Saturday's Big East Schedule 12/5

[marquette]

Xavier doing as Xavier does. Solid home performance so far.

[ChestRockwell85]

Nice win for PC. URI is well coached and the place was packed.

Xavier continues to look like an absolute BEAST!

[ivet]

About to be 7-1 with that quality win by Georgetown. As the great poet Ice Cube once said, today was a good day.

[BEX]

Reynolds gets in his usual foul trouble for X. No problem. Farr comes in for 18 in 18 minutes.

[adoraz]

4 ranked teams incoming. My predictions:

Currently:
8. Nova
12. Xavier
23. Providence

28 Butler
38 Georgetown

Monday:
9. Nova: Nova will probably drop a spot despite winning this week. Expect UNC to pass them with their win against Maryland.
12. Xavier: Should stay at the same spot.
20. Providence: Could pass Syracuse, Texas A&M (if they lose today), and Cincy
21. Butler: Huge win @ #17 Cincy. Could pass Syracuse, Louisville, Baylor, Texas A&M and Cincy.

29. Georgetown: expect them to move up to this area. Closing in.

Still some games to play but one thing is certain: we'll have at least 4 ranked teams this week. A new high for the conference.

[DemonLS]

I have to wake up on Sunday morning to read the DePaul hate posts again???

Creighton just joins the league with McDermott and they believe they have contributed to the Big East like Nova or Gtown???

Creighton has ZERO basketball history compared to DePaul. ZERO Period. Yes, you have had a decent program recently but no way does Creighton compare to DePaul.

Also, DePaul benefited the Big East by being the Chicago market team which helped the Big East to gain the large Fox Sports TV contract. Did you ever take any business classes in college....or should I say did you go to college? Guess what Omaha is not a big TV market. I don't care how butts are in the seats for Jays games.

DePaul will improve.....they have to.....way too many expenses coming up.

[R Jay]

I have to wake up on Sunday morning to read the DePaul hate posts again???

Creighton just joins the league with McDermott and they believe they have contributed to the Big East like Nova or Gtown???

Creighton has ZERO basketball history compared to DePaul. ZERO Period. Yes, you have had a decent program recently but no way does Creighton compare to DePaul.

Also, DePaul benefited the Big East by being the Chicago market team which helped the Big East to gain the large Fox Sports TV contract. Did you ever take any business classes in college....or should I say did you go to college? Guess what Omaha is not a big TV market. I don't care how butts are in the seats for Jays games.

DePaul will improve.....they have to.....way too many expenses coming up.

LOL. DePaul hate? It's calling it as we see it. DePaul hasn't made any contribution to the Big East, old and new.
Guess what? No one cares about what DePaul did more than 20 years. No one. Most recruits weren't alive then. That's who you have to sell to to succeed.
Also, please, tell me how DePaul has captured the Chicago market. DePaul games DO NOT average better ratings than non-DePaul games. Chicago sports fans do not care by and large about DePaul basketball (partially because it's a pro sports/Notre Dame town and partially because DePaul isn't winning games).
Sure, those Chicago fans could tune in if DePaul significantly improves, but I haven't seen any signs that they are doing that.
CU NCAA tournament appearances in NBE - 1
DP NCAA tournament appearances in NBE - 0

[Noonzy]

If anyone cares, CBS sports has 4 BE team in the top 25 with Butler at 21 I think and PC at 15, then X and Nova towards the top.

[pki1998]

I have to wake up on Sunday morning to read the DePaul hate posts again???

Creighton just joins the league with McDermott and they believe they have contributed to the Big East like Nova or Gtown???

Creighton has ZERO basketball history compared to DePaul. ZERO Period. Yes, you have had a decent program recently but no way does Creighton compare to DePaul.

Also, DePaul benefited the Big East by being the Chicago market team which helped the Big East to gain the large Fox Sports TV contract. Did you ever take any business classes in college....or should I say did you go to college? Guess what Omaha is not a big TV market. I don't care how butts are in the seats for Jays games.

DePaul will improve.....they have to.....way too many expenses coming up.

It is true that DePaul has a better history the Creighton (and my Musketeers for that matter). But let's be honest DePaul is not been an elite team in many years. The last time DePaul made an Elite 8 was 1979. The last time they made a sweet 16 was 1987. They have only one NCAA win since 1990. Made the tourney only four times since 1990, and haven't been since 2004. Just to put that into some frame of reference, that means that the high school juniors that they are trying to recruit right now where 6 years old the last time DePaul made the NCAA. In fact in this millennium DePaul has made the NCAA twice (with zero wins), and NIT twice. That is far from elite.

Since joining the Big East for the 2005-2006 season DePaul has gone 36-140 in conference. What makes that even worst is after their first three seasons, DePaul has gone 16-110. Lets put that in perspective. Below is a listing of conference wins by each team during their time in the New Big East

Villanova -32
Providence - 21
St. Johns - 20
Georgetown - 20
Xavier - 19
Creighton - 18
Butler - 16
Marquette - 13
Seton Hall - 12

That's right 7 teams in conference have as many (or more) conference wins in the last two years, as DePaul has in the last 7. Also during the two years of the new conference all teams except Marquette, Seton Hall and DePaul have made the tournament. Marquette had made the Tournament every year from 2006-2013. That's 8 trips since DePaul's last visit. Seton Hall has had a rough time recently, but they have still made the tournament more recently than DePaul, and have 4 trips to the Sweet 16 since DePaul's most recent visit.

They have had one winning season in conference (and overall) in this time frame (in 2006-2007 DePaul went 20-14, and 9-7 in conference). During DePauls 10 years in the league they have finished last 5 times and second to last one time. Last year was probably's DePauls second best year when they finished tied for seventh.

Its not like they were studs in the Great Midwest or Conference USA. In the four years of the Great Midwest they were first place once (When there was only six teams) and in the bottom half the other years. In 10 years of Conference USA play, they were a middle of the road team, finishing in between 4th and 7th 8 times. They did win the conference in 2003-2004.

You stated that DePaul has benefited the Big East by being in the Chicago market. While having a team in Chicago is helpful. Lets be honest, DePaul doesn't own the Chicago market. When ND was in the Big East they did a much better job of delivering the Chicago Market. Chicago land is dominated by Big Ten fans, its just they way it is. Given DePaul's performance over the last ten years (and home attendance), They league would have benefited just as much by having Loyola Chicago in the league.

Chicago is a better media market, but how many people care about DePaul basketball? Other than giving a chance for Chicagoans to see Notre Dame or Marquette once a year how many people would actually go to a game. The fact is Creighton delivers the Omaha market. Its better to have 70K people watching the game in Omaha than 5K people watching a game in Chicago.

This is not to rip DePaul, but DePaul fans need to realize that until proven otherwise. DePaul is the anchor holding the conference back. So just like I have to remind my fellow X fans that Villanova is the class of the league, until proven otherwise. DePaul fans have got to get use to people saying that they are at the bottom of the league. Just a note, one year where you are a head of two teams in the standings (both having abnormally bad years), just like one year of someone finishing ahead of Villanova won't stop them from being the Conference's flagship.

[DemonLS]

First, there are many, many DePaul fans. But they just do not attend games, outside of me, due to the program's lack of success. When the program picks up, you will see a change.

Second, Loyola would NOT be the answer for the local Chicago market. Completely incorrect statement.

Third, Notre Dame did not take care of the Chicago basketball market. Notre Dame fans truly only care about ND football. Basketball is a huge distant second to football.

Lastly, every major conference has teams that are not successful. Northwestern has NEVER made the NCAA Tournament but the Big Ten has done just fine....even though I think this may change in the next few years as NU is improving. Wake Forest has been terrible for years but the ACC is doing just fine. Washington State sucks in the PAC12 but that conference is fine.

Though, I do believe that St Johns and DePaul are holding back the conference in reaching its highest potential. And tell St Johns has done well either. I challenge anyone to speak to the Big East Conference representatives and ask about this issue with New York and Chicago being important.

If any of you are planning to watch your team in Chicago against DePaul, then be sure to let me know as I sit a few rows up from the opposing bench....and would love to talk hoops.