Which team in the Big East can contend for the NCAA Championship?

By Anonymous

This year in NCAA basketball, not that many teams in the Big East have stood out besides Syracuse and Louisville.  Louisville has a chance to make a decent run in the tournament, since they have experience from going to the Final Four last year.  Also, they are #11 in the country.  They do have a problem, they are very inconsistent including three straight loses in January, two of them being unranked teams.  #9 Syracuse has the best chance to contend for the championship since they are undefeated against the four teams they faced that are in the AP Top 25.

Syracuse's pass first offense is so balanced out and effective.  It is led by star point guard Michael Carter-Williams who is first in the NCAA in assists with 8.5 per game and has a high number of double-doubles with 8.  Led by a star and a highly productive offense Syracuse could maybe win the championship.  The only other higher ranked teams in the Big East are #17 Cincinnati and #20 Georgetown.  Cincinnati was great in the beginning of the season winning their first 12 games, but then they had bad loses to Providence and St. John's which could hurt their seed for the NCAA Tournament.

If they don't have a high seed they will have to face better teams causing them to have an unlikely chance to make a long run.  Georgetown has a better chance than Cincinnati to make a good run because they have won three out of four games against ranked teams including #5 Louisville and #11 UCLA.  Their only problem is that they don't have a star in clutch time. Otto Porter Jr. is their highest scorer, but he only averages 14.8 points per game.  Without a clutch time scorer they won't be able to knock off top ranked teams in the big time NCAA Tournament.   #23 Pittsburgh, #24 Marquette, and #25 Notre Dame are all ranked, but very lowly.

You make think, why am I canceling out these teams already?  I am doing that because each team has three or four ranked teams left on their schedule.  They will most likely lose to at least one of these teams, and with such a risky schedule I wouldn't say anyone of those teams will make a good run in the NCAA Tournament.  Though don't forget, if one team does win a high percentage of their tough games they could be given a good seed which would give them a decent chance to do well in the tournament.  This last month of college basketball will be crucial for teams on Selection Sunday.

The Big East has always been looked upon as the best conference from having the most number of teams in the NCAA Tournament almost every year, to always having the best players.  From Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade to Kemba Walker and  Marshon Brooks, there are so many more great players that played in the Big East that you can't even count them all.  This could all change next year because Syracuse and Pittsburgh who have been top teams in the NCAA each year, will be in the ACC.  Unless Connecticut, Villanova, or another surprise team have a great year next year the Big East will be short of title contenders.  This would be bad for the conference and its fans.  The outcome will come in March Madness next year, either the Big East will conquer or they will fall.

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