Pre-Season Outllook from Rothstein

[redmen9194]

Officiating will be a big part of how everyone does. I believe the officiating is going to follow what has always been Big East style of play - that is to allow a good amount of contact. Remember, we were the league that experimented with six fouls in the early nineties.

[GumbyDamnit!]

But Creighton struggled to beat Cinn in tourney and Cinn finished tied for 9th in the league with Providence.

I completely understand someone not picking Creighton to win the league (hell, I'm picking Marquette myself), but this is about the lamest reason ever. Using this same sort of logic, I guess that since Villanova lost in the NCAA tourney to George Mason in 2011, 'Nova couldn't have hoped to compete in the CAA that year. See how ridiculous that sounds?

But before we crown Creighton an elite BE team, let them go on the road into a couple hostile environments vs the top teams and see how they do. Even more, where exactly are the days off for them this year like they have been used to?

First of all, I haven't seen anyone crowning Creighton.

Secondly, you have a bit of a point, but what I think you fail to take into consideration is that in our prior league, we were the big dogs that everybody else got fired up to play. Almost always, we were each opponent's biggest home game. Teams that had mediocre attendance during the season came out in big numbers to root against Creighton. In fact, I would contend that the roadies as a whole may have been more hostile than we see this coming season, simply for that one factor (I don't think there will be a ton of built up hatred for Creighton this year, but that can certainly change over time). Further, as far as hostile environments go, I'd suggest that it would be pretty difficult to be more hostile than what they put together at Wichita yearly. Those people hate Creighton and are not afraid of letting the players know.... On top of that, every team was more focused as they wanted to knock off Creighton more than anybody else. There is a lot of pressure on the players backs when you are expected to win every game.

I completely agree that there will be adjustments. Travel may well be one of the biggest, simply because Creighton will be seeing venues for the very first time and staying at new hotels, finding new places to eat, etc. (i.e., there is no routine established yet). Scouting will also be unbalanced as Creighton has to learn every team's tendencies, whereas the C7 only have three new teams to learn about. If you want to use those reasons to justify a lower rank for Creighton, I wouldn't argue, but using one game in the NCAA tournament as the measuring test seems remarkably weak to me.

I understand that it is natural to get defensive about your team. I am not trying to be critical of Creighton. I have repeated that I believe Creighton to be a quality program, last year, and expect the same this year. My point with the Cinn game is to illustrate that the 9/10 best team in the BE gave you all that you could handle last year. I don't care about single game comparisons (eg - x beat y and y beat z so x is better than z). That's not my point. My point is that when you are in a league with 5-6 other tourney teams (or 8 others as was the case in last years BE) instead of just one, it takes a lot to get yourself up, night in and night out. And, yes, there seems to be several posters and experts that are suggesting that Creighton will be at the top of the league this year. I am just offering an opinion on why I think it may be a tough road to hoe for them in their inaugural year in the conference. I think Xavier and Butler will have less of an adjustment period as the A10, with SLU, Temple, LaSalle, VCU gave them a taste of how a deep conference can wear on you. I'm OK if you disagree. That's what boards are all about. I think Nova will be a top 3 team this year. Many on here will probably diagree with that.

[FriarJ]

Now we are getting somewhere, I can't wait for the games to start so we can start disliking each other. Rivalries need to be formed and we need to end this love fest.

[FlyByNight101]

Now we are getting somewhere, I can't wait for the games to start so we can start disliking each other. Rivalries need to be formed and we need to end this love fest.

You think it is a lovefest now - just wait until Non-conference games start, a think a lot of us will be watching every BE game available and pulling for the conference almost as loudly as our own guys...that being said, I too am VERY excited to see new rivalries form and play out.

[billyjack]

I think the difference between the Big East and other conferences, in general, is that every possession and every shot is contested and defended. Offensively, there are no easy points. On defense, if you fall asleep, the other team with immediately burn you. It's typically 40 minutes of high intensity.

The physical-ness ---> it's not so much hacking and grabbing (except Louisville and Pitt perfected that)... it's the intensity on both sides of the ball.

[billyjack]

Now we are getting somewhere, I can't wait for the games to start so we can start disliking each other. Rivalries need to be formed and we need to end this love fest.

You think it is a lovefest now - just wait until Non-conference games start, a think a lot of us will be watching every BE game available and pulling for the conference almost as loudly as our own guys...that being said, I too am VERY excited to see new rivalries form and play out.

Yeah, exactly! That'll make the OOC conference games awesome. Just win baby.

Significant Friar Games:
- Nov 8th home vs Boston College (huge to start off running BC-ACC off the floor).
- at UMass.
- Paradise Jam vs Vanderbilt (other solid matchups could be vs LaSalle and/or Maryland).
- Dec 1st at Barclays Center vs Kentucky.
- at URI (rivalry game).

in all but the Kentucky game, we should be favored.

[Westbrook36]

Yeah that lovey-dovey feeling is wearing off pretty damn fast. No way Nova is a realistic #2? Wow, it's an easy argument to make to rank us that high; everyone has some question marks, Nova has fewer than most. I love how everyone is sleeping on us this year, rest assured Villanova will be a strong contender for the BE title.

[BillikensWin]

Now we are getting somewhere, I can't wait for the games to start so we can start disliking each other. Rivalries need to be formed and we need to end this love fest.

You think it is a lovefest now - just wait until Non-conference games start, a think a lot of us will be watching every BE game available and pulling for the conference almost as loudly as our own guys...that being said, I too am VERY excited to see new rivalries form and play out.

Yeah, exactly! That'll make the OOC conference games awesome. Just win baby.

Significant Friar Games:
- Nov 8th home vs Boston College (huge to start off running BC-ACC off the floor).
- at UMass.
- Paradise Jam vs Vanderbilt (other solid matchups could be vs LaSalle and/or Maryland).
- Dec 1st at Barclays Center vs Kentucky.
- at URI (rivalry game).

in all but the Kentucky game, we should be favored.

My team's not in the Big East, but beating the Calipari Mercenaries would be awesome to watch.

[DemonBaby]

I'm going on the record right now saying DePaul gets at least 6 wins in the conference this year. We still might finish 9-10th but we will be better.

[aughnanure]

I hope 6 wins gets you more than 9th or 10th. To be honest, we need teams to be straight doormats for the top and middle of the league to thrive. 9th or 10th should be more like 4 wins each (max) or the middle of the league is probably losing too much.