Season Preview: Big East

Last season, the Big East was the undisputed #1 conference in the land. With 7 teams making the tournament and 3 #1 seeds, the Big East was loaded from top to bottom. However, this year many of those teams lost their top players, meaning there has been a great deal of turnover at the top of the conference. It also means there will be plenty of movement in the middle of the conference throughout the year, as teams with young components mesh and thrive and others fall apart.

The Favorites:

West Virginia: My pick to win the Big East. They might have the best pair of wings in the country in Devin Ebanks and Da'Sean Butler. The two averaged over 27 points per game between them last season and present many matchup problems across the board. If you include returning starter Wellington Smith, Kevin Jones, John Flowers, and Cam Thoroughman, you probably have one of the best frontcourts in the country.

In the backcourt, the Mountaineers have two legitimate starting PGs in Joe Mazzulla and Darryl Bryant. Casey Mitchell, a JUCO transfer, is expected to immediately fill the 2 guard role that opened after Alex Ruoff's graduation. All in all, this is a pretty complete team. Despite the lack of a true center, they go deep in the frontcourt and either Ebanks or Butler will likely have a smaller guy on them at the 3. This team was pretty solid defensively last year and I expect them to do the same again this year. All in all, West Virginia takes a big step up this season.

Villanova: There's no denying the Wildcats' talent in the backcourt. Scottie Reynolds made himself a household name last year with his Elite 8 heroics and should benefit greatly again from working off the ball. With Corey Fisher seeing some time at the 1, this allows Reynolds to focus on what he's good at: scoring. The two will be joined by three point specialist Corey Stokes to form the best backcourt in the conference. And that's with Reggie Redding out until mid-December.

The biggest question mark for Nova will be how they replace Dante Cunningham. Cunningham gave Nova a viable weapon on the wing and a potent scorer in the frontcourt. Replacing him will be returnee Antonio Pena, Duke transfer Taylor King, and freshman PF Mouphtaou Yarou. None of them have quite the skill set Cunningham had, but they should all provide offense in their own way. Depth could be slight problem as well in the frontcourt. These should be small issues and the Wildcats will be a Final Four contender again, but it does give reason to doubt their status as favorites in the Big East.

Team that could surprise:

Cincinnati: Picking out a surprise team is difficult due to the amount of uncertainty in the middle of the conference. UConn could be a pick here, but they already appear to have somewhat high expectations due to everyone else's losses. Same with Georgetown (although I have other opinions on them). If I had to pick a team that isn't expected to break the top quarter of the conference but will, I will go with the Bearcats. This is contingent on Lance Stepheson's status, but if he's ready to go, he will join Deonta Vaughn and Yancey Gates as a pretty darn good top three. Cashmere Wright is also expected to make a big contribution after he was hurt the entire season last year. Is top 4 in conference a stretch? Maybe. But a lot of teams in the Big East have reasons to doubt them.

Team that could disappoint:

Georgetown: This team's been pretty tough to figure out the past few seasons. Two years ago they drew a 2 seed but fell to Curry's magic men and Davidson. A year ago they were expected to be good again and they fell off the map by mid-February. John Thompson III claimed the team last year couldn't figure out how to win. After watching this team last year and seeing how quickly DaJuan Summers bolted for the NBA draft, it's pretty clear there were some issues last season. Greg Monroe has proven to be one of the top young big men in the college game, but he'll need to take a leadership role for the Hoyas in what appears to be a season of high expectations.

Picks:

1. West Virginia - Matchup problems all over the place and tough defense.
2. Villanova - If someone can replace Cunningham's production, look out.
3. UConn - Haven't been talked about much, but Jerome Dyson is back, and Kemba Walker is ready to step into the spotlight.
4. Cincinnati - Risky pick, but why not in a conference with so much turnover? The talent is there
5. Georgetown - Too much talent to have a repeat of last season, but be warry.
6. Syracuse - Lost a lot, but Arinze Onuaku is a beast and there is shooting on the perimeter.
7. Louisville - Two big losses in Earl Clark and Terrence Williams will likely force Louisville to slow down the tempo a bit more than last season.
8. Pitt - All veteran leadership is gone, and while the future is bright, expect a rebuilding year.
9. Marquette - See Pitt
10. Seton Hall - A lot of new faces will join the returning talent and attempt to make a tournament run.
11. Notre Dame - Harangody is back, which is good. McAlarney is gone, which is bad. Where's the ugly? The awful defense.
12. St. John's - Returned all five starters from last year. Unfortunately, those 5 starters led the Red Storm to 13th in the Big East last year.
13. Rutgers - Played a nightmare schedule last year and will have opportunities to win games.
14. Providence - Lost three of their biggest contributors. The Friars will take their lumps this year.
15. DePaul - I predict the Blue Demons to win at least one Big East game this season. Yes, in the regular season this time.
16. South Florida - Probably should stick to football.

Tournament Teams:

West Virginia, Villanova, UConn, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Syracuse, Louisville