ESPN Big East Preview

[Mr. Nielsen]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/27792429/villanova-field

[Shooter McGavin]

Well ESPN likes us more than CBS. 

[brewcity77]

I think they are also too high on Seton Hall, but definitely looks better than the CBS prognostication.

I'm really surprised how down people are on Providence. Alpha Diallo is probably the best bet for a non-Howard/Powell Big East Player of the Year candidate, AJ Reeves was fantastic pre-injury, and with Pipkins and Duke, Cooley has two solid candidates to step up as the next great Providence PG. And if Emmitt Holt is finally healthy, watch out.

[Nukem2]

I think they are also too high on Seton Hall, but definitely looks better than the CBS prognostication.

I'm really surprised how down people are on Providence. Alpha Diallo is probably the best bet for a non-Howard/Powell Big East Player of the Year candidate, AJ Reeves was fantastic pre-injury, and with Pipkins and Duke, Cooley has two solid candidates to step up as the next great Providence PG. And if Emmitt Holt is finally healthy, watch out.

Yes, the Friars are a very dangerous team.  Pirates could be boom or bust, though boom is more likely in my view.

[Its DJOver]

I think they are also too high on Seton Hall, but definitely looks better than the CBS prognostication.

I'm really surprised how down people are on Providence. Alpha Diallo is probably the best bet for a non-Howard/Powell Big East Player of the Year candidate, AJ Reeves was fantastic pre-injury, and with Pipkins and Duke, Cooley has two solid candidates to step up as the next great Providence PG. And if Emmitt Holt is finally healthy, watch out.

Whatever happened to Holt?  Wasn't he supposed to be healthy last year?  Agreed that a healthy Holt/Watson combo could be deadly.

[brewcity77]

Yes, the Friars are a very dangerous team.  Pirates could be boom or bust, though boom is more likely in my view.

I'll be honest, and I could easily be wrong, but I don't see the boom at all. Powell is great, but their entire offense last year ran through him. Even more so than Marquette's did with Howard. I understand his usage wasn't as high, but everything they did was predicated either on him getting the ball or him being a decoy. And even still, their offense was really bad. 7th in the league and 87th in the country. And defensively, they also weren't good, just 60th nationally.

Marquette jumped up last year because they had roster consistency, added guys that were significant contributors in Joey, Morrow, and Bailey (even in small minutes, Morrow & Bailey had significant impact on games), and got better defensively because Rowsey left.

Seton Hall, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have that. Ike Obiagu is basically a Romaro Gill clone, so they'll get a few more minutes of that, but Gill wasn't really good. Michael Nzei was efficient offensively and solid defensively and is a bigger loss than I think people realize. Bad offense, bad defense, and somehow they are co-favorites to win the league? I really don't get it. They also still have Kevin Willard, who never really improved on that first NCAA run with the Delgado team. Why would this be better?

[Mr. Nielsen]

Talk is Seton Hall will get it's biggest crowd ever at the Rock on Nov. 14 vs Michigan State. Seton Hall has really grown in the new era of the Big East. They tarp of the upper deck at the Rock. Talk is they are opening it up for MSU, Maryland, Villanova and someone else (I forgot) So, the hype is there. Lots of hype on Ike Obiagu as well. I hope they can do it, other than the games versus MU. Needs others to really step up not named Villanova.

[Galway Eagle]

I'll be honest, and I could easily be wrong, but I don't see the boom at all. Powell is great, but their entire offense last year ran through him. Even more so than Marquette's did with Howard. I understand his usage wasn't as high, but everything they did was predicated either on him getting the ball or him being a decoy. And even still, their offense was really bad. 7th in the league and 87th in the country. And defensively, they also weren't good, just 60th nationally.

Marquette jumped up last year because they had roster consistency, added guys that were significant contributors in Joey, Morrow, and Bailey (even in small minutes, Morrow & Bailey had significant impact on games), and got better defensively because Rowsey left.

Seton Hall, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have that. Ike Obiagu is basically a Romaro Gill clone, so they'll get a few more minutes of that, but Gill wasn't really good. Michael Nzei was efficient offensively and solid defensively and is a bigger loss than I think people realize. Bad offense, bad defense, and somehow they are co-favorites to win the league? I really don't get it. They also still have Kevin Willard, who never really improved on that first NCAA run with the Delgado team. Why would this be better?

What ncaa run? He's 1-4 in the tournament

[brewcity77]

What ncaa run? He's 1-4 in the tournament

Sorry, I meant NCAA appearance. His teams just never seem to get better.

[Herman Cain]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/27792429/villanova-field

Solid research report. Myron even starting to like MU a little bit.

[dgies9156]

I so wish this had been true. Would have eliminated a lot of the angst we faced over the summer. From the ESPN predictions on Markus Howard...

He went 5-for-23 from the 3-point line in two NCAA tournament games last season, demonstrating the ways his ambitious style can cost his team.

[Marcus92]

Got the stat right, just misstated the context. Markus was 5-23 from three-point range during the last two games of the 2018-19 season -- 1-9 in the Big East tournament semifinal against Seton Hall, and 4-14 in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Murray State.