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I agree. The only team I see doing it this year is Seton Hall, maybe in the BET.

In the next few, I see Georgetown being the team that knocks Villanova off. Location, pedigree, and resources will eventually rise up and return the program back.

The one exception being Providence, who has had back to back impressive recruiting classes and might be the team to beat in two years.

GoldenWarrior11 wrote:Power conferences are defined by a blue blood program(s). The B1G has Michigan State (Indiana is no longer a blue blood). The SEC has Kentucky. The ACC has UNC and Duke. The PAC has UCLA and Arizona. The Big East has Villanova (Georgetown is no longer a blue blood).

I would agree with this and add one obvious omission: Kansas in the Big 12. In fact, Kansas and Villanova are usually mentioned in tandem regarding their respective reigns over power conferences Big 12 and Big East. I have no problem with the league being in this company.

Don't get me wrong, I do not wish for nova to fall back to the rest of us, I want the rest of us to step up and challenge.

We'll need multiple different teams in the second weekend and final fours over a stretch of years.

As someone who was around when the original BE formed, there were times when you'd see Syracuse, Georgetown, and St. Johns in the top ten in the same week and four, five or six teams in the top 25!

I think between 1980 and 1992, Syracuse had played in a national Championship game and elite 8, Georgetown had played in three finals and won one and an elite 8 or two to boot, St John's made a final four and an elite 8, Villanova won an NC and made 3 elite 8s, UConn made an elite 8, PC made a final four, Seton Hall made an elite 8 and a national championship game. BC made two elite 8s and like 4 sweet sixteens. That's all in about 12 years.

This league is not yet anywhere near that. I'd love it. I'd love DePaul and St John's and Georgetown to be nationally relevant.

I love this league now, and am hopeful we can get something approaching that...

I hear the national topic the Big 12 is tough top to bottom. Even though Kansas has won 13 straight title. Some say how strong are the Big East schools besides Villanova, since they win the league every year. Sounds like a double standard to me. Many fail to understand 70% of the league was in the dance. Two made it to the 2nd weekend and none of the two was Villanova.

novahoops11 wrote:

Now that you know who GTMO is, genuflect and kiss his ring Novahoops

Well crap...it's not like we aren't giving it the old college try.

Not sure BE collective success has anything to do with who specifically wins the league. The 2015-16 Buddy Heild OU team was more memorable than the KU team that lost in E8, and won the B12. Danny Manning and KU, conversely, saw OU win the B12, and lose to KU in the finals. Team success in March mostly, and preseason a little less, is what outsiders remember. If SHU goes on a run this year, outsiders will remember that this Delgado-led SHU team was a really good team that is also in the BE and not consider if they finished 1st, 2nd, 4th or 5th. As far as anyone remembers the Kemba Walker UConn team was just another great UConn championship team (even though they finished 8th that year). That's where we need to be. It has so little to do with who wins the league. We have a NC; we have another team that has made a few runs in the tourney. We need to start getting 3-4 teams in the S16 and a couple in the E8 and FF to get more collective street cred. And that requires teams other than Nova and X to step up in March. So if we want the BE to be better off, that's where we need to start IMO.

novahoops11 wrote:

First of all --- Best gif ever!

Second --- it doesn't make the BE better if NOVA is dethroned, but it may make it more interesting...at least for everyone outside of Michael Corleone and Nova fans.

Starting this season the top half of the conference needs to make the 2nd weekend or better in the dance. Our strong teams need to show it come March. Strong NCAA performances will change perceptions.

I won't refuse the BET trophy should it land at the Jays feet. We need some new hardware in the trophy cases.