Big East Conference Expansion Ideas and Discussion

[HoosierPal]

Excellent point.

St Louis - loses all 5 starters, no big recruits coming in. Will be rebuilding
St. Joe's - loses 3 starters, top 2 scorers + rebounding & assists leader& #4 scorer. No big recruits. Rebuilding.
GW - loses 3 of top 7 players, leading scorer and #2 scorer/leading rebounder. No big recruits. Rebuilding.
UMass - loses 3 starters, leading scorer/assists leader + #3 scorer + #2 rebounder. No big recruits. Rebuilding.
Dayton - loses 3 of their top 7 players including 2 starters, 1 of whom is leading rebounder/#2 scorer. No big recruits.
VCU - loses 2 starters, one of whom was leading rebounder/#2 scorer. Bring in two 4-star recruits.

VCU is the only team in really good shape with 3 starters, almost their entire bench, and 2 impact recruits. Dayton is next best with 3 starters returning and last years top recruit, 4-star Kyle Davis ready to step up from the bench. The other 4 who went to the tournament are clearly in rebuilding mode.

In other words, if the Big East expanded right now with VCU and Dayton, the A10 would be expected to be a 1-bid league.

Do you just make this stuff up? You are seriously undervaluing the A-10.

Do you think I made up the post that you just quoted? That's what I drew my conclusions from. Does it look like I was making anything up?

Feel free to disagree with my conclusions, but when I list what each team is losing, what makes you think I'm making anything up? Just post your points of disagreements. I'm dealing in facts

Remember that I said that the A10 MINUS VCU and Dayton would be a 1-bid league next year. After them, what's left?

Why are you so down on the A-10? You predicted only one win for all six in the NCAA. I didn't here anyone else who had them winning only one game. Didn't you watch any of the A-10 this year? We were in the A-10 last year, and it was a great conference. This year they were a great conference. Next year they will be a great conference. We should be banding together with the A-10 as us against the BCS Power 5. No reason to trash them.

[stever20]

There's just a lot of hope about the A10 going away but nothing indicates that it's going away any time soon. Nothing. Yes 1-2 of the top teams may not be as strong, but teams like La Salle and Richmond will be stronger.

You could really say the same about the Big East. Nova will still be strong, but the other 3 tourney teams are going to be rebuilding some next year- Creighton of course, PC loses Cotton, and now X losing Semaj. Marquette with a new coach will be interesting to watch- though they lose 3 starters. St John's loses 2 starters. Georgetown loses 2 starters.

[hailjesus]

NBE needs to hone in on what separates it from the A-10. HISTORY. We start adding teams left and right that alter that perception, we will eventually BECOME the A-10. Next year will be similar, probably 4 teams in the tournament, I think NOVA, GT and others will improve and have a better chance to make runs in March.

Stop panicking people.

P.S. X fans sure are a sensitive group. One mention of Dayton and the panties start to bunch immediately.

[stever20]

NBE needs to hone in on what separates it from the A-10. HISTORY. We start adding teams left and right that alter that perception, we will eventually BECOME the A-10. Next year will be similar, probably 4 teams in the tournament, I think NOVA, GT and others will improve and have a better chance to make runs in March.

Stop panicking people.

P.S. X fans sure are a sensitive group. One mention of Dayton and the panties start to bunch immediately.

I think part of the problem was not that we got 4 teams in, but rather where our 3rd and 4th teams were. If we got 4 teams in, but they were seeded like the AAC was with 4,4,7,8- that's not bad- and perception wouldn't be nearly what it was for us this year. 3rd/4th teams would have been fringe top 25 teams.

I think we have another year like this year, where 3rd/4th teams are fringe tourney teams like Xavier and PC was this year- and the presidents are going to have to make a move most likely.

[BEX]

Well, it is the Big East board, so who gives a crap about the A-10?

[hailjesus]

You might be right, but I would be surprised if that were the case. I think having 1-2 very strong teams year in year out and 2-3 teams that are in the 5-7 seed range will be more normal.

[stever20]

You might be right, but I would be surprised if that were the case. I think having 1-2 very strong teams year in year out and 2-3 teams that are in the 5-7 seed range will be more normal.

I think part of our "problem" is I don't think we're ever going to see 3 and 4 really seperate from the 5-8 pack. sure didn't this year. It's wonderful for the regular season and touranment, but then awful for NCAA bids. I think seeing a 3rd place team at 10-8 will be a fairly typical occurance. So, unless they had an OOC schedule like Georgetown(with more sucess btw)- it's going to be hard for a 3rd place team to get a 5-7 seed.

[adoraz11]

NBE needs to hone in on what separates it from the A-10. HISTORY. We start adding teams left and right that alter that perception, we will eventually BECOME the A-10. Next year will be similar, probably 4 teams in the tournament, I think NOVA, GT and others will improve and have a better chance to make runs in March.

Stop panicking people.

P.S. X fans sure are a sensitive group. One mention of Dayton and the panties start to bunch immediately.

I think part of the problem was not that we got 4 teams in, but rather where our 3rd and 4th teams were. If we got 4 teams in, but they were seeded like the AAC was with 4,4,7,8- that's not bad- and perception wouldn't be nearly what it was for us this year. 3rd/4th teams would have been fringe top 25 teams.

I think we have another year like this year, where 3rd/4th teams are fringe tourney teams like Xavier and PC was this year- and the presidents are going to have to make a move most likely.

Especially since we know now that had Providence not won the automatic bid and Xavier not won a game in the tournament neither would have made it.

I actually liked the idea of having two high seeds though (2,3) with a chance to win it all or at least make a run. I liked our seeding better than the AAC. Unfortunately neither played well and Nova already looked like a poor pick to make a run after losing to Hall.

[stever20]

NBE needs to hone in on what separates it from the A-10. HISTORY. We start adding teams left and right that alter that perception, we will eventually BECOME the A-10. Next year will be similar, probably 4 teams in the tournament, I think NOVA, GT and others will improve and have a better chance to make runs in March.

Stop panicking people.

P.S. X fans sure are a sensitive group. One mention of Dayton and the panties start to bunch immediately.

I think part of the problem was not that we got 4 teams in, but rather where our 3rd and 4th teams were. If we got 4 teams in, but they were seeded like the AAC was with 4,4,7,8- that's not bad- and perception wouldn't be nearly what it was for us this year. 3rd/4th teams would have been fringe top 25 teams.

I think we have another year like this year, where 3rd/4th teams are fringe tourney teams like Xavier and PC was this year- and the presidents are going to have to make a move most likely.

Especially since we know now that had Providence not won the automatic bid and Xavier not won a game in the tournament neither would have made it.

I actually liked the idea of having two high seeds though (2,3) with a chance to win it all or at least make a run. I liked our seeding better than the AAC. Unfortunately neither played well and Nova already looked like a poor pick to make a run after losing to Hall.

Frankly, Louisville should never have been a 4 seed. Really think you're going to start to see the committee going back to using last 10 games maybe not for getting into the tourney, but moreso with seeding. Just crazy that Louisville was a 4 and Kentucky a 8.

[Xudash]

NBE needs to hone in on what separates it from the A-10. HISTORY. We start adding teams left and right that alter that perception, we will eventually BECOME the A-10. Next year will be similar, probably 4 teams in the tournament, I think NOVA, GT and others will improve and have a better chance to make runs in March.

Stop panicking people.

P.S. X fans sure are a sensitive group. One mention of Dayton and the panties start to bunch immediately.

You clearly don't understand the nature of the X/UD rivalry. I'll sum it up for you:

1. Pre-1958 - whatever.

2. 1958 - Xavier beats UD in the NIT.

3. The 60's and 70's - UD owns Xavier, in addition to building UD Arena in '69 while Xavier continues to play in Schmidt Memorial Fieldhouse (built in the '20's; think relic, dusty and beer on sticky floors).

4. Last 3 Decades - Xavier owns UD, in addition to Xavier building the Cintas Center (2000).

5. In addition to head-to-head performance, Xavier racks up a conference and NCAA resume, etc. that lands it in the Big East.

It isn't about being sensitive. Frankly, beyond the truly delusional fans that populate UDPride and a number of their fans who hang out on the A10 message board, there are surely reasonable UD fans out there. Yet, there is an element of Little Brother's fan base that refuses to think clearly, and they end up projecting a lot of how UD ends up being perceived. They had a fan on the A10 board that was so bad that he's been banned on numerous occasions and may be banned permanently now. Some of you want more anger and arguing, but just remember that the fans of the other A10 schools got sick of the Xavier/UD "dialogue" on that board.

I get the sense that Creighton fans lived this kind of experience with Wichita State fans, though without going as far back in time. Would Nova fans want St. Joe's admitted to the Big East if St. Joe's warranted consideration?

Many UD fans have an extraordinary amount of pent up frustration. They especially have that about Xavier. They finally got a release valve open for some of it this season, so maybe that will help.

Otherwise, I agree with you about the Big East being in a positive position. There is no reason to panic and the conference should continue to focus on differentiation.