Best Brand of Basketball

Last season the Big East was able to accomplish an amazing feat by occupying three of the four top seeds in the NCAA tournament. They were the only conference last season to have multiple participants in the Final Four and the Big East provided the country with arguably the two best games of the post season (Villanova vs Pitt in the Elite 8 and UConn vs Syracuse in the Big East tournament). Many figured that the Big East would take a step back this season due to the loss of many talented players such as Earl Clark, Terrance Williams, Johnny Flynn, DeJuan Blair and many more (Nine players from the Big East were drafted in the past draft and Wesley Matthews who went undrafted has become a fixture in the Utah Jazz rotation). However, the conference is as strong as ever. Four of the top 10 teams in the AP and ESPN poll are from the Big East. In addition, five of the top 12 RPI-rated teams are also from the same power conference. As for talent, according to several draft websites up to 10 players are projected to be drafted in the upcoming June draft and three players are projected to be top 10 selections. Also the Big East is the only conference that has three players in the top 23 in scoring.

I could quote numbers all day in favor of the Big East's dominance, but to really appreciate how good this conference is, one just has to watch one Big East game to understand where I am coming from. The conference, undeniably, provides the most enjoyable brand of basketball to watch. The NBA regular season is long and arduous and rarely provides a fan with games to talk about in-depth at their dead-end jobs. However, night-in and night-out the Big East provides the country with those water cooler conversations. In this season 27 Big East games were decided by less than four points or went into overtime. Furthermore, the Big East is the highest scoring conference in all of college basketball. Four teams average over 80 points per game and Villanova is the second highest scoring team in the country behind VMI, but in all honesty VMI is never on TV so, Villanova is the highest scoring college basketball team on TV. The Big East does not provide with the stale play of the Big Ten, and the competition is much more fierce than the SEC or ACC. Though many feel that the Big 12 provides exciting basketball, I believe the depth of the Big East provides more compelling games. two teams like Providence and South Florida can provide the country with a compelling 109 to 105 thriller, but I don't think one will find that kind of game between Nebraska and Oklahoma....at least not in basketball....maybe football, but even then the score would be 10 to 3 or something of that nature. Just last week, West Virgina and Pitt tried to duplicate that terrific game between UConn and Syracuse by going three overtimes and culminating with a three point victory for Pitt. The game had everything from game tying three pointers to amazing defensive plays which displayed the discipline of the players and the intellect of the coaching staffs.

Speaking of coaching, tell me of another conference that has the quality of coaches The Big East has. Yes the ACC has Coach K and Roy Willams, and Gary Williams, but I'll take Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, and Rick Pitino since combined they have 119 more wins than those ACC guys. Not to mention the depth this conference has in quality coaches. Jay Wright has taken a downtrodden Villanova program and has made it a perennial powerhouse. Jamie Dixon was able to take Ben Howland's talent and make them even better. Also, don't forget about John Thompson III and Bob Huggins. There is not another conference that runs as deep as this conference in intellectual greatness. This is probably the main reason why this is the best conference in the country. The quality of the basketball play shown on the court is a direct reflection of these coaches and their wealth of basketball knowledge.

The Big East is also the only salvation for the world's most famous basketball court, which also gives the Big East a nostalgic advantage over the other conferences. Whenever, anyone thinks of Madison Square Garden they think of basketball greatness and this happens to be the stage for the most exciting conference tournament. This is like giving Scottie Pippen to Michael Jordan as a teammate. Giving the countries most exciting conference the biggest stage in the world to perform on allows the conference to be head and shoulders above any and all conferences.

The Big East will continue to be the best brand of basketball for years to come. The Big East has already produced NBA stars like Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Allen Iverson, and Ray Allen and the conference will continue to produce the NBA's best. More important, the conference will continue to be the cheesecake in the the dessert menu of college basketball. The recipe of talent, hustle, toughness, and intelligence will keep the Big East at the top of the basketball mountain.