Can We Quit With the Big East Slurping Now?

My favorite interview was right before the WVU-Duke game when Huggins was asked about preparing for a team as good as Duke. He responded with the FIRST thing he said being, "Well, we play in the Big East..."

As though that explains all you should ever need to know about facing good teams because all the best teams are there.

Ah, so, yes, you play in the Big East, Bob. And the two times your boys had their asses handed to them were Jan 1 versus a Big Ten team and in the Final Four against an ACC team. Just wanted to clarify that.

Also, Sports Illustrated had a number of "Big East flexes their muscles" kinds of quotes in their bracket predictions. And then Georgetown lost to the 9th place MAC team, Notre Dame lost to Old Dominion, Syracuse got knocked out by the Horizon League champ, Marquette lost to a Pac 10 team..... and the championship was ACC vs Horizon.

So let's close the book on '09-'10 Big East nut-slurping. It's a good conference, sure, but it's a mega-conference so you're bound to have some good teams.

Just not the best teams.

Opening a Can of Orange Worms

Last week, T-Mill of Hammer and Rails posted an opinion on some of the more overrated teams in men's basketball. Among them, in T's opinion, was Syracuse. Mainly, he said, because they lost to a D-II school in an exhibition game and that made their otherwise gaudy record hard to take seriously. While we might not have made such a statement, he was more than entitled to express such an opinion. You know, as a blogger. Writing on his own site.

Well, Syracuse knuckle-draggers did not approve. Unsurprisingly, some clown at a Syracuse site posted T's story, effectively sic-ing the dogs on the too-nice T-Mill. It was not pretty, with hundreds of comments being posted attacking both T and Purdue. Neither of which, of course, have anything to do with Syracuse and whether or not they are overrated.

The major defense point that was made (at least, by the Syracuse fans who could breathe with their mouths closed) was that the Orange (Seriously? "The Orange"? You guys are going with that, huh?) weren't really giving full effort against D-II Le Moyne. Ah, yes, the old "We weren't really trying!" defense, a favorite of third-grade children everywhere. "You guys only won at kickball because we weren't trying!" You can spot these people as adults, too -- they're the ones incessantly talking smack during a game of Cranium but are the ones who walk out of the bar if they're losing at darts.

Let's be clear -- we don't think Syracuse is a bad team. Far from it. They're obviously an extremely talented group and Boeheim is a fantastic coach, along with being a snappy dresser. But let's not anoint them great just yet, 'cuse fans. Let's take a look at some facts, shall we? I know they're pesky, but they're fun to look at.

Syracuse is 24-2. Impressive, to be sure. However, they have lost three times at home this season.

Once was the exhibition against Le Moyne (and, let's not pretend for one second that if Purdue lost an exhibition game to a D-II school that it wouldn't be constantly used to bash the Big Ten).

Once was by ten points to Pittsburgh. Not an awful team, but Pitt wasn't ranked at the time.

And once was yesterday to Louisville, another unranked team that is in danger of not making the NCAA tournament.

As for Syracuse's signature wins?

They beat then #4 UNC in November. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we now know UNC wasn't deserving of being #4.

They beat then #11 Florida in December. Yeah, they're probably not an NCAA tourney team, either.

They DID beat West Virginia (who was #9) and Georgetown (who was #11), though how tough is Georgetown if they just lost to Rutgers? (Oh, I forgot, the Big East is pure awesomeness from top to bottom.)

Of course, they've sidestepped Villanova to this point, but they get them at home on 2/27. Should be good.

Also padding Syracuse's record are the following:

--They beat Robert Morris by 40. (Was poor Robert playing alone, 1-on-5?)

--They smoked Columbia (who is currently 9-13).

-- They blasted Colgate (who is currently 8-16).

-- They ganged up on Maine by 46 points.

-- They beat St. Francis (NY), a 10-15 team.

-- They beat down St. Bonaventure, a 10-13 team.

-- They hammered Albany, who is currently 7-21.

-- They also get to pad against Seton Hall, Rutgers, DePaul, UConn and Providence.

What's the point here?

Well, it's that Syracuse is good, there's no doubt. As we've said before, you need to be good to beat even bad teams and not have letdown games, and the 'cuse have mainly done that. But before everyone gets pissed off that someone might have an opinion that this team could possibly be (GASP!) overrated, one should check the facts. They've won some decent games, but they've also beaten a ton of really crappy teams and lost a few times at home when they honestly should not have.

Oh, and they lost to a Division II school.

Purdue Not Big Enough "Brand" For Notre Dame

According to our pal Seth Davis, one of the primary reasons Notre Dame and Purdue have not scheduled a hoops matchup in more than 40 years is because Purdue isn't as much of a "national brand" as Notre Dame.

Yes, he's talking about Notre Dame basketball.

You know Notre Dame basketball. All those Final Four appearances, national championships, NBA players, Big East titles, etc. Oh, and don't forget their 11,000 person capacity arena. Big time.

Some tidbits from the story:

Nobody seems to know exactly why the series stopped, but it never resumed in the 1970's because Notre Dame, which did not belong to any conference, was intent on playing more of a national schedule under Digger Phelps. In declining to play Purdue, Phelps further salted the wounds of Boilermaker fans by cracking that "there is no road from South Bend to West Lafayette."

Yes, we knew Digger was a douche and was simply afraid to play Purdue. Noted. "More of a national schedule..." Give me a break.

"I'd love for that to happen," Purdue coach Matt Painter told me. "I think it would be great for the fans, it would be great for the state of Indiana. We've tried to get it going here in the last five years, but they've been full with their schedule."

"I'd love to play against them. I think it would be fun to have maybe a neutral site game in Lucas Oil [Stadium]," Rob Hummel said. "You always love to play against competitive teams, and obviously Notre Dame is a great program."

Also, they didn't add, "We'd love to rub Scott Martin's nose in it."

I found Notre Dame coach Mike Brey to be far more lukewarm to the notion. "I think my mind is more open to it than any of the previous coaches who have been here," Brey said. "But you know what? Everybody in the Big Ten wants to play us. I get asked about it by the media every year because one of their coaches says they want to play Notre Dame. My answer to them is, we're in the Big East. When we get in the Big Ten, we'll take care of all you guys."

Imagine that. A Notre Dame coach with his nose in the air. Shocking, I tell you! But after all, we're not really rivals, right coach?

Also, everyone in the Big Ten wants to play you? Really? I find that hard to believe.

From Notre Dame's standpoint, there are three barriers to resuming a series with Purdue. First, the Irish now play in the Big East, which requires them to play 18 conference games. That eats up a huge chunk of the schedule, and since it's such a tough league it would be foolish to add too many difficult games outside the conference.

Ah, finally some truth. Nobody wants tough games outside of a tough conference like the world-renowned Big East! You know, like Purdue in the Big Ten. The Big Ten is so soft, Purdue has no problem scheduling games against Wake Forest from the ACC, Alabama on the road, and -- oh, lookey here! -- West Virginia from the Big East!

Second, Notre Dame still has a strong national brand. Unlike Painter, who gets most of his players from in-state, Brey needs to recruit players from other parts of the country.

Well, let's step back a second. Brey doesn't do this because his team's "brand" is so "national." He does this because he couldn't possibly recruit in-state the way Purdue or Indiana do. It's simply not possible, so let's not even PRETEND he could.

So he fills his nonconference schedule with teams like UCLA, Maryland and Alabama to increase his program's footprint nationwide.

And also because any chance at recruiting kids would take a serious hit if you got pistol-whipped on a regular basis by a bigger, better, more successful program just two hours away. Just saying.

So, anyway, the point is, those of you who were hoping -- like we have for years -- that Purdue and Notre Dame might play on the hardwood someday soon will probably continue to be disappointed.

Because, you know, Mike Brey is more big time than that.

Tell Us More About the Awesome Big East

No, seriously. Tell us more! More about how awesome and tough and brutal the Big East is!

Syracuse lost -- at fricking home -- to a D-II school.

That is all.

(Pic lifted from Deadspin.)

Weekend Wrap

Best Conference Ever...Further Proof
Much to the chagrin of EsPN, Izzo's Spartans defeated the pseudo student athletes of UConn to get to the NCAA championship. I've thought all season that UNC was the best team in America...and Williams is a pretty good coach- that's a tough combo to beat. Regardless, I'll be rooting for the Spartans in spite of my vested interest for the Tar Heels (I picked them in all of my brackets).

The most intersting biproduct of Saturday's games in Detroit was the fact that no teams from the best conference ever were remaining at the end of the evening.

I surmised last week that the Big East might not do quite as well in the round of eight and four...and once the high seeds of Louisville, Pitt and UConn were all but neutralized by the higher-level of competition in the last two rounds, this bulletproof conference turned out to be quite mortal. While the Northeast bias of the sports media will not apologize for crowning the Big East as something it simply was not, let's all remember this in the coming seasons. They still decide the champion on the field of play...at least in basketball.

Indy Car Season Begins
The Indy Car season got under way today in St. Petersburg, FL...and Penske's Ryan Briscoe held off Ryan Hunter-Reay to win. I'm a big fan of RHR and think if he gets on the right team, he'll be a contender for the championship. Problem is, with Rahal/Letterman not running a full season, Hunter-Reay has ended up on Vision Racing...another team with limited resources. But the dude can drive.
Sadly (not really) Danica Patrick ended up in the tire barrier after being cleaned up in a Matos mis-step. The funny thing about this incident is Ms. Patrick vowed to be less-angry...and more professional this season just prior to the race. That promise lasted about one and one-half hours. She is right that the rookie, Matos, was out of line...but once again, she acted like a baby making sure to let everyone in the world know that she was the victim...again. Poor Danica.

take her seriously

Big East: Best Conference Ever!

Is it odd that I just got a ton of gratification as MSU's win tore down my already-lousy bracket? Not really.

If you visit here regularly, you know, I don't blindly follow the Big Ten just because of conference affiliation...I'm genrally not a fan of aOSU and some other programs in the conference...and while familiarity breeds contempt in many cases, I like MSU and their demonstrative coach...The guy knows how to win and really knows how to win in the tournament. And what his Spartans did today might lead well into next season. Granted, MSU will lose some cogs in its machine next season, but they'll get respect and hopefully the rest of the conference will as well...and even more importantly, Next year looks like it could be a great one for the talented Sophomore class in the conference...thus, the high-expectations could be met.

All year, EsPN made a joke about the Big Ten's lack of offensive prowess...it became a running joke. While Illinois' late-season 36-point game is an unforgivably-low amount, games in the low-50s were a normal occurrence for the conference. The Entertainment networked laughed it off and refused to talk about defense as the reason...but the performance today by the explosive Cardinals reaffirms what we knew all-along, the BT was a meat-grinder filled with good teams...and one of the perennial leaders demanded respect versus the mighty Big East this afternoon.

And make no mistake, this might not be all for the Spartans...they're all but heading back home now.

And by the way, the Big East conference (best conference ever) champ ends their season 0-2 v. the versus the worst major basketball conference ever (according to Digger Phelps).

Congrats to all of the followers of Sparty!

Big East Domination Continues

As I write this, #1 Pitt is slaughtering Eastern Tennessee State (by 5 points) and West Virginia is losing to an A10 team by 5. Best basketball conference ever.

Digger?