Big East teams aim for Tourney title

‘ ‘ ‘ We saw some surprises last week, an epic for the ages and the Louisville Cardinals… ‘ ‘ ‘ We saw some surprises last week, an epic for the ages and the Louisville Cardinals claimed a No. 1 seed by winning the Big East outright. Some lessons learned from an entertaining week of Big East basketball: ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 1) The epic that was Syracuse’s six-overtime, 127-117 win over Connecticut was truly a phenomenal event. Two teams grinding it until even the boys holding clipboards and giving out cups of Gatorade on the bench started playing provided great entertainment. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But for Syracuse, some might forget it took a shoving match and some technical fouls to get them going against Seton Hall the day before. It’s a mystery now which team will show up in the NCAA Tournament, the one showboating to a 17-15 Seton Hall squad about 3-pointers, or the attacking squad that came out against Connecticut and West Virginia. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As for Connecticut, don’t be too worried about the Huskies, they’re a pretty strong No. 1 seed. The absence of Jerome Dyson is clearly hurting this team, but Hasheem Thabeet and A.J. Price just might have the talent to carry this team to the Final Four. The Huskies might be victims of relaxing through the latter half of their schedule. After a raucous Big East slate, the Huskies have played two games in the past two weeks. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 2) Louisville is for real. The Cardinals are on a 10-game winning streak, dating back to Feb. 15. The Cardinals have the rare blend of experience mixed with youth, giving Rick Pitino the chance to work his motivational magic. For those who think winning conference tournaments is a fluke, just look at last year’s Final Four. Each team (Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA) won its respective conference tournament, earned No. 1 seeds and advanced to the Final Four. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The only concern for Louisville lies in their guard play. No doubt Louisville has the depth, but the quality could present problems down the road. Teams with two stud guards could pose problems for the lesser talented Louisville guards in a one-game situation. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ 3) Finally, the surprise upset of the week, West Virginia’s convincing 74-60 win over Pitt, reminded us that the Big East is crazy deep. West Virginia, which is arguably the conference’s ‘worst’ team heading into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed, upset a heavily favored conference power in Pitt. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Chalk this game up to the Mountaineers’ familiarity with Pitt more than anything else. A 1-3-1 zone and a frustrated DeJuan Blair plagued the Panthers in the loss. Don’t expect more of the same from the Mountaineers come Tournament time. West Virginia beat a discouraged Notre Dame squad, then needed two late free throws to tie Syracuse. This team has plenty of athletes and length, but not much experience. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As for Pitt, its situation is similar to Connecticut’s. Pitt had plenty of rest, which might have made it too relaxed at tip-off and struggled from then on. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But enough about seven overtimes, walk-ons doing jumping jacks and Terrence Williams’ versatility, it’s time for the Big East teams to step up to the NCAA Tournament. Three No. 1 seeds from the same conference? Unheard of until this year. The Big East sends three of its own, while the lowest-seeded team is a No. 6. Ridiculous. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Here are all the teams, listed in order of the final Big East standings with seed and region in parentheses, that qualified for the NCAA Tournament in a game called Max-and-Min. This is a game that looks at where each team’s peak is, compared with the absolute minimum it should achieve to have a successful season. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Let’s get to it: ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Louisville (No. 1, Midwest) ‘- Min: Sweet 16, Max: National Champion ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Cardinals know what it takes to win in March, or at least Rick Pitino does. He will have his players ready, and if they play like they did in Madison Square Garden last week, they can take this whole thing. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt (No. 1, East) ‘- Min: Sweet 16, Max: National Champion ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt has all the pieces in place to celebrate in the confetti in Detroit, and it should, at the bare minimum, survive the first weekend after not doing so last year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Connecticut (No. 1, West) ‘- Min: Sweet 16, Max: Final Four ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Huskies have to show up this year after a terribly disappointing, opening-round loss to San Diego last year. But after Connecticut lost Dyson, its national championship hopes diminished, which is why it won’t last past the Final Four. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Villanova (No. 3, East) ‘- Min: Sweet 16, Max: Final Four ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ This team is built for tournament play, with a guard-heavy, high-octane offense complimented by playmaking forwards. Scottie Reynolds is about as experienced a guard as you can have running an offense. The Wildcats should definitely survive the first weekend, but they don’t have the post presence to bang with the big boys in the Final Four to last beyond that round. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Marquette (No. 6, West) ‘- Min: Second round, Max: Elite Eight ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ This team is what people call a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ squad. It was a completely different team before Dominic James’ injury. Now, the Golden Eagles will be golden if they last past the first weekend, or even their first game. They should win their opening-round game and might be a surprise Final Four team. But don’t bet on it. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Syracuse (No. 3, South) ‘- Min: Sweet 16, Max: Sweet 16 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ A little confusing, yes, but in all seriousness, this team will be lucky to get some rest after last week. We saw last year with Pitt how laying it all on the line in the Big East tournament can hurt you come NCAA Tournament time. Syracuse is going through the same thing, though tournament-savvy coach Jim Boeheim should will his players to two victories. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ West Virginia (No. 6, Midwest) ‘- Min: Second round, Max: Sweet 16 ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Last but not least come the Mountaineers. West Virginia will be in the dreaded No. 6 seed, which means it’ll face a tough No. 11 seed and after that possibly a No. 3 seed. It might pull an upset in the second round, but it doesn’t look likely. If West Virginia wins two, it will be a surprise, but if it gets by the Sweet 16, it will be a miracle.