DePaul just knocked off Cincinnati 67-57 in the 1st game of the Big East Tournament. It was the first conference victory for the Blue Demons after they finished 0-18 in league play.

The bench and the fans behind the bench looked really excited while Will Walker dribbled out the clock. You’ve got to feel good for the team. I can’t imagine ever going winless and never thought it would happen to any team in the Big East. I’m glad they got the win.

But what happened to Cincinnati? Just a few weeks ago they were thought to have the best chance of making the tournament out of any Big East bubble teams. Quite the slide down the stretch. They’ll be scary next year though. Good recruits coming in and Deonta Vaughn and Yancy Gates both return.

This has implications for Providence too. It was commonly thought they needed at least 1 win, and probably 2, to get into the tourney. How much will a victory over DePaul mean for them? Do they need to beat Louisville as well? I’m sure I just scared the hell out of Friarblog.

Jeff Borzello of the NBE Basketball Report takes a look at the Big East conference and the projects some seeds for the teams who are currently in and/or on the bubble. As of yesterday, Borzello believes that the Wildcats project to a 3 seed right now, based on their strong RPI and strength of schedule.

“Villanova: The Wildcats might have passed Marquette in the conference pecking order, despite their inferior conference record. They blew out the Golden Eagles during the week, and a loss at a good West Virginia team isn’t anything to hang your head about. They have a better RPI, 11 wins vs. the top-100 of the RPI and a much better SOS. Plus, they have a win over Pittsburgh. They face Rutgers on Thursday before heading to upset New York to face Syracuse. Projected Seed: 3″

Borzello believes that right now only 7 teams in the Big East are going to get a bid for the NCAA Tournament, while Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence and Cincinnati still have work left to do.

…Right now I would put Providence and Cincinnati are VERY close to getting over the proverbial hump…Providence really just needs a signature win before they can feel comfortable, because they should be able to get to 10 conference wins…if Cincinnati can remain strong down the stretch and win a game of two in NYC, they’ll definitely be in…

…Things are a little bit murkier for the Hoyas and Irish…Notre Dame just got a huge win over Louisville and their schedule is favorable down the stretch but they’ll still need to beat either UConn or Villanova to really improve their standing…Georgetown I fear may be the odd team out unless they make a serious run in New York…

…Thanks to Friarblog for the link…

My good friend Dave (the game is over, we’re friends again), the proprietor of Friarblog posted a very long and thorough recap today on Villanova’s victory last night. Dave serves ‘plates of pasta’ when rating some players performances from the previous game.

Scottie Reynolds got the full 4 plates of pasta for his performance, but perhaps the best line of the entire entry was the bit on Dwayne Anderson. Dave gave him 3 out 4 plates of pasta and wrote the following:

“I have no idea who you are, but I hate you.”

And that is exactly why I love Dwayne Anderson. He’s relatively unheard of, but other teams hate him. Love it Dave.