Marquette #14 in ESPN Poll and while people are bad mouthing the Big Ten...

[MarquetteDano]

did anyone notice that the SEC does not have ONE TEAM in the Top 25?  I think if people are going to bad mouth a league there is your choice.  There are some goods teams:  Tenn, Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida.  However, it is weak overall this year...

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/usatpoll.htm

[MarquetteFan94]

8 BE teams still in the Top 25....after being ranked #22 on Saturday WVU only received 7 votes...dropped 15 spots...ouch.

[Badgerhater920]

BE with 6 out of the top 14

[nyg]

Thats a fair ranking.

[bradforster]

Marquette is 14th in the AP poll as well.  That's a four spot improvement.  With a win over Providence on Saturday the Eagles would certainly jump over Notre Dame in next week's poll, since the Irish will most likely lose tonight or later in the week at Syracuse.  Notre Dame's next five games are absolutely brutal. 

at #20 Louisville
at #8 Syracuse
#4 Connecticut
#14 Marquette
at #1 Pittsburgh

[muwarrior69]

That is like our last 5, though not in that order.

[mosarsour]

That is like our last 5, though not in that order.

It's the BEAST...every team's schedule is just as brutal as everyone else's. That's why 4-0 start is so huge for us, because it's not going to get any easier.

[greenman]

8 BE teams still in the Top 25....after being ranked #22 on Saturday WVU only received 7 votes...dropped 15 spots...ouch.

How about the ACC in the AP? Three out of top five. ACC might be better at the top of their conference but BEast is better top to bottom.

ESPN poses an interesting question: Quantity vs. quality.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/powerranking

[Warrior Forever]

It hurts to write this, but the Big 10 is better than most think.  Michigan St, Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio St, Wisconsin.  Not that it's great and doesn't come close to the Big East, but it's a pretty competitive conference.

Go Warriors.

[Badgerhater920]

i MIGHT take the ACC's top 3 over the Big East's, but in terms of top 8 or 9, it's not even close.

[AlumKCof93]

Of those teams,  I think Michigan St., Illinois, and Purdue are legit.  Minnesota's playing well, but I'm skeptical.  Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan would struggle to finish in the top 8 of the Big East.

[Badgerhater920]

It hurts to write this, but the Big 10 is better than most think.  Michigan St, Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio St, Wisconsin.  Not that it's great and doesn't come close to the Big East, but it's a pretty competitive conference.

Go Warriors.

I'll be the first to admit it's a significantly better conference than I thought it would be, even though it doesn't touch the ACC or BE.

[Badgerhater920]

Of those teams,  I think Michigan St., Illinois, and Purdue are legit.  Minnesota's playing well, but I'm skeptical.  Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Michigan would struggle to finish in the top 8 of the Big East.

+1

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I agree that the conference is better.

A lot of good coaches in that conference now. Tubby, Crean, Motta and Painter all added in the past 2/3 years (already had Bo and Izzo established). 

It will be interesting to watch as that conference improves (in the coming years) if Bo can still keep up the magic.

Some people say a lot of his success comes from the fact that the conference has been relatively down in the past 3-5 seasons.

I'm guessing in the next 2 years we will find out how much truth there is to belief. If he keeps winning... the whole argument goes out the window. If he finishes middle of the pack, well, you can still say that he's a good coach, but maybe not as great as some people had believed.

(For the record, I hate Bo, but he's been a good coach and has won a lot of games).

[Wareagle]

I agree that the conference is better.

A lot of good coaches in that conference now. Tubby, Crean, Motta and Painter all added in the past 2/3 years (already had Bo and Izzo established). 

It will be interesting to watch as that conference improves (in the coming years) if Bo can still keep up the magic.

Some people say a lot of his success comes from the fact that the conference has been relatively down in the past 3-5 seasons.

I'm guessing in the next 2 years we will find out how much truth there is to belief. If he keeps winning... the whole argument goes out the window. If he finishes middle of the pack, well, you can still say that he's a good coach, but maybe not as great as some people had believed.

(For the record, I hate Bo, but he's been a good coach and has won a lot of games).

I agree, now that Tubby is at Minnesota, Bo won't be able to loot the state like he used to. 

[Skatastrophy]

I agree, now that Tubby is at Minnesota, Bo won't be able to loot the state like he used to. 

Why did Tubby choose MN?  He could have had his pick of most any program in the nation.  Why Minnesota?

[willie warrior]

Who cares about the Big 10 or the ACC? Our conference is the best and most exciting this year, with every game for the visiting team being a ball breaker (except for maybe at DePaul and USF) Those two might just be ball pinchers.

[MR.HAYWARD]

i would agree the Big ten is competitive, but then so is the MAAC!!!  They may be competitive but how good are they?  Who has wisocsin, IOwa, Purdue and many of those teams beaten?  Sure min y beat Loserville at Minny but I am no where near impressed with loserville,  OSu got by ND but has done nothing else including getting beat at home by WVU by 30 who we beat by 25!!.  I just dont see it telling is the ACC won yet again the BTEN/acc challenge and the ACC apart from 3 teams i think is pretty weak.

[AlumKCof93]

Not a bad choice by Tubby - he goes to a place where he can win without the trremendous pressure to win he faced at Kentucky.  

[MR.HAYWARD]

how in the wild wild world of sports is Arkansas not ranked!!

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

i would agree the Big ten is competitive, but then so is the MAAC!!!  They may be competitive but how good are they?  Who has wisocsin, IOwa, Purdue and many of those teams beaten?  Sure min y beat Loserville at Minny but I am no where near impressed with loserville,  OSu got by ND but has done nothing else including getting beat at home by WVU by 30 who we beat by 25!!.  I just dont see it telling is the ACC won yet again the BTEN/acc challenge and the ACC apart from 3 teams i think is pretty weak.

I think the UL vs MN game was neutral court in AZ, MR HAYWARD.

As far as Tubby in MN... the program has some decent history.

Also, it's the only D1 hoops school in the state. The next closet one(s) are Iowa, UW, and ND. St.

MN isn't exactly a basketball hotbed, but if Tubby can get the 1-3 best players every year (and then add some other top 100 kids from around the country), he will be set.

It's not UK, but realistically Tubby has been to the mountain top and come out the other side... he doesn't need a UK type of job. I've rarely heard something negative about the guy... and that's rare at the elite coaching level.

My guess is that he's at MN for 10+ years, at which point a clear cut replacement could be in line (maybe Saul, his son).

[AlumKCof93]

I also was surprised that Arkansas was not ranked, but a 14 pt loss to Mississippi State at home and an earlier loss to Missouri State (7-9) will do that.

[Badgerhater920]

Not a bad choice by Tubby - he goes to a place where he can win without the trremendous pressure to win he faced at Kentucky. 

And he's in a conference he can win.