The Holy Land of Hoops

3 in the Top 15; 4 in the top 25

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... 25-and-one

Even with three loses, Georgetown cannot be far off. If they clean up with the rest of their non-conference games, there could be five teams in the top-25.

Just as a reminder, this is just Parrish's poll (pretty sure).

The real polls come out tomorrow afternoon.

The Big East getting stronger.

Last year during the regular season we had the strong conference RPI thing going on, and we had that going on with 2 teams ranked most of the time(?)

At the current pace, we'll continue with the strong RPI ranking this year, but with multiple teams ranked and hopefully with 2 to 3 of those ranked teams hovering within the Top 15 during the season.

If Villanova can take out the Sooners, and if Xavier can take care of the little kittens in the Cintas Center next Saturday, among a few other key non-con games remaining, the Big East will simply continue to add to the conviction that a basketball-centric conference that emanates from a major brand name and that enjoys a major media partner relationship can thrive in the current landscape of the sport.

Here's what I know at this point:

1. I know Nova is going to be top-10 pretty much all year
2. I know Xavier is a lead-pipe lock for the NCAAs and probably a protected seed
3. I know Butler is nearly a lead pipe lock for the tournament and will do damage there with their veteran leadership
4. I know PC probably lays an egg or two due to depth/inexperience but still makes the dance comfortably and with an AA point guard can beat anyone once in the tournament
5. I know GTown will take their tough non-conference SOS and use it as a barometer for Big East play to parlay it into an NCAA bid; whether they actually realize their potential in March is TBD
6. I know Seton Hall has NCAA tournament ability, but do they have NCAA chemistry and coaching?
7. I know Creighton and Marquette will be brutal outs at home but probably roll over on the road most nights
8. I know DePaul will scrap more this year, but still lose 12+ games
9. I know St. John's will be lucky to win 3 conference games

IMO Seton Hall has the single most important game left in the OOC schedule- home vs Wichita St. win there and should be 10-2 in OOC play. lose there and 9-3 OOC(with the #288 SOS) and it's going to be a challenge for making the tourney.

stever20 wrote:IMO Seton Hall has the single most important game left in the OOC schedule- home vs Wichita St. win there and should be 10-2 in OOC play. lose there and 9-3 OOC(with the #288 SOS) and it's going to be a challenge for making the tourney.

Wichita State is certainly a must win for Seton Hall, but not really any more so than their other 3 remaining OOC games. At the start of the season, the Wichita State game was supposed to be an opportunity for a good win- now it's about avoiding a bad loss. Seton Hall missed their only 2 opportunities for meaningful non-conference wins, so to have any realistic tournament hope, it's imperative that they avoid any bad losses and finish this portion of their schedule at 10-2.

Hall2012 wrote:

stever20 wrote:IMO Seton Hall has the single most important game left in the OOC schedule- home vs Wichita St. win there and should be 10-2 in OOC play. lose there and 9-3 OOC(with the #288 SOS) and it's going to be a challenge for making the tourney.

Wichita State is certainly a must win for Seton Hall, but not really any more so than their other 3 remaining OOC games. At the start of the season, the Wichita State game was supposed to be an opportunity for a good win- now it's about avoiding a bad loss. Seton Hall missed their only 2 opportunities for meaningful non-conference wins, so to have any realistic tournament hope, it's imperative that they avoid any bad losses and finish this portion of their schedule at 10-2.

If you lose the game, it won't be a bad loss per se. Their projected RPI is still 101- and that's with them projected only 12-6 in conference play due to their slow starts(computers don't know injuries). If Seton Hall can win that game, it could still wind up as a really good win. Lets say this- Wichita would be the best OOC win of the season for Seton Hall even now.

It's more about avoiding a loss period. A loss, and it's 3 losses total against the 288th schedule. The other 3 games, if you lose, it's a dreadful loss- worst in the conference this year. Troy(281 projected), St Peter's(239), and USF(253).

gofriars08 wrote:Here's what I know at this point:

1. I know Nova is going to be top-10 pretty much all year
2. I know Xavier is a lead-pipe lock for the NCAAs and probably a protected seed
3. I know Butler is nearly a lead pipe lock for the tournament and will do damage there with their veteran leadership
4. I know PC probably lays an egg or two due to depth/inexperience but still makes the dance comfortably and with an AA point guard can beat anyone once in the tournament
5. I know GTown will take their tough non-conference SOS and use it as a barometer for Big East play to parlay it into an NCAA bid; whether they actually realize their potential in March is TBD
6. I know Seton Hall has NCAA tournament ability, but do they have NCAA chemistry and coaching?
7. I know Creighton and Marquette will be brutal outs at home but probably roll over on the road most nights
8. I know DePaul will scrap more this year, but still lose 12+ games
9. I know St. John's will be lucky to win 3 conference games

Very solid look at it at this point.

Tomorrow, the ballot from David Borges of the New Haven Register includes:
#10 Villanova.
#12 Xavier.
#14 Providence.
#17 Butler.