I Bleed Blue and White

Listen, I know this past week has been rough. I’ve been particularly quiet (partly due to the site-move and partly due to my vile armchair-reaction to Saturday’s loss). But, I woke up today with new hope. The BIG EAST Tournament (the best week of the year) is upon us. Sure, the crappy teams are playing today, but 1 of these games has a direct impact on who Villanova will be playing, and Villanova despearately needs to build some momentum before The Dance starts next week.

So here is your lineup for Tuesday:

12:00 p.m.: #9 South Florida (19-11, 9-9) vs. #16 DePaul (8-22, 1-17) – ESPN2

2:00 p.m.: #12 Connecticut (17-14. 7-11) vs. #13 St. John’s (16-14, 6-12) – ESPN2

7:00 p.m.: #10 Seton Hall (18-11, 9-9) vs. #15 Providence (12-18, 4-14) – ESPNU

9:00 p.m.: #11 Cincinnati (16-14, 7-11) vs. #14 Rutgers (15-16, 5-13) – ESPNU

The UConn-St. John’s game is obviously the most important one for Villanova fans today. The winner will take on Marquette tomorrow, and the winner of that game will face Villanova on Thursday. You all know I grew up a UConn fan and I still have a soft spot for the Huskies. I think they need 2 wins here to feel better on Selection Sunday. But I want no part of UConn on Thursday. For one, they’ve shown they can beat us. And second, I don’t want to see them on a 2-game winning streak knowing if they beat us on Thursday they are definitely going dancing.

Then again, we all know how difficult it is to beat a team 3 times in a season, and we’ve won 4 straight going back to last year over ‘Quette. They’ll be out for blood. So yeah, let’s go Johnnies!

It’s gonna be a great week!

Lots at stake on the line tomorrow for both Villanova and West Virginia: #8 vs. #9, NCAA Tournament seeding, Big East Tournament seeding, possible revenge for the Mountaineers.  We have been waiting for this game for awhile now.  Below are some articles in anticipation of the big showdown.

-Villanova’s rematch with West Virginia has large implications

-Villanova story awaits final chapter

-Rested WVU to battle Villanova

-Jay Bilas analyzes the matchup as a part of ESPN’s Weekend Watch

I am excited to be going to the game tomorrow, but I read that Gus Johnson is calling the game on CBS, which pisses me off that I won’t be able to hear him on TV.  Johnson and Bill Raftery have the best college hoops voices by far.  If you have never heard Gus’ “Rise and Fire” youtube video, please do so ASAP; it’s flat out awesome. 

While changes to the format of the annual Big East Tournament were being discussed earlier this year, no changes will be made for the coming season.

Brett McMurphy, a beat writer for The Tampa Tribune, has broken the news that the format will remain the same.

The Top 4 teams will get 2 byes, and teams 5-8 will get one.

According to a report in The Providence Journal, the Big East may be considering changing the format of their post-season tournament yet again. After last season marked the first year where the Top 4 teams in the standings received a ‘double-bye’ and all 16 teams were invited to New York City, it appears there still may be some tweaking to do.

The proposed changes include the elimination of ‘byes’ altogether, and would pit the top teams against the bottom teams on Day 1 of the tournament, which last season drew no TV coverage and very low crowds.

Under the proposed changes, the 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, and 4-13 games would be played on Tuesday, while the other 4 games would be played on Wednesday. The quarterfinals would then be held on Thursday as they were last year, with the Top 4 teams presumably getting a day off in on Wednesday.

Many critics last year felt that the top teams sat for two long, as they sat in the stands and watched not 1, but 2 games before they took the court. After two of those teams (Pittsburgh and UConn) lost, many felt a change was needed.

With the added bonus of almost assured TV coverage from ESPN on Tuesday, these changes could possibly be implemented.

…Count me in the group that thinks this is a horrible idea…the regular season is the true barometer of the conference, not a 4 day tournament where anything can happen…if you work your tail off all year, you deserve to have a break for this tournament, especially if you have your eyes set on a deep NCAA Tourney run…

…And does it really help your cause to be playing the #15 or #16 seed in this tournament when you are fighting for NCAA seeding?…probably not, because if you somehow lose, you only look worse, while if you win, it does absolutely nothing to help your resume…

…I can see where it makes sense for the conference, because they’ll get more exposure and draw bigger crowds, but I’m surprised that coaches of the top teams would want ‘less rest’ before the grueling NCAA Tournament…