Rutgers

This is the second of six annual statistical projections of BCS conference starters. The lineups are based on the Starting Fives series of articles released two weeks ago, along with a couple of changes due to recent developments.

BIG EAST FIVE-YEAR STANDINGS

This ranking tries to answer a simple question: Who has been the best team in the Big East over the last five years?

Well, today marks the beginning of the Spring Signing Period, and many fans are awaiting the decision of guard Tyreke Evans. The explosive prerimeter player is said to be leaning in the direction of Memphis, and that's who I'd expect him to sign with due to the departure of Derrick Rose. But the school with the most going on in recent days has to be Marist, who will any day be gaining a head coach, but they've already lost two players.

- Memphis assistant Jose "Chucky" Martin to be named Marist head coach.

After the top five in the final rankings, there were a few schools that hovered around the .500 mark for most of the season, only to come out on the short end so to speak. But that doesn’t mean that this season was a complete failure for teams such as LIU, Fairfield and Yale. The Blackbirds finished dead even at 15-15, their first non-losing record 1997-98.