Ranking the Last Seven Games

[MauraDay]

How would you rank the final seven BE conference games in order of most difficult to least difficult? I realize that many people will disagree with some of this list, and that no game will be easy.

1. at Seton Hall (much better than their record)
2. Lville (their press is very good)
3. Pitt
4. USF
5. ND (no answer for Gody)
6. at Cincy (earlier would have had them much higher but haven't looked good lately)
7. at SJ

[wall2978]

Cincy only has 1 home loss all season to Pitt

[marquette09]

I would not have Seton Hall number 1.  Frankly, I see @ Cincy as a tougher game

[wojosdojo]

Agreed with hall number one... nd isn't good on the road and cincy is good at home like some of you mentioned.. do you think usf belongs wheree you placed them? Jones is great ans the teams on a roll

[sgurgs]

Another reason to fear both USF and Seton Hall is that it looks like those two have the easiest schedules going forward.  If we can't get it done, not as much of a chance that others will do it for us. 

[Niv Berkowitz]

Regardless of rank, I'm just glad we have USF at home.

[MarquetteDano]

I agree our toughest game is Seton Hall (but it is pretty close with Cincy).  Here is how I think our toughest are...

1. at Seton Hall
2. at Cincy
3. Loserville
4. USF
5. Pitt
6. at St. John's
7. N.D.

[sgurgs]

The fact that you have Pitt at #5, regardless of whether they're on a down year or not, scares me for this upcoming stretch.  We're going to have to bring it night in and night out.

[the eagle]

@ SHU - its like they are considering this game their season highlight.  they will be pumped.
@ UC - hard place to play
Pitt
USF - past few wins have been legit...thankfully we play them at home.
N.D. - I would put them below UofL but they still have that farmer/ogar that can shoot lights out.
Louisville
@St. Johns

[MauraDay]

Yes, I probably am not giving Cincy enough credit.

Another thing that obviously makes this last stretch so tough is it's mostly bubble teams trying to play their way in, or at least on to the bubble (except Pit, SJ)

[copious1218]

1a. @ Cincy (good at home)
1b. @ Seton Hall (good at home)
3. Louisville (always give us fits)
4. ND (rivalry game and Gody is a terrible matchup for us)
5. Pitt (lost 4 of last 5 - hopefully trending downward, plus it's at home)
6. USF (see below)
7. @ SJ (they're just not that good - I hope the team doesn't look past them a la DePaul)

USF - I realize many will disagree with USF this low, but here is why:  First, it's a home game.  Second, we have an entire week to prepare for them.  Third, MU should not overlook them since they have won four straight - hopefully our team sees what happened to G'Town against USF and it serves as a wake-up call.  Fourth, Curry and Peterson lit us up today (similar to what Jones and Gilchrist could do) and we still came out on top on the road.  (thinking out loud - maybe I'm just not giving them enough credit).

[NersEllenson]

Yes, I probably am not giving Cincy enough credit.

Another thing that obviously makes this last stretch so tough is it's mostly bubble teams trying to play their way in, or at least on to the bubble (except Pit, SJ)

Very good point.  It is amazing how good every Big East team is, with the exception of DePaul, Rutgers, St. Johns.  Really 13 teams in this league that can pretty much beat each other any given night.  Syracuse is the class of the league I believe.  Anyway my ranking:

Louisville
@Seton Hall
@Cincinatti
Pitt
USF
Notre Dame
@St. Johns

[Shack]

1. USF
2. Pitt
3. @ Cinci
4. @ St. John's
5. @ Seton Hall
6. Louisville
7. Notre Dame

The toughest game we have is the next game on the schedule and when that one's over, the toughest is the next game and so on...  At least that's the way I hope Buzz and crew are looking at it. 

----Captain Obvious

[TallTitan34]

1. Louisville
2. @ Cincinnati
3. @ Seton Hall
4. USF
5. Pittsburgh
6. @ St. Johns
7. Notre Dame

Every game will be a hard victory no matter the order.

[bamamarquettefan]

1. at Seton Hall
2. Loserville
3. USF
4. Pitt
5. at Cincy
6. at St. John's
7. N.D.

Cincy is a tough road game, but they really look demoralized and unfocused to me.  I really feel good about getting Pitt at home, but Loserville is coming on strong again late, and with Domique so hot and getting his sidekick back perhaps by next week, we are going to need every home edge we can to sneak out either or both of those games.  Really is a tough list to pick though with the tougher teams at home (though I'm skeptical of ND) and slightly lesser teams on the road.  Nothing easy, but all winnable

[PGsHeroes32]

I literally dont see anyway you can rank any of these. St.johns is clearly the worst team but we play at their place so its tougher. Cincy is great at home, while Seton Hall is streaky. USF is hot while PITT is overall the best team. ND may be finding a groove but are weak on the road, louisville is basically even with us. There really is no ranking this game as 4 of them are huge bubble games, while another game is 1 for a marquee win(PITT) and another is a cant lose(St. Johns) and then Seton Hall themselves are kinda a trap game between the cant lose St.johns game and the big home game vs louisvilled. Every game is big.

[Doctor V]

1. Louisville
2. @Cincinnatti
3. Pitt
4. N.D.
5. @ Seton Hall
6. USF
7. @ St. Johns

My logic here is that I believe you will see a shift towards what has been the standard in the BE the last few years- that is that L'Ville, Pitt, N.D., and Cincy(more so last year) will finish ahead of SH, USF, and obviously St Johns.

That said, I think the first four teams listed are the best 4 we have left- L'ville, N.D. and Pitt seem to play MU close whether home or away. Playing @ Cincy is one of the hardest outs in the BE. The other three I think MU is better than, although one has been pretty hot (USF) and the others are away and thats never easy

All difficult games. Winable yes,  but loseable as well. This is why I think the first one against USF will set the tone- a win on sat takes off some of the pressure for the game against Pitt

Also, believe it or not these games may be more difficult for the team than that stretch to start the conference season because of EXPECTATIONS- I know everyone will say they werent predicted to do well so they have exceeded, but those guys have to now understand that they are gonna be favorites in some of these games and that can lead to more pressure than the early ones. Also, they probably realize that there is little margin for error if they want to dance

Prediction: I'll admit Ive got no idea which MU will win or lose, but if we beat USF this week I believe a 5-2 finish is possible and likely. A loss to USF and I believe 4-3 is possible, but 3-4 is more likely (just a gut feeling)

I do not think scenario number 2 (4-3 or 3-4) gets MU in the tourney unless they get to the semis of the BE tourney. That shows how important i think the USF game is for MU. Do I think MU will beat USF? Not sure, but maybe later in the week I will have a feeling about it

[DomJamesToTheBasket]

And this is the "easy" stretch......the Big East is tough.