Four games tonight, great night for watching Big East hoops. Here’s some points I’m taking from tonight’s action:

1. I’ve been flipping channels all night, and I’ll admit it, the game I’ve watched the least of the quartet has been USF-Seton Hall. And apparently, I’m not the only one. Where the hell is everyone at that game? If Seton Hall can’t get people out to watch their games, they need to find a new conference. I’m very much a traditionalist and still even consider Rutgers, WVU and ND expansion teams to the conference, and I seem to lean in the favor of the old school Big East teams, but come on. That crowd was ridiculous. And if they can’t find fans, get rid of them (I know this can’t happen BTW) There are many other schools in “Mid-Major Conferences” who have a much better followings. Seton Hall, I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

2. Marquette isn’t winning anything this year. Oh, they look great! Ew, they look terrible! It’s been back and forth for the Eagles again this year, and while they should cruise to a top 3 or 4 finish league play this year, I don’t see them winning three games at MSG in March. Too much inconsistency from their team. I have not yet checked out the injury report on James, but hopefully he’s alright. Without James, the Eagles are not a threat to the other top tier teams. One positive for Marquette - the Uniforms. I love those Baby Blue unis.

3. Shooting is fairly important in this game. If you watched the PC-UConn game, you witnessed Exhibit A in this theory. As I hoped before the year, Providence is finally playing well. Their perimeter game was incredible, and their zone was good as well. Of course, UConn’s horrible shooting made PC’s zone look better than it was. The Huskies would be a GREAT team, if they could shoot well from the outside. They would be a very good team if they could at least be competent from the perimeter. But tonight, they were simply pathetic from three, and therefore, they stink.

4. West Virginia is decent, St. John’s is not. West Virginia is a middle of the road team in this conference, and they took care of business. SJU is better than Rutgers, but not better than many other teams. By the way, what’s the deal with Rutgers? I think they may be the worst Big East team I’ve seen since those old Constantine Popa Miami teams.

5. Louisville is the best team in this league. If they play like they did tonight, they are one of the best 5 teams in the country. This is a very good team, and they are certainly more talented than either Georgetown or Marquette (2 teams that most include in that top tier with Louisville). The Cardinals may not be the top seeded team going into the Big East tournament in March, but they’ll be the favorites. Just wait, you’ll see. They were very impressive tonight, and as they were back in November, they’re still my pick to win the conference.

P.S. To all you Pitt fans out there, DuJuan Blair is quite a player, much better than I though he would be, as I stated back in November. I was very impressed by their win against G’town, and with a weak upcoming schedule, the Panthers have a chance to make a move towards the top of the league. Jamie Dixon has my vote for Coach of the Year so far.

Categories: Commentary