BOL Round Table

WVU got absolutely blitzed by the Zags and UConn was getting destroyed by ISU before making it respectable. Syracuse looked horrible without Melo. Louisville looked okay, probably the most impressive team for their league yesterday was Marquette. Of course we all know teams can struggle in the first game and come back to set the world on fire, but I'll be interested to watch how their league finishes.

You always hear that Big East Basketball = SEC Football, but if they want that comparison then they need to produce deep runs and banners.

That's one....

Basketball is different in so many ways, not the least of which is the number of competitive teams. Rather than about 75 programs that have a dog's chance in hell of beating you in college football, basketball has more than twice that many.

I think there is SOME similarity in the Big East and the SEC, mainly the depth. The third best team in our division this year, Arkansas, was a legitimate top 5 team. Even Mississippi State could make a game of it with just about anyone. Same in Big East basketball - you can go halfway down the conference, and still have a team that can compete with the best teams out there.

Where the comparison ends, though, is the nonconference/postseason success. The SEC consistently beats their opponents particularly in bowl games. If we were being overrated, this would not be happening. The Big East, however, does not sustain as a CONFERENCE the same level of success. They have a deep conference, and a good conference, but not a dominant one. You could actually argue that the Big 10 was stronger this year top to bottom.

Let's see:

USF beat Cal in a 12-seed play-in game
4-seed Louisville beat 13-seed Davidson
3-seed Marquette beat 14-seed BYU
1-seed Syracuse beat 16-seed UNCA (without BE Defensive POY)
10-seed WVU lost to 7-seed Gonzaga
9-seed UCONN lost to 8-seed Iowa St

That's 4-2 so far, and 6-seed Cincinnati is beating 11-seed Texas by 14 right now. Both of the Big East's losses have been higher seeds beating lower seeds. I'd say they are having a decent tournament so far.

THey are crowned so differently. Instead of having one team give you their best shot while you are giving them your best shot (like happens in football). You ahve teams that are giving you their best shot while you may not be up to it.

Completely different circumstances. I think it says as much as anything that the team that finished toward the bottom of their conference last year won it all. Like the experts said last year, it was tougher for the UCONN to win their conference tourney than it was the NCAA. That proved to be fact.