(03-16-2026 10:44 AM)sju88grad Wrote:  I'm honestly ok with the 5 seed.....SJU really had no OOC marquee wins....sadly, Baylor and Ole Miss looked solid preseason but had bad years, so those OOC wins weren't very notable.....

If we had at least won 1 of the 4 against Iowa State, Kentucky, Alabama or Auburn, I think we would have been a 3 or 4.....

As of today though, I would like my chances against any of them again.....

The part that I'm INFURIATED about is how they put UConn and SJU in the same region......we got a lousy 3 teams into the tournament and you have to put the 2 best in the same region?!?!....

I really thought that if things fell into place, the Big East had a chance to land 2 teams in the Final Four....now we're stuck with hoping for an Elite Eight match up......really feels like the Big East is slowly getting squeezed....

On the plus side, if both teams take care of business we have a guaranteed team in the FF. St Johns can take down both Kansas and an injured Duke. UConn has as good of a path as we could have hoped for. UCF/UCLA don't scare me and we handled MSU easily in the preseason. Just need to actually show up for these games and we should make the Elite Eight.

It does feel like the league is often put between a rock and a hard place, though.

UCLA scares me.

(03-15-2026 07:02 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I'm very surprised Saint John's was seeded No. 5. That almost seems insulting. My Vanderbilt team also landed a No. 5 seed and SJU is a better team than Vandy. I would have placed the Red Storm as a No. 3 seed (a four seed at the minimum).

(And GW11 with a nice "First 50 Out" zinger regarding Marquette. Dazzy chuckled.)

I agree, Bill. Winning your league, especially a power conference, should mean something.

(03-17-2026 06:29 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-15-2026 07:02 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I'm very surprised Saint John's was seeded No. 5. That almost seems insulting. My Vanderbilt team also landed a No. 5 seed and SJU is a better team than Vandy. I would have placed the Red Storm as a No. 3 seed (a four seed at the minimum).

(And GW11 with a nice "First 50 Out" zinger regarding Marquette. Dazzy chuckled.)

I agree, Bill. Winning your league, especially a power conference, should mean something.

I have to wonder if their is an unfolding perception/narrative that the Big East is losing some of its lustre. If so, it becomes all the more important that the three BE members in the Big Dance do well this time.

Good luck to UConn, Bill.

(03-17-2026 08:56 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:29 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-15-2026 07:02 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I'm very surprised Saint John's was seeded No. 5. That almost seems insulting. My Vanderbilt team also landed a No. 5 seed and SJU is a better team than Vandy. I would have placed the Red Storm as a No. 3 seed (a four seed at the minimum).

(And GW11 with a nice "First 50 Out" zinger regarding Marquette. Dazzy chuckled.)

I agree, Bill. Winning your league, especially a power conference, should mean something.

I have to wonder if their is an unfolding perception/narrative that the Big East is losing some of its lustre. If so, it becomes all the more important that the three BE members in the Big Dance do well this time.

Good luck to UConn, Bill.

Yes, Bill, I’ve seen the chest thumping by the Johnny-come-latelies. But didn’t the Big East get 5 bids just last year? This seems like the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?”

Even this year, 10 of the 11 Big East members finished in the NET top 100. And the 11th member was DePaul, ranked at 102. So, what the Big East lacked in tournament teams this year, it certainly made up for in depth.

Here is the number of Big East tournament bids each year for the past 5 years:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 3
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

That’s an average of 4.4 bids per year. Not too shabby for an 11 team league. Adding the obvious, 2 of the last 3 national champions have come out of the Big East and 4 of the last 9. In addition, the league has produced 8 Sweet 16’s, 4 Elite 8’s, and 3 Final Fours over the past 5 years. We’re not talking about ancient history, we’re talking about the recent past. For an 11 team league, that’s excellent.

When the Big East got only 3 bids 2 years ago, it bounced back and got 5 the next year. I expect the same thing to happen next year after this year’s 3 bids.

The more I think about it, the angrier I am with the way the selection committee handled things this year. After winning the BE regular season title and the BET, St. John's deserved better than a 5 seed. I'm also tired of the argument they lost OOC games back in November. If the committee gives as much weight to those games as late February and March games, well they shouldn't. With the portal and roster reconstruction that takes place every year, early season games don't deserve equal weight. If St John's had beaten Iowa St, instead of losing by one to them, and instead lost two of three to UConn, would that have made the committee happy, since the OOC would have been better.? Winning 19 pf 20 down the stretch should have counted for more than it did. And then they get sent to San Diego, forced to fly cross country for their games, and likely limiting their own fans from attending. And if they survive that they then fly cross country again to their next game.

Also it's BS that St john's and UConn are in the same bracket, as Coach K said himself. After a down BE year the only way to have redeemed itself would have been two in the Final Four. The committee made sure that has no chance to happen. Nova only has a shot to win one before being sent home, but I hope the Huskies and Johnnies do manage to play in that Elite Eight game.

(03-17-2026 12:07 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 08:56 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:29 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-15-2026 07:02 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I'm very surprised Saint John's was seeded No. 5. That almost seems insulting. My Vanderbilt team also landed a No. 5 seed and SJU is a better team than Vandy. I would have placed the Red Storm as a No. 3 seed (a four seed at the minimum).

(And GW11 with a nice "First 50 Out" zinger regarding Marquette. Dazzy chuckled.)

I agree, Bill. Winning your league, especially a power conference, should mean something.

I have to wonder if their is an unfolding perception/narrative that the Big East is losing some of its lustre. If so, it becomes all the more important that the three BE members in the Big Dance do well this time.

Good luck to UConn, Bill.

Yes, Bill, I’ve seen the chest thumping by the Johnny-come-latelies. But didn’t the Big East get 5 bids just last year? This seems like the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?”

Even this year, 10 of the 11 Big East members finished in the NET top 100. And the 11th member was DePaul, ranked at 102. So, what the Big East lacked in tournament teams this year, it certainly made up for in depth.

Here is the number of Big East tournament bids each year for the past 5 years:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 3
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

That’s an average of 4.4 bids per year. Not too shabby for an 11 team league. Adding the obvious, 2 of the last 3 national champions have come out of the Big East and 4 of the last 9. In addition, the league has produced 8 Sweet 16’s, 4 Elite 8’s, and 3 Final Fours over the past 5 years. We’re not talking about ancient history, we’re talking about the recent past. For an 11 team league, that’s excellent.

When the Big East got only 3 bids 2 years ago, it bounced back and got 5 the next year. I expect the same thing to happen next year after this year’s 3 bids.

The detractors will counter your argument with two points, Bill:

1. the Big East has landed a mere two at-large invites in two of the past three seasons (which on paper, we all can agree is not good optics for the league).

2. the Big East, compared to the other four leagues of note, remains too top-heavy. Until, say, Saint John's, Creighton or Marquette makes it to the Final Four, the critics will argue the league is defined as UConn, to a lesser extent Nova, to an even lesser extent SJU ... and then the "other eight." Saint John's loss to Arkansas last tourney strongly hurt, fueling the "lack of depth" argument the conference's critics make.

Next season will be important. The BE needs to land at least three (and preferably four) at-large bids.

(03-17-2026 01:56 PM)Traderwill Wrote:  The more I think about it, the angrier I am with the way the selection committee handled things this year. After winning the BE regular season title and the BET, St. John's deserved better than a 5 seed. I'm also tired of the argument they lost OOC games back in November. If the committee gives as much weight to those games as late February and March games, well they shouldn't. With the portal and roster reconstruction that takes place every year, early season games don't deserve equal weight. If St John's had beaten Iowa St, instead of losing by one to them, and instead lost two of three to UConn, would that have made the committee happy, since the OOC would have been better.? Winning 19 pf 20 down the stretch should have counted for more than it did. And then they get sent to San Diego, forced to fly cross country for their games, and likely limiting their own fans from attending. And if they survive that they then fly cross country again to their next game.

Also it's BS that St john's and UConn are in the same bracket, as Coach K said himself. After a down BE year the only way to have redeemed itself would have been two in the Final Four. The committee made sure that has no chance to happen. Nova only has a shot to win one before being sent home, but I hope the Huskies and Johnnies do manage to play in that Elite Eight game.

The Big East strongly needs Saint John's in the Final Four instead of UConn, TWill. I explain why in my response to the venerable Bill Marsh.

And I agree fully: putting SJU with a No. 5 seed is insulting. SJU is better than my Vanderbilt team, which is also a No. 5. I love my Commodores, but the Red Storm won the Big East tourney and deserved at least a No. 4 seed, and maybe a No. 3.

(03-17-2026 02:05 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 01:56 PM)Traderwill Wrote:  The more I think about it, the angrier I am with the way the selection committee handled things this year. After winning the BE regular season title and the BET, St. John's deserved better than a 5 seed. I'm also tired of the argument they lost OOC games back in November. If the committee gives as much weight to those games as late February and March games, well they shouldn't. With the portal and roster reconstruction that takes place every year, early season games don't deserve equal weight. If St John's had beaten Iowa St, instead of losing by one to them, and instead lost two of three to UConn, would that have made the committee happy, since the OOC would have been better.? Winning 19 pf 20 down the stretch should have counted for more than it did. And then they get sent to San Diego, forced to fly cross country for their games, and likely limiting their own fans from attending. And if they survive that they then fly cross country again to their next game.

Also it's BS that St john's and UConn are in the same bracket, as Coach K said himself. After a down BE year the only way to have redeemed itself would have been two in the Final Four. The committee made sure that has no chance to happen. Nova only has a shot to win one before being sent home, but I hope the Huskies and Johnnies do manage to play in that Elite Eight game.

The Big East strongly needs Saint John's in the Final Four instead of UConn, TWill. I explain why in my response to the venerable Bill Marsh.

And I agree fully: putting SJU with a No. 5 seed is insulting. SJU is better than my Vanderbilt team, which is also a No. 5. I love my Commodores, but the Red Storm won the Big East tourney and deserved at least a No. 4 seed, and maybe a No. 3.

Don’t disagree at all, but those losses and lack of good wins in non-conference play were obviously well noted by the selection committee. The Red Storm coalesced very nicely down the stretch, but those factors were an albatross in seeding.

(03-17-2026 03:44 PM)Nukem2 Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 02:05 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 01:56 PM)Traderwill Wrote:  The more I think about it, the angrier I am with the way the selection committee handled things this year. After winning the BE regular season title and the BET, St. John's deserved better than a 5 seed. I'm also tired of the argument they lost OOC games back in November. If the committee gives as much weight to those games as late February and March games, well they shouldn't. With the portal and roster reconstruction that takes place every year, early season games don't deserve equal weight. If St John's had beaten Iowa St, instead of losing by one to them, and instead lost two of three to UConn, would that have made the committee happy, since the OOC would have been better.? Winning 19 pf 20 down the stretch should have counted for more than it did. And then they get sent to San Diego, forced to fly cross country for their games, and likely limiting their own fans from attending. And if they survive that they then fly cross country again to their next game.

Also it's BS that St john's and UConn are in the same bracket, as Coach K said himself. After a down BE year the only way to have redeemed itself would have been two in the Final Four. The committee made sure that has no chance to happen. Nova only has a shot to win one before being sent home, but I hope the Huskies and Johnnies do manage to play in that Elite Eight game.

The Big East strongly needs Saint John's in the Final Four instead of UConn, TWill. I explain why in my response to the venerable Bill Marsh.

And I agree fully: putting SJU with a No. 5 seed is insulting. SJU is better than my Vanderbilt team, which is also a No. 5. I love my Commodores, but the Red Storm won the Big East tourney and deserved at least a No. 4 seed, and maybe a No. 3.

Don’t disagree at all, but those losses and lack of good wins in non-conference play were obviously well noted by the selection committee. The Red Storm coalesced very nicely down the stretch, but those factors were an albatross in seeding.

No doubt, Nukem2. I just feel that dynamic should not have hurt SJU as much as the committee clearly felt.

To be clear, I'm glad Vanderbilt is a No. 5 seek (we have a nice bracket set-up). But I've seen Vandy and SJU enough this season to know that the Red Storm is a notch better team. And, as such, deserved a notch better seeding.

But that's just my opinion. Many disagree.

realistically though there isn't much of a difference from a 4 or 5 seed. When 4 and 5 have played in rd 2, it's 4 seeds with 55 wins vs 5 seeds with 47 wins. So pretty close. Would probably still have had to travel out west.

(03-17-2026 01:56 PM)Traderwill Wrote:  The more I think about it, the angrier I am with the way the selection committee handled things this year. After winning the BE regular season title and the BET, St. John's deserved better than a 5 seed. I'm also tired of the argument they lost OOC games back in November. If the committee gives as much weight to those games as late February and March games, well they shouldn't. With the portal and roster reconstruction that takes place every year, early season games don't deserve equal weight. If St John's had beaten Iowa St, instead of losing by one to them, and instead lost two of three to UConn, would that have made the committee happy, since the OOC would have been better.? Winning 19 pf 20 down the stretch should have counted for more than it did. And then they get sent to San Diego, forced to fly cross country for their games, and likely limiting their own fans from attending. And if they survive that they then fly cross country again to their next game.

Also it's BS that St john's and UConn are in the same bracket, as Coach K said himself. After a down BE year the only way to have redeemed itself would have been two in the Final Four. The committee made sure that has no chance to happen. Nova only has a shot to win one before being sent home, but I hope the Huskies and Johnnies do manage to play in that Elite Eight game.

I agree with your point about sticking both teams in the same bracket. I saw the committee chair talking about their "scrub" that they always do. How was putting the top 2 teams in the Big East in the same bracket not accounted for? Pretty BS.

Now to play devils advocate a bit. As much as I agree with you winning 19 out of 20 down the stretch should matter, I have 2 points to counter that. For one, I agree with people like Rob Dauster who said if the committee (and more importantly the networks) wants the general public to stay interested in the marquee OOC matchups early in the year they need to weigh all of the games equally. Also, St Johns was rewarded last year for dominating the Big East after struggling early in the season with a 2 seed. They then proceeded to lose in the Round of 32. Combine that with the fact they were absolutely blown out in that one loss, to a team that limped to the finish line, and I can see why they were a little hesitant to give them a better seed. I still think they should have been at least a 4, but that is basically splitting hairs.

(03-17-2026 12:07 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 08:56 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:29 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-15-2026 07:02 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I'm very surprised Saint John's was seeded No. 5. That almost seems insulting. My Vanderbilt team also landed a No. 5 seed and SJU is a better team than Vandy. I would have placed the Red Storm as a No. 3 seed (a four seed at the minimum).

(And GW11 with a nice "First 50 Out" zinger regarding Marquette. Dazzy chuckled.)

I agree, Bill. Winning your league, especially a power conference, should mean something.

I have to wonder if their is an unfolding perception/narrative that the Big East is losing some of its lustre. If so, it becomes all the more important that the three BE members in the Big Dance do well this time.

Good luck to UConn, Bill.

Yes, Bill, I’ve seen the chest thumping by the Johnny-come-latelies. But didn’t the Big East get 5 bids just last year? This seems like the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?”

Even this year, 10 of the 11 Big East members finished in the NET top 100. And the 11th member was DePaul, ranked at 102. So, what the Big East lacked in tournament teams this year, it certainly made up for in depth.

Here is the number of Big East tournament bids each year for the past 5 years:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 3
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

That’s an average of 4.4 bids per year. Not too shabby for an 11 team league. Adding the obvious, 2 of the last 3 national champions have come out of the Big East and 4 of the last 9. In addition, the league has produced 8 Sweet 16’s, 4 Elite 8’s, and 3 Final Fours over the past 5 years. We’re not talking about ancient history, we’re talking about the recent past. For an 11 team league, that’s excellent.

When the Big East got only 3 bids 2 years ago, it bounced back and got 5 the next year. I expect the same thing to happen next year after this year’s 3 bids.

The whole lack of bids for the conference is substantially overblown. How easily people forget there were 5 bid thieves in 2024, and the Big East had the top 2 teams left out of the field that season. Drop that to 3 bid thieves and instead you have:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 5
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

So the league would have basically gotten half the teams in the league in the tournament every season until this year. The overall number is low because there aren't close to 20 teams in the league the way there are in the other leagues

(03-17-2026 06:43 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 12:07 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 08:56 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:29 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-15-2026 07:02 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I'm very surprised Saint John's was seeded No. 5. That almost seems insulting. My Vanderbilt team also landed a No. 5 seed and SJU is a better team than Vandy. I would have placed the Red Storm as a No. 3 seed (a four seed at the minimum).

(And GW11 with a nice "First 50 Out" zinger regarding Marquette. Dazzy chuckled.)

I agree, Bill. Winning your league, especially a power conference, should mean something.

I have to wonder if their is an unfolding perception/narrative that the Big East is losing some of its lustre. If so, it becomes all the more important that the three BE members in the Big Dance do well this time.

Good luck to UConn, Bill.

Yes, Bill, I’ve seen the chest thumping by the Johnny-come-latelies. But didn’t the Big East get 5 bids just last year? This seems like the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?”

Even this year, 10 of the 11 Big East members finished in the NET top 100. And the 11th member was DePaul, ranked at 102. So, what the Big East lacked in tournament teams this year, it certainly made up for in depth.

Here is the number of Big East tournament bids each year for the past 5 years:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 3
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

That’s an average of 4.4 bids per year. Not too shabby for an 11 team league. Adding the obvious, 2 of the last 3 national champions have come out of the Big East and 4 of the last 9. In addition, the league has produced 8 Sweet 16’s, 4 Elite 8’s, and 3 Final Fours over the past 5 years. We’re not talking about ancient history, we’re talking about the recent past. For an 11 team league, that’s excellent.

When the Big East got only 3 bids 2 years ago, it bounced back and got 5 the next year. I expect the same thing to happen next year after this year’s 3 bids.

The whole lack of bids for the conference is substantially overblown. How easily people forget there were 5 bid thieves in 2024, and the Big East had the top 2 teams left out of the field that season. Drop that to 3 bid thieves and instead you have:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 5
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

So the league would have basically gotten half the teams in the league in the tournament every season until this year. The overall number is low because there aren't close to 20 teams in the league the way there are in the other leagues

so I looked and 2024 only Seton Hall was the 2nd team out. St John's was at least the 5th team out.

(03-17-2026 06:47 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:43 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 12:07 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 08:56 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:29 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  I agree, Bill. Winning your league, especially a power conference, should mean something.

I have to wonder if their is an unfolding perception/narrative that the Big East is losing some of its lustre. If so, it becomes all the more important that the three BE members in the Big Dance do well this time.

Good luck to UConn, Bill.

Yes, Bill, I’ve seen the chest thumping by the Johnny-come-latelies. But didn’t the Big East get 5 bids just last year? This seems like the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?”

Even this year, 10 of the 11 Big East members finished in the NET top 100. And the 11th member was DePaul, ranked at 102. So, what the Big East lacked in tournament teams this year, it certainly made up for in depth.

Here is the number of Big East tournament bids each year for the past 5 years:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 3
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

That’s an average of 4.4 bids per year. Not too shabby for an 11 team league. Adding the obvious, 2 of the last 3 national champions have come out of the Big East and 4 of the last 9. In addition, the league has produced 8 Sweet 16’s, 4 Elite 8’s, and 3 Final Fours over the past 5 years. We’re not talking about ancient history, we’re talking about the recent past. For an 11 team league, that’s excellent.

When the Big East got only 3 bids 2 years ago, it bounced back and got 5 the next year. I expect the same thing to happen next year after this year’s 3 bids.

The whole lack of bids for the conference is substantially overblown. How easily people forget there were 5 bid thieves in 2024, and the Big East had the top 2 teams left out of the field that season. Drop that to 3 bid thieves and instead you have:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 5
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

So the league would have basically gotten half the teams in the league in the tournament every season until this year. The overall number is low because there aren't close to 20 teams in the league the way there are in the other leagues

so I looked and 2024 only Seton Hall was the 2nd team out. St John's was at least the 5th team out.

I could have sworn SJU was going to be the top overall seed in the NIT and hence was the first team out. They declined their invitation to the NIT so they obviously did nothing in the post season.

What are you using to check?

Edit: I just found a video showed my the first 4 out from that year and you are indeed correct. Many had St Johns as in the field or their first four out which is why I recalled it that way. They were only 20-13 but their metrics were strong: 24th in BPI, 26th in KP, 32nd in NET for example

(03-17-2026 04:57 PM)stever20 Wrote:  realistically though there isn't much of a difference from a 4 or 5 seed. When 4 and 5 have played in rd 2, it's 4 seeds with 55 wins vs 5 seeds with 47 wins. So pretty close. Would probably still have had to travel out west.

Given the history of 5’s being upset by 12’s, I’d say there’s a big difference between a 4 and a 5.

So here is Saint John's path to the Final Four

Game 1: Vs. Northern Iowa. I see that six of UNI top nine players are listed as forwards. Various articles note UNI plays a very slow-paced offense and gets back with discipline on defense (limiting foes to a mere 61 points per game). And the team doesn't foul much, with its 15.5 fouls per game ranking No. 37 nationally (of 365 DI teams). Perhaps most important: Apparently, the team has a lot of players back from last year.

My take: This will be a VERY tough first-round game for the Red Storm

Game 2: The winner of Kansas and Cal-Baptist. Barring a major upset, SJU will face Kansas, a No. 4 seed. A tough match-up but the Jayhawks (23-10) have been inconsistent this season. In an odd way, this game might not be as difficult as the Northern Iowa contest.

Game 3: Duke, Sienna, Ohio State or TCU. If Duke had starters Caleb Foster (PG) and Patrick Ngongb II ©, we could essentially pencil the Blue Devils into the national title game. But Foster is almost certainly out, so Saint John's will have a shot.

Game 4: This opponent could be one of many: Louisville, Michigan State, UConn and UCLA are the logical picks. But UCF and USF. And what if North Dakota State stuns Michigan State in the first round and then goes on a roll? And, yes, that could happen.

The safe bet is UConn, which would be out for revenge against Saint John's (after the drubbing at the hands of the Red Storm in the Big East tourney final). But Pitino's lads know they can handle the Huskies.

So my take is this: SJU will need to beat Northern Iowa, Kansas, Duke and UConn to go to Indy. It won't be easy — but it's doable.

And make no mistake: Big East front office officials want SJU in the Final Four over UConn (though they can't say that publicly). It would be "nice optics" for the BE to have a program other than Nova or UConn in a Final Four.

(03-17-2026 08:34 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 04:57 PM)stever20 Wrote:  realistically though there isn't much of a difference from a 4 or 5 seed. When 4 and 5 have played in rd 2, it's 4 seeds with 55 wins vs 5 seeds with 47 wins. So pretty close. Would probably still have had to travel out west.

Given the history of 5’s being upset by 12’s, I’d say there’s a big difference between a 4 and a 5.

Yep. That is why I was hoping Vanderbilt might sneak in with a No. 4 seed. Was not meant to be, so we had to settle for a No. 5.

(03-17-2026 07:06 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:47 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:43 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 12:07 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 08:56 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I have to wonder if their is an unfolding perception/narrative that the Big East is losing some of its lustre. If so, it becomes all the more important that the three BE members in the Big Dance do well this time.

Good luck to UConn, Bill.

Yes, Bill, I’ve seen the chest thumping by the Johnny-come-latelies. But didn’t the Big East get 5 bids just last year? This seems like the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?”

Even this year, 10 of the 11 Big East members finished in the NET top 100. And the 11th member was DePaul, ranked at 102. So, what the Big East lacked in tournament teams this year, it certainly made up for in depth.

Here is the number of Big East tournament bids each year for the past 5 years:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 3
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

That’s an average of 4.4 bids per year. Not too shabby for an 11 team league. Adding the obvious, 2 of the last 3 national champions have come out of the Big East and 4 of the last 9. In addition, the league has produced 8 Sweet 16’s, 4 Elite 8’s, and 3 Final Fours over the past 5 years. We’re not talking about ancient history, we’re talking about the recent past. For an 11 team league, that’s excellent.

When the Big East got only 3 bids 2 years ago, it bounced back and got 5 the next year. I expect the same thing to happen next year after this year’s 3 bids.

The whole lack of bids for the conference is substantially overblown. How easily people forget there were 5 bid thieves in 2024, and the Big East had the top 2 teams left out of the field that season. Drop that to 3 bid thieves and instead you have:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 5
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

So the league would have basically gotten half the teams in the league in the tournament every season until this year. The overall number is low because there aren't close to 20 teams in the league the way there are in the other leagues

so I looked and 2024 only Seton Hall was the 2nd team out. St John's was at least the 5th team out.

I could have sworn SJU was going to be the top overall seed in the NIT and hence was the first team out. They declined their invitation to the NIT so they obviously did nothing in the post season.

What are you using to check?

Edit: I just found a video showed my the first 4 out from that year and you are indeed correct. Many had St Johns as in the field or their first four out which is why I recalled it that way. They were only 20-13 but their metrics were strong: 24th in BPI, 26th in KP, 32nd in NET for example

Regardless of whether Seton Hall & St. John’s were the first 2 out or 2 of the first 5, your point is well taken, Nameless, which is that they were very close to being a 5 bid league - and it took the unusual situation of 5 bid thieves to accomplish that. If we just use the number of bids, we’re missing a lot. Dig just a little deeper and we’re still dealing with a very strong league. It takes more than 1 or even 2 years of 3 bids to say that a league is not what it once was - especially when those 3 bid seasons are mixed in with 4 and 5 bid seasons.

To quote Mark Twain, “Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

(03-18-2026 07:39 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 07:06 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:47 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 06:43 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(03-17-2026 12:07 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  Yes, Bill, I’ve seen the chest thumping by the Johnny-come-latelies. But didn’t the Big East get 5 bids just last year? This seems like the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?”

Even this year, 10 of the 11 Big East members finished in the NET top 100. And the 11th member was DePaul, ranked at 102. So, what the Big East lacked in tournament teams this year, it certainly made up for in depth.

Here is the number of Big East tournament bids each year for the past 5 years:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 3
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

That’s an average of 4.4 bids per year. Not too shabby for an 11 team league. Adding the obvious, 2 of the last 3 national champions have come out of the Big East and 4 of the last 9. In addition, the league has produced 8 Sweet 16’s, 4 Elite 8’s, and 3 Final Fours over the past 5 years. We’re not talking about ancient history, we’re talking about the recent past. For an 11 team league, that’s excellent.

When the Big East got only 3 bids 2 years ago, it bounced back and got 5 the next year. I expect the same thing to happen next year after this year’s 3 bids.

The whole lack of bids for the conference is substantially overblown. How easily people forget there were 5 bid thieves in 2024, and the Big East had the top 2 teams left out of the field that season. Drop that to 3 bid thieves and instead you have:

2022 - 6
2023 - 5
2024 - 5
2025 - 5
2026 - 3

So the league would have basically gotten half the teams in the league in the tournament every season until this year. The overall number is low because there aren't close to 20 teams in the league the way there are in the other leagues

so I looked and 2024 only Seton Hall was the 2nd team out. St John's was at least the 5th team out.

I could have sworn SJU was going to be the top overall seed in the NIT and hence was the first team out. They declined their invitation to the NIT so they obviously did nothing in the post season.

What are you using to check?

Edit: I just found a video showed my the first 4 out from that year and you are indeed correct. Many had St Johns as in the field or their first four out which is why I recalled it that way. They were only 20-13 but their metrics were strong: 24th in BPI, 26th in KP, 32nd in NET for example

Regardless of whether Seton Hall & St. John’s were the first 2 out or 2 of the first 5, your point is well taken, Nameless, which is that they were very close to being a 5 bidleague. If we just use the number of bids, we’re missing a lot. Dig just a little deeper and we’re still dealing with a very strong league. It takes more than 1 or even 2 years of 3 bids to say that a league is not what it once was - especially when those 3 bid seasons are mixed in with 4 and 5 bid seasons.

To quote Mark Twain, “Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

All of us on the Big East board know the BE is a strong league, Bill.

But I'm not sure that's the issue.

The question is simple: Is the national perception of the Big East changing, and in a less-than-positive manner, due to various factors (some of which are circumstantial and others of which could be because of league and league member shortcomings)?

We don't know yet.