Strengths, vulnerabilities, and how you think the teams matchup with Marquette. Non-con performances, coaches, transfers, especially strong fan base, etc.-whatever factors you think support your points. Group them or put them in order-whatever you like OR just tell us what you think of the teams without comparing them.
One request please-wait until there are at least 6 replies before challenging another scooper's take. My hope is that way we will have a variety of opinions before the scooper battles inevitably begin.
Butler: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
Creighton: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
DePaul: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
Georgetown: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
Marquette: I think we are pretty good, will challenge for the title, and is likely a S16 or E8 team with a shooter's chance to get to the F4.
Providence: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
Seton Hall: I haven't watched them - they seem pretty bad though
St. Johns: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
UConn: I watched five minutes of their game against Gonzaga and they look good.
Villanova: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
Xavier: I haven't watched them so I have no opinion
As opposed to Sultan, I have watched a fair amount of the Big East. Get healthy, stay healthy, develop the bench, make 3's at a decent clip and 16-4 is on the table.
Quote from: tower912 on December 16, 2024, 03:10:51 PMGet healthy, stay healthy...
Only four more replies til I can challenge this nonsense.
Favorites:
Could win the BE but don't think they're quite the same level:
Bubble teams:
- Depending on how long Freemantle is out, Xavier
- Creighton
- Nova
Not bad but not good:
Bad but getting better/not guaranteed road wins:
Shaheen:
Quote from: The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole on December 16, 2024, 03:18:23 PMOnly four more replies til I can challenge this nonsense.
I will get this one in to speed up the process.
Big East blows manatees.
3-bid league. UConn, Quette, Johnnie's
Maybe sneak in: Dence, X, Creighton, Nova
GTFOH: Butler, DePaul, GTown
New DePaul: Seton Hall
Quette goes 15-5, loses one weirdo game and Willie calls multiple players fecal or genitalia related names in that game thread
Quote from: Uncle Rico on December 16, 2024, 03:24:43 PMBig East blows manatees.
3-bid league. UConn, Quette, Johnnie's
Maybe sneak in: Dence, X, Creighton
GTFOH: Butler, DePaul, GTown
New DePaul: Seton Hall
Quette goes 15-5, loses one weirdo game and Willie calls multiple players fecal or genitalia related names in that game thread
Nova got kicked out of the league because Neptune is Wojo.
Quote from: Uncle Rico on December 16, 2024, 03:24:43 PMBig East blows manatees.
3-bid league. UConn, Quette, Johnnie's
Maybe sneak in: Dence, X, Creighton
GTFOH: Butler, DePaul, GTown
New DePaul: Seton Hall
Quette goes 15-5, loses one weirdo game and Willie calls multiple players fecal or genitalia related names in that game thread
This seems like it is spot on.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 16, 2024, 03:26:42 PMNova got kicked out of the league because Neptune is Wojo.
Whoops. Knew I forgot someone
Good: MU, UCONN
Decent: St. John's, Creighton
Meh: Nova, Dence, X
Bad: Butler, GTown, DePaul
Horrible: The Hall
Likely a 4 bid league.
MU, UCONN in.
St John's and Creighton likely.
Maybe Xavier or Nova instead.
Rest of the conference ranges from meh to awful.
Down year.
Also, the top 3 are all Final 4 capable and definitely 2nd weekend capable.
If UConn figures out the defensive side of the ball, they can still make a deep run. The offense is quite good. But if they hover in the 60's defensively (currently 69th, nice, in Defensive Efficiency), that limits their ceiling.
The Johnnies are 26th in offensive efficiency, 18th in defensive efficiency. This is their best team this century and best team since 1999 which made the Elite 8.
Marquette is a top-20 offense and defense. They're one of 6 teams that can claim that with Gonzaga and Florida just outside those parameters.
Quote from: Uncle Rico on December 16, 2024, 03:54:09 PMAlso, the top 3 are all Final 4 capable and definitely 2nd weekend capable.
If UConn figures out the defensive side of the ball, they can still make a deep run. The offense is quite good. But if they hover in the 60's defensively (currently 69th, nice, in Defensive Efficiency), that limits their ceiling.
The Johnnies are 26th in offensive efficiency, 18th in defensive efficiency. This is their best team this century and best team since 1999 which made the Elite 8.
Marquette is a top-20 offense and defense. They're one of 6 teams that can claim that with Gonzaga and Florida just outside those parameters.
We scheduled a game at Dayton. We're not a serious program.
Quote from: wadesworld on December 16, 2024, 04:16:32 PMWe scheduled a game at Dayton. We're not a serious program.
I have Marquette losing another 5 games before MSG, so it's not a serious program anyway
Quote from: Uncle Rico on December 16, 2024, 04:20:17 PMI have Marquette losing another 5 games before MSG, so it's not a serious program anyway
My expectation is that we go 17-3 in league play. Any performance less than that merits a D grade.
1st or 2nd in BE. Most likely a #2 seed unless the committee feels guilty about putting 4 SEC teams as #1s.
Very pleased. They are better than I though they'd be (coming into the season, I thought 12-13 in BE and hoped for a 6 or 7 seed). The biggest plus is that the better they are, the less we have to deal with 4ever posting in the b-ball thread.
Quote from: Uncle Rico on December 16, 2024, 03:24:43 PMBig East blows manatees.
3-bid league. UConn, Quette, Johnnie's
Maybe sneak in: Dence, X, Creighton, Nova
GTFOH: Butler, DePaul, GTown
New DePaul: Seton Hall
Quette goes 15-5, loses one weirdo game and Willie calls multiple players fecal or genitalia related names in that game thread
PLEASE, 3 bid league? More like 1 bid league to be decided at MSG
UConn: Probably good, but not as good as we thought. They don't defend very well and it's hard to know if they're the team that crashed in Maui or the team that (probably?) beat good teams this past week. Biggest competition for the league.
St. John's: Zuby & Luis are awesome, but I don't know about the back court. Richmond & Smith too often seem disinterested. Not as good as I thought so far, but I was very high on them.
Creighton: Haven't watched a ton, but not very good. Kalk is the only decent defender and not nearly as many offensive options as usual.
Xavier: The offensive additions haven't been as good as expected, the defense is just okay, and they were thin up front before losing Free. I think they're in a lot of trouble. Probably end up worse than last year.
Butler: Their offense is just Telfort and Brooks taking whatever shots they want. When those two are hot, they are dangerous. When they're not, well, they lost two buy games for a reason.
Providence: I have no idea how they beat BYU because they seem to run no offense. Just my turn, your turn as they try to beat teams one on one. Kim English doesn't seem very good at this. But they'll probably beast us at the AMP anyway.
Villanova: If they could build the whole team out of Eric Dixon, they might have something. No one does less with more like Neptune.
Seton Hall: They really have no offensive talent, not just on the court but in terms of Sha's coaching. Almost certainly the worst team in the league. Holloway should've jumped ship for Louisville last year.
DePaul: They're fun to watch and can really shoot. Should've beat Providence, but there's still some DePaul in there even with a totally new roster. I expect they'll sneak a few surprising wins this year.
Georgetown: Thomas Sorber is awesome. Maybe the best offensive big in the league. He should be in the NBA next year. But as a team, not good. They're better than the Ewing years, but SHU being awful is probably their saving grace.
Quote from: brewcity77 on December 16, 2024, 08:45:08 PMUConn: Probably good, but not as good as we thought. They don't defend very well and it's hard to know if they're the team that crashed in Maui or the team that (probably?) beat good teams this past week. Biggest competition for the league.
St. John's: Zuby & Luis are awesome, but I don't know about the back court. Richmond & Smith too often seem disinterested. Not as good as I thought so far, but I was very high on them.
Creighton: Haven't watched a ton, but not very good. Kalk is the only decent defender and not nearly as many offensive options as usual.
Xavier: The offensive additions haven't been as good as expected, the defense is just okay, and they were thin up front before losing Free. I think they're in a lot of trouble. Probably end up worse than last year.
Butler: Their offense is just Telfort and Brooks taking whatever shots they want. When those two are hot, they are dangerous. When they're not, well, they lost two buy games for a reason.
Providence: I have no idea how they beat BYU because they seem to run no offense. Just my turn, your turn as they try to beat teams one on one. Kim English doesn't seem very good at this. But they'll probably beast us at the AMP anyway.
Villanova: If they could build the whole team out of Eric Dixon, they might have something. No one does less with more like Neptune.
Seton Hall: They really have no offensive talent, not just on the court but in terms of Sha's coaching. Almost certainly the worst team in the league. Holloway should've jumped ship for Louisville last year.
DePaul: They're fun to watch and can really shoot. Should've beat Providence, but there's still some DePaul in there even with a totally new roster. I expect they'll sneak a few surprising wins this year.
Georgetown: Thomas Sorber is awesome. Maybe the best offensive big in the league. He should be in the NBA next year. But as a team, not good. They're better than the Ewing years, but SHU being awful is probably their saving grace.
I concur with everything said here. Spot on, IMO. A small part of me fears DePaul will get red hot from deep and have one one of their best games of the season against us, but realistically, we outmatch them hard on both ends and should crush them.
Barring a complete collapse or additional injuries, I genuinely don't think we should lose at home to anyone other than UConn or St. John's. I think we should realistically win all our road games against any team that isn't those two, Creighton, or Providence. Maybe Xavier too if they're healthy, but I'm not entirely sure what their deal is this season.
My honest prediction is that we enter the BE tournament with no more than 6 total losses, like the '22-23 season. So 4 league losses at most.
Quote from: K1 Lover on December 16, 2024, 09:17:56 PMI concur with everything said here. Spot on, IMO. A small part of me fears DePaul will get red hot from deep and have one one of their best games of the season against us, but realistically, we outmatch them hard on both ends and should crush them.
Barring a complete collapse or additional injuries, I genuinely don't think we should lose at home to anyone other than UConn or St. John's. I think we should realistically win all our road games against any team that isn't those two, Creighton, or Providence. Maybe Xavier too if they're healthy, but I'm not entirely sure what their deal is this season.
My honest prediction is that we enter the BE tournament with no more than 6 total losses, like the '22-23 season. So 4 league losses at most.
Loved Brew's summary. A whole lot said in few words.
I think we go 17-3 with @ UCONN, @ St. John's plus one more road game as our Ls. I'm including the 3rd loss simply because it seems to happen to everyone-just an anomaly. Last year it was 2nd half Butler that embarrassed us.
Quote from: brewcity77 on December 16, 2024, 08:45:08 PMUConn: Probably good, but not as good as we thought. They don't defend very well and it's hard to know if they're the team that crashed in Maui or the team that (probably?) beat good teams this past week. Biggest competition for the league.
St. John's: Zuby & Luis are awesome, but I don't know about the back court. Richmond & Smith too often seem disinterested. Not as good as I thought so far, but I was very high on them.
Creighton: Haven't watched a ton, but not very good. Kalk is the only decent defender and not nearly as many offensive options as usual.
Xavier: The offensive additions haven't been as good as expected, the defense is just okay, and they were thin up front before losing Free. I think they're in a lot of trouble. Probably end up worse than last year.
Butler: Their offense is just Telfort and Brooks taking whatever shots they want. When those two are hot, they are dangerous. When they're not, well, they lost two buy games for a reason.
Providence: I have no idea how they beat BYU because they seem to run no offense. Just my turn, your turn as they try to beat teams one on one. Kim English doesn't seem very good at this. But they'll probably beast us at the AMP anyway.
Villanova: If they could build the whole team out of Eric Dixon, they might have something. No one does less with more like Neptune.
Seton Hall: They really have no offensive talent, not just on the court but in terms of Sha's coaching. Almost certainly the worst team in the league. Holloway should've jumped ship for Louisville last year.
DePaul: They're fun to watch and can really shoot. Should've beat Providence, but there's still some DePaul in there even with a totally new roster. I expect they'll sneak a few surprising wins this year.
Georgetown: Thomas Sorber is awesome. Maybe the best offensive big in the league. He should be in the NBA next year. But as a team, not good. They're better than the Ewing years, but SHU being awful is probably their saving grace.
Excellent summary. Agree with just about all of that. 16-4 feels right. Battle it out with UConn for regular season title.
3 or 4 losses seems low to me. As of this morning we would have 6 Q1 road games and 1 Q1 home game in the BE season. And Xavier is 1 spot from being a Q1 road game and Butler is 2 spots from being a Q1 road game. So there's the potential for 8 Q1 road games in the conference. Those are very hard to win.
Quote from: Uncle Rico on December 16, 2024, 03:24:43 PMBig East blows manatees.
How on earth do you blow a manatee?
Dynamite?
Quote from: dgies9156 on December 17, 2024, 08:51:43 PMHow on earth do you blow a manatee?
Dynamite?
They're mammals.....
Quote from: Uncle Rico on December 16, 2024, 03:24:43 PMBig East blows manatees.
3-bid league. UConn, Quette, Johnnie's
Maybe sneak in: Dence, X, Creighton, Nova
GTFOH: Butler, DePaul, GTown
New DePaul: Seton Hall
Quette goes 15-5, loses one weirdo game and Willie calls multiple players fecal or genitalia related names in that game thread
Why are you attacking our vegetarian marine mammals? Totally uncalled for.
Quote from: MuggsyB on December 17, 2024, 09:06:13 PMWhy are you attacking our vegetarian marine mammals? Totally uncalled for.
They're stupid and only good for smoking
Quote from: Newsdreams on December 17, 2024, 09:15:38 PMThey're stupid and only good for smoking
They are not stupid. This is a misnomer and highly prejudical. And they're coming back strong.
Quote from: MuggsyB on December 17, 2024, 09:27:26 PMThey are not stupid. This is a misnomer and highly prejudical. And they're coming back strong.
They're dumb as a rock
Like everyone else, MU and UC are class of conf.
But it seems like a lot of inconsistency even at the top. X, Creighton...losing when I didn't expect it. DePaul should be close to 500 and STJ looked good on TV. That big they have is tough.
I just hope we get respect as a conference. I don't mind if a couple teams tank like SH and <fill in blank>. But we need a third or fourth team to look good.
Give everyone else 4 losses to start (2 each for playing MU and UC) then see who rises.
MU goes 18-2. 🥴
I generally agree with the ranking of the teams, though I would include SJU with MU and UConn.
I note that Pomeroy's projection for MU is 15-5 in the conference and that seems about right to me. There are going to be a lot of competitive road games in which MU might be favored , and it's likely that MU will lose some of them.Between those and the games against the conference's better teams (UConn, SJU, and Creighton) it isn't hard to see 5 losses. MU has not looked good in its road games so far, especially in crunch time.
Hopefully MU can avoid having a big clunker at home like last year's Butler game.
Quote from: wisblue on December 18, 2024, 02:19:38 PMI generally agree with the ranking of the teams, though I would include SJU with MU and UConn.
I note that Pomeroy's projection for MU is 15-5 in the conference and that seems about right to me. There are going to be a lot of competitive road games in which MU might be favored , and it's likely that MU will lose some of them.Between those and the games against the conference's better teams (UConn, SJU, and Creighton) it isn't hard to see 5 losses. MU has not looked good in its road games so far, especially in crunch time.
Hopefully MU can avoid having a big clunker at home like last year's Butler game.
COLE
Quote from: FairWeatherEagle on December 17, 2024, 11:43:04 PMLike everyone else, MU and UC are class of conf.
But it seems like a lot of inconsistency even at the top. X, Creighton...losing when I didn't expect it. DePaul should be close to 500 and STJ looked good on TV. That big they have is tough.
I just hope we get respect as a conference. I don't mind if a couple teams tank like SH and <fill in blank>. But we need a third or fourth team to look good.
Give everyone else 4 losses to start (2 each for playing MU and UC) then see who rises.
MU goes 18-2. 🥴
7 conference wins max for DePaul, and I'd take the under if I were betting.
UConn is going to go 20-0
I was looking at this thread and was wondering if anyone's thoughts have been changed by the first 40% of the conference schedule as we move into the part of the schedule that includes most of the head to head games between the league's top contenders.
A couple of my opinions and observations:
1. It looks now like it could be a very tight four team race between MU, UConn, SJU, and Creighton.
2. Creighton seems to have found its footing after a rocky start to its OOC and conference season. They have one leg up by going 2-1 against the other 3 contenders, with 2 of the remaining 3 at home.
3. The 6 head to head games involving MU, UConn, and SJU figure to be dogfights. MU and UConn have not played like they are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. McNeely's return could be a wild card.
4. Xavier and Villanova have shown that they can compete with the top teams, especially Xavier with Freemantle back and their fifth year players coming together. While it's hard to see either of them making a run at the title they are likely going to hang some more losses on the top 4.
5. Georgetown and Butler, despite its record, have shown that they are not easy outs.
6. Unless Hopkins makes a comeback, any of the top teams losing to any of Providence, DePaul, or Seton Hall will be losing a game to the field. MU was lucky to avoid that fate.
7. I think 16-4 will get a team no worse than a tie for the league title. Unless McNeely does it for UConn, I don't see any of the top 4 clearly above the others.
Quote from: wisblue on January 22, 2025, 01:37:28 PMI was looking at this thread and was wondering if anyone's thoughts have been changed by the first 40% of the conference schedule as we move into the part of the schedule that includes most of the head to head games between the league's top contenders.
A couple of my opinions and observations:
1. It looks now like it could be a very tight four team race between MU, UConn, SJU, and Creighton.
2. Creighton seems to have found its footing after a rocky start to its OOC and conference season. They have one leg up by going 2-1 against the other 3 contenders, with 2 of the remaining 3 at home.
3. The 6 head to head games involving MU, UConn, and SJU figure to be dogfights. MU and UConn have not played like they are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. McNeely's return could be a wild card.
4. Xavier and Villanova have shown that they can compete with the top teams, especially Xavier with Freemantle back and their fifth year players coming together. While it's hard to see either of them making a run at the title they are likely going to hang some more losses on the top 4.
5. Georgetown and Butler, despite its record, have shown that they are not easy outs.
6. Unless Hopkins makes a comeback, any of the top teams losing to any of Providence, DePaul, or Seton Hall will be losing a game to the field. MU was lucky to avoid that fate.
7. I think 16-4 will get a team no worse than a tie for the league title. Unless McNeely does it for UConn, I don't see any of the top 4 clearly above the others.
I agree with your observations. Should be a fun several weeks ahead. If MU does survive and manages to win the league, they should be primed for a good run in the tournament.
If Marquette wins 10 league games this yeah, Shaka should be BECOY
Quote from: Uncle Rico on January 22, 2025, 05:57:22 PMIf Marquette wins 10 league games this yeah, Shaka should be BECOY
Extend contract until Wardle is available
Still think UConn is going to go 20-0.
Quote from: wisblue on January 22, 2025, 01:37:28 PMI was looking at this thread and was wondering if anyone's thoughts have been changed by the first 40% of the conference schedule as we move into the part of the schedule that includes most of the head to head games between the league's top contenders.
A couple of my opinions and observations:
1. It looks now like it could be a very tight four team race between MU, UConn, SJU, and Creighton.
2. Creighton seems to have found its footing after a rocky start to its OOC and conference season. They have one leg up by going 2-1 against the other 3 contenders, with 2 of the remaining 3 at home.
3. The 6 head to head games involving MU, UConn, and SJU figure to be dogfights. MU and UConn have not played like they are head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. McNeely's return could be a wild card.
4. Xavier and Villanova have shown that they can compete with the top teams, especially Xavier with Freemantle back and their fifth year players coming together. While it's hard to see either of them making a run at the title they are likely going to hang some more losses on the top 4.
5. Georgetown and Butler, despite its record, have shown that they are not easy outs.
6. Unless Hopkins makes a comeback, any of the top teams losing to any of Providence, DePaul, or Seton Hall will be losing a game to the field. MU was lucky to avoid that fate.
7. I think 16-4 will get a team no worse than a tie for the league title. Unless McNeely does it for UConn, I don't see any of the top 4 clearly above the others.
Creighton looks a lot better than I thought they would. McDermott has turned into a really good coach. And he wasn't a slouch before. But I think that they are 4th. Just not sure they have the firepower to avoid dropping a few more games than the other three. But I hope I'm wrong.
Agree with all your other points. MU isn't going to lose at home to the bottom three, and I think MU gets the return games against Georgetown and Butler. Shaka tends to have MU prepared the second time around.
Quote from: Uncle Rico on January 22, 2025, 05:57:22 PMIf Marquette wins 10 league games this yeah, Shaka should be BECOY
No, if he wins 10 games he shouldn't BECOY, he should shout it from the rooftops...
Hang a banner...
Something like that.
Quote from: MU82 on January 22, 2025, 07:34:41 PMStill think UConn is going to go 20-0.
McNeely did not get hurt.
Quote from: MU82 on January 22, 2025, 07:34:41 PMStill think UConn is going to go 20-0.
They would have, if McNeely did not get hurt. He supposedly will be back for MU game.
Quote from: bilsu on January 23, 2025, 10:52:57 AMThey would have, if McNeely did not get hurt. He supposedly will be back for MU game.
This is a good time to laugh at yourself rather than doubling down.
Everybody has to deal with injuries. It's not
if, it's
when.
Here's how laughing at yourself works:
1) I speculated that Nova might join Seton Hall in the cellar at season's end, based solely upon their OOC fiascos.
2) I went with 17-3 for Marquette (and yes, that is still possible of course), but now I'm nervous about my revised 16-4. I'll probably drop to 15-5 before long.
Wise bettors monitor my posts and bet the opposite.
I am more confident in a possible win @ UConn than @ STJ. Their D is long and tough. They jump passing lanes....they get rebounds and get out and run. Their offense isn't great, but that game will be very tough to get outta there with a W.
I respect them all and appreciate every victory.
Quote from: bilsu on January 23, 2025, 10:52:57 AMMcNeely did not get hurt.They would have, if McNeely did not get hurt. He supposedly will be back for MU game.
It took UCONN overtime to beat Xavier at home and they beat Butler by 4 both with McNeeley. McNeeley is very good, but he's not some generational talent. And this UCONN team when healthy is good, but they also lost to Colorado fully healthy. The idea that they'd go 20-0, something they didn't do last year when they were WAY better in a worse conference, is hilarious.
Quote from: bilsu on January 23, 2025, 10:52:57 AMThey would have, if McNeely did not get hurt. He supposedly will be back for MU game.
Because they're lucky Dayton isn't in the conference.
Quote from: tower912 on January 23, 2025, 11:34:59 AMI respect them all and appreciate every victory.
Eventually, Marquette's season will end and some scoopers can find true joy
Quote from: We R Final Four on January 23, 2025, 11:25:00 AMTheir D is long and tough.
Comments like this are why I pay extra for MUScoop+. Worth every penny.
Quote from: bilsu on January 23, 2025, 10:52:57 AMMcNeely did not get hurt.They would have, if McNeely did not get hurt. He supposedly will be back for MU game.
You do know UConn went 0-for-3 in Maui with McNeely averaging 32 mpg (he was 0-for-7 against Dayton in the huge 7th-place game BTW) and that they barely beat Xavier and Butler in the two games before he got hurt, right?
But thanks for your insight, Leader of the Eeyores.
Quote from: MU82 on January 23, 2025, 09:08:53 PMYou do know UConn went 0-for-3 in Maui with McNeely averaging 32 mpg (he was 0-for-7 against Dayton in the huge 7th-place game BTW) and that they barely beat Xavier and Butler in the two games before he got hurt, right?
But thanks for your insight, Leader of the Eeyores.
Actual facts not valid on Scoop
Quote from: Newsdreams on January 23, 2025, 09:11:08 PMActual facts not valid on Scoop
"Alternative " facts are OK though.