About three days ago Syracuse was down and out. They were on their way to Providence and their fans were ready to see their team fall to the ranks of the NIT. I doubted them as well, thinking the Friars would take that game, but Nichols’ shot saved the game for the Cuse. I had a feeling about this one against G’town in the Dome, and those of you who read my post from last week know that. Still, though, the Orangemen impressed me. I don’t care if Georgetown is on big game hangover, you can’t play that way in the Dome, especially if you are the Hoyas. Like I’ve said before, I’ve been in the Carrier Dome for a Syracuse-Georgetown game, and after watching that 1997 contest, I said I’d never bet against Cuse over Gtown in that dome again. Once again, Cuse is in the House.

Syracuse is in the NCAA Tournament. I don’t care if they lose to Nova next week and lose to St. John’s in the first round of the BET. They’re in. And for weeks we’ve heard how Villanova is a lock. Watch over the next two or three days on ESPN, and you’ll see all these experts start to change their flavor. “Villanova now needs to beat Syracuse,” they’ll say. The Big East has their top 6 in, and it’ll be up to someone else at MSG to step up and get it done. And you know what, I think if Nova beats the Orange, they may lock down spot number 7, but still, you’ll see the experts start to change their tune about the Wildcats over the next couple of days. And it’s about time, because BigEastHoops.com has been calling that one for weeks now.

Categories: Big Willie Style, Commentary, Syracuse
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I watched quite a few of the games this weekend, and here’s some quick thoughts, from the top of the league, to the bottom.

Georgetown looked real strong. Whether or not Jeff Green wins the conference MVP, he’s the best player in the league this year. Pitt’s a real good team, even with Gray at 60% or so, and the Hoyas looked real good. They’re the best team in this league.

For the first time all year, Pitt is not the favorite. Perhaps this loss will motivate them. They better be ready this week though, because their trip to Marquette will be more than tough, because if anybody plays more physically than Pitt, it’s the Golden Eagles.

Louisville is a top 15 team. They played without Palacios and probably got UConn’s best game of the year so far, and they still took care of business. Pitino’s offense is incredible.

Notre Dame is on quite a roll. They took a shot off the bat from Marquette and rebounded to easily take the game. Here’s your upset Big East tournament champion.

Marquette plays as hard as anyone I’ve seen in a while. You have to give them credit for that. But they have nothing up front. If they couldn’t stop the Irish up front, how do you think they’ll do against Gtown, Pitt or the ‘Ville?

Syracuse impressed me. I thought they would lose to PC, and they outplayed them in Rhode Island. Nichols is quite a player. The Cuse’s situation has now instantly gone from desperate to “on the brink.” If they can get one win this week, they should be in the dance.

Villanova played Rutgers, so of course they looked good.

Providence had their chance to take a step towards a 10-6 season. But they flat out blew it. Their reward, the NIT.

DePaul played Cincinnati, so of course they looked good.

UConn will give some team a real tough game on Wednesday. Hopefully they can have a good run in the NIT to build momentum for next year, which should be very good.

St. John’s. 10 points in the first half at home! I wish they weren’t making the Big East tournament, because they made our league look bad.

Categories: Big Willie Style, Commentary
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So here’s where we are right now, Pitt and Georgetown look real good, as does Louisville. Notre Dame and Marquette have been dueling for that last bye for weeks now, and the best news here, is that they’ll be meeting in South Bend this weekend. And the rest, well that’s a mess. We’re sure about Seton Hall, USF, Rutgers and Cincinnati ending their seasons a little early, but teams 6-12 are a total mess, but hopefully, I can shed some light onto what will happen over the next week and a half.

After Sunday March 4th, the standings will be:

1. Georgetown
2. Louisville
3. Pittsburgh
4. Notre Dame
5. Marquette
6. Providence
7. West Virginia
8. DePaul
9. Syracuse
10. Villanova
11. Connecticut
12. St. John’s
13. Seton Hall
14. USF
15. Rutgers
16. Cincinnati

Now, here’s how it’ll happen:

First off, the top of the league. Pitt at Georgetown this Saturday. I can’t wait. This game is clearly the game of the year so far in the conference. I realize that Pitt has been the frontrunners all year, but I think they may actually need this game a little more than the Hoyas. Their closing schedule is very difficult and includes a trip to Marquette, and also a home game against West Virginia. And I’ve seen enough Pitt-WVU games to know that this one is usually a toss up, no matter what the strength of the teams. Example-Last March, the Garden, I watched Pitt dismantle West Virginia even though the ‘Neers were the favorites. It’s a rivalry, you get the idea.

A slightly easier path lies ahead for the Hoyas. First off, they have Pitt at home. The rest of their schedule reads @ Cincinnati (tonight), @ Syracuse, and UConn at home. They should score fairly easy victories over Cincy and UConn which would get them to 12 wins. Then a victory over Pitt at home would give them 13, which is the best Pitt could do considering the G’town loss, and the tie-breaker would then go to the Hoyas. So even if they lose to the Orangemen in the dome (I saw one SU-G’town game live in the dome in 97, and after that game I’d never pick the Hoyas in that dome again), a victory over Pitt would get them that #1 seed. By the way, I saw Donovan McNabb dunk in that game. I liked it, but not as much as Mister D did.

Then we have Louisville. They’re sitting pretty with a 9-4 record and SHU, UConn and SJU left on their schedule. By the way, if Pitt drops 2, and the Cards run the table, Louisville will be your #2 seed, and the Panthers will drop to third. And that’s what is going to happen.

Finishing fourth will be Notre Dame, followed by Marquette in 5th. The Golden Eagles have gone in the tank the last few weeks, and now sit in serious trouble with ND and Pitt left on their schedule. They’ll be in the NCAAs, but they won’t do anything there. Backing into the tournament the way they are, is not the way to finish a season. Perhaps they’re still a year a way from seriously contending in this conference. I think they can beat Pitt, because I don’t like the way Pitt is playing either, but they won’t beat the Irish. Notre Dame will beat Marquette and Rutgers and finish in 4th.

After the Golden Eagles, I have Syracuse, West Virginia, DePaul, Providence and Villanova all projected to finish approximately 9-7 or 8-8. I’ve got the Friars finishing 6th because they have the eaisest remaining schedule, and I could definitely see them winning their final three and finishing 10-6. At worst, a 9-7 finish for PC.

Following them in 7th place will be the Mountaineers. WVU is currently 8-6, and they’ll likely finish 9-7 and that would put them into a tie with DePaul, who will also finish 9-7. However, WVU already beat the Blue Demons, and would have the tiebreaker for a 7th place finish.

Did I say Providence had the easiest schedule? Yea, that was a lie. DePaul has Cincy and USF at home. They’ll win both. And I believe that leaves the Cuse at #9. Wow! They’re 8-5, are they really going to lose their last 3? Maybe. They’ll lose at Providence, and they’ll drop at least one to either Villanova or Georgetown. They could lose both, as the Orangemen have a tough finish to their schedule.

At #10 I have the Wildcats. NCAA locks? RPI says so. Somebody tell that guy he’s crazy. After Nova beats Rutgers, they have a game at UConn, which I believe they can lose, and also a home date with Syracuse. They’ll be 7-7 after the Rutgers win, and I certainly don’t see them winning their final two. They’ll finish 8-8, or maybe even 7-9. Don’t worry though Nova fans, you’ll make the tournament as an 11-seed and get beat in the first round.

The final two teams to make the Big East will be UConn at #11 and St. John’s at #12. They’ll both likely finish with 6-10 records and since the Huskies beat the Red Storm earlier this year, they get the 11th spot.

Making the NCAAs will be Georgetown, Louisville, Pitt, Notre Dame, Marquette, Providence, Villanova and either DePaul, Syracuse or West Virginia, depending on who does the best in the Garden. Yea, we’ll get 8, but not 9.

So there you go, no need to watch the next two weeks of hoops. Come March 4th, we talk about how the Irish are going to beat 3 consecutive top 25 teams to win the Big East Tournament.

Categories: Big Willie Style, Commentary
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Props go to Ryan Parker on this one. We don’t know who you are, but we like you.

Categories: Big Willie Style, Commentary
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While most of the sports fans in America turn the attention to the Super Bowl, this is the time every year, when Jets fans like me try and tune out the non-stop pregames and focus on Big East hoops. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be all about the Colts and Bears by Sunday morning. But today, it’s all about the roundball.

There are 6 games today, so here’s an overview of what you should be doing on the day before Super Sunday. And of course I thought I’d be nice and offer some thoughts and predictions, and we’ll see how I do.

Noon – Louisville @ Villanova (ESPN)- This is probably the best game of the entire weekend, and considering that it starts in about an hour, I’m pretty damn fired up. Both teams have been playing well of late, and I think Louisville has the better team. But give me Nova in this game. They have one of the best crowds in the conference and the team has to be ready for a big win. I know there’s no formula for this pick, but this game is practically a toss-up and I just have a feeling about the home team in this one. Look for Nardi to hit a three in the last minute to stretch the lead to three possessions and for the Wildcats to win by about 7.

Noon – West Virginia @ Seton Hall (ESPN Full Court) – West Virginia’s been sliding of late, but I think they’ll get back on track here. And yes Donald, your boy Joe Alexander will do well this afternoon. The Pirates will put up a fight, but WVU wins.

Noon-Rutgers @ UConn (ESPN Full Court) – UConn can’t shoot. They are one of the worst shooting teams in the Big East that I’ve seen in a while. But, Rutgers is real, real bad. Makes you want to watch this game, doesn’t it? They’d finish near the bottom of some Mid Major Conferences, and this game is not at the RAC. UConn by about 15.

2PM- Providence @ Marquette (ESPNU) – I don’t get ESPNU so I won’t be watching this one, but considering that PC already beat MU once this year, I don’t think this game will be close. Also, Marquette is apparently retiring Dwayne Wade’s jersey. Sorry PC fans, but you’ve got no shot in this one. By the way, can someone tell me please why Wade is leaving Miami for Wisconsin this weekend?

4PM – DePaul @ Syracuse (ESPN FullCourt) – I’ll take the Cuse in this game. They’ve been realing of late, but they’re the better team, and the Dome should be loud today considering people in Upstate NY don’t have much else to look forward to on this cold winter afternoon. So they might as well go nuts for their Orange.

8PM – Notre Dame @ USF (no TV) – I thought about making the 2 hour drive down to watch this game, but then I thought better of myself, and realized that I’d be driving 2 hours to go see USF. Sorry Bulls, you get no love from me. The Irish will win by 15 tonight.

St. John’s will beat Cincinnati tomorrow afternoon as well, in a game that is on ESPN Full Court, but nobody will watch.

OK, time to go get the grill started. The next two days are going to be awesome!

Categories: Big Willie Style, Commentary
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