I Bleed Blue and White

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.

As the summer rapidly progresses along, we draw closer and closer to the college basketball season.  Today, Villanova learned their Big East home and away opponents for the upcoming season.  Also of note, Villanova will play West Virginia, Marquette, and Georgetown twice, both home and away. 

Without a doubt, Villanova has one of the toughest schedules in the Big East, and Andy Katz agrees with this assessment.  He says,

Already you can see Villanova will have the toughest slate in the Big East if the predictions hold up.

Additionally, Katz breaks down some of the early tournaments, such as the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which Villanova will participate in.  Another ESPN writer, Pat Forde, ranked his most recent top ten rivalries.  Villanova-Pittsburgh comes in at #5 on Forde’s list.  Forde, on why the rivalry is hot now,

If you saw that memorable East Regional final last spring, you know why. Scottie Reynolds snatched away Pitt’s first Final Four in eons with a last-second drive, giving Nova a leg up in the Pennsylvania hoops hierarchy. It also gives the Wildcats a leg up in what many people believe will be the Big East rivalry of the next decade as Jay Wright and Jamie Dixon turn down other jobs and become even more entrenched. Nova could be the favorite to win the league this season, with Reynolds pulling out of the draft and returning to potentially haunt Pitt again. And even after losing the guts of a great team, you cannot discount the perennially competitive Panthers.

The rivalry will continue to heat up as the Wildcats have to travel to Pittsburgh this year to face the Panthers.  Pitt always plays well at home, as the atmosphere is always great for college basketball, but tough for road teams to play in.  We are curious to hear your thoughts on Villanova’s Big East opponents or the Villanova-Pitt rivalry.

Dominic Cheek is one of 17 players who have been invited to compete for 12 spots on the USA U-19 World Championship Team. Cheek has previously represented his country as part of the U-18 FIBA squad that competed last summer.

Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon will coach the team, and Big East foes Kemba Walker and Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant will join Cheek at the trials.

…This is great news for Domi…I think he should have a pretty good shot at making the team,and hopefully a Big East coach will help him out there…any experience he can get before coming to Villanova is great…