Experts disagree on whether Big East lived up to hype

‘ ‘ ‘ Think back to October and November. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In the minds of many, Georgetown and… ‘ ‘ ‘ Think back to October and November. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In the minds of many, Georgetown and Notre Dame were Sweet-16 locks, while a DeJuan Blair vs. Hasheem Thabeet matchup was an on-paper pushover for Thabeet, who was on his way to a Big East Player of the Year award. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Around this time, writers and coaches around the country lauded the Big East conference’s potential for the season ahead, with some predicting as many as 10 teams making the NCAA Tournament. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Now, it might be easy to say the hype was overzealous but, at the time, most of it was warranted. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Big East emerged from last season with national championship contenders in Connecticut, Pitt and Louisville. Teams like Georgetown, Notre Dame and Villanova were fresh off NCAA Tournament trips and stood poised to make extended runs this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But Notre Dame and Georgetown experienced meltdowns in the public eye. Their failures tainted some of the conference’s success. But while those teams failed, Pitt, Louisville and Connecticut all earned No. 1 seeds ‘mdash; the first time in history that three teams from one conference earned that honor. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ In addition, four other Big East teams made the tournament. Villanova and Syracuse earned No. 3 seeds, while Marquette and West Virginia grabbed No. 6 seeds. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ So the question is: Did the Big East live up to the hype even with some embarrassing disappointments? In the eyes of the people who cover the conference, the decision is split. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I do think it still managed to live up to the hype if you look at it this way: The top of the league is wildly talented,’ said ESPN.com college basketball writer Dana O’Neil. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Consider the fact that the fourth- and fifth-place teams, Marquette and Villanova, have been consistently in the Top 25 all season. And that just goes to the depth of the league. I also think some of the teams no one had any expectations for haven’t been great, but better than advertised, teams like Seton Hall and, to an extent, South Florida,’ she wrote. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Still, some can’t ignore the conference’s biggest failures. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I don’t think it lived up to the hype, but really only because the ‘best league ever’ hype was unrealistic in the first place,’ said Jack Styczyski, a member of the U.S. Basketball Writer’s Association who also writes for the New York Times’ college sports blog, The Quad. ‘You can’t ignore that Georgetown and Notre Dame had disappointing seasons. Their performance is a large part of the reason I would say the league didn’t live up to the hype.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But both agreed the Big East had a great season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Even if [the Big East] doesn’t get nine teams, I still think you can make a case that this has been an exceptional year for the league,’ said O’Neil. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I do think the Big East had an excellent year,’ said Styczyski, ‘The top three are extremely strong, and the top seven are very, very good.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Some look to the committee to tell whether the league was successful. Judging by the preseason standards for teams making the tournament, the Big East seemed to have missed the mark. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The conference didn’t get nine or 10 teams, it got seven. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘My expectations in the preseason were the Big East would get eight, maybe nine, teams in the NCAA Tournament,’ said Jameson Fleming, a senior writer for bleacherreport.com. ‘I think the Big East didn’t quite live up to expectations. Notre Dame obviously was a massive bust, while Louisville struggled in non-conference play. On the flip side, I don’t think anyone thought that Villanova, Marquette and even Cincinnati would have as much success as they actually had.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The synopsis is that the Big East has seven strong teams entering the NCAA Tournament this year, with three being legitimate Final Four contenders. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Maybe people were looking at there being more parity in the conference,’ said Ray Fittipaldo, the Pitt beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ‘But I tend to think that the Big East is stronger at the top than any other league. Pitt, Connecticut, Louisville and Villanova are all Final Four contenders. The second tier is strong as well.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As far as debating the Big East’s strength in the end, it’s a definite wait-and-see policy. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The regular season means a lot, but the people are going to look at how many teams make it to the Elite Eight or Final Four,’ said Fittipaldo. ‘You can have three No. 1 seeds, but it comes down to how you perform when it counts. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘If you get a few Big East teams in the Elite Eight or in the Final Four, that would attest to the strength of the conference. You could look at it now and maybe it hasn’t [lived up to the hype], but there’s still a lot of basketball to be played. We’ll find out in the next couple of weeks.’