FanHouse BigEast

Well, you don't have to look too hard to get the point of this night in NCAA Tournament history. The Big East won three of the four Sweet 16 games played tonight -- two of them easily. At this very moment, it's pretty hard to like Oklahoma's or Arizona's chances on Friday night, or Missouri's on Saturday. The Big East is flexing muscles, baring fangs, dropping its collective shoulder and knocking down all of college basketball on its way to history's hoop. The conference is guaranteed one Final Four entrant (either Villanova or Pitt will make it) and still has a chance to grab all four spots. Only one conference has ever had as many as three in the Final Four and that was...yeah. The Big East. In 1985.

Each week, ESPN's Joe Lunardi predicts the NCAA tournament field if the season ended today. While he's good at this, Lunardi only focuses on past performance, and wins and losses. Bracketology Busters looks at which teams should be expected to perform significantly better or worse than their projected seeds.

With less than a month until Selection Sunday, things are starting to shake out, but there are still some large gaps between perception and reality. This week, we feature an emerging Big East team, and a Big 12 power that might be overrated.

Yes, times are tough. Everyone is looking to cut costs anywhere. Even athletic departments are not immune. That said, there are efficient cost reductions and there's being just plain cheap. Seton Hall has long been considered on the cheap side with their athletic department. They have skimped on academic support. They play their games off-campus. The college has been known to tap the athletic department budget to make up other budget shortfalls.

This move, however, takes the (undoubtedly moderately-priced and purchased from the supermarket) cake.

There are many positives about Rick Pitino. The man could recruit the ghost of Adolph Rupp into a Louisville uniform, his defenses could make a polar bear sweat, and his perfectly coiffed hair could survive a nuclear attack or a night out with Michael Irvin.

But, if he is to be judged by his Louisville Cardinals team, Rick Pitino is not the kind of man who believes in an early start.

Think sleep in till, noon, hit snooze and roll over, show up 15 minutes late to first period. College basketball season starts in November, but yet again Pitino's teams wait until the New Year's bubbly pops to really get rolling. Year. After year. After year.

So naturally after Saturday's win against Pitt and the nation in the mood for inauguration, these late-arriving Cardinals have been crowned again as national title contenders.

But despite the win over No. 1, Bono and will.i.am can stay in the green room. These Cardinals might not be for real.

This one has been in the works for a while, but it's finally been announced. The Big East and SEC will play a limited challenge series over the next several years. I'm sorry, they are calling it an Invitational. It will be a four game rotation for the next four years.

The games will take place on December 5-6. On December 5, two games will be played at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham Alabama. The two games will be: West Virginia-Auburn and Georgetown-Alabama. On December 6, the games will be at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That will have South Carolina-Providence and LSU-Villanova. The games will be aired on ESPN2 and ESPN.

"This Invitational will showcase two of the premier conferences in college basketball," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Regional Television. "Both conferences compete at the highest level, as evidenced by their recent appearances in the Final Four, and we are pleased to feature them on two consecutive nights on our networks."

Of course, only 2 of the Big East teams selected for next year were in the NCAA Tournament and none of the SEC schools even made the NIT.

How do the teams get picked each year? Well, that gets left to ESPN "in consultation" with the conferences. Considering ESPN will be handling the "Big East/SEC Invitational's organization, operation, sponsorship, marketing efforts and more," I'm guessing the consultations pretty much follow whatever ESPN tells the conferences to do.

The Anti-Beilein is taking the job at his alma mater and home town. The Big East has the villain it has lacked for a while. A coach fans from all the other teams can hate without reservation. The ripple effect this one hire generates within the Big East is tremendous. Storylines to expect out of this:

• West Virginia. The prodigal comes home. Huggins was the guy WVU wanted 5 years ago, but Huggins had a good thing at Cinci, was getting plenty of money to stay, he was happy there with plenty of recruiting ties built up, and (I know many will find this hard to believe) he felt some loyalty to the program he helped bring back to national prominence.


• Cincinnati. I have to believe the added bonus of taking the job was the pure revenge factor of being able to go at his old employer at least once every year. He has such a bond that still is strong with the Cinci faithful, that you can bet that first road game to Cinci will result in a lot of cheers for Huggy-bear.


• Pitt. Let me say as a Pitt fan, I am happy to see Beilein gone from WVU because I actually liked and appreciated what he was doing. It's annoying when your rival has a likable coach. Huggins restores a lot of the hate in the Backyard Brawl. Then there is this tidbit. One of Huggins closest friends is in Pittsburgh and happens to operate the top AAU team in the area. The same guy who all those years ago steered Danny Fortson to Huggins. Recruiting will become a nasty, vicious thing between Pitt and WVU. Lots of paranoia begins in 3, 2, 1...


• Louisville. One of the best new rivalries in the Big East started in football with Louisville and WVU. It was looking pretty good in basketball with the double-OT game in the Big East Tournament. Now you've got the basketball coach Louisville fans absolutely hate from his Cinci days. This is just a great way to throw some more gas on this. Two teams with coaches that absolutely demand defense -- but the styles contrast completely.


• Marquette and DePaul. They took years of abuse in C-USA from Cinci and Huggins. You just know the fans now have the urge to want payback. That, or fear.

That only scratches the surface. The 2007-08 season can't come fast enough.

Previously at Fanhouse:
Bob Huggins Leaves Kansas State for West Virginia
Reports: WVU is Bob Huggins' Job if He Wants It
Who's Next at West Virginia?

In case you've missed any of the Spring Practice Questions for the Big East, here they are in one convenient location for greater ease.

Come on, you know you are dying for some, any sort of football fix at this point. I mean, this is spring practice and you find yourself looking for some, any tidbit to keep you going until August.

Previously at the Fanhouse:
Spring Practice Questions: Connecticut
Spring Practice Questions: Cincinnati
Spring Practice Questions: Louisville
Spring Practice Questions: South Florida
Spring Practice Questions: West Virginia
Spring Practice Questions: Syracuse
Spring Practice Questions: Pitt
Spring Practice Questions: Rutgers

If the theory goes that even the worst major conference job has greater potential and more to offer then the best mid-major gig, then let's just call the University of South Florida the exception that proves the rule after firing Robert McCullum.

Greg Marshall at Winthrop turned down the, uh, opportunity to be the next head coach at USF. He's not the only coach to do so. Travis Ford at UMass and Anthony Grant at VCU have rejected overtures to handle the Bulls. Also, John Pelphrey at South Alabama interviewed for the job and then said, "uh, no."

So far the only candidates interviewed still interested are Big East retreads -- Fran Fraschilla and Pete Gillen. Mike Jarvis is reportedly interested as well, but further rumors I completely fabricated at this very moment suggest that Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese threatened to kick USF out of the Big East for either Memphis or East Carolina if they even consider Jarvis after what he did at St. John's.

The star billing for the East 8/9 game between Marquette and Michigan State is first the coaches. Pupil Tom Crean against mentor Tom Izzo. The next set of stars are the guards Marquette's Dominic James versus Drew Neitzel.

The story, though, is that Marquette will still be without Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Jerel McNeal. It seems his thumb injury will keep him out of the 1st round game (and probably beyond). It's not absolute yet, but it seems unlikely.

This is a huge blow to Marquette's chances as McNeal has been a lockdown defender for them all year. The kind of defensive pest that a team needs to keep Neitzel in check. Tom Crean will either have to put Dominic James and/or freshman guard David Cubillan. Wesley Matthews is not nearly a good enough defender to be put on Neitzel.

Marquette's best defensive efforts come from the guards pressuring the perimeter. This is also where Michigan State has struggled, as they turn the ball over a ton. Without McNeal, the turnovers on defense have been harder to produce.

Conference: Big East
Record: 27-6, 12-4 in conference
RPI: 5
How They Got In: At-large.
Seed/Bracket: 3 / West (Kansas)

Mascot: Panther. The Panther was adopted in 1909, and part of the reason was that at that point there was no other college that called themselves "Panthers" -- forget that catamounts, mountain lions, pumas and cougars are all merely different names for the same cat, felis concolor.

Big Wins: Florida State, Washington, Villanova, Marquette, Louisville, Georgetown.

Notable Loss: Pitt went to OT to lose to Oklahoma State in Oklahoma City back in January.

Player You Should Know: Senior Center Aaron Gray, a first team All-Big East and third team All-American. He is dangerous even when he isn't shooting, because he can pass out of the double team to find open shooters on the perimeter. He averaged a double-double all season.

Outlook: Pitt should at least make the Sweet 16. They play at a deliberate pace that often keeps games close. They are a balanced team that doesn't get rattled in games. The one thing to watch is in games where the opposing teams have athletic and quick guards.