Big East

Evan Turner wasn't necessarily a highlight reel Sunday, but his overall play was instrumental yet again in Ohio State's most recent triumph.

 

The visiting Buckeyes blasted a pretty good Illinois team riding a five-game winning streak, including a pair of victories over Big Ten heavies Michigan State and Wisconsin.

 

The Big East is nearly as strong at the top as it was a year ago, when it could claim three of the four number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament. This season, however, nearly half of the Big East teams lie squarely on the bubble. There seems to be very little separation between teams 6-12 in the conference and it is difficult to determine who will end up where when the season ends. The Big East Tournament may be the deciding factor on which bubble teams make it, and which fall short.

 

 

The Bracketology field is based on how the tourney looks "as of this moment." The field below is not based on who I think deserves to be in, but a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand. Beginning this week, I'll be posting Bracketology updates every Tuesday & Friday.  In late February, I release Bracketology updates daily as the season approaches crunch time.

Jerome Dyson (UCONN, 19.5 ppg, 5.0 apg)

Luke Harangody (Notre Dame, 24.7 ppg, 9.9 rpg)

Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall, 22.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg)

Wesley Johnson (Syracuse, 17.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg)

Greg Monroe (Georgetown, 14.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg)

Scottie Reynolds (Villanova, 18.7 ppg, 3.4 apg)

Other (Da'Sean Butler, Dominique Jones, Lazar Hayward, etc)

Power Conference Ranking

 

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With a lot of talent leaving the Big East, a lot of people felt the conference would be in a down year.  However, it currently has the best record of any power-6 conference and has a great shot at putting 7+ teams in the NCAA tournament.

 

Nine months removed from becoming the first conference to earn three #1 seeds in a NCAA Tournament, the Big East is looking to break its own record and send as many as nine teams to the Dance come March.

 

Through November, the conference has three teams ranked in the top 10, with seven ranked teams overall and sporting a 79-12 record.

 

Syracuse went into their game with California as the favorite in the eyes of many for two reasons. One: the school has a large alumni base in the New York metropolitan area and that means a good crowd at the World's Most Famous Arena. Two: the Golden Bears were without Theo Robertson (stress reaction in his foot) and they lack depth in the frontcourt with Harper Kamp (knee) also out. But to cite these things without giving notice to what happened on the floor would be unfair to the Orange, who outclassed the Bears 95-73.

Despite losing a ton of talent in the off-season, the Big East is still one of the country's most exciting and talented leagues.. and it features the country's dominant fantasy star: Luke Harangody. Other players to watch include newcomers like Lance Stephenson and Youphtaou Yarou and vets like Scottie Reynolds and Da'Sean Butler.