With some non-AQ conference action tonight, complete with a couple of games that will have bubble teams trembling, there is plenty to hold you over if you’re waiting for the big boys to get started later this week. The Big East, with it’s almost just as big dance, gets started tomorrow. We’ll have some more specific previews each day since, but since there is so much to take in, how about an overview so we know what to look for? Yes, how about that overview.
Big Dance Implications: Let’s dispense with the bad news first. There won’t be much tourney bid drama in the Big East Tournament. Gerry McNamara will not be circus-shotting his way to the Big Dance and there aren’t multiple first and second day must-win games. The Big East will, in all likelihood, get a record 11 bids this year. The only team that has any worry is Marquette, who is slated as a 10-seed by Lunardi and shows up in 77 of 81 brackets in the Bracket Matrix. However, when you start talking about 10-seeds this year, you have to worry about going to Dayton. No one wants to be in those at-large play-in games and with a loss to Providence, Marquette could be heading that way. More on that tomorrow, but it will be our only tournament drama with 11 in and the next closest contender under .500 on the season. So why should you watch the Big East Tourney instead of your stories?
So much good basketball: It’s probably the most competitive field there has ever been and that’s saying something. The Big East Tournament always features a handful of teams that contend for the National Championship and usually some depth to back them up. This year, balance is key. The top seeded Pitt Panthers suffered three conference losses this year, followed by Notre Dame with four losses; no other team had fewer than six. They’ve beaten each other up all winter, now this tournament will crown a conference champ, declaring one team the finest after the league’s most brutally difficult season. The Big East Tournament will be competitive, there will be excellent basketball, and it will be appointment viewing.
Star Power: With so many good teams, there are bound to be a few elite players. We have seen plenty of guys carry their teams deep into this tournament and there are three guards this year capable of doing the same. Notre Dame’s Ben Hansbrough was the only unanimous All-Big East selection and the senior can light it up from deep. For UConn, Kemba Walker has averaged over 23 ppg this season, including a run of five-of-six games of 29 points or more to start the year. The Huskies will need a similar run to make the finals. For Steve Lavin’s Red Storm, senior guard Dwight Hardy is the primary reason St. Johns ended the season in a three-way tie for third place in the conference. Hardy is a lethal scorer and dependable floor general that has St. Johns in the discussion as contenders in this bracket.
Hopeful Quarterfinal: Looking at the bracket, one can’t help but glance at two teams on a collision course. If St. Johns can avoid an upset on Wednesday, it will be St. Johns – Syracuse at the Garden on Thursday. I don’t know about you, but when I think Big East Tourney the venue plays a major role in the appeal and Red Storm vs. Orange at the Garden is the dream match-up.
The action starts tomorrow, commencing a run of fifteen games in five days and leading up to a coronation of one team Saturday night who will have won the toughest conference in the country.
