Is this the best conference ever?

With seven Top 25 teams and plenty of national title contenders, many are calling this year's Big East the strongest conference

By: Michael Bonner

Posted: 11/13/08

Rick Pitino has accumulated eight conference tournament championships and four regular season crowns in the Southeastern Conference, Conference USA and the America East.

None have come in the Big East. And even with the No. 3 team in the nation, the odds may be against the Louisville's seventh-year head coach to get his first.

"I think it's the toughest, deepest conference in the history of college basketball," Pitino said at the conference's media day in Madison Square Garden Oct. 22. "When you have 11 teams that on paper look like they can be a top 30 team, that's stronger than I've seen any conference."

The Associated Press agrees. Its preseason polls slotted seven teams in the Top 25. Just outside, Syracuse was No. 30 and West Virginia was No. 36. It's a historic number for the Big East. Since the conference's formation in 1979, the most teams it's had in the AP preseason poll was five, most recently in 2005.

Even more impressive than the depth is the overwhelming strength at the top of the conference. Connecticut sits at No. 2 in the AP poll, Louisville is No. 3, Pittsburgh's No. 5 and Notre Dame occupies the No. 9 spot. It's the most teams the conference has seen in the Top 10 and top five ever.

"In my mind there are 12 NCAA-capable teams, and there are four other teams after that that can beat you if you don't play well," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "It's as good as the league has ever been top to bottom without any question.

What makes the Big East so tough is its players, with marquee names filling rosters up and down the conference. Connecticut returns four of its five starters, including center Hasheem Thabeet and forward Jeff Adrien, both of whom pulled their names out of the NBA Draft. Notre Dame features Preseason Conference Player of the Year Luke Harangody. Pittsburgh returns Big East co-Rookie of the Year DeJuan Blair and first-team All Big East forward Sam Young.

Even some of the teams in the lower half of the conference have names to watch.

Rutgers finished last in the conference in 2007-08 with a dreadful 3-15 record (overall 11-20) but still reeled in Mike Rosario, a McDonald's All-American. The freshman guard from St. Anthony's (N.J.) High School is hailed as the ninth-best shooting guard coming out of high school, per Scout.com. Not many last-place teams can boast McDonald's All-Americans.

Providence, St. John's and Cincinnati can't run out any All-Americans, but they certainly have another year of experience and perhaps just as much talent. The Bearcats return last year's sixth-leading scorer in the conference, junior guard Deonta Vaughn. South Florida, the 15th place team last year, boasts the seventh-leading scorer, sophomore guard Dominique Jones.

"Two pro scouts watched St. John's practice that thought they were terrific," Pitino said. "Pro scouts. And St. John's isn't what everybody is talking about. They're young. They're tenacious. They're gifted and very talented.

"And I've got a sick feeling, because I wasn't counting them in the top 11 (in the conference)."

Pitino isn't the only coached worried for Big East play to arrive. Georgetown head coach John Thompson III and his No. 22 Hoyas may have the toughest start to their Big East schedule of any team in the league.

Within eight days from late December to early January, Georgetown will play the Huskies in Storrs, Conn., then travel back home to host Pittsburgh. With only one day to travel, the Hoyas will then go to South Bend, Ind., to battle the Irish. It's not a stretch to say Georgetown could start 0-3 in the conference.

Come Selection Sunday, Thompson hopes the selection committee realizes 9-7 or 8-8 in the Big East is entirely different than that of another conference.

"I worry about that and hope that late February, March that the committee understands that," Thompson said. "… Whatever, 9-7, in this league, in this league may be a lot better than teams from other leagues."

No conference has ever had more than eight teams selected to the NCAA Tournament. The Big East sent eight last year and in 2006. Considering the Big East has nine teams in the top 40, making it a realistic possibility to make history.

But come March, the conference records of Big East squads may not look as enticing as other leagues. The competitiveness results in less teams qualifying and at times receiving worse seeds.

"I think it's the most competitive conference in America," ESPN college basketball analyst Len Elmore said. "I said it was last year, and it seems it's gotten more so this year."

With the ultra-competitive schedule comes a national cache. When teams see the Big East logo on a uniform, they know they're in for a battle.

"When you say you play in the Big East, when you tell your friends from other places that play in different conferences, there's a respect factor there," Villanova junior guard Scottie Reynolds said. "They know that this is a great league, that this is a tough league. When they play against a Big East team, they know it's a tough game."

The tough games result from tougher players. Twelve players were named to the John Wooden Player of the Year award watch list, the most of any conference.

Marquette guard Dominic James thinks the people waving their arms at the end of the year should sit on them. He's not sure some of the tougher teams in the country could handle the rigors of the Big East.

"You know some people get caught up in, OK, they shouldn't get that many teams in the tournament, things like that," James said. "But I haven't seen any of them want to come to this league. If they had to volunteer to go to any league, I feel like we would be one of the last, just because of how tough it is."

mibonner@syr.edu