This is important IMO, because now we have 3 teams ranked even without Cuse and ND. When we get Memphis we will have another ranked team making it 4 after the ACC departures. Marquette can easily become ranked at any time and they would be the 5th ranked team without Pitt, Cuse, WVU, ND losses. In the coming years Nova will almost surely be ranked. I don't think it's out of the question to still have anywhere from 5 to even 7 ranked teams in the Big East even without those guys. ESPN and the rest of the media acts like we will be terrible after they leave, but we will be fine. If we can play to our potential and crack the top 25 within the next few years, the Big East really is the best again IMO.
UConn enters top 25
- Thread starter LINY89
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the best again? Not a chance.
Keep in mind that the ACC is the conference of Duke and UNC. Now, they add our two best teams (Pitt and Syracuse have combined to win the conference in 8 of the last 12 years!). 8 of the last 12!!! Does anyone think Memphis and Temple are going to do that? Never.
Can we still be competitive? Absolutely. But there is no longer a debate as to the best basketball conference.
PS Nobody mentions the loss of West Virginia, but they've made the tournament 7 of the last 8 years! 4 Sweet sixteens in that time, including a Final Four. We're a basketball school and arguably we've never had a run like that in our history.
Pitt is not what it once was. Right now, Memphis fields better teams than Pitt and they will be every bit as good as them next year. Temple takes some of the sting out of losing Cuse, but Cuse will clearly be missed. Right now, UConn, Cincy, L'Ville are ranked. Others likely to be ranked soon are Marquette, G'Town, Nova (probably next year), and we can also be ranked by next year. It wouldn't be that shocking to have 5 or 6 Big East teams ranked next year IMO. From top to bottom the Big East is way more dangerous than the ACC. The ACC really only has 3 sure things in Cuse, UNC, and Duke. Sure Pitt is getting better, but after that there is a drop off. The ACC is not lightyears ahead of the Big East despite what you think. We have the deeper conference. At absolute worst the Big East will have 4 ranked teams each year. At best 6.
ACC will be tough. NC State is much improved and a tournament team. Maryland is improving and played Kentucky tough. Georgia Tech will be better as will Miami. ACC took almost everything from the Big East and they know it, However the Big East is not dead and will still be formidable despite the loses. My hope is Cuse, Pitt etc suffer the fate of BC. Time will tell.
Even if the ACC is the obvious #1 CBB conference, who cares? We are still among the best. People act like the ACC makes us into the MAAC now. It's just not true. I'll say we are never going to be the same when UConn, Louisville, Nova, and G'Town leave. We still have great teams. Out of like 30 conferences we are still going to be top 5. It really doesn't make that much of a difference unless we get raided more.
Joe you're vastly underrating Pitt. They've been to the tournament 10 of the last 12 years. They've perpetually disappointed once they've gotten there, but they've been as good a regular season team as literally anyone in the country for the past decade plus.
Also you're dismissing some pretty good teams. As St Johns fans we can only wish we've been this successful..
Last 12 years:
Maryland - 8 NCAAs
Georgia Tech - 5 NCAAs
Wake Forest - 7 NCAAs
NC State - 6 NCAAs
So go put your ACC cheerleader gear on. I refuse to say that we will be a bad conference because of our losses. As I said, any given year Marquette, Nova, UConn, G'Town, Memphis, Temple, L'Ville, Cincy can get ranked. If we keep recruiting this way, put us down for possibly being ranked any given year as well.
I don't think anyone's predicting the BE becoming a mid major. But when your used to results like the BE has had the past decade it's a pretty precipitous drop to 5th best conference. The biggest issue is the conference won't have anyone besides Louisville that is really an annual threat to be a top 5 team. And of course if you're right about UConn maybe them as well.
Agree about losing perennial top 5 potential in Cuse and maybe Pitt, but don't forget teams in the 20's can still move up a lot and top 5's can lose to a mid major and fall to 15th overnight. I remember Nova going from like #4 to being unranked a few years back. Just because you start the year in the top 5 does not mean you will finish that way. IMO what we lose is what you just said 1) the perennial top 5 threat and 2) bragging rights. I'll still take 5 top 25's though. The Big East may never be that unstoppable juggernaut anymore, but it will still easily be among the best. If the ACC does end up being better (very possible), it won't be by much. As I said before...the ACC will be more top heavy for sure, but the Big East 1-15 is deeper than the ACC is. So it depends what you consider more important...top heavy teams, or overall competitiveness. Remember UConn won the title and went 7-9 in the Big East or something like that. This conference will bang you up.
I guess we'll just agree to disagree on the strength of the conferences. But austor made a point that is worth repeating, nobody (with the exception of Digger, more on that in a minute) at least on this board is saying the Big East won't be good. It's still a hell of a basketball conference. I could watch us play Georgetown, Nova, UCONN twice a year and be very satisfied. Those are good teams. The Big East won't stink, and nobody claimed they will.
We're just saying that it's hard to ignore the number of very good programs in the ACC starting next year.
That is all.
Now, tonight I caught the beginning of the ESPN 24 hour thing. They had a preview show at like 9 or 10pm. And Digger comes on and says he thinks the A10 with Butler and co. will challenge the Big East for at large bids in the not so distant future. That's nonsense. We will continue to get 6+ bids from the BE, I don't see that happening anytime soon in the A10. He's absolutely wrong.
But to give you some perspective, that's who basketball analysts are comparing the Big East to now, the A-10.
Again, he's a moron for saying that. But it just shows the days of being measured against the ACC are over.
We're just saying that it's hard to ignore the number of very good programs in the ACC starting next year.
That is all.
Now, tonight I caught the beginning of the ESPN 24 hour thing. They had a preview show at like 9 or 10pm. And Digger comes on and says he thinks the A10 with Butler and co. will challenge the Big East for at large bids in the not so distant future. That's nonsense. We will continue to get 6+ bids from the BE, I don't see that happening anytime soon in the A10. He's absolutely wrong.
But to give you some perspective, that's who basketball analysts are comparing the Big East to now, the A-10.
Again, he's a moron for saying that. But it just shows the days of being measured against the ACC are over.
He should be fired over that statement. After Temple leaves, who does the A10 really have? Butler and Xavier are the only teams I can see consistently being very good. The A10 will never have 5+ ranked teams as the Big East can very possibly have next year. They are getting weaker and we are getting stronger. If we can somehow get Xavier to come, the A10 would be not much different from the CAA IMO.