The Fun that is the New Big East

This year Big East basketball will be a little different than we are all accustomed to, but the intensity and nail-biting finishes will still be there. Thanks to a few fresh faces in the “new” conference, the basketball portion of the winter will be as exciting as ever. With Fox Sports 1 having the rights to show all conference games, we’ll get as much Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery as we can handle, and that’s a good thing.

The reason the conference will be so much fun to watch is because each team is different, yet they are all fairly similar in terms talent and structure. Your 2013-14 Big East basketball members include teams like the old Big East guards in DePaul, Georgetown, Providence, Marquette, Seton Hall, St. John’s, and Villanova, but also include new members in Butler, Creighton, and Xavier. The ‘old’ Big East Conference had always been, in my opinion, the most exciting basketball to watch in the entire country. While the teams may have changed, the basketball will still be as good as ever. The seven remaining members will teach the new kids on the block how to play like they did back in the day, while the new members bring some tricks of their own to the party while trying to establish a strong hold on their new conference surroundings.

The storylines for this inaugural 2013-14 basketball season include the history of Butler, athleticism of St. John’s, toughness of Marquette & Xavier, Doug McDermott of Creighton, quickness of Villanova, guard play of Georgetown, and the individual scorers of Providence. What more could you want in a basketball conference?

While conferences like the Big Ten are busy beating each other up with their physical, inside, low-post styles, the Big East has always been a league based more on athleticism and almost street ball-like play. How else do you explain Kemba Walker & UConn running through the league on the way to the tournament title in the Garden a few years back, or a team having success like Villanova in the mid-2000’s with their 4-guard lineup at times?

The conference as a whole has probably gotten weaker and national perception has definitely changed, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to play basketball. It may be the deepest conference in the country, with more than a handful of teams able to win the conference, and win games on any given night. Every team comes into conference play with a winning record, showing good depth in the conference as a whole.

The new Big East is essentially a basketball-only conference with its current 10 members, and basketball is still what they do best.

@DKnappyBoy

2013-’14 College Basketball Predictions

Previewing some of the conference winners, final four teams, and award winners in front of the 2013-14 college basketball season starting. Look for games to start on Friday night with some big early season matchups. Here’s how I see the major conferences playing out in the regular season:

B1G: Michigan State– Gary Harris is a conference POY talent; Keith Appling, Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson are back. MSU will win the conference, and then some.

ACC: UNC– The reason I went UNC over Duke is because the Heels have more proven players like McAdoo, Paige and Hairston, instead of relying so heavily on freshmen in what is a super-deep ACC with the addition of Syracuse, Pitt, and Notre Dame.

SEC: Kentucky– Are they young? They always are. Will they lose a few conference games? Yes. They’ll just lose fewer than anyone else in the SEC with the talent that they have.

Big 12: Oklahoma State– They have the best returning ‘big three’ in the country in Marcus Smart, Le’Bryan Nash, and Markel Brown. The conference is as deep as it’s been in years though.

Pac 12: UCLA– Seems like everyone is picking either Oregon or Arizona and almost forgetting about the Bruins. They get Jordan Adams back from a foot injury that kept him out of the tourney and still have Kyle Anderson running the show, now with Steve Alford at the helm.

Big East: Marquette– Davante Gardner is the best big guy in the conference and is a machine down low. Without Vander Blue, the floor should open up a little bit for the Golden Eagles. 

AAC: Louisville– They might be the easiest conference-winning pick, but watch for Memphis to get the Cards at least once. Russ Smith will make his bonehead plays, but the help around him is too much with three starters returning.

Team to Watch: St. John’s Red Storm– Remember when the Johnnies had the best recruiting class in the country? Well those guys are ready to make some noise this year, with Jakarr Sampson, D’Angelo Harrison and Phil Greene IV looking to challenge Marquette for the top spot in the Big East, and still relatively young at that. They’ve got some big games on the schedule, including an opener against the Wisconsin Badgers in South Dakota and a big one in the Garden against Syracuse.

Player of the Year: Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State– He shocked everyone by coming back to school instead of taking his top-5 pick wealth in the NBA, and it will pay off for the Cowboys. He is surrounded by a lot of talent and they’ll be battle-tested in the Big 12. He was the conference player of the year as a freshman and looks to build on his 15/6r/4a numbers from last season. He’ll be the best player on the floor in every game they play this season.

Final Four Teams: Oklahoma State, Louisville, Michigan State, VCU

If you have comments or different thoughts on how these categories and conferences will shake out, tweet them to me @DKnappyBoy