GoldenWarrior11
Heisman
Posts: 5,685
Joined: Jul 2015
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I Root For: Marquette, BE
Location: Chicago
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RE: AAC- Big East challenge
(04-10-2017 06:43 PM)stever20 Wrote: (04-10-2017 05:56 PM)hoops22 Wrote: (04-10-2017 11:41 AM)stever20 Wrote: I'm sorry but to act like the New Big East is like the Old Big East is just wrong. The Old Big East was the best basketball conference quite possibly EVER- when it was a 15/16 team conference. 7 Final 4 teams in 7 teams with 2 champions in there(and really 3 in 8 given UConn won the following year). Tourney record 11 teams 1 year. That Big East did die.
And this Big East has not been as successful or as relevant, or as nationally known, as that Big East was. I know that riles some folks up- but that's reality. Realistically nothing will compare to what the Big East those 7 years did. I mean, the ACC of the last few years doesn't compare to that even- as much as they would want to make it seem.
Right Stever, and it also riles some folks up, like yourself and a couple other notorious AAC fanboys, that you've been unable to write the obituary yet. No one claims the current BE is as strong as the older one. It clearly was the best college basketball league of all time and had left the ACC in the dust. Nobody is making that claim today. Still, for some reason, you like to portray all BE fans as being stuck in 2011, even though you know that's not the case. What we do claim today, is that we've earned our spot and acknowledgement to be part of what is now considered the P6 in basketball. You talk about the past BE receiving 11 bids to the dance. Well that represented 69% of the league, this years 7 bids represented 70%. It may be years before we see any conference match that number again. Just because the league isn't as top heavy as it once was doesn't mean it's not good.
It is a little old how however, that when someone takes pride in the leagues performance, you and others try to beat them down by saying the league isn't as powerful as it once was. It may not be as powerful, but the 7 bids, sold out MSG BET games, and the eye popping OOC record against the other P6 teams, say the league is still pretty darn good, and way ahead of most others. Wouldn't you agree?
The thing is and you know it, there are some that have said that the new big east hasn't had any drop off at all whatsoever. And that's a joke.
The New Big East is a good conference, a very good conference. But what 2013 was- it was the end of an era. Some folks want to act like this is just a continuation of the old Big East, and that's a joke. The 2013 Big East is dead. I think you talk to folks that were in the league before the split would say just that.
As far as stuff like the OOC record vs the other P6 teams. So overrated. I mean take Butler. Their win over Cincy this year was better than ANY OOC win for them outside of the game vs Arizona. Bigger than Vandy, Utah, or Indiana. Labels are so idiotic it's not funny.
It's one thing to take pride in the leagues performance. But when folks say stuff like "If they thought the league would not be as successful, or as relevant, or as nationally known, they were very, very wrong. " that's just wrong. NOTHING would compare to that.
2013 was the end of an era. Syracuse has struggled in the ACC, as has Pittsburgh. UConn, while they won the 2014 National Championship, really struggled in the American last year, and appears it will do so again next year. Seton Hall and Providence have used the reorganization of the conference to elevate their basketball programs. Butler, Creighton and Xavier have become three of the top programs in the conference. And, most importantly, Villanova won a national championship last year.
I realize you don't place a high value on OOC records vs. the P5, but the reality is that it is important - for both ranking and perception purposes. You like to argue that it shouldn't be that important because Big East teams won a lot of games by a few points, and that the American lost a lot of games by a few points, and that it could have been radically different - but guess what? That's not what happened. The games were decided by the way they were, which was clearly in the Big East's favor.
Now, having said that, if Watson and Sumner don't get injured, it is likely that Providence and Marquette don't get into the tournament, and the Big East gets just 5 teams in. Once again, what happened happened - and it was beneficial to the Big East.
To concede, the Big East today is not as strong as the Big East of 2005-2013. However, you are looking at different programs and a completely different number of teams. Both conferences get over half of its team in the tournament, and both conferences provide teams with deep threats in the tournament. The heart and purpose of the Big East remains the same: elite college basketball that is at the top around the country.
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