Looking At Big East Tourney Match Ups

[NovaBall]

Overall, I'm pretty happy. Nova got pulled from philly despite being 7 on the s-curve, but got a much better match up for them. I like the xavier and seton hall match ups. We all knew PC and Butler would end up in the 8/9 game

I love seton hall's draw. Gonzaga hasn't seen guards as athletic as whitehead and Carrington all year. The zags have a good front court, but seton hall has more size than Gonzaga is used to. I think Utah is a favorable 3 seed for them as well. Let's just hope the altitude doesn't mess up those 30 foot shots.

Real happy with nova's draw. They are better than temple. Iowa was playing well a month ago, and if they shoot well they will be tough to beat, but this is the type of team nova wants in rd 2. They don't fit the mold of the athletic perimeter defensive team wth the steady ball handler that could give them trouble. Play good perimeter defense, rebound well, work that press, and Iowa is going to struggle to disrupt their offensive sets. Don't even think Ochefu is a must for these teams, as the reynolds look is a bit more athletic. Will gladly trade the philly region for this draw instead of pitt or Wisconsin...

Likewise, I think xavier taking the east was a good result. Pitt or Wisconsin would have given nova trouble. I think xavier matches up well against pitt or Wisconsin. Both are grind it out teams that can keep it tight, but are not going to be too explosive. Xavier can handle this type of team.

Both PC and butler caught teams they can beat in round 1. Round 2 is obviously going to be very difficult.

PC matches up with USC. USC is athletic, but so is PC. Their coach is the guy who da georgetown out of the gym with florida gulf coast. Nova played them a couple years and they were not very impressive. They seem to have bought in a bit to the new system, but I like dunn being able to run with them. PC versus unc, hey, why not? Dunn and Bentil get it done!

I don't know about Butler v Texas Tech. Seems like people are picking Butler. If I were to pick a top 2 seed for butler to go against, Virginia is as good as any. Get into an ugly battle and see if it can remain close down the stretch.

My prediction for first weekend:
2 of the 3 out of seton hall, nova and xavier advance to the sweet 16
Either PC or butler win their first round game and lose second round
First round record at 6-3 (maybe 5-3 if seton hall falls to Gonzaga)


Vegas odds to win it all:
Nova 12-1 (4th overall)
Xavier 25-1 (9th overall)
Seton Hall 80-1 (22nd overall)
Providence 200-1 (31st overall)
Butler 200-1 (31st overall)

[NovaBall]

Spreads:

Nova -17
Xavier -13.5
Seton Hall PK (the computers have Gonzaga favored, so this is a good sign)
Providence -1.5
Butler -2

So no underdogs in round 1. And our only pick is our red hot team that is going to manhandle the Zagas.

[NovaBall]

Why am I still being moderated? WTF?

[Hall2012]

I still don't like Seton Hall's draw. Yeah, it's certainly winnable, but a 25 win power conference tournament champion deserves better than a first round game with a kenpom top 30 opponent playing a lot closer to home (kenpom has shu 26 zags 28).

[JohnW22]

Good write up. Overall I think the big east got some great matchups.

[Jet915]

Realistically, even though we are favored in all 5, I expect 4-1. 5-0 would be out of this world and 3-2 or worse would be a disappointment. I do think SHU has the most difficult game.

[gofriars08]

Frankly I think 3-2 is most likely, but 4-1 would be very close to that. See very little chance all three of SHU/PC/Butler lose.

[mpwalsh8]

Mini BigEast / ACC challenge in Raleigh Saturday night.

UNC vs Providence
UVA vs Butler

Late tip, 9:50 PM, for UNC vs PC but a great opportunity for BigEast vs ACC. Home game for UNC for sure, I would say two thirds of the people attending yesterday were UNC fans. PC game last night was fantastic despite a lot of the crowd leaving after UNC game. If I had to pick which game the BigEast might win I guess I would pick Butler over UVA but both games are an uphill battle for the good guys.

[JohnW22]

I think Dunham could hurt Virginia in the packline. They need him and Martin to be hitting. Let Brogden get his points don't let somebody else explode though

[Jet915]

Butler has the best chance but they need to be hitting their 3's to loosen up their D.