Rough Day for the BE
- Thread starter jklings99
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Providence ended up losing by 9.
Some decent games today:
Clemson @ Georgetown
Maryland @ Marquette
Butler @ SMU
UConn vs BYU
Some decent games today:
Clemson @ Georgetown
Maryland @ Marquette
Butler @ SMU
UConn vs BYU
It's the reality of the money and college landscape. It's not a football league. It's a very good basketball league with loyal fanbases, good energy, and has a couple teams annually that can content atop the sport. Rest are Bubble-type teams at best, but you get half the league into the NCAAT each year ideally.
And all this notion that revenue sharing will narrow the gap because those schools will spend on FB seems far-fetched and not even enough given the ongoing NIL gap.
And it's ok, IMO. We're not a P5.
St John’s has William & Mary home and Villanova has Duquesne at home. Of the six games the only Georgetown (+1.5) and Butler (+7.5) are not favored. Would love for the conference to go at least 5-1 today with UConn beating BYU.
My point exactly. It's not a "down year" if this is the new normal. Then it's just another year.
I don’t know…a lot of schools spent freely…and big…before the new “rules” went into effect July 1st.
Next off season is the first time we will see if the roughly $20 million cap has an effect.
I watched some of Providence @ Colorado..
Both teams can score the basketball but Providence does not play good defense. Their big man is a strong shot blocker but their team defense has a lot of holes. Providence has the overall talent that they should be a bubble team. Will they play better defense?
Colorado just another example of a "Freshman" European pro making a big difference. They have a few international players but against Providence it was Israeli Pro League (same league Khadeen, IW & Desi play in) player Alon Michaeli who led the victory. Another versatile 6'9" 230 pound PF, he came off the bench to score 20 points & 6 rebounds in 22 minutes, most of it down the stretch in the 2nd half.
Colorado was also led by Barrington Hargress. If anyone remembers that name, we were one of his finalists in the Portal in April. He's an undersized, scoring combo-guard, has some similarities to Clark. He had 15 points and 11 assists with just 1 TO. He looked good.
Marquette just collapsed down the stretch. Missing layups and inconsistent from 3. Had a nine point lead mid way thru the half, UM loses their best player to injury and then blitzes Shaka’s team to go up by 11 with about 4 min to go. Very disappointing.
Creighton has been hampered by Owen Freeman's injury. He's playing limited minutes coming off knee surgery. They need him at full speed. Big games over Feast Week vs Baylor and Iowa State.
McDermott has built such a consistent program at Creighton. In 15 years, he's won 20+ games every year but 1. Has won at least 1 NCAA game for the last 5 years including 3 trips to Sweet 16, 1 of those to E8.
And there was a time where is NCAAT record looked a like Cooley's at Providence and Willard's at Seton Hall. McDermott eventually broke through that first weekend.
I have The Hall at 8-12 in BE this year. Still feels about right, but I'm starting to get more optimistic about things watching this early showing, LOL!
Chase Ross would be their best player by a good margin, I’d say.
While watching Gonzaga-Arizona State on Friday night, I took note that Colorado was picked 15th in the Big 12 coaches poll ahead of only Arizona State. We could see ASU in Maui in our third game.
St John's played a neck-and-neck down the wire game versus a Bama team that is second or third weekend NCAA worthy. I know folks cherish the opportunity to take whatever negative they can, but I'm not sure how much one can say they were "exposed" in a early November game. Either way, I think they will be the least of the problem when it comes to the overall strength of the Big East, coming off a season in which they won 18 league games and 30 games overall for a 2 seed overall. UCONN didn't have a real answer at the PG spot last season, but again they weren't the issue even though it made them not as good as the back-to-back title teams.
The overall depth of the league is the bigger issue right now, not the 2 or 3 at the top. The Big East used to be a league where the top half were all but guaranteed bids, and that hasn't been the case the past few years. That is the issue.
Creighton isn't the issue either, even though they got their doors blown off by Gonzaga.
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Yes. Absolute bolt of lightning who sat out last year with an injury. I don't think he's their best player though; I think Ross is clearly the best kid on that team.
Marquette's interesting because this is the year the "anti-portal" approach by Shaka will really be put to the test.
And I posted a week or so ago that if the BE doesn’t do well in November and December, they could be a three bid league once again. I’m feeling more optimistic about Gtown however.
Yup, you did, and this is the issue. The Big East was a pretty firm 5-6+ bid league for a while. That's what we want to get back to and a rising tide lifts all boats.
The teams at the top of the Big East have not been the problem. The issue is everyone else. The 2nd level of teams have dropped off a bit and the bottom of the conference has been terrible. For the last 5 years there have been at least 2 terrible teams at the back end and usually a 3rd team that also sucks. In a 11-team league, it brings down the collective a lot when 305 of your league is terrible.
Right now there are 3 tiers of Revenue Sharing teams in the BE. The bottom tier of SH, DePaul, Butler and Xavier also look like they will be the bottom tier in the standings. Probably not a coincidence. This group needs to spend more money for the league to keep pace with the big boys. They spent a lot more this year but its not enough to separate from the pack of all the new money that flushed into the system this year with the House settlement rules.
The 2nd tier of Rev Share teams like Providence, Marquette, Georgetown and Villanova have enough resources where they should be strong every year. This group needs to be better and with Willard and Cooley, should improve moving forward.
Right now there are 3 tiers of Revenue Sharing teams in the BE. The bottom tier of SH, DePaul, Butler and Xavier also look like they will be the bottom tier in the standings. Probably not a coincidence. This group needs to spend more money for the league to keep pace with the big boys. They spent a lot more this year but its not enough to separate from the pack of all the new money that flushed into the system this year with the House settlement rules.
The 2nd tier of Rev Share teams like Providence, Marquette, Georgetown and Villanova have enough resources where they should be strong every year. This group needs to be better and with Willard and Cooley, should improve moving forward.
I don't understand this response at all. St Johns is expected to also be a second or third weekend NCAA tournament team, and the plain fact is we need them to help carry the conference in a down year. Aside from UConn, they are the #2 that is needed to be good and make a deep tournament run.
It has nothing to do with being negative. Reality says that if you watched that game, you had to have noticed that they don't have a true PG and that hampered them. Unless that improves, then yes that shortcoming was exposed against good competition. I'm pretty sure it won't be an issue against us or other weak teams on their schedule.
The overall depth of the league is also a problem, but given that problem, the leagues image is in danger of being further tarnished if SJU can't represent with a deep run in March, because I can't see any other team as being built for that as side from UConn so far. Just getting bids isn't the whole picture, we need some teams to win some games and at least one or two to provide a deep run.
So yes, the top teams are a concern as well. It's the same as last year when early on you could notice that outside shooting was a shortcoming for SJU, and yes, that held true when they ran into a good Arkansas team in the tournament.
Disagree. Advancing in the tournament is of course a good thing, but bigger picture is the depth of the league and how many we can get to the dance on an annual basis, how many are ranked throughout the year, and stuff like that. Gonzaga has been a great tourney team, but that league never gets more than 2 bids and is viewed as a mid major for such reason.
Part of the reason Hurley and Pitino loaded up in the OOC in a way they haven't in the past is because of the perception now -- which may be reality -- that the Big East isn't much more than a few teams at the top annually. Beyond those games being great for the programs and their fan bases, they've realized they need to play lots of them for purposes of getting their teams ready in March. Probably more so than in the past, where you might schedule a few less challenging OOC games because the conference was so damn strong. Even if they lose those games in the OOC, it ultimately probably doesn't hurt them.
Not long ago, a team that finished 6th or 7th in the league probably had at least a pretty decent shot at still being in the tournament because of the overall strength of the conference. It doesn't seem that is the case now. This is why league coaches are constantly giving "shout outs" to each other and the league as a whole. Because the perception that we are a 3 or 4 bid league instead of 5/6+ bid league isn't a good thing for everyone, top or bottom.
Uconn is the best team in the league IMO. I said it preseason and I still think that's so. I think St John's and probably Creighton are going to be "safe tourney teams". We need more than that. And we need to not have an absolute "anchor" at the bottom like we've had the last few years that destroys everyone's rankings and kills your metrics if you lose to them.
Part of the reason Hurley and Pitino loaded up in the OOC in a way they haven't in the past is because of the perception now -- which may be reality -- that the Big East isn't much more than a few teams at the top annually. Beyond those games being great for the programs and their fan bases, they've realized they need to play lots of them for purposes of getting their teams ready in March. Probably more so than in the past, where you might schedule a few less challenging OOC games because the conference was so damn strong. Even if they lose those games in the OOC, it ultimately probably doesn't hurt them.
Not long ago, a team that finished 6th or 7th in the league probably had at least a pretty decent shot at still being in the tournament because of the overall strength of the conference. It doesn't seem that is the case now. This is why league coaches are constantly giving "shout outs" to each other and the league as a whole. Because the perception that we are a 3 or 4 bid league instead of 5/6+ bid league isn't a good thing for everyone, top or bottom.
Uconn is the best team in the league IMO. I said it preseason and I still think that's so. I think St John's and probably Creighton are going to be "safe tourney teams". We need more than that. And we need to not have an absolute "anchor" at the bottom like we've had the last few years that destroys everyone's rankings and kills your metrics if you lose to them.
Yeah, after SHU beat UCONN Hurley said something like this game is going to have a negative impact in more ways than one. And it did in seeding.
We’re beginning to see the impact of NIL now in year three. It’s impacting the bottom half of the league. UCONN, SJ, CU, Gtown and NOVA have plenty of $$$. Probably MU also.
Going forward, Nova will be fine. So, that makes five teams that should be able to carry the league. Not sure if Shaka’s way will hold up. PC? Who knows.
I would like to think that this is just a down year but if we are looking at the same top heaviness next year, that will be a problem.
We’re beginning to see the impact of NIL now in year three. It’s impacting the bottom half of the league. UCONN, SJ, CU, Gtown and NOVA have plenty of $$$. Probably MU also.
Going forward, Nova will be fine. So, that makes five teams that should be able to carry the league. Not sure if Shaka’s way will hold up. PC? Who knows.
I would like to think that this is just a down year but if we are looking at the same top heaviness next year, that will be a problem.