The Big East Tournament will kick off tomorrow and you can
probably find hundreds of articles written in the past few days exclaiming that
this will be the final Big East Tournament as we know it. And they will all be
right. The conference is set to undergo a drastic makeover next year and there
won’t be a Big East Tournament that goes by in the future without at least one
reference to the power house this conference once was – even if the newly
constructed conference becomes just as great one day.
While Connecticut, Georgetown,
Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Syracuse were the founding members in
1979 that have stuck it out this long, it took multiple instances of additions
and subtractions to build it up to where it is today. The most recent influx of
teams took place in 2005 when Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and
South Florida joined to make it the beast that it became. The Big East was
always regarded as one of the better basketball conferences in the nation
throughout the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, but it really became regarded as an
all-time great in 2011 when the Big East sent a record 11 teams to the NCAA
Tournament – with UConn capping the year off with a national championship.
Conference realignment has always
been a part of collegiate athletics and it will never go away. Who knows, these
15 teams could end up together in a super conference someday down the road.
But instead of crying over the
past or worrying about the future, let’s just enjoy the 2013 Big East
Tournament over the next five days like we’ve done each and every time over the
years.
Here is a preview on what is to
come and my predicted bracket…
The Favorites:
Louisville – The Cardinals
haven’t lost in over a month as they are in the midst of a 7-game winning
streak and don’t have a bad loss on their resume all season. They were the
unanimous pick to win the conference and ended up in a three-way share of it,
but given the pieces on this team and the run these same guys made last year, I’m
going to label them as the favorite.
Georgetown – The Hoyas made a
statement on Saturday by destroying Syracuse in the two schools final regular
season meeting as conference rivals, to signal to the rest of the Big East that
they are for real. A winner of their last 12 of 13 games, and with a player as
hot as Otto Porter, this team clearly knows how to emerge victorious.
Under the Radar Team:
Pittsburgh – I know the Panthers
earned a double-bye, but this team has gotten very little publicity all season.
The advanced metrics are big believers in Pitt, but they have a tendency to go
through prolonged scoring droughts. But given that they will likely see
Syracuse followed by Georgetown (two teams also known for troubles on the
offensive end) before reaching the finals, you have to like their chances. At
least I do, anyway.
Dark Horse Teams:
None - I know the Big East has
become known for teams making a run to the championship without the luxury of a
double-bye, but I don’t think that will be the case this year. I know the
obvious candidate here would be Syracuse, but the Orange’s offense has been so
consistently awful over the past month that it seems impossible to fix in such
short notice. Notre Dame hasn’t impressed me at all on the road, and
unfortunately the winner of the St. John’s vs. Villanova game on Wednesday has
to see a well rest Louisville the next day.
Marquette, who shared the Big East regular season crown with Louisville
and Georgetown and who also earned a double-bye, is another team that I find
difficult to get excited about away from their home court. And the four teams that play on Tuesday night
– Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida and DePaul – are all atrocious and have
absolutely no shot.
Players to Watch:
Otto Porter – He is going to be
the unanimous selection for Big East Player of the Year, and rightfully so - he can take over a game and put the entire
team on his back en route to a victory.
He may be the best stretch four in the country and look for him to
impose his will on opponents as needed.
Peyton Siva – While his season
was rather disappointing given that he was selected as the pre-season player of
the year, he is still the floor general of the Cardinals. Look for the senior
point guard to pick up his play as it matters most and reemerge as one of the
better distributing point guards in the country. He just needs to be sure to not get into foul
trouble – an area he struggled with throughout the season.
Steven Adams – The freshman big
might be the only player in the Big East that can match up with Gorgui Dieng
and not be outmatched from a physical standpoint. However, Adams isn’t as
skilled or experienced, but if he can stay on the floor his presence alone
could be effective enough for the Panthers to make a run at it.
Jack Cooley – If you could
somehow quantify hardest working player in the conference, Cooley is probably
it. There is no question that he is one of if not the best rebounder in the Big
East, but he will need to step it up defensively if the Irish are to have a
chance. Offense isn’t the problem for
the Irish, it’s their defense. Look for
Cooley to turn it up a notch and own the paint.
My Bracket Prediction:
Let me know who you guys think will win and why.
Enjoy
Twitter: @ShaneInBigEast
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