Expert bracketologist Joe Lunardi returns for the 2009-2010 campaign with his initial breakdown of the field of 64. As we all know, this means absolutely nothing, and this bracket will look very different come March. Anyway, for what it’s worth, Villanova is ranked as a 2 seed in the East (Syracuse) region.
There were a few things that caught my eye right away in terms of the Big East. First, I don’t think Marquette will be challenging for a bid this year, as Lunardi has them as “one of the first four out.” Losing Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Mathews is too much to overcome this year in my opinion. In the “next four out” Lunardi has Cincinnati. No, this program has not had much success since the Bob Huggins era, but this year’s team has a good chance to make the tournament and even be a decent seed. They bring back a good nucleus to go along with freshman phenom Lance Stephenson. Lastly, Pittsburgh was given an 8 seed. I think Jamie Dixon is a great coach and always admire the toughness of the Pitt teams, but it wouldn’t shock me to see the Panthers on the outside looking in. No doubt, though, they will be very well prepared and play each game extremely hard.
We will see how it unfolds over the course of the season. The excitement continues to build as we head towards Friday night and the Fairleigh Dickinson game.
Added by Chris:
I do not like Joe Lunardi one bit, and frankly I am surprised to see him give us this kind of respect this early on. I think we would all sign up for a 2-seed right now, especially with the inexperience of some of our team. That projection is entirely dependent on a lot of guys growing up fast.
As for the other Big East projections, I agree that I have a tough time seeing Marquette in the at-large mix. Hayward is a great player but too many new parts to go along with not much experience. If Jimmy Butler can become a go-to-guy though, they could sneak in. Cincinnati is a near lock for the tournament to me. Too much talent. I actually think Pittsburgh will be higher than an 8 seed. Whenever they are highly-rated they underachieve (last year is a good example) and whenever people think they are rebuilding they tend to exceed expectations.
