MUScoop

With about 4 weeks until Selection Sunday and 7 teams still relevant, how many Big East teams do you think make it?  And is Marquette in the field?

5, and I am still holding out hope we will make ourselves 1 of them.

Thing about the Big East is, if MU and Georgetown both had 2 more OOC wins (totally possible, and will happen often in the future) 7 bids for the Big East would be a legit possibility, with really only Providence on the bubble.  This league is way better than people give it credit for. Butler and Seton Hall are both serviceable teams that would win many mid-majors, and would likely be in the middle of the pack of in the SEC, A10, MW and even ACC which all have several bad teams.  Depaul is the only bad team.  But bottom line is this conference had a worst case scenario non-conference performance, which is a bummer in the league's first year, but long-term this conference is positioned very strongly.   

Quote from: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 17, 2014, 05:48:48 PM
Thing about the Big East is, if MU and Georgetown both had 2 more OOC wins (totally possible, and will happen often in the future) 7 bids for the Big East would be a legit possibility, with really only Providence on the bubble.  This league is way better than people give it credit for. Butler and Seton Hall are both serviceable teams that would win many mid-majors, and would likely be in the middle of the pack of in the SEC, A10, MW and even ACC which all have several bad teams.  Depaul is the only bad team.  But bottom line is this conference had a worst case scenario non-conference performance, which is a bummer in the league's first year, but long-term this conference is positioned very strongly.   

There is absolutely no way the big east ever gets 7 teams in. I would think 5 would be our peak.

Quote from: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 17, 2014, 05:48:48 PM
Thing about the Big East is, if MU and Georgetown both had 2 more OOC wins (totally possible, and will happen often in the future) 7 bids for the Big East would be a legit possibility, with really only Providence on the bubble.  This league is way better than people give it credit for. Butler and Seton Hall are both serviceable teams that would win many mid-majors, and would likely be in the middle of the pack of in the SEC, A10, MW and even ACC which all have several bad teams.  Depaul is the only bad team.  But bottom line is this conference had a worst case scenario non-conference performance, which is a bummer in the league's first year, but long-term this conference is positioned very strongly.   

This. It may not be as top heavy as some of the other conferences but the depth of the Big East is ridiculous. (in a good way) With Seton Hall and Providence finally turning it around, St. Johns figuring it out, the strong recruiting class for X and then of course us, Nova and GTown this conference is going to be really good. I just hope Creighton can pull some 3 and 4 stars and Depaul can convince a big time Chicago recruit to stay home. Butler, well, lets just say losing Stevens really hurt them.

Completely agree and well-put, JJJJJ.  I'm hoping that whatever bids the Big East receives will do some damage in the tourney.  I think that will be important to shine a positive light on the conference for next year, as well as for future consideration for tourney bids.

Quote from: mubuzz on February 17, 2014, 05:52:20 PM
There is absolutely no way the big east ever gets 7 teams in. I would think 5 would be our peak.

I never said it would get 7 this year.  Read what I said again, but I agree that 5 is probably most likely with 6 possible pending certain unlikely circumstances.

Here is what I put the odds at

5 teams- 60%

6 team- 18%

4 teams- 16%

3 teams- 5%

7 teams- 1%

Anything else 0%

This year I'm saying Villy, Creighton, X, St. John's and squeaking into Dayton, your Marquette Warriors.

No way 5 teams get in if Marquette isn't one of 'em.

Quote from: mubuzz on February 17, 2014, 05:52:20 PM
There is absolutely no way the big east ever gets 7 teams in. I would think 5 would be our peak.

Seem pretty sure we will never get six.  Care to wager?

Quote from: mubuzz on February 17, 2014, 05:52:20 PM
There is absolutely no way the big east ever gets 7 teams in. I would think 5 would be our peak.

Today's bracket has 5 teams in and Georgetown the first team out overall.  If the league is that close to a 6th bid right now, 5 bids isn't the peak.

Also, I've said this in other posts, but will say it again... Some people are highly underrating what it means to have 7 of your 10 teams to be near tournament-quality, and how much harder it is to pickup wins. 

A comparison of two small 10-team leagues with round-robin...
BIG EAST:  If you're a bid contender (top 7 teams), that means 12 of your 18 games will be against tough competition.  You have 1 Depaul in your league, equaling 2 games.
AAC: If you're a bid contender (top 5 teams), only 8 of your 18 games will be against tough competition.  The bottom 5 teams all have kenpom ratings similar-or-worse than Depaul... that means 10 games against Depauls and poor-man's Depauls.  All those cupcakes make it much easier to pad the resume.

I'm not saying this as to slight the AAC, but to point out the difference in playing in a more competitive SMALL league.  You have many fewer opportunities for "easy" wins.

Nova, Creighton, Xavier, Georgetown, Marquette...Syracuse, Pitt, Cinncy, UConn, Louisville...so 10? Is that right?
Sorry, bad joke.

Quote from: wardle2wade on February 17, 2014, 06:23:09 PM
Today's bracket has 5 teams in and Georgetown the first team out overall.  If the league is that close to a 6th bid right now, 5 bids isn't the peak.

Also, I've said this in other posts, but will say it again... Some people are highly underrating what it means to have 7 of your 10 teams to be near tournament-quality, and how much harder it is to pickup wins. 

A comparison of two small 10-team leagues with round-robin...
BIG EAST:  If you're a bid contender (top 7 teams), that means 12 of your 18 games will be against tough competition.  You have 1 Depaul in your league, equaling 2 games.
AAC: If you're a bid contender (top 5 teams), only 8 of your 18 games will be against tough competition.  The bottom 5 teams all have kenpom ratings similar-or-worse than Depaul... that means 10 games against Depauls and poor-man's Depauls.  All those cupcakes make it much easier to pad the resume.

I'm not saying this as to slight the AAC, but to point out the difference in playing in a more competitive SMALL league.  You have many fewer opportunities for "easy" wins.

Who are the 5 teams besides Georgetown? When all is said in done this conference will get at max 4 teams this year. On a great year the BE will get 5 teams in...

Quote from: MarquetteDano on February 17, 2014, 06:12:54 PM
Seem pretty sure we will never get six.  Care to wager?

Sure, whatever you want! If you think that a conference who some (not me) don't even consider a major conference anymore, is going to get 6 out of their 10 teams in is not realistic.

Quote from: mubuzz on February 17, 2014, 07:39:13 PM
Who are the 5 teams besides Georgetown? When all is said in done this conference will get at max 4 teams this year. On a great year the BE will get 5 teams in...

Creighton, Nova, St Johns, Xavier and Providence. Five teams is very doable any given year, in fact very reasonable. If MU makes the tourney this year they either knock out Providence or St. Johns. Doubt they get 6 this year but crazier things have happened. This conference is extremely deep.

This is a very tough conference, the round robin nature makes it very competitive and difficult to gain traction. That said, the non conference performance of all the teams was not great and I think that hurts everyone at the end of the day. In particular Marquette was picked by many to win the conference, so our poor performance has not helped.On the other hand the emergence of St. Johns and Providence is a big plus. Villanova and Creighton are locks. Xavier is a probable. Georgetown, Marquette, St. Johns and Providence are all scrambling . The Big East tournament is going to be one heck of a war. Hopefully Butler and Seton Hall don't pull upsets.

Quote from: mubuzz on February 17, 2014, 07:43:58 PM
Sure, whatever you want! If you think that a conference who some (not me) don't even consider a major conference anymore, is going to get 6 out of their 10 teams in is not realistic.

+1 - easy money

Quote from: Chris Columbo on February 17, 2014, 08:46:37 PM
This is a very tough conference, the round robin nature makes it very competitive and difficult to gain traction. That said, the non conference performance of all the teams was not great and I think that hurts everyone at the end of the day. In particular Marquette was picked by many to win the conference, so our poor performance has not helped.On the other hand the emergence of St. Johns and Providence is a big plus. Villanova and Creighton are locks. Xavier is a probable. Georgetown, Marquette, St. Johns and Providence are all scrambling . The Big East tournament is going to be one heck of a war. Hopefully Butler and Seton Hall don't pull upsets.

I don't get why Xavier is considered the probable. They have a gauntlet of a schedule. Might finish 4-2.

I don't see anyway St. Johns misses out. They are rolling.

When you have four borderline teams (teams 3 through 6), two will be eliminated when they lose their first game in Big East tournament 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. MU is most likely in the 4-5 game and recent history shows they will lose the first game, which is why I do not see us making the tournament.

Quote from: esard2011 on February 17, 2014, 05:54:15 PM
I just hope Creighton can pull some 3 and 4 stars and Depaul can convince a big time Chicago recruit to stay home.

I just hope that every time DePaul thinks it has convinced a big-time Chicago recruit to stay home, we steal the kid right out from under their noses.

Yes, I care about the Big East being strong.

But I care a hell of a lot more about Marquette! DePaul can have our 3-star rejects!

Quote from: mubuzz on February 17, 2014, 07:43:58 PM
Sure, whatever you want! If you think that a conference who some (not me) don't even consider a major conference anymore, is going to get 6 out of their 10 teams in is not realistic.

I guess to be fair to you we have to say six while it is still 10 teams.  I say they will get six teams within the next three years.

Quote from: bilsu on February 17, 2014, 09:23:45 PM
When you have four borderline teams (teams 3 through 6), two will be eliminated when they lose their first game in Big East tournament 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. MU is most likely in the 4-5 game and recent history shows they will lose the first game, which is why I do not see us making the tournament.

5 teams are getting in. Time to focus on whether we will be one of them. It starts Wednesday.

Quote from: mubuzz on February 17, 2014, 07:43:58 PM
Sure, whatever you want! If you think that a conference who some (not me) don't even consider a major conference anymore, is going to get 6 out of their 10 teams in is not realistic.

If we don't get 6 this year (long shot, we'll knock each other out this time), we'll get 6 bids next year...the way early prediction for 2014-2015.  BE bids:

MU, Georgetown, Nova, Xavier, St. John's and Providence.  Watch out for Seton Hall next year (if the Freshman are ready they could earn a bid too).

Getting anything more than 5 teams in a 10 team league seems very unlikely.  With 18 conference games, the competition just beats up one another - which is good for the league, IMO.

I think there was one year (Connecticut?  West Virginia?) a few years ago in the Big East that actually got into the tournament with a losing record in conference play.  I think it was 8-11 or something like that.

Now, if the league were to expand to 12, 14, etc., then the possibility of getting more teams into the league goes dramatically up.

Quote from: GoldenWarrior11 on February 17, 2014, 10:55:00 PM
Getting anything more than 5 teams in a 10 team league seems very unlikely.  With 18 conference games, the competition just beats up one another - which is good for the league, IMO.

I think there was one year (Connecticut?  West Virginia?) a few years ago in the Big East that actually got into the tournament with a losing record in conference play.  I think it was 8-11 or something like that.

Now, if the league were to expand to 12, 14, etc., then the possibility of getting more teams into the league goes dramatically up.

It was UConn.

While you are right that the BEast beats up on each other, it is very possible for them to get up to 7 bids. Just like at the Big 12. Same size but they might get 7 bids this year. All it takes is having some really bad bottom feeders (TTU, TCU) to absorb all your conference losses. We are really strong top to bottom but Butler, Depaul, Creighton, and Seton Hall could all have bad years where they go 0-everybody in conference play.

Quote from: GoldenWarrior11 on February 17, 2014, 10:55:00 PM
Getting anything more than 5 teams in a 10 team league seems very unlikely.  With 18 conference games, the competition just beats up one another - which is good for the league, IMO.

I think there was one year (Connecticut?  West Virginia?) a few years ago in the Big East that actually got into the tournament with a losing record in conference play.  I think it was 8-11 or something like that.

Now, if the league were to expand to 12, 14, etc., then the possibility of getting more teams into the league goes dramatically up.

Disagree.  There have been numerous years where the Big Ten, ACC, Big East (old), etc. had more than half of their conference in the tourney.  And many of those were before the field expanded to 68.

Like I mentioned above, I would expect in the next three years the Big East to get six.

I'm going on record that I'm one of the three people who voted 6 with MU in.  Would be great if it happens.

For the first time, Lunardi has 6 Big East teams in. St Johns ans Georgetown as the last two teams in.

Per twitter...
@ESPNLunardi: Bubble update. BYE: Minn, Prov, Mizzou, Tenn. IN: Rich, StJoe, StJohn, Gtown. OUT: BYU, WVU, Baylor, OkSt. NEXT: SoMiss, LaTech, Day, LSU.

I believe only 4 will make it. Creighton, Villanova are locks, very likely St. John's (unless they totally collapse in last 6), and the 4th spot will be a free for all with MU, GT, Xavier, and Providence trying to slice each other for the 4th spot. Only way that could change is if somebody unexpected won the Conference Tourney, (like DePaul, Butler or SH). I would say the conference tourney is fairly wide open, but give the best chance to St. John's, Creighton or Villanova. St. John's is playing well now, and at MSG gives them a big boost.