The Big East (a.k.a. The Missouri Valley Conference's Playground) had a funky weekend to say the least.
Saturday was a mixed bag. Louisville invited Sacramento State into town only to treat them rather rudely. Villanova spanked Penn, Providence decimated Rhode Island to prove their stately dominance, Rutgers survived Nebraska and Seton Hall needed OT to beat a team whose nickname is the Gaels. On the other hand, 'Cuse got shocked and not in the fun way you read about on College Humor. Marquette got beat by a team you've never heard of (North Dakota State) who is better than you think (RPI: 39). Georgetown blew a 7-point halftime lead at Duke. The always-dangerous UAB got some Conference USA-revenge on Cincinnati.
Sunday worked out much better. Notre Dame shook down the thunder against #23 Maryland. #2 Pitt got all it could handle from Auburn but held on for a gritty road win. UConn had its way with Texas "No, Not The One From The Glory Road, That Was A Different Direction" Southern.
All of this leads me to the Big East Bloggers Weekly Power Poll, or the easier to remember BEBWPP. TNIAAM is honored to be a part of the BEBWPP and look forward to bring BFFs for a long time. If you click through, you'll see Pittsburgh is the near-unanimous choice for #1 in the conference right, followed by UConn at 2, Marquette and 3 and Syracuse at 4. Swap UConn and Marquette and you have my top four (and I was all ready to proclaim Marquette #1 before the loss). At the moment, nothing below the top four really matters, its a big cluster until we weed out the pretenders from the contenders. Oh, and Seton Hall too.
I promise to always keep my votes public, as to avoid any BCS-like controversy. And at the very least, if I'm incorrect or unsure, I won't publicly admit it.
Before we go, let's take a look at two polls only slightly more important than the BEBWPP, the USA Today/ESPN Coaches and AP Polls. UCLA remains #1 in both with Pittsburgh right behind at #2. Having recruited some of the Pitt players and currently coaching UCLA's, Ben Howland is the greatest coach in all the land.
In the most divisive voting I've seen in a long time in these polls, the USAT/ESPN poll has UConn #10 while the AP has then #19. Me thinks that USAT/ESPN is the lazier of the two, as UConn hasn't done half the things Butler or Wichita State have done, both of whom are behind UConn in that poll.
Marquette drops all the way down to #17 in the AP and #20 in the USAT/ESPN. A drop is to be expected but that's a steep one (and don't think Eagle fans didn't notice). Syracuse is #21 in both polls...sounds about right. In the AP, Georgetown just missed cracking the rankings and rightfully so while Villanova, Notre Dame, DePaul and West Virginia were all lurking. In the USAT/ESPN, Louisville(?), Villanova and Georgetown all received votes.
Saturday was a mixed bag. Louisville invited Sacramento State into town only to treat them rather rudely. Villanova spanked Penn, Providence decimated Rhode Island to prove their stately dominance, Rutgers survived Nebraska and Seton Hall needed OT to beat a team whose nickname is the Gaels. On the other hand, 'Cuse got shocked and not in the fun way you read about on College Humor. Marquette got beat by a team you've never heard of (North Dakota State) who is better than you think (RPI: 39). Georgetown blew a 7-point halftime lead at Duke. The always-dangerous UAB got some Conference USA-revenge on Cincinnati.Sunday worked out much better. Notre Dame shook down the thunder against #23 Maryland. #2 Pitt got all it could handle from Auburn but held on for a gritty road win. UConn had its way with Texas "No, Not The One From The Glory Road, That Was A Different Direction" Southern.
All of this leads me to the Big East Bloggers Weekly Power Poll, or the easier to remember BEBWPP. TNIAAM is honored to be a part of the BEBWPP and look forward to bring BFFs for a long time. If you click through, you'll see Pittsburgh is the near-unanimous choice for #1 in the conference right, followed by UConn at 2, Marquette and 3 and Syracuse at 4. Swap UConn and Marquette and you have my top four (and I was all ready to proclaim Marquette #1 before the loss). At the moment, nothing below the top four really matters, its a big cluster until we weed out the pretenders from the contenders. Oh, and Seton Hall too.
I promise to always keep my votes public, as to avoid any BCS-like controversy. And at the very least, if I'm incorrect or unsure, I won't publicly admit it.
Before we go, let's take a look at two polls only slightly more important than the BEBWPP, the USA Today/ESPN Coaches and AP Polls. UCLA remains #1 in both with Pittsburgh right behind at #2. Having recruited some of the Pitt players and currently coaching UCLA's, Ben Howland is the greatest coach in all the land.
In the most divisive voting I've seen in a long time in these polls, the USAT/ESPN poll has UConn #10 while the AP has then #19. Me thinks that USAT/ESPN is the lazier of the two, as UConn hasn't done half the things Butler or Wichita State have done, both of whom are behind UConn in that poll.Marquette drops all the way down to #17 in the AP and #20 in the USAT/ESPN. A drop is to be expected but that's a steep one (and don't think Eagle fans didn't notice). Syracuse is #21 in both polls...sounds about right. In the AP, Georgetown just missed cracking the rankings and rightfully so while Villanova, Notre Dame, DePaul and West Virginia were all lurking. In the USAT/ESPN, Louisville(?), Villanova and Georgetown all received votes.