Big East Tournament: Opening Round Thoughts

The Big East kicked off their annual end of season Garden party last night, as the conference’s bottom four hit the court to play for the right to be dismantled by the tournament’s top seeds later today.

The opening game saw Marquette put Seton Hall’s basketball season out of its misery, mercifully beating the Pirates 78-56 (Seton Hall is technically eligible for the NIT, and may get an invite…but shouldn’t they just pack it in for the year? Can’t things only get worse?).

More from Big East

After finishing in the regular season cellar, Creighton knocked off DePaul 78-63 in a somewhat surprising result. The Blue Demons had been feisty throughout the year. They even stood above .500 in the conference at one point past the halfway point in the Big East schedule (they were 6-5 in the league before dropping their final 8 games). Their fans had reason to find plausibility in the pipe dream of the Blue Demons making a run to the finals before getting murdered by Villanova in the championship game. Those hopes were dashed.

With two games in the books, only lower seeds have claimed victory thus far. St. John’s and Xavier will be today’s candidates to make sure the mild upset bug continues to buzz around New York. Unfortunately, last night’s winners have more difficult tasks at hand. With the scene set for today’s action, here’s a few thoughts worth a word bubble regarding the Big East Tournament.

DePaul may not be able to hang their hat on much after ending the year on a long losing streak, but I’d be willing to bet that they were the nation’s best 20-loss team this year. The Blue Demons played hard all year, and have legitimate talent. Oliver Purnell has this program going in the right direction, and he has a dynamic guard to build around in Billy Garrett.

Live Feed

Cincinnati Football: Corey Kiner compiles a career-high 153 rushing yards against Pittsburgh /

Cincy on the Prowl

Cincinnati Football: TV coverage for the Bearcats upcoming road trip to PittsburghCincy on the Prowl

Cincinnati Football: Reviewing the River City Rivalry as the Bearcats get ready to face PittsburghCincy on the Prowl

Syracuse Basketball: What about a Big East reunion tournament at MSG?Inside the Loud House

Which teams from the Big East Conference made the NCAA Tournament? (Odds to win)FanSided

Xavier vs. Marquette prediction and odds for Big East Tournament finalFanSided

Seton Hall is currently in a state of disarray, but there’s no reason for the Pirates to jump ship on Kevin Willard and the program that he’s putting together. The Hall is bringing talented players to Jersey, and the chemistry will come with time. If Isaiah Whitehead and Sterling Gibbs can spend the off-season learning to coexist, while young players such as Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington make strides in there development, the Pirates could be due to make a massive leap next year.

The development of Marquette’s freshman guard Duane Wilson is intriguing. He, along with Luke Fischer, will be a key holdover that will team up with a studly five-man recruiting class next year. Coach Wojo’s first full year on the trial produced a quartet of four-star prospects, and the biggest prize in the state of Wisconsin, #5 overall prospect Henry Ellenson. We will barely recognize Marquette next year. Expect Ellenson and Fischer to form the conference’s best frontcourt, and for Duane Wilson to breakout as one of the league’s best guards. If you see smiling faces in the Marquette student section while Villanova is stomping a hole in their chests later today, it’s only because they’ve already moved on to next season. The future for the Golden Eagles is about as bright as their yellow uniforms.

Creighton is still alive in the Big East Tournament, but last night’s upset wasn’t enough to shake an uncomfortable feeling that I have about their membership in this conference. Creighton isn’t Butler. Their immediate transition into the Big East was padded by the presence of Doug McDermott, who was able to make the Jays immediate contenders in their first season. Now that Dougie McBuckets has moved on, reality has set in for. This team is going to be the worst team in the Big East for a very long time. Creighton is a school located in the heartland. Football, baseball, and even wrestling trump hoops in Omaha. The Blue Jays don’t have the advantage of being located in the midst of a college basketball hotbed like Butler. The Bulldogs were competing for recruits like Cody Zeller before they even joined the Big East. It just seems like having Creighton in the league was a short-cited decision. I hope the Big East adds more teams in the near future. Eventually, the conference will lose Villanova when their heralded FCS football team makes the jump. Before then, I’d love to see Dayton and St. Louis join the league. Other basketball-centric schools from the A-10 like George Washington and VCU would be welcome additions as well. As good as this conference is, it must continue to evolve and adapt. Part of that evolution may be admitting a mistake and leaving behind Creighton. The Missouri Valley would love to have them back anyway.

I campaigned for Sir’Dominic Pointer to win the Player of the Year award in the Big East. Instead, it went to Kris Dunn of Providence. While I have no issues with that outcome, I take major umbrage with Pointer having to share the Defensive Player of the Year award with Dunn. Outside of Willie Cauley-Stein, Pointer was the best defender in the nation this year. Asking him to share the award with Dunn leads me to believe that Pointer is still massively under-appreciated within the conference. The fact that he couldn’t even crack the conference’s all-league first team belays that fact. It’s a shame, because Pointer developed into a special player this year, and the conference will miss him when he’s gone.

Follow me on Twitter during the Big East Tournament – @DaWordOfGodfrey. I’ll be tweeting feverishly (especially during the St. John’s game). Also, I plan on doing a March Madness mailbag next week. Send me a question if you’d like to participate.

Next: Does the SWAC Stand a Chance in the NCAA Tournament?

More from Busting Brackets

Home/Big East