Cards and ND on ESPN

[NOWIS]

Big game for Cards in Big East

[TrueblueCATfan]

Go Irish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NOWIS]

Tied at first media break

[chworld22]

Is it just me or do a lot of the Big East teams look slightly overrated? Nova didn't look so hot the other day and ND doesn't impress me either. They can shot but they don't have much else. Pitt, and Gtown are pretty good again and so is UCONN but the rest of the league looks a tad overrated. UL was way overrated to start the season they are about where they should be now. If you guard ND on the three they have nothing other than toss it down to LH and he tosses up a contested shot.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Luke Harngody is eating Samuels for dinner:eek:

[chworld22]

Luke Harngody is eating Samuels for dinner:eek:

I don't know about all that. Samuels has been getting deep postion on Luke all game. If SS could hit a lay up in front of the rim then SS would have a ton more points. Luke is doing well scoring over him but most of his shots have been jumpers.

[NOWIS]

Is it just me or do a lot of the Big East teams look slightly overrated? Nova didn't look so hot the other day and ND doesn't impress me either. They can shot but they don't have much else. Pitt, and Gtown are pretty good again and so is UCONN but the rest of the league looks a tad overrated. UL was way overrated to start the season they are about where they should be now. If you guard ND on the three they have nothing other than toss it down to LH and he tosses up a contested shot.

Premier conference in USA, 10 teams going to the dance.

[Rockober]

Is it just me or do a lot of the Big East teams look slightly overrated? Nova didn't look so hot the other day and ND doesn't impress me either. They can shot but they don't have much else. Pitt, and Gtown are pretty good again and so is UCONN but the rest of the league looks a tad overrated. UL was way overrated to start the season they are about where they should be now. If you guard ND on the three they have nothing other than toss it down to LH and he tosses up a contested shot.


I think the Big East is legit. Pittsburgh may be the best team in the country but they usually collapse come March, UConn, Syracuse and G-Town are legit, Marquette has impressed me, Louisville( I know many will disagree but they will contend for the Big East). They have 6 very solid teams andNotre Dame, Nova and West Virginia are no slouches.

[kyrgaines]

The problem with the SEC is that though we are beating some ranked teams, we are also losing some of the cupcake games. The memory becomes selective because of that. I'm not saying the Big East hasn't lost any cupcakes, but not to the extent that the SEC has. The conference is tough, not as good top to bottom as the Big East, but not bad at all. We need to show up come march.

[Will Lavender]

Harangody's taking Samuels to school right now.

Samuels has regressed.

Faar Pitino.

[champ1023]

:shock:Wow......I LOVE IT!

[BigBlue75]

They're trading threes right now. 50-47 ND.

[surveyor]

I don't know about all that. Samuels has been getting deep postion on Luke all game. If SS could hit a lay up in front of the rim then SS would have a ton more points. Luke is doing well scoring over him but most of his shots have been jumpers.

Yup. My thought as well. Samuels seems to be adjusting to the competition somewhat.
Harangody's going to shoot more outside if the pressure inside prevents him from getting looks.
Same happened last year when he started jacking 3's late in the game.

[Will Lavender]

Yup. My thought as well. Samuels seems to be adjusting to the competition somewhat.
Harangody's going to shoot more outside if the pressure inside prevents him from getting looks.
Same happened last year when he started jacking 3's late in the game.

I'm watching a different game, apparently.

From where I sit Samardo looks lost. :shrug1:

[surveyor]

Harangody's taking Samuels to school right now.

Samuels has regressed.

Faar Pitino.

I still think Samuels has a lot of potential. Playing the type of game the BE plays inside is going to be sink or swim teaching moments for Samuels. He'll be much improved this time next year.

Big thing I noticed with him against Villanova was stamina. He was bushed the last two fouls he committed.

[Will Lavender]

Look at how many options these two teams have on the offensive end.

Look at how many Kentucky has.

That tells a pretty important story about the Cats, IMO, right there.

[JWORLD]

Look at how many options these two teams have on the offensive end.

Look at how many Kentucky has.

That tells a pretty important story about the Cats, IMO, right there.


I agree and i like the fact that they all know what they are doing out there on the floor.No confusion on Notre Dames' part.

Louisville on the other hand has to many individuals who want to be the MAN when the game is over.

Harangody is the type of player i would love to see Harrellson turn into. Good thing for Josh is that he can shoot the ball and perhaps after one year in college under Billy's reign, his athletic abilities along with all of his attributes shold improve.

[JWORLD]

I very seldom watch Louisville except for the KY game but i must admit, this has been one hell of a game. Im very impressed with Notre Dame win or lose.Louisville has done a good job of answering as well but we will see int the last 3 minutes about there composure by there so called superstar talents..........

[Will Lavender]

Funny story I heard once about Harangody.

On his first night at Notre Dame, he played a pick-up game against the team. Called his dad that night and said, "Dad, I'll never be anything more than a role player here."

Look at him now.

Hard work, IMO.

[JWORLD]

Harangody's taking Samuels to school right now.

Samuels has regressed.

Faar Pitino.


T wilt under pressure has been pretty impressive as well:thumbdn::thumbdn::thumbdn:

[Will Lavender]

T wilt under pressure has been pretty impressive as well:thumbdn::thumbdn::thumbdn:

Williams looks like a potential NBA all-star to me.

[JWORLD]

I can't wait for the day to see the CATS playing with authority again.......

[Will Lavender]

I can't wait for the day to see the CATS playing with authority again.......

Well, we played right with this Louisville team, and they played this well against us.

Still, they've obviously got quite a few more options. They just couldn't do much with Jodie or Patrick.

[JWORLD]

Williams looks like a potential NBA all-star to me.


Me too but you didn't hear that from me. All i know is over the summer he traded his $20,000 Charger for a $48,000 Tahoe.He must know something i don't:icon_biggrin::icon_biggrin:

[JWORLD]

Well, we played right with this Louisville team, and they played this well against us.

Still, they've obviously got quite a few more options. They just couldn't do much with Jodie or Patrick.


I was just sitting here thinking to myself,

"Are the Cats really that bad?"

"Am i to tought and critical of my kitty cats?"

[Will Lavender]

71-71

Same score as in our game before the Sosa shot.

[JWORLD]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


What a finish, i think it's a score in my opinion...........




I didn't look to me that Harangody touched it..........Louisville getting cheated in Cheatum Hall...............

[JWORLD]

71-71

Same score as in our game before the Sosa shot.


I don't think i give the Cats enough credit sometimes.............

[Wildcat Larry]

Yep, that was NOT over and back. UL should have been ahead by two with .6 left. Oh well, it couldn't happen to better folks. :icon_mrgreen:

[JWORLD]

If i were Pitino, i would pound the ball to whoever Harangody is guarding and get him out of the game........

[JWORLD]

:icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:Don't you love it...........Yep, that was NOT over and back. UL should have been ahead by two with .6 left. Oh well, it couldn't happen to better folks. :icon_mrgreen:

[JWORLD]

Earl Clark wants to be Walter McCarty.He would rather shoot the three than mix it up on the inside.........

[Wildcat Larry]

Notre Dame has decided to play STUPID in the overtime. Go at Samuels. It's not rocket science.

Turn out the lights, the party's over. :shrug1:

[Katfan74]

Man, Williams is surely playing up to his potential tonight. I have to agree with Will, the guy looks like an all-star.

[cateng]

What exactly is ND doing?

[Wildcat Larry]

Notre Dame will not beat many teams that can rebound pretty good and have pretty good outside defense. They will go down a number of times in the Big East.

[JWORLD]

This should help our RPI right?

Very impressive by LOUISVILLE to hold down the home court and take care of business.


Hope to see the Cats paly them again in March..........

[surveyor]

Yep, that was NOT over and back. UL should have been ahead by two with .6 left. Oh well, it couldn't happen to better folks. :icon_mrgreen:

I thought the same from the courtside view from above, but the head on view (coming toward the camera) slo-mo looked as if Harangody got some fingers on the ball.

Looked to be a good call by the ref.

[Wildcat Larry]

I thought the same from the courtside view from above, but the head on view (coming toward the camera) slo-mo looked as if Harangody got some fingers on the ball.

Looked to be a good call by the ref.
But didn't the UL guy actually touch it first? That takes the over and back call off the table.

[ontheroadto8]

But didn't the UL guy actually touch it first? That takes the over and back call off the table.

The slow-motion shot clearly showed that Williams touched it first...definitely bang bang though. Although, check out ESPN tonight and count the number of steps T-Will took before the dunk. Had he been given the ball, the correct call would have been a travel...I counted three steps on the dunk:shrug1:

[chworld22]

I think the Big East is legit. Pittsburgh may be the best team in the country but they usually collapse come March, UConn, Syracuse and G-Town are legit, Marquette has impressed me, Louisville( I know many will disagree but they will contend for the Big East). They have 6 very solid teams andNotre Dame, Nova and West Virginia are no slouches.

There is no doubt they have some good teams. They are just overrated. Doesn't mean they aren't good. Pitt is good but not the best team in the nation. Gtown is legit for sure, Marquette is good but not great either. The league is good top to bottom just not as good as they make them out to be. That league just has a great marketing department. Nova is wildly overrated. WV is good but they have similar problems as Nova and ND they rely too much on outside shots not necessarily threes. UL does that a lot as well but they have a inside game as well. UL will most definately compete for the BE title since they are 3-0 now. It would be hard for them not to contend.

[lighthouse]

Yep, that was NOT over and back. UL should have been ahead by two with .6 left. Oh well, it couldn't happen to better folks. :icon_mrgreen:

You've got a good eye Larry. Williams touched the ball first and Mr Burr blew the call. BUT, surely if he had not called the over and back, he would have called the 3 step walk on Williams before the dunk. :shrug1:

[hitch450]

Yeah, but there's no way those refs would have called it in freedom hall.

[TrueblueCATfan]

Yeah, but there's no way those refs would have called it in freedom hall.

you mean Cheatum Hall:icon_mrgreen:

[Blue_N_White]

There is no doubt they have some good teams. They are just overrated. Doesn't mean they aren't good. Pitt is good but not the best team in the nation. Gtown is legit for sure, Marquette is good but not great either. The league is good top to bottom just not as good as they make them out to be. That league just has a great marketing department. Nova is wildly overrated. WV is good but they have similar problems as Nova and ND they rely too much on outside shots not necessarily threes. UL does that a lot as well but they have a inside game as well. UL will most definately compete for the BE title since they are 3-0 now. It would be hard for them not to contend.

Definitely disagree.

As of 1/12/09:



*1.Pittsburgh (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/pal) (70)
2.Wake Forest (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/wad) (2)
3.Duke (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/dau)
*4.Connecticut
(http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/cbp)
5.North Carolina (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/nav)
6.Oklahoma (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/oae)
7.Michigan St. (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/may)
*8.Syracuse (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/sci)
9.UCLA (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/uaa)
10.Clemson (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/cbg)
11.Texas (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/tal)
*12.Notre Dame (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/nbf)
*13.Georgetown (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/gae)
*14.Marquette (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/maf)
15.Xavier (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/xaa)
16.Arizona St. (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/aar)
17.Butler (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/bav)
18.Minnesota (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/mbd)
19.Purdue (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/pau)
*20.Louisville (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/laq)
21.Baylor (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/bae)
22.California (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/cah)
*23.Villanova (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/vae)
24.Tennessee (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/tag)
25.Michigan (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/max)


EIGHT (8) teams in the top 25 pretty much speaks for itself. By comparison, if not for Tennessee at #24, the SEC would currently have ZERO (0).......

[chworld22]

Definitely disagree.

As of 1/12/09:



*1.Pittsburgh (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/pal) (70)
2.Wake Forest (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/wad) (2)
3.Duke (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/dau)
*4.Connecticut
(http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/cbp)
5.North Carolina (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/nav)
6.Oklahoma (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/oae)
7.Michigan St. (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/may)
*8.Syracuse (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/sci)
9.UCLA (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/uaa)
10.Clemson (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/cbg)
11.Texas (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/tal)
*12.Notre Dame (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/nbf)
*13.Georgetown (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/gae)
*14.Marquette (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/maf)
15.Xavier (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/xaa)
16.Arizona St. (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/aar)
17.Butler (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/bav)
18.Minnesota (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/mbd)
19.Purdue (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/pau)
*20.Louisville (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/laq)
21.Baylor (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/bae)
22.California (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/cah)
*23.Villanova (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/vae)
24.Tennessee (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/tag)
25.Michigan (http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/teams/max)
EIGHT (8) teams in the top 25 pretty much speaks for itself. By comparison, if not for Tennessee at #24, the SEC would currently have ZERO (0).......

Please read before you respond. I said I thought they were overrated. You providing me with ranking means nothing to me and does nothing to change my tune from thinking they are overrated. There is no doubt there are some good teams in the league. But, anyone that thinks Pitt is number one I have some swamp land to sell you. Just because you have ranked teams doesn't mean they are good what that means is they started off the season ranked or near being ranked and just didn't lose which in the pre conference schedule doesn't mean much. I have seen every team on that list that you just listed on TV and I personally think they are all good teams I just think they are overhyped and overrated. But at this point in the season all teams except for a few are about the same that is why rankings mean very little in the grand scheme of things. Personally I think WV is as good as Nova or ND just weren't ranked in the pre season so it is harder for them to break in.

[Blue_N_White]

Please read before you respond. I said I thought they were overrated. You providing me with ranking means nothing to me and does nothing to change my tune from thinking they are overrated. There is no doubt there are some good teams in the league. But, anyone that thinks Pitt is number one I have some swamp land to sell you. Just because you have ranked teams doesn't mean they are good what that means is they started off the season ranked or near being ranked and just didn't lose which in the pre conference schedule doesn't mean much. I have seen every team on that list that you just listed on TV and I personally think they are all good teams I just think they are overhyped and overrated. But at this point in the season all teams except for a few are about the same that is why rankings mean very little in the grand scheme of things. Personally I think WV is as good as Nova or ND just weren't ranked in the pre season so it is harder for them to break in.

Please don't assume anything. Haven't you heard the old expression about assuming?

I simply quoted YOUR WORDS about being over-rated, and responded by providing what the Associated Press thinks of them compared to what you do. Sorry, but I agree with the Associated Press.....

[chworld22]

Please don't assume anything. Haven't you heard the old expression about assuming?

I simply quoted YOUR WORDS about being over-rated, and responded by providing what the Associated Press thinks of them compared to what you do. Sorry, but I agree with the Associated Press.....

first off I am not assuming anything. I know that if you read my post through you would see I said "overrated" again this means they ranked to high. Not that they are not good teams for the freakin eighth time. Is Pitt the best team in the nation? If they are then we have some serious issues in college basketball this year. Your comeback to rebut mine was a ranking. Ok they are ranked high good for them. But, does that make them a good team just because a bunch of writers think they are?

Sorry I am not all that concerned with your thoughts on my opinions. I said overrated which means I don't think they are ranked properly and you give me a ranking as your premise for an argument. Seems to me that is a bit silly. If you come and tell my why you think they are rated right where they should be then maybe you have a case but as of now all I have is a poll. Which is voted on by writers which can be blinded by a good marketing campaign when is what the Big East has.

[Blue_N_White]

first off I am not assuming anything. I know that if you read my post through you would see I said "overrated" again this means they ranked to high. Not that they are not good teams for the freakin eighth time. Is Pitt the best team in the nation? If they are then we have some serious issues in college basketball this year. Your comeback to rebut mine was a ranking. Ok they are ranked high good for them. But, does that make them a good team just because a bunch of writers think they are?

Sorry I am not all that concerned with your thoughts on my opinions. I said overrated which means I don't think they are ranked properly and you give me a ranking as your premise for an argument. Seems to me that is a bit silly. If you come and tell my why you think they are rated right where they should be then maybe you have a case but as of now all I have is a poll. Which is voted on by writers which can be blinded by a good marketing campaign when is what the Big East has.

Likewise (regarding the highlighted comment in bold above).

Seems that you have a problem with someone disagreeing with you. When you disagree with others, though, you sure aren't shy about voicing YOUR opinion. As you do so as if it is FACT! That's why I posted what THE ASSOCIATED PRESS thinks of the Big East....you know, the professionals that do this sort of stuff and rank them for a living? Seems that they disagree with an amateur forum member....and I was simply pointing that out. And you're simply regurgitating what was said just recently about "marketing" the conference. Sorry if you got your feelings hurt and thought that your opinion of "the marketed conference" was being challenged or something.......

[chworld22]

Likewise (regarding the highlighted comment in bold above).

Seems that you have a problem with someone disagreeing with you. When you disagree with others, though, you sure aren't shy about voicing YOUR opinion. As you do so as if it is FACT! That's why I posted what THE ASSOCIATED PRESS thinks of the Big East....you know, the professionals that do this sort of stuff and rank them for a living? Seems that they disagree with an amateur forum member....and I was simply pointing that out. And you're simply regurgitating what was said just recently about "marketing" the conference. Sorry if you got your feelings hurt and thought that your opinion of "the marketed conference" was being challenged or something.......

No i don't mind if someone has a differing opinion if it is their own and not a ranking. All I am asking for is why you think they are ranked where they should be. Is it hard to voice that? Just wondering because you seem so happy about saying the same thing as well. I am just trying to get over the point of the original post that is why I repeated myself. I still haven't read one original thought in your posts so far all I see is you attempting to say well the AP thinks they should be ranked here so there you go. Why do you think they are ranked were they are and that is the right place? Do you really think that Pitt is better than UNC or Wake? Why do you think that? Are you finally going to give me an original thought or just tell me well the Coachs think Pitt is number one?

[Blue_N_White]

No i don't mind if someone has a differing opinion if it is their own and not a ranking. All I am asking for is why you think they are ranked where they should be. Is it hard to voice that? Just wondering because you seem so happy about saying the same thing as well. I am just trying to get over the point of the original post that is why I repeated myself. I still haven't read one original thought in your posts so far all I see is you attempting to say well the AP thinks they should be ranked here so there you go. Why do you think they are ranked were they are and that is the right place? Do you really think that Pitt is better than UNC or Wake? Why do you think that? Are you finally going to give me an original thought or just tell me well the Coachs think Pitt is number one?

You said it yourself above:

Is Pitt the best team in the nation? If they are then we have some serious issues in college basketball this year.

This is not only a down year for the SEC...but for college basketball in general.

OK, just consider that the SEC only has one team, Tennessee, even in the AP Top 25. And they are at #24. The SEC is generally thought of annually as a "good to very good" basketball conference. Maybe not along the same lines as the ACC or Big East, but generally along the lines of the Big Ten, Big 12, and PAC-10. And many have argued that the SEC *IS* as good as the ACC (considering that there is usually a little more parity, and more teams in the discussion from the SEC than from the ACC...which is primarily UNC and Duke, and on occasion Wake or Maryland).

So it IS a down year for college basketball. I remember Will Lavender creating a thread not long ago asking if North Carolina was "the best team ever".....and most everyone agreed that it was "Carolina, and then everyone else". No other team was even thought to be in the same class of Carolina.

Now...Carolina looks beatable, and has been beaten two games in a row. So Goliath is no longer. That opens it up to the rest of the field....a field in which most everyone was agreeing not long ago is pretty even, with no other teams really standing out.

So when you consider the talent level of the players at the Big East schools, and their overall AP rankings, it IS a very, very strong and good conference, worthy of each of the schools current ranking. Especially since it is a down year in general in college hoops, and nobody else really stands out. Also, the Big East has basically combined some of the better schools from C-USA and added them to what was an already strong Big East conference.

I really don't care much for the Big East....truthfully, I think the conference is too big. Too many schools. But before they added the other schools, I didn't care for and watch much of it on ESPN's "Big East Monday". But sometimes, you just have to give credit where credit is due. They have several very good teams in that conference....and it's a matter of opinion as to which (or how many) teams are "over-rated". And in a down year for college basketball....I think they're all deserving of their current rankings. And when a single conference has 8 of the top 25 teams in the entire country among them.....that is impressive, down year for the rest of the field or not.....

[chworld22]

You said it yourself above:



This is not only a down year for the SEC...but for college basketball in general.

OK, just consider that the SEC only has one team, Tennessee, even in the AP Top 25. And they are at #24. The SEC is generally thought of annually as a "good to very good" basketball conference. Maybe not along the same lines as the ACC or Big East, but generally along the lines of the Big Ten, Big 12, and PAC-10. And many have argued that the SEC *IS* as good as the ACC (considering that there is usually a little more parity, and more teams in the discussion from the SEC than from the ACC...which is primarily UNC and Duke, and on occasion Wake or Maryland).

So it IS a down year for college basketball. I remember Will Lavender creating a thread not long ago asking if North Carolina was "the best team ever".....and most everyone agreed that it was "Carolina, and then everyone else". No other team was even thought to be in the same class of Carolina.

Now...Carolina looks beatable, and has been beaten two games in a row. So Goliath is no longer. That opens it up to the rest of the field....a field in which most everyone was agreeing not long ago is pretty even, with no other teams really standing out.

So when you consider the talent level of the players at the Big East schools, and their overall AP rankings, it IS a very, very strong and good conference, worthy of each of the schools current ranking. Especially since it is a down year in general in college hoops, and nobody else really stands out. Also, the Big East has basically combined some of the better schools from C-USA and added them to what was an already strong Big East conference.

I really don't care much for the Big East....truthfully, I think the conference is too big. Too many schools. But before they added the other schools, I didn't care for and watch much of it on ESPN's "Big East Monday". But sometimes, you just have to give credit where credit is due. They have several very good teams in that conference....and it's a matter of opinion as to which (or how many) teams are "over-rated". And in a down year for college basketball....I think they're all deserving of their current rankings. And when a single conference has 8 of the top 25 teams in the entire country among them.....that is impressive, down year for the rest of the field or not.....

I stated many reasons as to why I thought that the teams from the Big East are overrated earlier in the thread.

Pitt has played no one outside of the Big East. They beat Gtown soundly but really in the Big East alot of good teams are going to go down. They have a very good starting five but outside of that haven't had anyone really step up. Blair is a Beast and Fields is good. They have a ton of role players but I don't think they are the best team in the nation. UNC may have stumbled but they still have the talent and will be the best team in the nation at the end of the year I think.

UCONN has played a similar schedule to us except they beat Miami instead of losing to them. They have a good team as well. I am not so sure they deserve to be ranked as high as they are but they have the talent to be very good by the end of year. They are very big down low and pretty quick out front.

Syracuse is the most interesting team in the Big East to me. Before the season started I would have thought that they wouldn't have made any noise in the BE but they have been pretty good. I am not so sure they are one of the ten best teams in the nation but they have played their way into their position beating UF, Memphis (which is crap this year but still fast and dangerous, and KU (which is also really down this year because they are so young). They haven't gotten into the meat of the BE schedule so we shall see if they deserve to be in the top ten or not. I don't think so but that is one person.

ND you saw tonight why they are good and why they aren't that good. They can and will shot threes and will hit them if left open and if not left open sometimes. But, they also have Luke in the middle which gives them alittle inside game. I use the word inside game loosely since Luke is more like a BIG SF in a PF body. He shots alot of jumpers and doesn't rebound especially well against bigger, stronger, more athletic players as was shown tonight against UL and Samuels. If they get hot outside they can beat anybody in the nation. But, if a team had a strong inside game and can keep them from getting a lot of open looks they will get beat by A LOT of team as well.

Gtown well they are good but really I am not convinced they are really good. They are a legit top 20 team I think but I am not sure much other than that. They have played a pretty tough schedule so far but they have lost to that competition. They lost to UT (which we all know has problems this year), ND, and PITT. Outside of those three they have played nobody. But they have a lot of talent which could make them really good but they are young. They have two SR and other than that ALL JR and FR that is going to make for a very up and down year.

Marquette I am not sure why they are ranked so high other than they were pre season. They have potential but have yet to live up to it. They also lost to UT and have lost to Dayton. Wins over WV and NOVA I assume has gotten them to the place they are now. To be honest I haven't seen them play but they don't appear to have beaten anyone of note to mean they need to be ranked in the top 15. They are very thin though not many players to speak up but they have some young talent.

UL I am not even going to go down that road.

NOVA is really over rated IMO. I watched them play UL and they looked lost at time really lost in fact. They have Scottie Reynolds but he is up and down without the stars of the past few years he has had a problem living up to his FR glory. They have some inside talent with Gilchrist but no real inside threat. They are quick and can run well. They will be good next year but this year they are way over rated for where they are right now.

In all honesty all of these teams deserve to be in the top 25 (except NOVA) because they are within the top 25 best teams in the nation. But to say that any of them are better than another is a little crazy IMO. They would all be ranked about 15-20. But since the ranking system doesn't work like that I will say that I personally don't believe any of them will win it all in the end and I think that the league as a whole is over hyped. The problem is they don't play anyone outside of conference so they all go into conference play with bloated records. They end up all playing each other so it makes them look better than they are.

[chworld22]

You said it yourself above:



This is not only a down year for the SEC...but for college basketball in general.

OK, just consider that the SEC only has one team, Tennessee, even in the AP Top 25. And they are at #24. The SEC is generally thought of annually as a "good to very good" basketball conference. Maybe not along the same lines as the ACC or Big East, but generally along the lines of the Big Ten, Big 12, and PAC-10. And many have argued that the SEC *IS* as good as the ACC (considering that there is usually a little more parity, and more teams in the discussion from the SEC than from the ACC...which is primarily UNC and Duke, and on occasion Wake or Maryland).

So it IS a down year for college basketball. I remember Will Lavender creating a thread not long ago asking if North Carolina was "the best team ever".....and most everyone agreed that it was "Carolina, and then everyone else". No other team was even thought to be in the same class of Carolina.

Now...Carolina looks beatable, and has been beaten two games in a row. So Goliath is no longer. That opens it up to the rest of the field....a field in which most everyone was agreeing not long ago is pretty even, with no other teams really standing out.

So when you consider the talent level of the players at the Big East schools, and their overall AP rankings, it IS a very, very strong and good conference, worthy of each of the schools current ranking. Especially since it is a down year in general in college hoops, and nobody else really stands out. Also, the Big East has basically combined some of the better schools from C-USA and added them to what was an already strong Big East conference.

I really don't care much for the Big East....truthfully, I think the conference is too big. Too many schools. But before they added the other schools, I didn't care for and watch much of it on ESPN's "Big East Monday". But sometimes, you just have to give credit where credit is due. They have several very good teams in that conference....and it's a matter of opinion as to which (or how many) teams are "over-rated". And in a down year for college basketball....I think they're all deserving of their current rankings. And when a single conference has 8 of the top 25 teams in the entire country among them.....that is impressive, down year for the rest of the field or not.....

You are right it is a matter of opinion who and which teams are over rated. I really wasn't trying to attack you for having a differnce in opinion. I just wanted to know why you felt the way you did. Me saying that they are over rated and you coming back with a "well I disagree" and giving me a AP poll sort of seemed like you were being a smart $$$. Which may or may not have been the case but that is why I took more exception to it than I generally would have.

[surveyor]

I agree with the held premise that anytime any conference has multiple teams in the top 25 - be it football OR basketball, that conference is overrated. :thumbup:

[cumberlandredskin]

Really good game. I saw the 2nd half. Both teams played up and down basketball and shot well. Notre Dame is like they have been since Brey has been there. They try to outscore you by playing little defense. It's fun to watch but it won't get you too far in March. They will be out by the 2nd round in the NCAA's.
UL is either going to get worn down by all these buzzer beater finishes or they will develop some real toughness that will make them a very hard out in March. The former may happen because I think they are going to be involved in a bunch more of these type of games in the Big East.
The Big East has a lot of really good teams but I'm not sure I see a national champion in the lot.

[ukwebfan]

Great game but why must I view a PIP of Pitino coaching on the sidelines while the game is being played? It seemed quite ridiculous for ESPN to interfere with game action.