Next Year.

[gtmoBlue]

I'm not buying Prov at 6th. They have 6 returning upper classmen and a great recruiting class. I'll stick with my pick of Prov as 1st in the BE.

AS for 3mw picks...that's funny. Some young guy (B12 fan) with a blog making picks.

[Wizard of Westroads]

Pirates at 55, 5th in BE, an NIT team. So the top 144 countdown sees maybe just 4 BE teams making the tournament?

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/16584

[MullinMayhem]

I think Seton Hall is going to be reeling. They lost their big time veteran core. Powell is good but doesn't take over a game. Aside from him they have the Cuse transfer who was decent. They will be a thorn in people's sides but I see them being one of those teams who keep every game close but end up losing a bunch not unlike SJ last year in conference. Nova, Butler, PC, Xavier, Creighton, SJ, Marquette will likely be ahead of them. If Seton Hall does have a good year then it will be proof that Willard is starting to come into his own as a coach. He started to show results when he had great rosters but he arguably should have gotten even more out of them. This year will tell us if his coaching can make up for a big drop in talent.

For Marquette this is the year they need to breakthrough just like SJ. If they don't they should fire Wojo and we should fire Mullin. Both programs are well overdue and both are giving their coaches plenty of time to prove they can make noise. These teams should be able to compete even in a strong conference year, so in a season where it's truly up for grabs, not making the tourney would be very damning for both programs. Hopefully both end up in the top 25.

[MUBoxer]

Are you actually equating MU's situation to SJU?

We've averaged 20 wins the past three seasons, two post seasons with probably one game away from that being two NCAA appearances. (One could argue bad scheduling or a game away from a postseason appearance three years ago as well)

You guys in that span have averaged just over 13 wins with no postseasons.

Yes both programs have a ton of history and fans are restless but the situations are not comparable.

[Hall2012]

I think Seton Hall is going to be reeling. They lost their big time veteran core. Powell is good but doesn't take over a game. Aside from him they have the Cuse transfer who was decent. They will be a thorn in people's sides but I see them being one of those teams who keep every game close but end up losing a bunch not unlike SJ last year in conference. Nova, Butler, PC, Xavier, Creighton, SJ, Marquette will likely be ahead of them. If Seton Hall does have a good year then it will be proof that Willard is starting to come into his own as a coach. He started to show results when he had great rosters but he arguably should have gotten even more out of them. This year will tell us if his coaching can make up for a big drop in talent.

For Marquette this is the year they need to breakthrough just like SJ. If they don't they should fire Wojo and we should fire Mullin. Both programs are well overdue and both are giving their coaches plenty of time to prove they can make noise. These teams should be able to compete even in a strong conference year, so in a season where it's truly up for grabs, not making the tourney would be very damning for both programs. Hopefully both end up in the top 25.

Completely disagree with the bolded part. If Seton Hall drops off significantly this year, it will be the result of a lost experience rather than talent. That senior class won a lot of games and put Seton Hall back on the map, and for that they deserve a lot of credit, but I think a lot of people overrate their "talent." I'll exclude Whitehead since they've been without him for 2 years now - out of last year's 4 seniors, only Angel Delgado was a top 100 recruit. Carrington was decent as well around 150ish, but Desi Rodriguez and Ish Sanogo both came to Seton Hall as 2 star nobodies. Now that's where they came in as freshmen, Willard obviously did a fantastic job developing them into major contributors by (and even before) their senior years. But even as seniors, they all still had their faults - Carrington was a volume scorer but was less than efficient on most days, Rodriguez was very streaky - either unstoppable or completely invisible, and Sanogo was a great defensive and rebounding presence but a liability on offense. On top of that, none of them could hit free throws.

Of course, despite their deficiencies, these guys won games - and big games at that. They deserve a ton of credit for turning Seton Hall's program around, but the reason for that was experience, developing chemistry over playing 4 full seasons together, and learning how to win - even when playing less than their best.

My point is, people around the program pretty much unanimously say that this year's Seton Hall team will undoubtedly be more talented than last year's. Of course, that doesn't mean they'll be better, but talent isn't the issue. This year's team will be defined by how quickly they can develop chemistry on the court and learn how to win.

[gtmoBlue]

Paraphrasing someone other than homer gtmo from the Creighton Boards...

mredle

This is what I think should be most exciting about this year's team. This team looks the most like a Big East team as any CU team since Creighton joined the conference. In terms of size, athleticism and skill set, this is it. This is the deepest team we've had at least during the Altman/McDermott era, in my opinion. Hopefully that depth will translate into players being able to stay rested, stay healthy, and run the socks (I'm trying to watch my language) off the opposition.

The point of this being that every fan sees what their team has lost and the potential answers to those questions of how can we succeed aren't known to us until play starts. There is only one team in the Big East that should feel somewhat secure in their future - Villanova. For everyone else, its a crapshoot.

My Jays are gonna be in the mix for the championship. We may/may not win it, but it won't be for lack of talent and efforts.

Can you feel it? The season is upon us...Finally!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILWSp0m9G2U

https://youtu.be/ILWSp0m9G2U

[gtmoBlue]

Villanova, Marquette, and Providence are the "must see" teams according to this article, listing 6 must see games in the BEast.
Somehow, number 9 of 10 Creighton was picked in 2 of these games...no Butler or Xavier, no Gtwn or Johnnies. Go figure?

https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com ... is-season/

[Irishdawg]

I think unless you're Jay Wright, most are putting Butler in the bottom half of the league this year. It'll be interesting to see where Creighton comes in at, but NBC thinks they'll be competitive.

[kayako]

I am guessing Creighton and DePaul are the 2 teams outside the 144 in favor of likely some terrible teams they'd dominate. I am still having a hard time in believing St. John's could be ranked that low. The list also seems to like the AAC.

[MullinMayhem]

Are you actually equating MU's situation to SJU?

We've averaged 20 wins the past three seasons, two post seasons with probably one game away from that being two NCAA appearances. (One could argue bad scheduling or a game away from a postseason appearance three years ago as well)

You guys in that span have averaged just over 13 wins with no postseasons.

Yes both programs have a ton of history and fans are restless but the situations are not comparable.

Only comparing in so far as:

2 programs who have had lots of talent pass through their doors but have not gotten the return that was expected and under achieved. Of course Marquette had some solid years, but they have not broken through. When realignment arrived, I expected Marquette to be a perennial top 3-4 team. The 2 teams are at a similar crossroads i.e. put up or shut up time with their coaches and the program as a whole. Tons of talent going into this season but a big questionmark at head coach. Both are in similar situations in that regard, not W/L's the past few years. Even in Lavin years when we made tourney or NIT, we would have a few solid years but never truly break through. I consider a real breakthrough nationally to be in the top 25 and make at least the Sweet 16. If Heron is eligible and Marquette can improve their defense, these should not be unrealistic for either team if coaching is effective. At the bare minimum both teams must be in the tourney this season.

By the way, that top 144 college hoops countdown is a joke. St. John's is projected to be an NCAA tourney shoe-in if Heron is eligible. That would make them at worst a top 64 team, no? They are listed at #115. Again, this is less about the talent we have and more about the lack of any results so far under Mullin. If Mullin had led us to the tourney last year, we probably get listed in the top 30-35 here if not top 25. This is why they say perception is reality. Pundits see an 11 game losing streak and instantly write us off even the next season with more experience and talent coming. We need to take advantage and pounce on people.