I hear every year how The Big East is the most amazing basketball conference in the history of basketball conferences. Sure, they have a lot of teams getting into the tournament, but the conference is home to nearly every team on the eastern seaboard. Of course they get more teams in.
But what do they do in March?
I looked up Big Least performances in the NCAA tournament since its expansion to 16 teams in 2005 and I wasn't surprised.
-The obvious number is the zero national champions.
-Even with a much larger conference, they've only had the most Elite 8 teams once. (4 teams in 2009)
-They had 2 Final Four teams in 2009, but the Big 10 and SEC have done the same. (2005 and 2006)
And because conferences have different amounts of teams, I looked at percentages.
-The Big 10, not the Big Least, has had the highest percentage (from 2005-present) with 27% of its teams in the 2005 Elite 8.
-The Big 10 also had 18% of its members make the Final Four in 2005. The SEC had 16% of its members make the Final Four in 2006. Both are above the Big Least's best year, which was 12% in 2009.
When averaged out from 2005 until now:
-The Big Least has had 4% of its teams make the Final Four, tied for 3rd with the SEC and PAC 10.
-The ACC has had more with 5%.
-The Big 10 has the most with 7%.
In title games since 2005:
-Big 10 is 0-2
-Pac 10 is 0-1
-Big 12 is 1-0.
-SEC is 2-0
-ACC is 3-0
The Big Least hasn't made the title game since expanding to 16 teams in 2005.
I don't see that changing this year either. The Big Least once again has a lot of good teams like Pittsburgh, Villanova, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and St. Johns. They might even get 11 teams in the tournament.
But don't expect any of them to win it all.
Showing posts with label Big East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Big East. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sign of things to come?
The first college basketball game I watched this season was an 8-point Pittsburgh win over Rhode Island. It was November 8th- nearly 3 months ago- and I'm still asking myself, where are the great teams? Because I don't see any.
Ohio State is close. Undefeated actually, but does anyone think the Buckeyes will cut down the nets in Houston? I don't. Jared Sullinger is great, no doubt, but he's still a freshman, which should raise a few concerns if you're picking them to win it all in your office pool.
This weekend saw a remarkable 13 ranked teams lose, and 9 of those losses came against unranked opponents.
The Big East looked to be head and shoulders above the other conferences, but its top teams continue to lose. The AP's No. 2 Pittsburgh lost to Notre Dame this week. Uconn lost to Louisville Sunday. Syracuse has lost 4 in a row. Villanova has dropped 3 of 4. We hear every year how great the conference is, but the Big East hasn't had a national champ since Uconn in 2004.
The loss of Duke's Kyrie Irving has hurt the Blue Devils, who were were taken out early by St. Johns Sunday. That's another questionable loss for Duke, who lost to Florida State on January 12th.
Kansas and Texas are the teams in the Big 12 this year, and one of the two will probably grab a No. 1 seed in the dance. Kansas lost to the Longhorns last Saturday, ending their 69 game home winning streak and undefeated season. Texas already has 3 losses but are playing as well as anyone right now.
BYU and San Diego State look like potential Butlers or Davidsons this year, but neither looks truly great so far.
Most years by this time, I have 2-3 teams who I think will win it all. Last year it was Kansas or Duke.
Right now I could fill out 10 brackets and have 10 different winners. The level of parity should make for a ridiculous NCAA tournament, which might have more upsets in 2011 than any year in recent memory.
Ohio State is close. Undefeated actually, but does anyone think the Buckeyes will cut down the nets in Houston? I don't. Jared Sullinger is great, no doubt, but he's still a freshman, which should raise a few concerns if you're picking them to win it all in your office pool.
This weekend saw a remarkable 13 ranked teams lose, and 9 of those losses came against unranked opponents.
The Big East looked to be head and shoulders above the other conferences, but its top teams continue to lose. The AP's No. 2 Pittsburgh lost to Notre Dame this week. Uconn lost to Louisville Sunday. Syracuse has lost 4 in a row. Villanova has dropped 3 of 4. We hear every year how great the conference is, but the Big East hasn't had a national champ since Uconn in 2004.
The loss of Duke's Kyrie Irving has hurt the Blue Devils, who were were taken out early by St. Johns Sunday. That's another questionable loss for Duke, who lost to Florida State on January 12th.
Kansas and Texas are the teams in the Big 12 this year, and one of the two will probably grab a No. 1 seed in the dance. Kansas lost to the Longhorns last Saturday, ending their 69 game home winning streak and undefeated season. Texas already has 3 losses but are playing as well as anyone right now.
BYU and San Diego State look like potential Butlers or Davidsons this year, but neither looks truly great so far.
Most years by this time, I have 2-3 teams who I think will win it all. Last year it was Kansas or Duke.
Right now I could fill out 10 brackets and have 10 different winners. The level of parity should make for a ridiculous NCAA tournament, which might have more upsets in 2011 than any year in recent memory.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
My college hoops top 10, January 20th edition
1) Ohio St.: This could be Ohio St. or Kansas at #1, as both teams have had recent struggles with less than stellar competition. The Buckeyes escaped Iowa, Michigan, and Penn St. by less than 5 points in the last 2 weeks.
2) Kansas: After struggling to beat Michigan, Iowa St, and Nebraska, the Jayhawks put on a clinic against Baylor Monday night, 85-65. Texas travels to Lawrence on Saturday, and the winner will be in the driver's seat in the Big 12.
3) Pittsburgh: If I was picking a national champion right now, Pittsburgh would be my team. After opening Monday night's game against Syracuse on a 19-0 run, the Panthers held on for an eight point win and improved their record to 18-1.
4) Syracuse: The Orange almost recovered from that ridiculously bad start Monday, but spotting Pittsburgh 19 points was too much. This is still a really good team, though. They have another big game Saturday at home against Villanova.
5) Duke: I'm still not sold the Blue Devils can win a title without Kyrie Irving. I think the outstanding guard trio of Irving, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler can make up for the lack a of post presence, but without Irving it might be tough.
6) Connecticut: Another Big East team? Yes, the conference is that good right now. Kemba Walker is on the short list of national player of the year honors, and they just beat my #7 team, 61-59.
7) Villanova: Last Big East team, I promise. The two Coreys, Fisher and Stokes, are getting 16 and 15 ppg respectively. Fisher went off for 28 points in Monday's loss to Connecticut, but the Wildcats are still a game ahead of Uconn in the Big East standings.
8) Texas: If head coach Rich Barnes can somehow stay out of the way, Texas can make a deep run in March this year. They certainly have the talent to compete with Kansas for the Big 12 title with Jordan Hamilton averaging 19 points a game.
9) San Diego State: I'm not really sure about San Diego State yet. They're undefeated, but they haven't played a ton of good teams so far. The rest of their schedule only has three obstacles remaining: @BYU Jan. 26th, @UNLV Feb. 12th, and BYU at home on Feb. 26th. 3 wins there and we might have an undefeated team this season.
10) BYU: The only reason I like BYU here is Jimmer Fredette's ability to score at will most nights. The Cougars are 18-1 and are 6th in the nation in scoring, getting 84 points a game.
2) Kansas: After struggling to beat Michigan, Iowa St, and Nebraska, the Jayhawks put on a clinic against Baylor Monday night, 85-65. Texas travels to Lawrence on Saturday, and the winner will be in the driver's seat in the Big 12.
3) Pittsburgh: If I was picking a national champion right now, Pittsburgh would be my team. After opening Monday night's game against Syracuse on a 19-0 run, the Panthers held on for an eight point win and improved their record to 18-1.
4) Syracuse: The Orange almost recovered from that ridiculously bad start Monday, but spotting Pittsburgh 19 points was too much. This is still a really good team, though. They have another big game Saturday at home against Villanova.
5) Duke: I'm still not sold the Blue Devils can win a title without Kyrie Irving. I think the outstanding guard trio of Irving, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler can make up for the lack a of post presence, but without Irving it might be tough.
6) Connecticut: Another Big East team? Yes, the conference is that good right now. Kemba Walker is on the short list of national player of the year honors, and they just beat my #7 team, 61-59.
7) Villanova: Last Big East team, I promise. The two Coreys, Fisher and Stokes, are getting 16 and 15 ppg respectively. Fisher went off for 28 points in Monday's loss to Connecticut, but the Wildcats are still a game ahead of Uconn in the Big East standings.
8) Texas: If head coach Rich Barnes can somehow stay out of the way, Texas can make a deep run in March this year. They certainly have the talent to compete with Kansas for the Big 12 title with Jordan Hamilton averaging 19 points a game.
9) San Diego State: I'm not really sure about San Diego State yet. They're undefeated, but they haven't played a ton of good teams so far. The rest of their schedule only has three obstacles remaining: @BYU Jan. 26th, @UNLV Feb. 12th, and BYU at home on Feb. 26th. 3 wins there and we might have an undefeated team this season.
10) BYU: The only reason I like BYU here is Jimmer Fredette's ability to score at will most nights. The Cougars are 18-1 and are 6th in the nation in scoring, getting 84 points a game.
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