The BEast has spoken

[tower912]

  UConn did not play their best 2x against MU.   Omax stifled Hawkins at MSG, Sanogo was a turnover machine in Milwaukee.   Both were glorious wins for MU.   And MU's defensive scheme disrupted them, just as MSU did against MU.
   But most of us have known deep in our hearts that UConn's best was better.   There was at least one CBS announcer who had them winning it.    UConn was focused for 6 straight games.   And they didn't play anybody from the Big East.

Congratulations and well earned.

[Scoop Snoop]

  UConn did not play their best 2x against MU.   Omax stifled Hawkins at MSG, Sanogo was a turnover machine in Milwaukee.   Both were glorious wins for MU.   And MU's defensive scheme disrupted them, just as MSU did against MU.
   But most of us have known deep in our hearts that UConn's best was better.   There was at least one CBS announcer who had them winning it.    UConn was focused for 6 straight games.   And they didn't play anybody from the Big East.

Congratulations and well earned.

Agree. Your reality check regarding UCONN is spot on.

[Uncle Rico]

  UConn did not play their best 2x against MU.   Omax stifled Hawkins at MSG, Sanogo was a turnover machine in Milwaukee.   Both were glorious wins for MU.   And MU's defensive scheme disrupted them, just as MSU did against MU.
   But most of us have known deep in our hearts that UConn's best was better.   There was at least one CBS announcer who had them winning it.    UConn was focused for 6 straight games.   And they didn't play anybody from the Big East.

Congratulations and well earned.

Agreed.  A good reminder not to write off teams that have a stretch in which they stumble during the course of a season. Double-digit home loss to St. John’s?   Scoop would have melted down for months

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Agreed.  A good reminder not to write off teams that have a stretch in which they stumble during the course of a season. Double-digit home loss to St. John’s?   Scoop would have melted down for months

Good for them on figuring it out.  Also nice to see an 8/9 rotation team with success. 

[whitykj]

This is the best result for Marquette too.  We are going to be pre-season top 10 if everyone returns and this team needs a chip on their shoulder to excel.  I would imagine watching Uconn win it all makes them sick.

[brewcity77]

  UConn did not play their best 2x against MU.   Omax stifled Hawkins at MSG, Sanogo was a turnover machine in Milwaukee.   Both were glorious wins for MU.   And MU's defensive scheme disrupted them, just as MSU did against MU.
   But most of us have known deep in our hearts that UConn's best was better.   There was at least one CBS announcer who had them winning it.    UConn was focused for 6 straight games.   And they didn't play anybody from the Big East.

Congratulations and well earned.

UConn wasn't at their best in large part because they were playing us and we were well prepared. UConn was a very tough team on a 2 day scout. But Big East teams showed they were very beatable if you were prepared for them. Had we played them last night, I think it's a one possession game and we very well could've beat them.

I get that everyone focuses on that 2-6 stretch, but it's not like we only beat them in January. We were the better team 3 weeks ago. UConn was excellent, no doubt, but they were also fortunate to not see us (or Creighton, or Xavier, or even Providence) along the way.

Now let's run it back and we can be the ones cutting nets in Glendale next year.

[Oldgym]

This ought to help the new TV contract negotiations.

Here's hoping. The BEAST has a pivotal moment coming next season.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/36061636/ncaa-tournament-evolution-big-east-sets-basketball-revolution-march-madness

[tower912]

UConn wasn't at their best in large part because they were playing us and we were well prepared. UConn was a very tough team on a 2 day scout. But Big East teams showed they were very beatable if you were prepared for them. Had we played them last night, I think it's a one possession game and we very well could've beat them.

I get that everyone focuses on that 2-6 stretch, but it's not like we only beat them in January. We were the better team 3 weeks ago. UConn was excellent, no doubt, but they were also fortunate to not see us (or Creighton, or Xavier, or even Providence) along the way.

Now let's run it back and we can be the ones cutting nets in Glendale next year.

Yes, and Uconn whipped MU's nlw in Storrs.   The game that Hurley said convinced him UConn could make a run.   And, yes, MU eked a win out in MSG.  A great win.   And I agree that MU was playing well and was well prepared.   Hence the double teams that forced Sanogo to turn the ball over and OMax locking down Hawkins.

Finally, agreed that a Big East team was the most likely to beat UConn in the dance.  Think Georgetown-Villanova in 85.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Our game against them in the BET felt more like a national championship game then last night did

[SaveOD238]

Our game against them in the BET felt more like a national championship game then last night did

THIS.  That was the most important, biggest game of the season with the most excitement and drama.  Xavier, Vermont, even Michigan St were nothing compared to Saturday at the Garden.

Honestly, Danny Hurley might even agree with you.

[NickelDimer]

Our game against them in the BET felt more like a national championship game then last night did

And we pulled it off with the deck severely stacked against us. To hell with saying we won that because it wasn’t UConn’s “best”. We took it from them

[Lennys Tap]

This is the second time UConn has won the National Championship with an undefeated season outside of the Big East. In 2011 they lost 9 games to other BE teams. This year, 8.

[wadesworld]

And we pulled it off with the deck severely stacked against us. To hell with saying we won that because it wasn’t UConn’s “best”. We took it from them

Bingo.  Newton and Hawkins had "off" nights in that game.  Look who was guarding those two.  It's no accident that OMax shut down Hawkins twice.  I thought UCONN played a very good game in the BET (not in Milwaukee, though).  I thought MU played a better game, with their 2 best players combining for 16 fewer minutes than their season average due to foul trouble.

Teams let UCONN off the hook by not putting pressure out to half court on their ball handlers and by running a lot of isolation and not making Karaban, Calcaterra, and Sanogo guard the pick and roll and getting their defense into rotation.  Marquette did those things and won 2/3 against them.

[MuggsyB]

UConn wasn't at their best in large part because they were playing us and we were well prepared. UConn was a very tough team on a 2 day scout. But Big East teams showed they were very beatable if you were prepared for them. Had we played them last night, I think it's a one possession game and we very well could've beat them.

I get that everyone focuses on that 2-6 stretch, but it's not like we only beat them in January. We were the better team 3 weeks ago. UConn was excellent, no doubt, but they were also fortunate to not see us (or Creighton, or Xavier, or even Providence) along the way.

Now let's run it back and we can be the ones cutting nets in Glendale next year.

This is correct.  I also don't see a correlation at all between us stifling UCONN and Mich State doing the same to us. 

[MuggsyB]

Bingo.  Newton and Hawkins had "off" nights in that game.  Look who was guarding those two.  It's no accident that OMax shut down Hawkins twice.  I thought UCONN played a very good game in the BET (not in Milwaukee, though).  I thought MU played a better game, with their 2 best players combining for 16 fewer minutes than their season average due to foul trouble.

Teams let UCONN off the hook by not putting pressure out to half court on their ball handlers and by running a lot of isolation and not making Karaban, Calcaterra, and Sanogo guard the pick and roll and getting their defense into rotation.  Marquette did those things and won 2/3 against them.

Excellent analysis. 

[WhiteTrash]

Yes, and Uconn whipped MU's nlw in Storrs.   The game that Hurley said convinced him UConn could make a run.   And, yes, MU eked a win out in MSG.  A great win.   And I agree that MU was playing well and was well prepared.   Hence the double teams that forced Sanogo to turn the ball over and OMax locking down Hawkins.

Finally, agreed that a Big East team was the most likely to beat UConn in the dance.  Think Georgetown-Villanova in 85.

On ESPN College radio (XM) this morning some ex-UNC guy stated "UCONN beat Marquette by 30 to 40 points this year" 

Maybe just 15 points.

[tower912]

Exactly 15.points.  a whuppin.

[StillAWarrior]

THIS.  That was the most important, biggest game of the season with the most excitement and drama.  Xavier, Vermont, even Michigan St were nothing compared to Saturday Friday at the Garden.

Honestly, Danny Hurley might even agree with you.

Fixed. Saturday was awesome, but it was over almost as soon as it started -- a coronation.

[WhiteTrash]

Exactly 15.points.  a whuppin.

Agreed but in my eyes 15 points and 40 points are materially different. Maybe I'm just different.

[Uncle Rico]

Agreed but in my eyes 15 points and 40 points are materially different. Maybe I'm just different.

Felt like 40 points for a chunk of the game

[Goose]

The UConn game might say a 15 point loss, but the game was over early. It did feel like a bigger a loss to me.

[CountryRoads]

The UConn game might say a 15 point loss, but the game was over early. It did feel like a bigger a loss to me.

MU was down 25 with 10 to go so it was a complete blow out. Ran into a buzz saw. They didn’t quit though and I liked their effort in the second half actually.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Our game against them in the BET felt more like a national championship game then last night did

[brewcity77]

Exactly 15.points.  a whuppin.

Eh, it was a total outlier. UConn needed their best shooting performance of the season to beat us that night. We went 2-1 against them, finished 4 games up in the round robin, and won the Big East Tourney they professed to care so much about. They're lucky they didn't see us again.

[Babybluejeans]

NYTimes had a piece today about tourney takeaways, and one focused on how the Big East is thriving without football: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/04/sports/ncaabasketball/march-madness-takeaways.html.

Here's the key part:

Exactly a decade ago, several football-playing schools, including Syracuse and Connecticut, left the Big East Conference for the greener pastures of increased television revenue and the chance to compete in the new four-team College Football Playoff.

The so-called “Catholic 7,” a group including Villanova, Georgetown and St. John’s, worked to stick together under the banner of the Big East — and got to keep its postseason tournament for men’s basketball at Madison Square Garden.

Still, there were massive questions about the future of the league. Would it be able to survive amid the shifting landscape of realignment and without football money?

A decade later, it’s hard to imagine things going much better for the Big East. With Connecticut’s win Monday night, the conference has won three of the past seven national championships in men’s basketball. And dating back to 1999, the league has won eight titles; only the Atlantic Coast Conference has as many during that span. Connecticut’s five titles since 1999 are more than any conference during that span except the A.C.C. and Big East.

What’s more, the Big East is adding Rick Pitino at St. John’s next season, while Ed Cooley shifted to Georgetown from Providence. If they can rebuild those downtrodden yet tradition-rich programs, the Big East will be even more of a force nationally.

“The Big East was the best conference in the country this year,” Hurley said to conclude his news conference on Monday night. “We were the most successful in the N.C.A.A. tournament, and we have the national championship. So we were the best league in the country this year. And I don’t think that’s going to change. With the type of coaches that now have moved around, I don’t think we’re going anywhere. I know we’re not.”