Big East Coach Ranking: Sweet Sixteen

Dan Daitchman — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:17:50 -0500

The 2008-09 Big East season should bring as much excitement as any. Commonly regarded as the toughest conference in college basketball, it has the potential to put 9+ teams into the NCAA tournament come March.

At the backbone of a great team comes a great coach, and the Big East has plenty of great coaches. But which coaches are the best? Let's just say that a well-padded résumé is not enough to give a coach top honors in this conference.

1. John Thompson III (Georgetown) - Like father like son, JT III has brought Georgetown back to national attention. His teams display great hustle regardless of score, and perennially sport a top-5 defense. The other mark of a great coach? Winning close games. Last year, Georgetown won six Big East games by 3 points or less.

2. Jim Calhoun (UConn) - Truly one of the elite coaches in college basketball. He's got the hardware to support his hall-of-fame status, and puts impact players in the NBA (See the careers of Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, and Emeka Okafor for further details).

3. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) - When your signature is a decal of the court you coach on, you know you've done well. Nobody runs a better 2-3 zone defense than Jim Boeheim. He recruits great talent and has never missed the NCAA tournament 3 years in a row.

4. Rick Pitino (Louisville) - Not enough can be said about the Godfather. He's the only coach to take 3 teams to the Final Four. His squad always plays well as a team, and nobody mixes zone and man-to-man defense better then the Cardinals.

5. Bob Huggins (West Virginia) - Regardless of his off-the-court antics, this guy can flat out coach. He brought the 21^st century version of phi slamma jamma to Cincinnati, a perennial top-15 team. He gave K-State a great run at the NCAA tourney in his short term there, and left a full cupboard of talent in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. Huggins silenced a lot of critics last year when the 7^th-seed Mountaineers knocked off 2^nd-seed Duke to reach the Sweet 16.

6. Jamie Dixon (Pitt) - Pitt has become a familiar name in the NCAA tournament thanks to this guy. He's moved up a rung in the recruiting latter by getting big-time local talent in Dejuan Blair, who grew up a mile from the Petersen Events Center. Dixon is an Elite-8 away from becoming a premier coach in college basketball.

7. Jay Wright (Villanova) - He's the classiest coach in basketball. He's brought Villanova back to playing their best basketball since the '85 championship. Some of the best guards in the country have stopped through Philadelphia as of late. The future holds similar high hopes, as Villanova's 2009 class is ranked in the top 5 by Scouts Inc.

8. Mike Brey (Notre Dame) - As Dick Vitale once said, nobody fits a program better than Mike Brey at Notre Dame. He's created a very balanced attack that will continue to give a lot of teams fits this year.

9. Keno Davis (Providence) - Out with the old, in with the new. Davis led the Drake Bulldogs on a magical run to the NCAA tournament last year and was a buzzer-beater away from making the second round. Keno inherits a program full of disappointment from last year and hopes to turn things around.

10. Mick Cronin (Cincinnati) - Cincy hasn't been the same since Huggins left, but Cronin has been steadily building his alma mater into a contender once again.

11. Jerry Wainwright (DePaul) - One quality about all of Wainwright's teams: they play tough. The Blue Demons have knocked off a ranked team each year for the past three years.

12. Buzz Williams (Marquette) - Buzz hasn't had much time as head coach yet, and will try to remove the sour taste Tom Crean left in fans' mouths. One thing is true: he's a great recruiter. Three of his recruiting classes in the last 8 years have been in the top 50, all at mid-major or high-major schools. He helped Texas A&M in becoming a top-tier program, and his 2009 class for Marquette is ranked 5^th by Scouts Inc.

13. Stan Heath (South Florida) - Football gets more hype than basketball these days in Tampa, but Heath's Bulls have shown they're a sleeper team. Last year featured wins over Syracuse and Florida State, and a 1-point loss in overtime to 17^th-ranked UConn.

14. Fred Hill (Rutgers) - Hill has done nothing but lose games since he's shown up in New Brunswick, but he's brought in two top-tier recruits in Mike Rosario and Gregory Echenique, who he hopes will help the Scarlet Knights climb out of last place.

15. Norm Roberts (St. John's) - This is not Lou Carnesecca's Redmen of the 80s. Norm needs to quickly rebuild a team that's in danger of losing court time at Madison Square Garden.

16. Bobby Gonzalez (Seton Hall) - This is a team that's won 3 Big East road games in the last 2 seasons. That won't cut it anywhere, especially in the toughest conference in college basketball.

College Football: Virginia Tech @ Miami Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:39:05 -0500

A rivalry that in recent years switched from the Big East to the ACC takes center stage on Thursday night, as Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-2 ACC Coastal) visits Miami (6-3, 3-2) at 7:30 PM on ESPN. The winner gets a leg up in the unpredictable Coastal Division race, while the loser would be in serious trouble. Although Miami has a 16-9 advantage in the series, the Hokies have the upper hand of late winning nine of the last thirteen meetings. A star was born last Thursday night for Virginia Tech, with redshirt freshman Darren Lewis rushing for 253 yards in their win over Maryland. Sean Glennon was effiecient in his first game back from an ankle injury suffered against Florida State and he'll have to do the same tonight. It's still unsure whether or not Tyrod Taylor will see any action (ankle).

Miami has gone back and forth between Robert Marve and Jacory Harris at quarterback, and predictably they haven't been the most consistent offensive unit in the conference. But there are plenty of weapons at the fingertips of offensive coordinator Patrick Nix, who will have to contend with a defense that last week held Maryland to -12 yards rushing (Da'Rel Scott, who leads the ACC in rushing, mustered eleven yards). The key for the Hurricanes is not shooting themselves in the foot with costly penalties and turnovers. if they can stay out of their own way then Miami has a shot. But since Virginia Tech joined the ACC, they're 14-1 in November. Defense, special teams and the work of Frank Beamer would be three good reasons why, and look for those to push the Hokies to 15-1 in November.

Buffalo @ Akron 7 PM EST on ESPNU

The Bulls (5-4, 3-2 MAC East) and Zips (5-4, 3-2) are tied atop the MAC East standings, and it's quite fitting given how close they are in many of the major statistical categories. Both are near the top of the conference in turnover margin and in the middle of the pack in regards to offensive and defensive categories. However, while Buffalo is third in the conference in third-down conversions (48.9%) Akron is only tenth (39.1%). Combining these numbers with the fact that Buffalo gives up the third-fewest first downs in the conference, what the Zips do offensively on the first two downs could tell the story of this one. Third and short situations and J.D. Brookhart's team has a very good chance to take control of the division race. Also, keep and eye on backs James Starks (UB) and Dennis Kennedy (Akron), two of the top four running backs in the MAC. Akron wins by a field goal.

Wyoming @ UNLV 9 PM EST on CBS College Sports

What a difference a week makes, huh? Last week the Thursday night game in the Mountain West had serious national implications in regards to the BCS. This one...could have a national impact as well, but only in regards to job security. Joe Glenn's Cowboys (4-6, 1-5) are coming off of a 13-7 win at Tennessee, but Tennessee isn't Tennessee this year if you know what I mean. UNLV (4-6, 1-5) had the misfortune of losing some close games before getting pasted by TCU, but Mike Sanford's Rebels are coming off of a 27-20 win over New Mexico. Mike Clausen gets the start once again for UNLV, who will be looking to end a four-game losing streak in the series. Look for the Rebels to get it done and keep their slim bowl hopes alive (the Pac-10 probably won't fill their slots, so the winner could have a shot at a bid).

Friday: #22 Cincinnati @ Louisville 8 PM on ESPN2

How much value does a keg of nails have? If you're a fan of either of these teams, the "Keg of Nails" has some serious value that can't be measured in dollars and cents. Louisville is the current holder of the rivalry trophy, but the Cardinals are reeling following a 41-7 pasting at the hands of Pittsburgh. Brian Kelly's Bearcats, on the other hand, will arrive in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium just six days after beating West Virginia in overtime. Louisville has won nine of the last ten meetings in the series, but that streak ends thanks to a stout defense led by DT Terrill Byrd and DE Connor Barwin (Big East leader in sacks), combined with a passing attack that boasts one of the best receiving corps (Dominick Goodman, Mardy Gilyard and Marcus Barnett) in the conference.