Big Dance, so they don't have to worry about crashing and burning and then going home in the Big East Tournament.

But this doesn't mean Louisville is heading into the tourney with nothing to prove. On the contrary, Louisville has a lot to prove.

What is uncertain is whether Louisville is still the elite team that it was for much of the season. The Cardinals were strong all season, but they wilted when the going got tough, losing four of their last six games.

The good news is that Louisville is still an excellent defensive team, meaning it can win any game it plays. The trouble is that Louisville's defense isn't good for much when the three-pointers aren't falling. That's the Cardinals' bread and butter on offense. They'll live by it, and they'll die by it.

They died by it a lot at the end of the season.

Does UConn Have Any 2011 Magic Left Over?

The Huskies definitely aren't lacking in talent, but man oh man did UConn hit the skids once it got into conference play. The Huskies went 8-10 in Big East play.

But it would be foolish for any of us to count the Huskies out. Nobody should forget how they were being overlooked ahead of last year's Big East tourney, and they didn't lose another game the rest of the season.

Last year, it was Kemba Walker leading the charge. This year, it will have to be somebody else. The Huskies have plenty of candidates (Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, et al), but no clear-cut ones.

Somebody better show up. Otherwise, this UConn team may miss out on the Big Dance.

Just How Good Is Syracuse?

Okay, so the Orange managed to dominate the Big East during the regular season, losing only one conference game. Well done.

But can they do it in a tournament setting?

Nobody can take anything for granted. Syracuse is the strongest team on paper in the Big East, and the Orange have done more than enough to prove they're the strongest team in the conference out on the court too, but all it will take to dethrone them is one hot team.

So is there another UConn out there, or is the Big East tourney Syracuse's to lose?

Like the others, this question will be answered.