Next Year.

[adoraz]

Nova, Marquette and Providence should be tourney locks.

After that, at least 1 and likely more of the remaining will step up and earn a bid.

That's concerning considering Providence was a 10 seed and Marquette an NIT team.

I agree they both should make it, but I'm not confident enough to call them locks.

I think the only lock at this point is Nova... but I do expect the majority of the league to at least be bubble level so things will end up working out.

[MUBoxer]

Nova, Marquette and Providence should be tourney locks.

After that, at least 1 and likely more of the remaining will step up and earn a bid.

That's concerning considering Providence was a 10 seed and Marquette an NIT team.

I agree they both should make it, but I'm not confident enough to call them locks.

I think the only lock at this point is Nova... but I do expect the majority of the league to at least be bubble level so things will end up working out.

That's pretty bad logic for the record. Last year has zero bearing on the next. We lose a prolific scorer who was the worst defender on the team. We bring the rest of the team back and add a gritty defensive low post player which is what we really needed the past few years. I'm confident that with a grad transfer we'll be top 25 for more than half of next year.

[stever20]

love how everyone thinks grad transfers are automatic.. They really aren't. If you're lucky, you have a year like what Kanter had with Xavier.

[DudeAnon]

Nova, Marquette and Providence should be tourney locks.

After that, at least 1 and likely more of the remaining will step up and earn a bid.

That's concerning considering Providence was a 10 seed and Marquette an NIT team.

I agree they both should make it, but I'm not confident enough to call them locks.

I think the only lock at this point is Nova... but I do expect the majority of the league to at least be bubble level so things will end up working out.

Xavier got a 1 seed this year, do you expect them to get that next year? You have to consider who is leaving and staying.

[slysyl]

Like every year we've been in the league and looked down on; Xavier, will surprise everyone again.

[GumbyDamnit!]

I know the knee jerk reaction is to look at who is leaving a program and assume that teams are going to take a step back or forward based on lost talent. But you never know how a team is going to develop and take shape. Two examples:
1). For the past 4 years Nova fans have heard: "Oh you guys are losing Pinkston & Bell...Hilliard...Ochefu and Arch...Hart and Jenkins...(etc)...you're going to take a step back." And I'm thinking: "Damn, no Arch and Ochefu...I guess we open things up more with Hart and Brunson and keep rolling. No problem." Nova fans who watched the team 35 times each year knew that Brunson was a stud and Arch leaving was not a huge deal, or that Brudges would easily fill Hart's shoes, etc. Point being you have to look at who is coming back and how that nucleus might gel and take off.
2). I recall Nova soundly beating a good FL team in the tourney back in 2004. Nova lost no one to graduation and FL graduated their 2 best players in David Lee and Matt Walsh. In 2005, with a bunch of talented young kids, FL spanked us in the E8 and won a NC. In that case unproven players just needed an opportunity to step into the leadership role and play more, and they blossomed.

So I'm not buying that the BE will be significantly down next year. I look at Marquette and see a much more rounded team on both sides of the ball without Rowsey; I think they'll defend much better with him gone. I see the young talented kids on X not having to play in the shadows of Macura and TB; that could be a nice physical team on O and D. Watch Scruggs, Q and Naji flourish next year. I see Diallo, MAL, Young and Watson, and the other young talent at PC, given the room to blossom. Perhaps Creighton will be more balanced and less reliant on their talented 2G. Maybe Butler becomes Kam Baldwin and 4 lock-down defenders, winning games in the 60's. Maybe Patrick figures out the PG position and the Hoyas trot out perhaps the 2 best bigs in the league along with a solid supporting cast who learn how to close games. Maybe the Johnnies finally figure things out for 40 minutes and 30 games. As a fan of the BE, I'm not ready to conceded anything.

Bring on 2018-19! 6 bids minimum or bust!

[MUBoxer]

Gumby

Great points. Tiny detail here.

2005 was UofI vs UNC in the championship

2006 & 2007 were Florida

[hoyahooligan]

Way too early projections

1) Nova
2) Marquette
3) Creighton
4) Providence
5) Georgetown
6) Xavier
7) Butler
8) Seton Hall
9) St. John's
10) DePaul

Will definitely change a lot between now and the start of the season.

Really I think it's

Nova

Everyone else

Seton Hall, St. John's, DePaul

Georgetown 5, thats cute.

Will definitely finish ahead of St. Johns.

[NJRedman]

Way too early projections

1) Nova
2) Marquette
3) Creighton
4) Providence
5) Georgetown
6) Xavier
7) Butler
8) Seton Hall
9) St. John's
10) DePaul

Will definitely change a lot between now and the start of the season.

Really I think it's

Nova

Everyone else

Seton Hall, St. John's, DePaul

Georgetown 5, thats cute.

Will definitely finish ahead of St. Johns.

Oh we got ourselves a fortune teller in our midst! What else does your crystal ball tell you? Mine tells me that the Hoyas are going to once again have the softest of softest OOC schedules in the country.

[gosports1]

Lunardi has PC at 7th or lower, not even in running for the tourney. I hope the predictions on here are more accurate