I Bleed Blue and White

This is always a weird couple of weeks in terms of operating a blog. From whenever the last game before Christmas is, til the New Year, nothing really happens for Villanova basketball. In fact, sometimes I forget I even care. So if you were wondering why you haven’t heard from me in a week or two (I pretty much shut it down after the Fordham game), that’s why.

But hey, BIG EAST basketball (really, one of my favorite seasons – not just for ‘Nova) has already started. Seton Hall ( a dangerous, dangerous team) almost knocked off West Virginia last weekend and Saturday marks the conference opener for our Wildcats. Time to flip the switch back on and jump in the foxhole for the meatgrinder of a conference we play in. And with that, let’s take a look at each our our foes, and what may lie in store for us.

(Note: These are ranked in approximate order of difficulty, and is no way a prediction of finish.)

Syracuse Orange (12-0) – Absolutely the surprise team of the year. We all had them pegged as a middle-tier team, but that was mainly because of the LeMoyne disaster, and because we didn’t know how good Wesley Johnson was. He’s easily the most impressive player in the conference so far. They’ve got a good win (North Carolina) and two wins that look less impressive now (Cal, Florida). They also haven’t left the state of New York yet. Their one “road” game was vs. UNC at Madison Square Garden. But they’ve looked good.

West Virginia Mountaineers (10-0, 1-0) – They’ve got a lot of talent, but they haven’t looked as dominant as they should. They almost blew it at Seton Hall before winning in OT, and Devin Ebanks hasn’t exactly been all there this season. They’ll need better play out of their guards if they want to go far, but their height and length will give a lot of teams problems. And I’m pretty confident saying they won’t lose in Morgantown this year.

UConn Huskies (9-2) – Very talented, but very young and are still learning to play together. The guards are some of the best in the conference, but the frontline is raw and there isn’t a ton of depth. They’ll be scarier later in the year once they begin to gel. Their two losses were to Duke and Kentucky, not exactly anything to be ashamed of. Then again, they’ve struggled mightily with teams they should be cruising past, which is a little something to be worried about if you are Jim Calhoun.

Georgetown Hoyas (9-1) – They have the best big man in the conference in Greg Monroe, who is finally starting to realize his potential, but I’m not sure how much else they have. Just seems like a lot of role players in a system that is tough to play against if you aren’t ready for it. The wins against Washington and Butler are nice, but the loss to Old Dominion is a head-scratcher. They aren’t going to be challenging for the conference title, but nobody is going to want to play them all year.

Cincinnati Bearcats (8-3) – You all have heard about Lance Stephenson, who even I have to admit is starting to look like a semblance of a teammate. But the bigger story is the rest of the team, led by Deonta Vaughn and Yancy Gates. They’re big, physical, and flat-out better than their 3 losses in my opinion. Let’s just say I’m not stoked about having to play at their house late in the year. They’ve lost to Gonzaga and Xavier in OT, as well as UAB on the road. The last one is the only one that makes you curious.

Seton Hall Pirates (9-2, 0-1) – I’m not sure what I’m less shocked by: Jeremy Hazell going off for 41 points against West Virginia or Bobby Gonzalez going light on the punishments. Either way, these guys are good. I have them pegged in the Top 6, but I’m starting to waver a good bit. They lost to the aforementioned Mountaineers in OT and Temple (I’m going to shut up now).

Pittsburgh Panthers (11-2, 1-0) – Definitely going to be a down year for these guys. New set of core players, but same old gritty, grind it out mentality under Jamie Dixon. Another team I wish we were playing at home. Started off the conference slate by easily handling DePaul. They’re tough, and they’ll win a few they shouldn’t because of that. But that loss to Indiana is going to look really, really bad when they’re on the bubble later this year.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-2) – Same thing as always in South Bend. Live and die by the 3-ball and Luke Harangody, and defense is completely optional. We’ve learned this is par for the course under Mike Brey. They’ll knock off a few big boys because of Harangody and their shooting a few times, but their will many more nights like Loyola-Marymount.

Marquette Golden Eagles (9-3) - Ahh, our first opponent (more on them tomorrow). Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler have stepped it up in production in the wake of all those seniors who left. They scored a couple nice wins over Xavier and Michigan but then lost to the only other 3 real teams they played after that (Florida State, North Carolina St., Wisconsin). Hayward will carry them as far as they go. Playing them twice in the first week of the conference season is not cool. Then again, getting them out of the way early is kind of cool.

Louisville Cardinal (9-3) – Frankly, they’re a mystery. They lost to UNLV in late November and then the wheels fell off in consecutive losses to Charlotte and Western Carolina. Samardo Samuels and Edgar Sosa are the main inside-out combo, but man, these guys really miss Earl Clark and Terrence Williams. I’m not sure even the great womanizer Rick Pitino has enough to get these guys to the top of the BIG EAST.

St. John’s Red Storm (10-2) – Much better than the last few versions of this team, but who knows if they have enough to really make some noise. They did play Duke and Cornell (not your typical Ivy) tough in close-losses, and scored a nice win over Temple (again, I’m sick). They’re definitely on the upswing.

South Florida Bulls (10-2) – Still sticking with them for a big jump. Gus Gilchrist and Jarrid Famous are a mean pair inside and Dominique Jones can fill it up from his guard spot. Their arena can sometimes feel like a morgue, which is why at least one of the powers will fall there just like Marquette did last season. Be glad we get them at home this year.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-3) – They haven’t exactly been beating the brakes off of the weak teams so far, but then again they gave UNC a decent fight last night in a loss. As a friend put it to me yesterday, Mike Rosario can fill it up as fast as Scottie Reynolds can, but it might take him 20+ shots to accomplish. Verdict: he’s a chucker.

Providence Friars (8-4) – One of my favorite teams to watch when I randomly bump into them on TV. Keno Davis lost too much experience to make a tourney run, but that hasn’t stopped the fun ‘n gun offense out in Rhode Island. The 110-97 victory at George Washington either gave Friars fans an erection or caused irreparable emotional damage. Head on over to FriarBlog to comment on that.

DePaul Blue Demons (7-6) – Enjoy your last days of +.500 basketball Demon fans. What started out as a nice outlook has quickly hit the skids as of late. After barely losing to Tennessee, they went on a bad stretch against some real teams, with the stretch mercifully ending with a loss to Florida Gulf Coast. I’m got my man Brian at VUHoops researching whether this is a real college or some local boys from the YMCA.

So there you have it, just a quick look at what the other guys have been up to as the conference season (for us, anyways) opens this weekend. I have to say I’m mildly surprised at the pretty outstanding OOC records for some of the bottom feeders. Down year? Think again.