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"They're baaaaaaaaack!

Three years after its realignment schism, the 2015-16 edition of the new-look Big East has emerged as one of the sport's very best leagues. From elite teams like Villanova and Xavier, to top-25-level squads like Butler and Providence (led by All-American point guard Kris Dunn), to surprises like Seton Hall and Creighton, the new Big East is no longer a power conference in name only. It's simply powerful."

Nice to see ESPN give Big East some love here

We have had a really great year thus far. Kris Dunn is a legit national player of the year candidate. Chris Mack is making a huge name for himself with the way he has helped elevate Xavier. Xavier/Providence/Villanova/Butler have all been very strong, with Creighton/Seton Hall/Georgetown/Marquette all showing they can compete with them in a given night.

Having said that, we need to get some runs in the tournament. We have yet to do that since we reconfigured in 2013. Wins in March are what cement a conference into national relevance. Whether the conference gets 4 top seeds in (X, Providence, Nova, BU), or 6 spread-out seeds in (two additional of SH/CU/GT/MU), the teams that get in need to get some wins. My personal opinion is that the more teams you get in only increase the chances of one team making a run - but I can definitely see the argument of getting fewer teams in with higher seeds (thus increasing the odds of going further due to matchups).

In any event, the league is doing very well - and it's nice to see national respect as a power basketball conference.

I think the ideal would be to wind up with both X and Nova as 1/2 seeds, which I think is realistic, plus hopefully Providence as a 3/4 seed. Nova especially should be licking their chops, with the potential to play in either Providence or NY the first round and then in their hometown Philly for the East regional. Same for PC - if they wind up a protected seed in NYC and then the East bracket, they'd have a ton of fans showing up.

gofriars08 wrote:I think the ideal would be to wind up with both X and Nova as 1/2 seeds, which I think is realistic, plus hopefully Providence as a 3/4 seed. Nova especially should be licking their chops, with the potential to play in either Providence or NY the first round and then in their hometown Philly for the East regional. Same for PC - if they wind up a protected seed in NYC and then the East bracket, they'd have a ton of fans showing up.

just looking- the sub regional sites are Des Moines, Spokane, Raleigh, St Louis, Brooklyn, Denver, Providence, and Oklahoma City

for Brooklyn- Maryland/Villanova seem very likely to take that site. And if 1 falters, UVA seems likely

Providence is a prime candidate to be seeded lower than folks think. They are only #36 in Ken Pom right now. Right now, Bracket Matrix is showing that with them being at 4.35- the lowest 4 seed.

Luckily for us it's called the NCAA tournament and not the KenPom or stever20 tournament. Curious what is PC's toughness metric on KenPom? Oh wait, he doesn't measure that? Whatever.

FriarJ wrote:Luckily for us it's called the NCAA tournament and not the KenPom or stever20 tournament. Curious what is PC's toughness metric on KenPom? Oh wait, he doesn't measure that? Whatever.

Here are the current #1 seeds for the stever20 tournament.

#1
AAC Technical Institute
TV Guide University
ESPN3 Community College
The University of Nothing Big East

Should someone tell ESPN the Big East never left?

FriarJ wrote:Luckily for us it's called the NCAA tournament and not the KenPom or stever20 tournament. Curious what is PC's toughness metric on KenPom? Oh wait, he doesn't measure that? Whatever.

advanced metrics are starting to play more and more a role in the selection of the tournament along with the seeding of the tourney. Last year, that had a HUGE impact on seeding/selection. I know Creighton's AD even said that a few weeks before the tourney last year.

FriarJ wrote:Luckily for us it's called the NCAA tournament and not the KenPom or stever20 tournament. Curious what is PC's toughness metric on KenPom? Oh wait, he doesn't measure that? Whatever.

here's a story from this summer about how the advanced metrics are used:
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt- ... 20578.html

thru Monday in Sagarin- PC is #38...

What is interesting is Creighton if advanced metrics are important may have a far better shot than anyone thinks. In Sagarin they are #41.

stever20 wrote:

gofriars08 wrote:I think the ideal would be to wind up with both X and Nova as 1/2 seeds, which I think is realistic, plus hopefully Providence as a 3/4 seed. Nova especially should be licking their chops, with the potential to play in either Providence or NY the first round and then in their hometown Philly for the East regional. Same for PC - if they wind up a protected seed in NYC and then the East bracket, they'd have a ton of fans showing up.

just looking- the sub regional sites are Des Moines, Spokane, Raleigh, St Louis, Brooklyn, Denver, Providence, and Oklahoma City

for Brooklyn- Maryland/Villanova seem very likely to take that site. And if 1 falters, UVA seems likely

Providence is a prime candidate to be seeded lower than folks think. They are only #36 in Ken Pom right now. Right now, Bracket Matrix is showing that with them being at 4.35- the lowest 4 seed.

Stever: You have to remember that RPI not Ken Pom, is the prime factor in seeding. RPI is used by the selection committee to seed the teams. I'm sure they probably take a look at KenPom since it has become a popular measure, but RPI remains the number #1 factor.