(2) BE Games - Sun Dec 3rd 2017...

[handdownmandown]

Big, big win for the Hall, especially in light of Edrick deciding that there's a zero percent chance that they go 12-6 or better in the conference. It might not have been as big a deal if that hadn't been decided, but since their ceiling is undoubtedly 11-7 or worse, it was crucial that they can make as much hay as possible in the portion of the schedule that has yet to be decided.

Good for you, Seton Hall!

[sju88grad]

Congrats Pirates!! Great win!!

[handdownmandown]

So after the first month or so it looks like a lot of the predictions via tiers of teams are holding true.

1) Nova, X, Hall
2) Creighton, Providence, St. Johns
3) Marquette, Butler
4) DePaul, Georgetown

My December reset:

I think there are four teams with varying chances of winning the title, five teams with varying chances of finishing last (and I think all five could possibly do so), and Providence, which will neither win it all nor finish last. I don't see how Creighton is on par with those other two, they're a top 4 team at least this far.

If this were Vegas, I'd still take Nova even with the odds a favorite would get, and I'd take Butler for last for a longer odds bet. I don't think they are the favorites at all for the bottom, but I think Georgetown is better than expected and DePaul definitely has upgraded their talent. Butler...I've been underwhelmed, even in light of the St Lou game. I could see them down there under some circumstances and would take the odds I'd get.

[DeePhence]

So after the first month or so it looks like a lot of the predictions via tiers of teams are holding true.

1) Nova, X, Hall
2) Creighton, Providence, St. Johns
3) Marquette, Butler
4) DePaul, Georgetown

My December reset:

I think there are four teams with varying chances of winning the title, five teams with varying chances of finishing last (and I think all five could possibly do so), and Providence, which will neither win it all nor finish last. I don't see how Creighton is on par with those other two, they're a top 4 team at least this far.

If this were Vegas, I'd still take Nova even with the odds a favorite would get, and I'd take Butler for last for a longer odds bet. I don't think they are the favorites at all for the bottom, but I think Georgetown is better than expected and DePaul definitely has upgraded their talent. Butler...I've been underwhelmed, even in light of the St Lou game. I could see them down there under some circumstances and would take the odds I'd get.

Wait, you think Creighton is a contender for 1st place? Is that your fourth?
I see Creighton similar to Providence. Capable of some stunning offense, but easily capable of drinking the potion and becoming Mr. Hyde. The two halves at Gonzaga were the best and worst of Creighton. Neither PC or CU are consistent enough - despite both of their considerable qualities - to threaten SHU, VU or XU, IMHO.

I think both teams have great coaches who will get the most they can from their teams by the end of January, so who knows how it will shake out.

SHU can play with anyone with that starting lineup. But if one or two guys has a bad night or foul trouble or whatever, they can really sputter. Not sure if they can ride the five starters exclusively every night in the BE.

I am not sure how good St John's is yet, and I have not bought into GTown yet - talk to me after the Syracuse game. Butler will struggle, but as usual, they have intangibles that are hard to bet against. DePaul will upset a few teams. Marquette can shoot their way to victory against anyone, but can defend their way to a loss against anyone.

Every game in this league will be a tough one. No nights off.

My breakdown:

1. Nova/XU - like boxing, you have to beat Villanova to claim the top spot and until then, it's theirs.
2. SHU - only because I am not sold on their depth even though they have some absolute studs in the starting five
3. Creighton/PC - I give PC the edge due to homerism.
4. SJU/Marquette/Butler (pick em) one or two of them could get into the NCAAs as an 8 or 9 seed or play-in game.
5. GTown/DePaul

We should get five teams in, and maybe seven, and at least the top three should get seeded at 4 or above.

Still a deep, fun league, and one in which I am delighted to see my team play.

[hoyahooligan]

Not a great game for my Hoyas. A win's a win. Gotta just plugging along against the dregs of D1 until Syracuse.

If Hoyas win that I think they jump up into the tier with PC, and St. John's. Lose and we stay in the basement with Butler, Marquette, and DePaul.

[MullinMayhem]

So after the first month or so it looks like a lot of the predictions via tiers of teams are holding true.

1) Nova, X, Hall
2) Creighton, Providence, St. Johns
3) Marquette, Butler
4) DePaul, Georgetown

My December reset:

I think there are four teams with varying chances of winning the title, five teams with varying chances of finishing last (and I think all five could possibly do so), and Providence, which will neither win it all nor finish last. I don't see how Creighton is on par with those other two, they're a top 4 team at least this far.

If this were Vegas, I'd still take Nova even with the odds a favorite would get, and I'd take Butler for last for a longer odds bet. I don't think they are the favorites at all for the bottom, but I think Georgetown is better than expected and DePaul definitely has upgraded their talent. Butler...I've been underwhelmed, even in light of the St Lou game. I could see them down there under some circumstances and would take the odds I'd get.

Wait, you think Creighton is a contender for 1st place? Is that your fourth?
I see Creighton similar to Providence. Capable of some stunning offense, but easily capable of drinking the potion and becoming Mr. Hyde. The two halves at Gonzaga were the best and worst of Creighton. Neither PC or CU are consistent enough - despite both of their considerable qualities - to threaten SHU, VU or XU, IMHO.

I think both teams have great coaches who will get the most they can from their teams by the end of January, so who knows how it will shake out.

SHU can play with anyone with that starting lineup. But if one or two guys has a bad night or foul trouble or whatever, they can really sputter. Not sure if they can ride the five starters exclusively every night in the BE.

I am not sure how good St John's is yet, and I have not bought into GTown yet - talk to me after the Syracuse game. Butler will struggle, but as usual, they have intangibles that are hard to bet against. DePaul will upset a few teams. Marquette can shoot their way to victory against anyone, but can defend their way to a loss against anyone.

Every game in this league will be a tough one. No nights off.

My breakdown:

1. Nova/XU - like boxing, you have to beat Villanova to claim the top spot and until then, it's theirs.
2. SHU - only because I am not sold on their depth even though they have some absolute studs in the starting five
3. Creighton/PC - I give PC the edge due to homerism.
4. SJU/Marquette/Butler (pick em) one or two of them could get into the NCAAs as an 8 or 9 seed or play-in game.
5. GTown/DePaul

We should get five teams in, and maybe seven, and at least the top three should get seeded at 4 or above.

Still a deep, fun league, and one in which I am delighted to see my team play.

Butler and Marquette have worse records than SJ. If we are basing things on this season right now, SJ has shown enough to be ranked above those 2 and is toe and toe with PC right now IMO. By the way, that's not taking anything away from those teams, it just shows how deep we are. They are still decent teams right now. Marquette has made it clear that they are a chuck and pray team and they already have 3 losses. Butler beat OSU which was awesome, but they have already showed they are likely taking a decent step backwards this year through no fault of their own. Every team gets a new coach and loses players once in a while. Not sure why more Big East fans aren't happy with the 7-1 start...if we want the conference to maximize its potential, we need a good SJ team in the biggest market in America. My guess is that many are waiting to see how we fare against Arizona State to give us a real test which is fair, though we probably won't have LoVett which is a huge blow.

1. Nova
2. Xavier
3. Seton Hall
4. Creighton
5. St. John's/PC
6. PC/St. John's
7. Butler
8. Marquette
9. G'Town
10. DePaul

G'Town is undefeated, but they have played basically all 300+ ranked teams, so who knows? The Cuse game will tell us a lot. Also, I know URI is a very good mid major team, but PC has to win that game with all the depth and experience on their roster. It's not a "bad" loss but still disappointing just like it was for Seton Hall, though they just beat ranked Texas Tech and Louisville teams so they more than made up for it. Again, it's very early but this is how things have been so far IMO.