There was a lot of excitement coming into this year’s tournament. Could Notre Dame finally crack through and make it to a final? After all, they had the league’s best player. Could up and coming UConn take down Georgetown in a rematch of one of the best games of the regular season? UConn had a great, great February, and was ready to be a Final Four sleeper pick. Could Louisville or Marquette be the first former C-USA team to reach the final? Louisville looked like the most talented team coming into the tournament. Could Scottie Reynolds or Joe Alexander pull off a Gerry Mac performance, and lead their team all the way to the finals?

For every question, the answer is a resounding no.

The status quo has been preserved, and here we sit, with Georgetown and Pitt in the finals, again. Don’t get me wrong, both of these teams certainly deserve to be here. They have been by far the best teams this week, and both take credit for answering nearly every question from above. Georgetown is trying to become the first team in nearly a decade to repeat as both season champs, and tournament champs, which is pretty impressive considering the year-to-year strength of this conference. And Pittsburgh has now made their seventh final in eight years. That is an absolutely ridiculous number, and Jamie Dixon and his staff receive a ton of credit every year. If I were a betting man, I would have lost a lot of money betting against Pitt’s chances in the finals this season. Just as I would have in 2001 and 2006 as well. But here they stand, in the finals again.

If you are a fan of the Panthers or the Hoyas you certainly have to be excited. But if you are just a fan of the conference, or another team in the conference, this is not the final you were looking for. If either West Virginia or Marquette had won last night, it would have produced some serious intrigue. Either team would have been trying to become the first expansion team to win the title. Yes, for those of you new to the league, the Big East first expanded back in ‘96 with WVU, Notre Dame and Rutgers, and then most recently with 5 more teams in 2006. And none of those teams have ever won, and only West Virginia’s 2005 run put any expansion team in the finals. But here we are. Georgetown and Pitt. The status quo.

The Big East is a year away from completely dominating the college basketball landscape, and this game does remind me of a couple other finals. In 2000, UConn and St. John’s met in a rematch of the 1999 title game. UConn was not as strong in 2000 and most probably weren’t thrilled about seeing them back in the finals. And in 2003, Pitt and UConn rematched their 2002 tie. In 2002, both Pitt and UConn were up and coming teams, similar to Georgetown last year, and most would have probably rather seen freshman Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara in the 2003 final. (keep in mind, in both 2000 & 2003, the team that lost the previous year, won that year) Coincidently, Pitt and UConn rematched again in ‘04, but the feel was different because they were two national contenders and the build up to that game was viewed as the rubber match between teams. Is this game less exciting than 2000 or 2003? Perhaps, but for a fan of any other team, you would be more likely to tune in tonight if any other team were involved.

Categories: Commentary