Rivals Ranks The Conferences

[bearcat jeff]

1. BIG EAST
NCAA TEAMS LAST SEASON: 11
TOTAL NCAA TEAMS, PAST FIVE SEASONS: 40
LAST SEASON'S RPI: 1st
OVERALL RPI, PAST FIVE SEASONS: 2nd (average of 2.4)
BUZZ: The league isn't going to be as strong as it was last season, but it once again will be crowded near the top of the standings and Syracuse has legit national title hopes. Pittsburgh received a huge boost when G Ashton Gibbs decided to stay in school. Connecticut is going to slip some without Kemba Walker, but the thought here is that the Huskies will finish better than ninth in the league, which is where they wound up last season. Louisville, West Virginia, Villanova, Cincinnati and Marquette will be looking for finishes in the top half of the league, and Rutgers and St. John's are bringing in highly touted recruiting classes.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1220912

 

[david aka the TYZ]

1. BIG EAST
NCAA TEAMS LAST SEASON: 11
TOTAL NCAA TEAMS, PAST FIVE SEASONS: 40
LAST SEASON'S RPI: 1st
OVERALL RPI, PAST FIVE SEASONS: 2nd (average of 2.4)
BUZZ: The league isn't going to be as strong as it was last season, but it once again will be crowded near the top of the standings and Syracuse has legit national title hopes. Pittsburgh received a huge boost when G Ashton Gibbs decided to stay in school. Connecticut is going to slip some without Kemba Walker, but the thought here is that the Huskies will finish better than ninth in the league, which is where they wound up last season. Louisville, West Virginia, Villanova, Cincinnati and Marquette will be looking for finishes in the top half of the league, and Rutgers and St. John's are bringing in highly touted recruiting classes.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1220912

We've heard this for several years in a row now, yet the Big East has continued to seperate itself as an overall conference over that span. When will people figure out that the maturation of three classes plus fresh, young talent nullifies the graduation of one senior class. Thus why college sports hasn't managed to fall apart after 100 plus years of competition. I realize there are exceptions because classes can be unbalanced (St. Johns this year), but for every school like that there is one that graduated nearly nobody. Sorry for the rant, but I just hate hearing this continual argument out of analysts. I have no reason to believe the Big East won't be just as strong next year as it was this year. The recruiting advantage that we have is becoming more evident every year and that is what will keep the conference at the top year in and year out.