CaribouJim
10-30-2013, 09:34 AM
http://college-basketball.si.com/2013/10/29/winners-and-losers-conference-realignment/?sct=uk_bf1_a4
The Big East:
While the Big East may not pack the punch at the top that it once did, this 10-team league will be a basketball lover’s dream. It certainly represents a new era, with only four founding Big East members from 1979 now remaining along with Villanova (1980). An 18-game round-robin schedule will make this league as competitive as any other major conference in 2013-14. While Marquette, Georgetown and Creighton are considered by most as the league favorites, none of the three clearly stands out. Additionally, nine of the conference’s 10 teams are ranked at least No. 63 or better in Ken Pomeroy’s preseason ratings and even DePaul (No. 10 in the league) checks within the top 100 at No. 84. The Big East ranks second in overall strength, according to Pomeroy, better than the ACC but behind the Big Ten. When you look at the recruiting success of this conference in the 2014 class, the future looks even brighter. Fourteen ESPN top 100 players have committed to Big East schools and five 2014 recruiting classes already rank in the top 20 (Seton Hall (No. 4), Georgetown (No. 5), Xavier (No. 10), Providence (No. 16) and Marquette (No. 19). Clearly, Big East head coaches are using the basketball-first league and national television exposure (thanks to Fox Sports 1 and its 12-year commitment to the league) as huge selling points in the recruiting process. Financially, it was a no-brainer for this group of schools. With FS1 now on board, most of these Big East schools are taking home more cash than ever before.
The Big East:
While the Big East may not pack the punch at the top that it once did, this 10-team league will be a basketball lover’s dream. It certainly represents a new era, with only four founding Big East members from 1979 now remaining along with Villanova (1980). An 18-game round-robin schedule will make this league as competitive as any other major conference in 2013-14. While Marquette, Georgetown and Creighton are considered by most as the league favorites, none of the three clearly stands out. Additionally, nine of the conference’s 10 teams are ranked at least No. 63 or better in Ken Pomeroy’s preseason ratings and even DePaul (No. 10 in the league) checks within the top 100 at No. 84. The Big East ranks second in overall strength, according to Pomeroy, better than the ACC but behind the Big Ten. When you look at the recruiting success of this conference in the 2014 class, the future looks even brighter. Fourteen ESPN top 100 players have committed to Big East schools and five 2014 recruiting classes already rank in the top 20 (Seton Hall (No. 4), Georgetown (No. 5), Xavier (No. 10), Providence (No. 16) and Marquette (No. 19). Clearly, Big East head coaches are using the basketball-first league and national television exposure (thanks to Fox Sports 1 and its 12-year commitment to the league) as huge selling points in the recruiting process. Financially, it was a no-brainer for this group of schools. With FS1 now on board, most of these Big East schools are taking home more cash than ever before.