Eamonn Brennan (ESPN) on Marquee Wins

[bearcat jeff]

If the Big East is going to fulfill its much-lauded destiny as an 11-team -- not eight, or nine, or 10, but 11 -- conference come March, it will need at least three teams to finish strong. One of those is St. John's, which needs to stack a few more wins on top of its impressive victory over Duke last Saturday. Another is Marquette, which has to shore up defensively and close out a few more top-tier Big East games to feel confident about its bubble spot.

The third? Those promising Cincinnati Bearcats.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation

 

[SlamJam]

Deserved or not- Big East wont get 11 in this year. Just wont happen, I think 10 could happen but that 10th would def be the play in game. I would bet on 9 from the Big East though-- You will see more teams from Pac 10 and MW will get at least 2 (obviously) and more then likely 3 as UNLV was the 7 seed in lunardi's latest bracket.

 

[bearcat jeff]

I think the BEast will land 9 teams with a real shot at 10. I seriously doubt 11 will happen. There are always upsets in conference tournaments that turn things upside down. There are 9 teams currently in the top 25 in the rpi (live-rpi) and Cincinnati is next at 42. That tells me that there is legitimate shot at 10 if UC finishes strong. If Cincinnati finishes 40 or better the league will very likely land 10 teams in the Dance. No team in the top 40 rpi wise is going to get left out imo. Marquette is next at 60.

 

[SlamJam]

^^^Well, last year or the year before there was a team who finished 17th RPI and got left out. (I think it was mizzu st- They were on the bubble and all there fans thought they would be in because of the RPI)