College Basketball: 4 Ways the Big East Can Survive Without Syracuse and Pitt

Can the Big East continue to hold the reputation of being one of the more competitive conferences in all of college basketball? It's a reality that for the time being, is quite unlikely.

Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals are one of the teams that, without question, are ecstatic to know they will have that much less competition to take on approximately two years from now, as both Pittsburgh and Syracuse will soon be out of the Big East.

These are the four ways that the Big East can survive without two of the bigger powerhouses in all of college basketball in Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

4. Add Other Quality Programs

Currently, according to the Orlando Sentinel, the Big East is now targeting both BYU and San Diego State to add to the conference with the departure of both Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

The conference is now quickly scrambling to add quality teams—as it should—as the conference may also well lose both Rutgers and UCONN soon enough.

As such a top-notch group of teams on a competitive level, the Big East needs to add more talent to the conference in order to make up for the tremendous loss of it.

3. Development of Other Teams to a Pitt/Syracuse Level

If teams like Cincinnati, Rutgers and St. Johns can continue to get better, improve overall as programs and get some of the country's better recruits in the coming seasons, the Big East will be able to afford giving up solid programs and it will make the transition all the more smooth.

It is to be expected that a team such as Louisville, more than likely still under Pitino, will win basketball games, yet not having the competitive basketball that the conference has been known for will be the problem.

It is the teams that are judged on a season-to-season basis and lack consistency as winning programs that will have to step it up and become the elite teams each year in the Big East in order to help save the reputation of the conference.

2. Bring in at Least One Powerhouse

Much like the Big 12 did with the addition of West Virginia, the Big East needs to keep in mind that adding solely mid-majors to the conference will not fill the gap left by losing West Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

Perhaps the conference could add a program like a Memphis or perhaps a team like Xavier, as both are nationally recognized teams that have had consistent, winning programs over the last several seasons.

They may not necessarily be the caliber of a Pitt or Cuse, yet they certainly do the job when it comes to restoring competitive basketball in the conference. Memphis has gone 49-20 while Xavier has gone 50-17. There is no question an addition of either one of these teams helps boost the conferences competition level and respectability.

1. Push for a Super-Conference Trend

Both Syracuse and Pittsburgh join the ACC, as the conference now has 14 teams and has extended their invatation to several other schools. If the conference is to get to 16 teams, it would be a start of a trend of super conferences.

If the ACC ends up with just 14 teams and other teams decline invatation, the Big East suffers because while the ACC is stacked with talent and top-notch teams, the Big East is anywhere from a 10-12 team conference with much less talent. Plain and simple.

Yet if the super conference trend persists, then the Big East will more than likely expand to 16 teams and could well compete with the likes of the ACC as far as reputation and competition level are concerened.

Although the Big East can still add top schools to the conference regardless of a trend, they will be much further inclined to do so if the ACC becomes a 16-team conference.

Luis Batlle is a Featured Columnist specializing in NBA (Boston Celtics), NFL, NCAAB (Maryland Terrapins) and NCAAF

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