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Big East basketball will get even better


November 24, 2004
By Doug Mittler
SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (TICKER) -- For the Big East Conference, football's loss is basketball's gain.

The Big East has recovered quite nicely since its pockets were picked by the Atlantic Coast Conference and the end result is a basketball league that would make even those on Tobacco Road envious.

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It could be the deepest basketball league in the country right now. By next season, there will not be any doubt.

"Let's make sure we grab one of those NCAA Tournament bids this year because next year they are going to be even harder to get," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.

The Big East still is recovering from the departure of Miami and Virginia Tech to the ACC (with Boston College to follow next season), putting a serious dent into its football prestige. The league is guaranteed a Bowl Championship Series bid the next four seasons, but its long-term future of the league may depend on keeping football viable.

"Football drives a lot of what happens. That's just the way it is," Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said. Football has always had a large influence and it affects everything."

As Tranghese went looking for replacements, he had to keep football in mind, even if the Big East had basketball as its centerpiece when it was formed in 1979. Tranghese did his one-stop shopping at Conference USA to bring in five schools for the start of the 2005-06 season, three of which made it to the NCAA Tournament last spring.

Louisville, DePaul and Cincinnati all made the field of 65 last season while another, Marquette, recently played in the Final Four. South Florida also will join the Big East.

The Big East already had six of its 12 teams earn NCAA bids last season, including the departing Boston College. The end result will be a 16-team monster conference that will be a fan's delight and a coach's nightmare.

"The final eight in the Big East Tournament could be as exciting as the final eight in the NCAA Tournament a year from now," Brey said. "But we've got a heck of a league right now."

Brey is right. There is no reason to look ahead when there is plenty to watch right now.

This is the league that has produced the last two national champions - Connecticut last season and Syracuse in 2003 - and shows every indication of having plenty of star power right now.

Four current Big East teams are in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, with Syracuse sixth and Connecticut seventh. Pittsburgh is 17th and Notre Dame 21st.

But some of the long-time members of the Big East are defensive about how good the league will be in a year's time. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who is entering his 29th season, remembers an even grander time.

"Will it be a little tougher next year? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know," Boeheim said. "It won't be any tougher than in 1985 when we had three teams in the Final Four and we had to play them (in the league). It won't be any tougher than that."

The Big East is trying to become just the second conference since the end of UCLA's seven-year title run in 1973 to win three straight national titles. Duke (twice) and North Carolina did it for the ACC from 1991 to 1993.

Even with the departure of Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon to the NBA, Connecticut again is a national title contender, thanks to a dominant frontcourt. Syracuse will bring back guard Gerry McNamara and forward Hakim Warrick.

Pittsburgh has been a Sweet Sixteen team for three straight seasons and Notre Dame will have guard Chris Thomas and forward Torin Francis healthy again.

The strength of the Big East also will be in the middle of the pack. Star forward Ryan Gomes returns for Providence and Boston College, behind Craig Smith, could land one more NCAA berth before leaving.

If Jason Fraser can stay healthy, Villanova can be an NCAA Tournament team for the first time since 1999. Rutgers had its first 20-win season in more than two decades and Seton Hall was back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.

"If you look at the really tough teams in the middle, I think this is the best conference in the country this year," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

But the embarrassment of riches for the Big East could bring some other problems. Some coaches are concerned that the NCAA may shy away from giving too many tournament bids to one conference, even in the realistic scenario when 10 or more teams may be deserving.

"Coming in ninth (next season) may not get us in the Tournament," Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon said. "We recognize that."

Tranghese also would be happier if St John's could again be a major player. The Red Storm lost 21 games last season and were rocked by a sex scandal.

"New York is still the most important market," Tranghese said. "How St. John's does really has an effect on how New York pays attention to college basketball. I've always felt that way."

But even if St. John's improves under first-year coach Norm Roberts, there are plenty of teams it will have to pass on the way up.

"In the future, the problem may be that we're too tough," Tranghese said. "We'll find that out."
11-28-2004 06:29 PM
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