Big East Roundup #2 - Cardinals Rising
February 16th, 2008 | by Mr. Big East |Big East Roundup
Another week of tough, physical basketball. As usual, there were elbows flying, bodies bumping, and bruises being iced on long bus rides back to campus. Who says bowl season is the best time of year? I would take Big East basketball in late February through mid-March over any other sporting season. This week I have left out the tournament resume’s as those can be found on any sports blog/website. Instead, let’s look at several teams this week that caught my eye*
Louisville (19-6, 9-3) has surged to the front winning 6 of their last 7 with key wins over Georgetown and Notre Dame. This team was ranked highly pre-season, lost their ranking as the team gelled early on, and now should regain it after crystallizing mid-season.
UConn (19-5, 8-3) continues its winning streak, with the 8th straight win coming against Notre Dame on Wednesday. The schedule is relatively soft from here on out: @ USF, Depaul, @ ‘Nova, @ Rutgers, WVU, @ Providence, and UC. After the impressive surge UConn exhibited mid-season, a 13-5 finish in league play is to be expected of this team. It should be noted, however, 4 of their last 7 are on the road and that is always an X-factor in college hoops.
Rutgers (10-16, 2-11) is playing some very bad basketball right now. They most likely will finish 2-16 in the league.
Team with the Hardest Schedule Left Before Getting to Madison Square Garden: Syracuse (16-9, 6-6). Just a week ago, Syracuse was 6-4 in league play and on a 3-game win streak. Two games later, they are licking their wounds after losses to UConn (respectable) and South Florida (not respectable). 5 of their next 6 games are nasty: Georgetown, @ Louisville, @ Notre Dame, Pitt, @ Seton Hall, and Marquette. I see the Orange finishing at 8-10 in league play after a nightmare end to the regular season.
Game I Can’t Wait to See:
March 8th, Louisville visits Washington, D.C. to meet Georgetown. This game should be a fine display of the Big East’s best as both teams jostle for seeding position in the NCAA Tournament.
Most Frustrating Team to Watch:
WVU (17-7, 6-5) has lost some very close games to some good teams. If the ‘Eers could shoot free throws they would be 8-3 in league play with would-be wins over Georgetown and Pitt. It’s hard to believe that 2 points is all that separates the Mountaineers from being at 8-3 and tied for 3rd place, a lock for the NCAAs. Instead, take away those 2 points, and WVU is just a bubble team trying to stay above water at 6-5 in league play.