Sat. Dec. 22, 2018 (5) Big East Games...

[stever20]

I really wouldn't call the league in an excellent position right now. For what it could have been- yes its good.

BUT still have-
at least 3 teams entering conference play with at least 4 losses.
have 2 teams with 3 losses that probably don't have much of a chance at the tourney.
an undefeated team with a horrible OOC schedule.
have 30 losses overall. That's 7 more already vs last year.

there are really only 2 teams that are in excellent position right now. Marquette and Seton Hall.

Last year on Dec 27- so right before conference play- Big East had 4 teams in the RPI top 20, and 8 in the top 66. This year will only have 7 in the top 66 entering conference play, and then only 3 in the top 30(assuming St John's stays there)….

The league for having 30 losses is positioned as well as possible.

[stever20]

Well, right now St. John's is #27 in NET. I'd absolutely consider that strong. Keep in mind too they still have a chance to win at Duke, though that is of course unlikely.

You're correct that Marquette has a stronger OOC. Maybe Nova too. But that doesn't take away from St. John's.

I think 10 more wins is fair. I would've signed up for that at the beginning of the season. 9 is still possible for a Tournament berth (depends on who they beat).

Upset Duke and they may just need 8 or 9 Big East wins.

I've been as harsh of a critic as you have been regarding their schedule, but you have to admit things have ended up pretty nicely. I'm not excusing the schedule maker, but I am giving credit to the team for going undefeated.

It'll be interesting to see tomorrow and thru this week if they remain 27. I mean, you had some teams just behind them with good wins today- Kentucky, Florida St, Kansas St, Villanova of course.

I would also say look at what happened yesterday to Buffalo and Furman- both undefeated teams who lost to good teams on the road.... Buffalo dropped 9 spots, and Furman dropped 22 spots. That game with Seton Hall next Saturday is going to be insane- they win, up to 20, they lose and conceivably down to 50.

It's kind of like what Rothstein said- St John's hasn't truly helped or hurt themselves so far. They might go into league play in the nation as the biggest x factor team in the country.

[adoraz]

On a side note, do the AAC Power 6 commercials feature basketball? They're ridiculous enough already, but that'd make them embarrassingly bad. I feel that'd do more harm than good.

Regardless, glad Nova destroyed UConn today.

[stever20]

On a side note, do the AAC Power 6 commercials feature basketball? They're ridiculous enough already, but that'd make them embarrassingly bad. I feel that'd do more harm than good.

Regardless, glad Nova destroyed UConn today.

I have got to admit, I think those are pretty stupid...

[SJUBBALL]

Honestly, enough of all the St John’s schedule talk.

If they go 10-8 in big east play they will make it. And if they don’t go 10-8 or better they don’t deserve to make it. This is the best team we’ve had in years, going .500 or less in conference would be very disappointing. The talk about St. John’s schedule is so annoying at this point. We play Duke, seton hall (2), Nova (2), MARQ (2), and even more solid teams. If they deserve to make the tournament they will perform well and get results in these games

[Toronto Rapture]

Well DePaul couldn't help themselves, up all game and by 8 with ??? time left, I went to feed the dog and come back to see them snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Don't usually get to watch DePaul, but I did catch their game with NW. They were up for a lot of that game and then just went ice cold. It was really frustrating to watch. That NW game and now this one with BC were both winnable games.

[kayako]

well, at least we figured out the Ivy League sucks

Touche!

[kayako]

On a side note, do the AAC Power 6 commercials feature basketball? They're ridiculous enough already, but that'd make them embarrassingly bad. I feel that'd do more harm than good.

It's max level cringe. What are they trying to accomplish by crying about it nonstop to the hand that feeds them...

[kayako]

I see 5 bids right now: Marquette, Nova, Hall and SJU with one of Butler, Creighton or Providence.

Things will change but if I had to guess where teams are currently:

Marquette - 4th seed
Nova - 6th seed
Hall - 7th seed
Johnnies - 8th seed
Butler - 10th seed
Providence - last in / first out
Creighton - NIT 2 seed

[adoraz]

Although I usually laugh at days being "huge", I actually think the past few were.

Nova, Hall and Marquette going 3 and 0 was pretty unlikely, and they (along with the Johnnies) now have great OOC performances. Had they gone 2-2 or 1-3 the narrative changes. After this week I feel great about the league. Tough but not too tough.

Also, anybody remember the worst day ever in our conference history? Me neither, because all 3 teams that played that day should go dancing.