Sat 1/25 BE Game Thread (5 Games).

[MackNova]

St. John's would be one of those teams if the refs didn't screw them every game. Just ask Lavinwood, referees only hate St. John's and whoever Nova is facing.

[JohnnyBoy]

If any team has benefited from calls en route to the #4 ranking which was clearly overrated with 2 bad losses and 1 close escape from SJ, it's Nova. Still a good team but not a top 10 IMO. I see them as a more consistent 15-20 team. I think the law of averages are evening out.

Scratch that I thought Nova lost. But my point remains…they will end up a 15-20 team.

OK I'll bite. Name me 14 teams that are better than them Carnac.

He can't, he might list 14 or 15 teams, but half of those will be complete BS. On the other hand, if there's one fan base that knows what overrated looks like, it would St. John's fans. You know that team with all that "talent".

I think what he meant was that they don't "look" like a #4 team. Nova got off to a red-hot start but they seem to be slowing up. Some teams peak early, some peak late. Nova is still a very good team, but a 3-0 record in OT and countless other wins in the single digits including Butler and SJ both of whom they easily could have lost to doesn't give you that "dominant" feel a top 10 team should have. I think ultimately Creighton will end up being the best team with Nova 2nd and Xavier 3rd. At some point you start to lose those nail biters. Nova has found a way to win all of them. SJ and Butler are the ones who lost all of those close ones. By the season's end it will all even out.

I think we only have a chance vs. Creighton if we can "hold" them to 40-45% from 3. That's still a good percentage but the way they shoot, it gives us a chance instead of shooting 3's like FT's like against Nova. We will also need to be able to neutralize some of the Creighton 3's. If Creighton is ice cold from beyond the arc, I become much more confident. My gut tells me to expect a 20+ pt loss, but hey we just blew out Butler where they say no one can win, so who knows?

[Westbrook36]

Gotta love this board, Creighton goes global thermo nuclear hot on us in one game and now we're an overrated fraud. You can't make this shit up. LOL

[JohnnyBoy]

It wasn't just the Creighton game…Nova barely escaped SJ, Butler among others. Don't get too cocky because this league humbles you quickly. Just ask G'Town and Marquette who were supposed to be ranked teams. Nova was not even ranked in the preseason. You go 3-0 in OT games, squeak out a few others and you aren't thankful? This year's Nova team is good but they are not world beaters. In fact I think they'd lose to Duke, Michigan, Wisconsin, UK, Michigan State, PITT, etc. all of whom are ranked substantially worse. This is not any kind of rip on Nova because those are all very good teams and obviously Nova is one themselves. I just don't get the feeling they are juggernauts. I get the feeling they got a few key wins early to get a high ranking, and they won every close game including 3 OT's. Only loss vs. Cuse. I would love for Nova to prove me wrong but I still see them as a 15-20 type team. Every team has flaws in this conference. It's important to remember that Nova was unranked…you guys should be very humble going from unranked to #4. I just get the sense that the team has peaked. You can disagree…just my opinion.

[PMThor]

Georgetown doing what they do, playing hard and actually winning early....but there will be the inevitable fade with their issues at hand.

But will there be a let down for Creighton?

[PMThor]

Ha, nevermind my last post. No let down for Creighton and Gtown cannot hang.

[gofriars08]

Nova is absolutely legit. Their two losses are on the road to KenPom #3 Syracuse and at home to KenPom #4 Creighton. Hard to say they aren't playing among the best in the country.

As for the tight games against Butler and St. John's - both were on the road. Every road game in the Big East is a battle. There's no South Florida's with 200 fans showing up, save for DePaul. There's no Evansville's or Fordham's on the conference slate like in the Missouri Valley or A-10 to pad with easy road wins against teams with low-D1 talent.

This is the big boy league, fellas. Any win on the road is a quality win in the Big East, especially this year.

[billyjack]

"You are what your record says you are" (Bill Parcells).
Villanova is a team with the smarts, stones and the composure to close out tight games.

[MackNova]

I still think Villanova is the best team in the Big East, but how can I argue with Creighton now? Kicked our ass on our home court, and they are higher rated in KenPom now.

Winning on the road is tough. Villanova's 3 close games were all on the road, against Butler before it lost all its confidence, and against legitimate NIT teams in St. John's and Marquette. Marquette is not an easy place to play. Creighton's road games were against Seton Hall (which Nova also destroyed in its building), DePaul (which is probably the worst team in the conference), Providence (which it lost) and obviously that Villanova game.

If Villanova is overrated because it plays close games and lost to Creighton, then there are a hell of a lot of teams out there that are overrated.

[JohnnyBoy]

You can be overrated and very good. Nova just does not pass the eye test as a top 10 team in my humble opinion. Like I said, hope they prove me wrong. I'd love to see them hang there until the end. Nova's saving grace is getting 30-40 FT's every game seemingly. Don't know any other team in the Big East that gets that. In games where there aren't whistles every 5 secs and they are allowed to play Nova is in trouble. I just think Creighton's offensive firepower is much more than Nova and have a better chance to go deeper in the tourney. Like I said…Nova was not expected to be in the top 10 or top 5…they were unranked. So don't make me out to be the crazy guy here…it's a long season. Fast starts don't mean high finishes.