What a bunch of speculation. So we can just sit on our 3 BE wins and we're a lock and don't "have work to do" ? Crazy. Someone call the boys and tell them to easy up on the practicing, save yourself for March.
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia, DePaul, Providence, Georgetown, Connecticut
After Pitt, Marquette and Notre Dame, this is shaping up to be a giant free-for-all. At least the teams will settle it on the court and create their own separation, although the unbalanced schedule makes even that prospect a bit less reliable.
Work left to do:
Villanova [10-5 (1-3), RPI: 27, SOS: 11] Good RPI, no heft whatsoever (0-3 vs. RPI Top 50). Cats have lost three of their last four, so despite a series of decent road wins, they need to do something relatively soon in Big East play or risk being bumped.
Syracuse [14-4 (3-1), RPI: 41, SOS: 35] The Orange may be the best of this "on the bubble" bunch, but they have some bruises as well. The win at Marquette definitely helps on the marquee ledger.
West Virginia [12-3 (3-2), RPI: 49, SOS: 145] Very nice story but the dossier is very light on any substance. Beating UConn is not the marquee win the 'Eers probably hoped it would be.
DePaul [11-7 (3-2), RPI: 50, SOS: 30] Blue Demons are nominally on the list for now because of their win over Kansas, a handful of true road wins and a middling RPI. Really need to get next two at home (St. John's, L'ville) if they want to be serious about an NCAA bid run.
Providence [12-4 (2-1), RPI: 51, SOS: 42] Beat BC, routed GW and smoked Marquette. Lost at home to Brown, were destroyed at Florida State and lost badly at Louisville. Take all that and an RPI in the low 50s, and that smells like a bubble team to me. To be fair, PG Sharaud Curry missed the FSU debacle and hurt the Friars with poor play in his first game back, at Louisville.
Georgetown [11-5 (1-2), RPI: 54, SOS: 27] More was expected than what the Hoyas have provided thus far, and with a handful of so-so losses, a modest RPI and a 1-4 mark against the RPI Top 50, the Hoyas are far from the lock some perceive them to be. Hoyas only play one more game against a team that's currently ranked, so the chances for wins should be there, but the chance for marquee wins might not be.
Connecticut [13-4 (2-3), RPI: 72, SOS: 149] UConn better be very careful with its next four games (IU, at L'ville, Provy, at DePaul). There's not an auto-win in the bunch and dropping two or more of them could be very crippling to their NCAA hopes. If the season ended today, you would have a very hard time defending putting UConn into the bracket. They haven't done anything on the court to deserve an at-large.
