OK, just killing time anxiously waiting for the game against Mississippi tonight. I see the hypothetical new Big East has two of the Top 8 football teams in the new AP poll (Boise State 7th and Houston 8th). With the report that BYU may join as part of the new Western Conference and consider joining in all sports, I wonder if the BE would consider adding Temple to make a 7-team eastern division (Navy reportedly will join the current 5 teams) and Memphis to make a 7-team west (reportedly now it will be Boise, AF, BYU, Central Florida, Houston and SMU). That could result in another super basketball conference, only a slight notch below for losing Syracuse, Pitt and WVU if they were willing to go to 19 teams to keep an 18 game schedule that was actually balanced.
Below would be the 19 teams, in order of their www.kenpom.com rating yesterday (Louisville 8th, Marquette 9th, etc.), then their all-time basketball ranking in Sagarin, and then notes on their NCAA history. Right now that would be a 19-team conference with 10 bids – probably the same number of bids we'd have right now if the season ended today, with BYU, Temple and Memphis replacing Pitt, Syracuse and WVU.
1. Louisville 8, 11, 5 straight bids, include 2 Elite 8s
2. Marquette 10, 24, 6 straight bids, Sweet 16 last year
3. Connecticut 11, 54, bids 18 of last 22 years, including 3 National titles
4. Memphis 17, 61, bids 5 of last 6 years
5. Temple 18, 31, 4 straight bids
6. Georgetown 28, 42, bids 5 of last 6 years including Elite 8 and Sweet 16
7. Notre Dame 31, 12, bids 3 of 5 years
8. Brigham Young 35, 41, 5 straight bids, Sweet 16 last year
9. Cincinnati 36, 17, bids 15 of 20 years, include 3 Elite 8s
10. Villanova 45, 21, 7 straight bids
THAT'S PROBABLY 10 BIDS
11. Seton Hall 71, 76, last bid 2006
12. South Florida 100, 128, last bid 1992
13. Providence 102, 78, last bid 2004
14. St. John's 103, 16, bid last year first since 2002
15. Central Florida 114, 230, CBI semifinal last year, NCAA bids on 2004 and 2005
16. Rutgers 116, 149, last bid 1991
17. Houston 147, 55, last year's bid only 4th since 3 straight Final Fours ended in 1984
18. DePaul 159, 26, last bid 2004
19. SMU 225, 92, 1993 last bid, but collegeinsider semifinal last year
If they did that, pull UCF out of the West and put them in the East. It's a better geographic fit and gives USF a natural rival. Move Louisville to the West in their place, and if you get Memphis, there's another natural rivalry.
I'd love to see that happen. However, I have so far only heard BYU to be added as football-only. While they'd be a great basketball add, I'm not sure they want to send their non-revenue sports to Tampa, Hartford, and South Bend, among others.
Quote from: brewcity77 on November 20, 2011, 04:14:59 PM
If they did that, pull UCF out of the West and put them in the East. It's a better geographic fit and gives USF a natural rival. Move Louisville to the West in their place, and if you get Memphis, there's another natural rivalry.
I'd love to see that happen. However, I have so far only heard BYU to be added as football-only. While they'd be a great basketball add, I'm not sure they want to send their non-revenue sports to Tampa, Hartford, and South Bend, among others.
Agree. The WCC is actually a very good fit for BYU's non-football sports, and the BE has a couple of strong bball programs in Temple and Memphis if it wants them (which at this point looks like no)