Home/Away BE Opponents

[robmufan]

It looks like ESPN has gotten a hold of this before it will be announced later today.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/32500/revealing-the-big-east-league-opponents

Edit: Crap, I think i was a step late!

[mileskishnish72]

I like the last line - "if you're a Cincy or Marquette fan, take solace since the league considers your team a top-tier contender."

[ChicosBailBonds]

I like the last line - "if you're a Cincy or Marquette fan, take solace since the league considers your team a top-tier contender."

That's ok, things even out.  Last year we got a huge break in that area.  This year, we don't.  We're a better team this year, more experience, etc, etc.

[Pakuni]

That's ok, things even out.  Last year we got a huge break in that area.  This year, we don't.  We're a better team this year, more experience, etc, etc.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you, but are you suggesting MU got a huge break with its mirror games last year?
Having a team that spent much of the season in the top 10 (and finished #14 overall) and the eventual national champion as two of the three mirror opponents is far from a huge break. DePaul-USF-Rutgers would be huge break. Teams that went a combined 72-34, not so much.

[T-Bone]

It's the Big East.  There really aren't any breaks, unless you play DePaul and USF 5 times each.

[bilsu]

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you, but are you suggesting MU got a huge break with its mirror games last year?
Having a team that spent much of the season in the top 10 (and finished #14 overall) and the eventual national champion as two of the three mirror opponents is far from a huge break. DePaul-USF-Rutgers would be huge break. Teams that went a combined 72-34, not so much.

The goal is to finish at leat 4-2 in mirror games. We would have done that last year, if we did not lay an egg at Seton Hall. This year will be tough as I cannot look at the three teams and say we should sweep one of them. Best chance for a sweep is probably Georgetown. Given that Cincy beat us last year at our place, they probably have a respectable chance sweep us. Last year I would have been happy with a 4-2. This year, I would be happy with a 3-3.

[MerrittsMustache]

If you look at the actual teams as opposed to simply the names, the mirror games aren't exactly the gauntlet that some seem to believe. Cincy will be improved from last season but G'town and Nova should be down (relatively speaking). Also, Katz has MU ranked #13, Cincy #19 and Gtown and Nova unranked. No reason to believe MU won't win at least 4 of those games.

[brewcity77]

If you look at the actual teams as opposed to simply the names, the mirror games aren't exactly the gauntlet that some seem to believe. Cincy will be improved from last season but G'town and Nova should be down (relatively speaking). Also, Katz has MU ranked #13, Cincy #19 and Gtown and Nova unranked. No reason to believe MU won't win at least 4 of those games.

Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking this way. G'town was a shadow of themselves without Wright last year. It sucks that Freeman is back, but they're still beatable. I think we go at least 1-1 against them, and could very well sweep. 'Nova will step back without the Corey's and Pena. They'll be okay, but Wayns, Yarou, and Cheek won't be nearly as good without those seniors around. We should sweep them. Cincy will be tough. Gates, Dixon, and Wright will be a very formidable group. As long as we split, though, we should still have a good chance at 4-2, possibly even 5-1.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking this way. G'town was a shadow of themselves without Wright last year. It sucks that Freeman is back, but they're still beatable.

Freeman graduated too.

[Jacks DC]

This may work out very well for us because we get 3 pretty big name programs twice, which means better exposure.  If there's ever a year when you want to see Villanova and Georgetown twice this is it.

[brewcity77]

Freeman graduated too.

Crap, I was mixing him up with that guy from Pitt, Ashton Gibbs. Thought Freeman was the one who shocked everyone by not going to the NBA.

Well, that's even better than. 4-2 should be our expectation (as it should have been last year), 5-1 is realistic.

[77ncaachamps]

Don't forget that we get to see Aaron Bowman twice.

http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/bowen_aaron00.html

[hoyasincebirth]

Aaron was injured last year which is why he only played some garbage time in a few games. so you'll have four years to actually see him still.

Georgetown will be predicted to be down next year. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.
Also we only finished 10-8 last year. It was a disappointment based on expectations. I actually expect us to finish around that again this year, but everyone will be happy with that due to expectations. In terms of record I don't actually expect us to fall off that much, but we will be over achieving instead of underachieving.

[muguru]

Aaron was injured last year which is why he only played some garbage time in a few games. so you'll have four years to actually see him still.

Georgetown will be predicted to be down next year. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen.
Also we only finished 10-8 last year. It was a disappointment based on expectations. I actually expect us to finish around that again this year, but everyone will be happy with that due to expectations. In terms of record I don't actually expect us to fall off that much, but we will be over achieving instead of underachieving.

That's kind of a mirror image of MU. Last year finishing 9-9 was a HUGE disappointment(they made up for it by making the Sweet 16, however), this year they should finish top 4. At least those are MY expectations.

[karavotsos]

Nova is underrated and all the Jay Wright fans here should believe its a great year for him to use underdog motivation tactics.  Getting rid of the two Corys (Stokes and Fisher) and Pena is addition by subtraction.  Jay Wright just needs to learn how to utilize true big men offensively and defensively and Nova is back to Sweet 16 at least. 

[mileskishnish72]

We've gone 2-5 away vs. GT & Nova with some pretty good teams. We've had better luck vs. Cincy away as opposed to in MKE. 4 and 2 would make me very happy but I think 3-3 is more likely.

[brewcity77]

Nova is underrated and all the Jay Wright fans here should believe its a great year for him to use underdog motivation tactics.  Getting rid of the two Corys (Stokes and Fisher) and Pena is addition by subtraction.  Jay Wright just needs to learn how to utilize true big men offensively and defensively and Nova is back to Sweet 16 at least. 

That's putting a lot of expectation on some inexperienced guys. Only Wayns and Yarou were really major contributors that I recall returning. I think 'Nova will be hard-pressed to be as good as they were last year, much less better.

I doubt the Big East will get 11 bids again. 8-9 is probably more realistic. Syracuse, Louisville, UConn, Marquette, and Cincy look like the teams most capable of challenging for the top of the league. That leaves 2-3 spots for WVU, 'Nova, Georgetown, St. John's, Notre Dame, and maybe a dark horse like Rutgers. Any of those teams could be in, but any could also end up out. Villanova will have a tough season in store for them.

[hoyasincebirth]

I'm fairly confident the BE could get 11 bids again. You have to look at all the other conferences. I don't see any of them getting extra bids. B12, B10 will probably get less bids than last year. ACC, Pac 10, won't be any better this year so they won't be gaining bids. the SEC may gain a bid or 2, but who's going to steal away bids from the big east? I wouldn't be surprised if we got 10 bids.

[Marquette84]

I'm fairly confident the BE could get 11 bids again. You have to look at all the other conferences. I don't see any of them getting extra bids. B12, B10 will probably get less bids than last year. ACC, Pac 10, won't be any better this year so they won't be gaining bids. the SEC may gain a bid or 2, but who's going to steal away bids from the big east? I wouldn't be surprised if we got 10 bids.

The wildcard is how the committee reacts to the success of VCU and Butler.

In 2011, BCS conference teams landed tournament spots over higher-RPI teams from the MVC (Missouri State, Wichita State), Horizon (Cleveland State), MWC (St. Mary's, Colorado State) and CUSA (UTEP, USM, Marshall). 

It would not surprise me at all if we saw more teams from these conferences. 

[bilsu]

The Big East got 11 bids, because they did so well in the non-conference games. It will be hard to do so well again. I expect the Big East to get 9 bids.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm fairly confident the BE could get 11 bids again. You have to look at all the other conferences. I don't see any of them getting extra bids. B12, B10 will probably get less bids than last year. ACC, Pac 10, won't be any better this year so they won't be gaining bids. the SEC may gain a bid or 2, but who's going to steal away bids from the big east? I wouldn't be surprised if we got 10 bids.

I think the Pac Twelve will be gaining bids this year. Four bids last year, look for them to get 5 bids this year. 

[brewcity77]

I'm fairly confident the BE could get 11 bids again. You have to look at all the other conferences. I don't see any of them getting extra bids. B12, B10 will probably get less bids than last year. ACC, Pac 10, won't be any better this year so they won't be gaining bids. the SEC may gain a bid or 2, but who's going to steal away bids from the big east? I wouldn't be surprised if we got 10 bids.

It's not just who will steal them, but will there be the overall quality in the league? Remember that less than a third of the Big East (5/16 teams) had losing conference records. That's the first time that happened since the expansion to 16 teams, which means it was really the only time that many teams were eligible. In addition, the committee heavily favored .500 BCS conference teams, which may not be the case after 2 mid-majors reached the Final Four as Marquette84 pointed out.

Next year, you'll likely see the more regular 6-8 teams with double-digit conference losses, and mid-majors will likely be more popular. Add in the likely increase in bids for the PAC-12 and SEC and 8-9 is probably more likely than seeing double-digit bids again.

[hoyasincebirth]

Why do people expect the Pac12 to gain bids if anything they'll probably lose bids.

All the teams at the top of the Pac12 are coming down.

Washington, UCLA, USC, Arizona all have major loses. I think they'll all be worse than last year and none of them we're that great to begin with. I guess Cal and Oregon will be better, but no guarantee good enough for the NCAAs and one or more of the first four I mentioned will not make it as well. I think they'll only get 3 bids 4 at the most. Can't see them gaining bids.

I know you all want washington to be good since you play them, but you should wipe the floor with them. They lose their top 3 scorers and their best defender. They'll have some decent guards but that's about it. Who knows how Gaddy will be coming off that injury. They have two proven player returning Suggs and Ross. They have one major recruit coming in at Guard in Wroten. You should kill them inside and you're stronger than them at their only strength: guard.

[karavotsos]

That's putting a lot of expectation on some inexperienced guys. Only Wayns and Yarou were really major contributors that I recall returning. I think 'Nova will be hard-pressed to be as good as they were last year, much less better.

No one thought UConn would be better this year, and they were.  They lost Stanley Robinson, Gavin Edwards, and Jerome Dyson, who were all major contributors to that team.  Robinson and Dyson were both pretty well hyped, but Dyson wasn't as good after his knee injury, in hindsight he probably just kept the ball out of Walker's hands.  Robinson was athletic but horrible offensively and not even that aggressive.  Edwards was just soft.  Them leaving left a lot of opportunity for new players, just like is going to happen with Nova this year.

Nova has talent.  Wright needs to do a good coaching job and they need to come together as a team.  I just see Stokes and Fischer as 2 low-efficiency chuckers who took up a good amount of minutes and shots and kept players who could be more solid from playing.  Wright has the challenge of teaching defense and half-court ball, but if he does and gets guys to come together I don't see how they don't have the talent to get production.  They had a great recruiting class last year and have a bunch of guys with some experience and hunger (you would think) waiting to step up.