Marquette to win the BEast? 3 seed in the tourney?

[Skatastrophy]

So says http://www.teamrankings.com

http://www.teamrankings.com/blog/site-updates/madness-in-november-new-2013-ncaa-bracket-predictions

I don't care what crappy math they're using, they're my new favorite site

[brewcity77]

I will say this. Louisville has virtually no one who is good at scoring the basketball. Siva and Smith will have the ball in their hands more than anyone, and both are incredibly offensively inefficient. The defense is good, very good, but I think that like last year, they could very well fall flat on their faces once the Big East slate kicks off.

I really think Syracuse is again (unfortunately) the cream of the league. Pitt and ND look like the toughest competition. If all breaks right and guys like Jamil and Vander pick this year to blow up, and Junior can consistently limit turnovers (though the same could be said of Siva), and we stay healthy, we could win the league. I'd still peg us around 4th or 5th, though.

[Skatastrophy]

I will say this. Louisville has virtually no one who is good at scoring the basketball. Siva and Smith will have the ball in their hands more than anyone, and both are incredibly offensively inefficient. The defense is good, very good, but I think that like last year, they could very well fall flat on their faces once the Big East slate kicks off.

I really think Syracuse is again (unfortunately) the cream of the league. Pitt and ND look like the toughest competition. If all breaks right and guys like Jamil and Vander pick this year to blow up, and Junior can consistently limit turnovers (though the same could be said of Siva), and we stay healthy, we could win the league. I'd still peg us around 4th or 5th, though.

I'm right there with you on this one.

I think Louisville will be pretty good, but I still feel like they're very overrated at this point.

[brewcity77]

All the Siva love baffles me. He had a good Big East Tournament. But outside of that, he was wildly inconsistent. He turns the ball over like he's flipping pizza dough and is a poor shooter. I'd say at best he's the fourth or fifth best player on Louisville, certainly behind Dieng, Behanan, and Smith. Not worthy of All-Big East honorable mention, much less preseason player of the year.

[JWags85]

All the Siva love baffles me. He had a good Big East Tournament. But outside of that, he was wildly inconsistent. He turns the ball over like he's flipping pizza dough and is a poor shooter. I'd say at best he's the fourth or fifth best player on Louisville, certainly behind Dieng, Behanan, and Smith. Not worthy of All-Big East honorable mention, much less preseason player of the year.

Agreed.  All I thought about when I saw him as preseason POY, I just thought back to the Louisville last game where everyone cheered every time Siva touched the ball cause he was either getting picked, or more likely, jacking up an ill advised 3.  He was Marquette's best player in the second half.

[Wade for President]

I will say this. Louisville has virtually no one who is good at scoring the basketball.

I think Behanan has a breakout year for L'ville (assuming Silva can get him the ball).  He physically overpowers a lot of defenders at his size.

[jesmu84]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/preview2012/story/_/id/8604513/expert-predictions-new-season

Many of the "experts" like Louisville to not only win the BEast, but also the national championship.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Pitino wins with defense.  KPom has them #2 defensively.  Dieng is a defensive beast.

[muguru]

Agree with everyone here. All the Siva love just has me baffled. He wouldn't even be player of the year in the MAC, let alone the BE. if he is the best the BE has to offer, then it's easily the worst year for BE hoops, perhaps in the history of BE hoops.

UL is incredibly overrated. In their exhibition against Bellarmine recently, they went 0-16 from 3 pt land. 

[copious1218]

I find it hard to believe that the winner of the BEast would be a 3 seed in the NCAA.

[Dawson Rental]

The genius of Larry Williams is revealed.  Now we see why he is working so hard to make Marquette into a St. Louis.  St. Louis is a two seed while MU is only a three seed.

[Hards Alumni]

I actually look at teamrankings every week for their NFL picks.  That said, I use them as a guide... not gospel.

[mileskishnish72]

Made me chuckle, Murs.

[Oldgym]

Nate Silver already has this figured out.

[brewcity77]

Pitino wins with defense.  KPom has them #2 defensively.  Dieng is a defensive beast.

They are, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you need a clutch basket and sometimes the other team is going to get hot and knock down shots. When that happens, who on Louisville can step up and put the ball in the basket? Looking at kenpom.com, none of their returning players had a O-Rating of 110, and both Siva and Smith are low 90s.

They're good, top-25 caliber, but I think they're maybe 4th or 5th best in the Big East, and certainly not a top-5 worthy team.

[LAZER]

They are, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you need a clutch basket and sometimes the other team is going to get hot and knock down shots. When that happens, who on Louisville can step up and put the ball in the basket? Looking at kenpom.com, none of their returning players had a O-Rating of 110, and both Siva and Smith are low 90s.

They're good, top-25 caliber, but I think they're maybe 4th or 5th best in the Big East, and certainly not a top-5 worthy team.

I agree with you somewhat that they're overrated, but I think you're a bit extreme.  I think it's pretty tough to argure there are 3 or 4 better teams in the Big East heading into this season.  They're very well rounded and Behanan is going to be a handful this year and Blackshear has huge upside.  They're going to be really good this year.