Personal Big East Rankings

This season the Big East has been so all over the place, I would like to give my own personal Big East rankings. These being based on not conference wins, but how I see the level of talent in the Big East, and how the standings will pan out at the end of the year, especially after the Big East tournament.

1. Pitt-22-2 (10-1)

The obvious choice for the #1 ranking in the Big East. Outside of the fact that have the best record, they also have a good inside man in McGhee, which is crucial in the Big East. They pulled out a big win against West Virginia without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs (16.3ppg). Look for a big run in the NCAA tournament for Pitt, with a lot of talent and experience.

2. Georgetown-19-5 (8-4)

At the start of the Big East season, this team look weak. Without a true inside scorer, they were looking to drop right out of the top 25. However, they have racked up 7 straight wins, including wins over Syracuse, Louisville and Nova. Vaughan has emerged as a big man that can score and rebound in the post, and the 3 point shooting of Freeman (18.5ppg) and the leadership of Chris Wright (12.5ppg) makes this team the second best in the Big East. Without Pitt on their schedule for the rest of the way, look out for my pick as the Big East championship game.

3. Notre Dame 20-4 (9-3)

One game ahead of Georgetown in the rankings, I am still skeptic to call them better. Notre Dame is not flashy and doesn't really wow you with their play. In fact they sometimes play games where they hold the ball every possession until the shot clock is at 10, like the did at the win against Pitt. However Ben Hansbrough is playing like a first team all Big East player (17.5ppg), and they do not turn the ball over. After the big win over Louisville in OT on Wednesday night, they do have me leaning towards them as a contender. However I wait until their last two big East Games at Uconn and against Nova to see what they are truly made out of.

4. Syracuse 20-5 (7-5)

I have Cuse higher then they are in the real Big East standings, that being 6th. This is for a few big reasons. The most important being they will not loose 4 in a row again. That was just a cold stretch, where they couldn't hold on to the ball and couldn't score. Ricky Jackson is averaging 11.4 rebounds per game, making him the best rebounder in the league. With that kind of inside presence, they can beat anyone on any given night. Also the other important fact is Kris Joseph (15ppg) is not only attacking the rim, he is shooting from behind the arch. My biggest problem with this team was 3 point shooting, and if he can keep hitting consistently, watch out.

5. Louisville 18-6 (7-4)

I love the teams that can hit the three, and Louisville is first in the Big East in that department. It was a tough call picking Nova or the Cardinals to be in the 5 spot and i edged Louisville for a couple reasons. First off as I stated was the three point shooting. Secondly, the play of Terrence Jennings in the middle, is becoming huge for the Cardinals. At the beginning of the season he played not up to expectations, as the unexpected early leave of Samuels to the NBA. However scoring in double digits in their last 4 games, watch out for a huge boost from their junior big man.

6. Villanova 19-5 (7-4)

It has been shown that if Stokes and Fisher cannot score on a high level every night then Nova has no chance, and I do not like this for a championship team. Like I said, Nova and Louisville are hard to choose from. However, with Nova coming off that horrible loss at Rutgers in an embarrassing fashion, and Pitt coming to town Saturday night how much do the Wildcats have left?

7. Connecticut 18-5 (6-5)

At least the Dukies aren't alone, them Uconn Huskies got blew out in the garden as well. Uconn is falling backwards in a bad way. Kemba Walker suddenly can't hit a shot, and his scoring has gone down 4 points over the last 4 games. There is not one other player that is stepping up and consistently hitting shots for this Uconn team. After loosing two straight tough games to Syracuse and Louisville, then barley edging past Seton Hall, you expected them to at least respond well against St.Johns. Of course they didn't getting blown out by 17 points. They still have a good record and still have talent. However, unless someone else steps it up not named Kemba Walker, then as soon as he has a couple more bad games, you can say bye to Connecticut's season.

8. St. Johns 14-9 (6-5)

This team makes you scratch your head sometimes. How can you blow out Duke, Uconn and Georgetown at home, but loose to Fordham (0-10 in the A10) in the early season? I do not quite understand it either. However, this team has 10 seniors. And coming off the huge win over Uconn they have to be placed in the top half of the Big East. They have the firepower, and the quality wins to make the tournament. Hardy (15.8) is coming together and becoming an elite scorer. I would be much more confident about this team if they could have beat UCLA last weekend at UCLA. Watch out, they get Pitt in Madison Square Garden on the 19th. Look out for that as a season defining game for St.Johns.

9. West Virginia 15-8 (6-5)

I give West Virginia the slight edge over Marquette and Cincy for the big reason that they have big wins against Georgetown and Purdue. Without much scoring or star power, this team relies on a lot of good defense to win games. They are right in the middle of the pack, and a bubble team in my opinion on making the tournament. Mitchell (15.3 ppg) is getting healthier now though and a team playing under Huggins will always compete. They are in dire need of another quality win, watch out for them traveling to the Carrier dome to play the Orange Men on Valentines Day.

10. Marquette 15-9 (6-5)

Near identical record wise with West Virginia, and with the head to head win you might expect me to place them ahead of them. However, Marquette needs a big win more then anyone in the league. Definitely a talented team, with the scoring of Johnson-Odom (16 ppg) and Butler (15.5ppg) can compete against anyone. However if they want to be playing in the postseason they NEED a big win, because of a lack of ability to beat the good out of conference teams (Duke, Vandy, Zaga). They have many chances, their next 2 games being at Georgetown and against St. Johns.

11. Cincinnati 19-5 (6-5)

I bet you are wondering how i could put a 19-5 team all the way at the 11 spot in the Big East. It is simple, they are not that good at all. The only NCAA tournament possible team they have beaten out of conference was Xavier. They have a ridiculously weak out of conference schedule. Also, they have no beat one ranked team all year. All 5 of their losses were to teams I ranked higher then them. Plus, only scored 69 points a game doesn't usual make you a force in the Big East. However, you can not count them out. With games against Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette and Uconn remaining, they have a chance to win a couple and make a statement going into the Big East tournament.

12. Seton Hall 10-14 (4-8)

Sure, I am putting them ahead of some teams with better records, however this is with good reason. They could have, and probably would have won many more games if Hazel(17.9ppg) didn't miss significant time because of getting shot, and the knee injury. Without him in the lineup, there is no offensive flow at all. We saw what Seton Hall can do if they are on point, beating Syracuse badly in the Carrier Dome. They also were a great Kemba shot away from beating Uconn as well. With Hazel playing at the level he is playing at, do not sleep on Hall to beat a couple more good teams. They have Marquette, St.Johns and Nova coming to their house before the season ends.

13. Providence 14-10 (3-8)

A tough call between Providence and Rutgers. However, since Providence beat Louisville, Nova and were a turnover away from beating Georgetown I give them the nod. With 10 of their players being freshman and sophomores they definitely are an on the rise type of team. However, they proved they can beat great teams. This is of course playing behind star Marshon Brooks (24.1 ppg) who is the leading scorer in the Big East. Since they have been playing so competitively a game to watch for is Notre Dame coming to Providence on the 23rd. This will be no cakewalk for the Irish.

14. Rutgers 13-11 (4-8)

Another good team who is subject to a Big East schedule. They beat Providence and Hall, but until yesterday saw nothing significant about this team. However thanks to a HUGE 4 point play by Mitchell, they got a signature win over Nova. They are playing well though, and in no way are a team that you can expect to roll over. Coming off the big win, they have Hall tomorrow night, which is a big game in terms of pride and placing for the conference tournament.

15. South Florida 8-17 (2-10)

The most this team has to hang their heads on is taking BYU and Fredette to double OT early in the season, before loosing. Besides that, USF is weak, and is competing well against the top of the league, loosing in big fashion. Leading the league in turnovers, they really had no way to handle Dominque Jones leaving for the NBA last year.

16. Depaul 6-17 (0-11)

There is not much to say. The record says it all. Same story for the last three years. Depaul lacks any talent, or good coaching for that matter. Needless to say, this team is an afterthought in the college basketball world.

The Superbowl

Let me start by saying that if I heard "Black and Yellow" or "Green and Yellow" on the radio one more time today I was going to lose it haha. Otherwise, I am extremely excited for Super Bowl Sunday; the party, the commercials and the game! Since this is a sports blog, however, I will write about only the game.

My pick: Pittsburg 27 - Green Bay 31
-There are so many story lines going on here, each one would be a full post: the redemption of Big Ben, the ascending of Aaron Rodgers to elite QB status, the amazing young phenom Clay Matthews (and BJ Raji), Troy Polamalu's return/battle with overcoming injuries, who has the better hair haha, a team that played their first four games without their starting QB, a team that has won five straight elimination games, and obviously AFC bs NFC...just to name a few. What I want to focus on is who is going to actually win!

For the Steelers, everyone knows what has earned Big Ben his reputation as a great QB: his superb ability to scramble, break tackles, find impossible seems in a defense at the last second, just do whatever it takes to keep the play alive and do what needs to get done, whether that's a TD, get in FG range or just get a 1st Down. He had something like 30 for a QB rating against the Jets, meaning he did just enough to get the job done (win). The problem: Roethlisberger must be one of Rodger's idols because Aaron is very good at doing all the same things. Green Bay's offense is also more capable of making big plays (Santonio Holmes isn't on Pitt anymore); the Packers are five solid receivers deep.

For run games, the Steelers clearly have the advantage with Rashard Mendenhall, who, although he is no Jerome Bettis, is a hard-nose old fashioned back that knows how to get a few yards after the tackle on a consistent basis. With Ryan Grant going down to injury, Packers first-year RB James Starks stepped up big and got hot at just the right time: the playoffs (rookies Bradford and Sub will be watching from home). While I don't think Starks will have a big game with it being such a big game and the Steelers being so good at stopping the run, I think he will establish the run enough to open up the passing game for Rodgers and company.

Finally, defenses. I think the old adage will hold true in this one that "Offense scores points but defense wins championships." I honestly believe the defense will make the difference in this one and it's not even necessarily about forcing the big flashy turnover (see James Harrison in 2009 and Tracy Porter last year) but more about stopping the other high-powered offense when it matters most. I hate to say it but this is Bill Belichick's forte: the "bend don't break" philosophy; you know the other team is going to get their yards but you make them settle for a tough field goal or when they're in the red zone then you force the big turnover and when you let up a TD then you play even harder the next couple series and give you offense a chance to get the points back. So here's how I see each team: the Iron Curtain can still stop the run like no other (I'd rather get checked by Ovechkin than take a hit from James Harrison) but Palamalu is a better blitzer than cover man and the Steelers pass defense can, and will, be picked apart by Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers. While the Packers' defense is not as well known, they have solid CB's in the veteran Charles Woodson and the speedy Sam Shields, who match up well with Hines Ward and Mike Wallace respectively. Except Green Bay to play a lot of Nickle package to (1) counter the run and (2) get in their Pro-Bowl CB Tramon Williams as well. If you think a very good offense with a big-game QB, IN THE PLAYOFFS, will be too much for this defense, ask Matty "Ice" and the #1 seed in the NFC Atlanta Falcons how that went

Expect the Lombardi Trophy to return to Lombardi Ave, Green Bay, Wisconsin (address of Lambeau Field)!

NBA all stars

I just wanted to voice my opinion on the all star selections, both starters and reserves. I'll start with the Eastern Conference.

Starters:

F -- Amar'e Stoudemire, New York

F -- LeBron James, Miami

C -- Dwight Howard, Orlando

G -- Derrick Rose, Chicago

G -- Dwyane Wade, Miami

There is no way around it, these are by far the top 5 players in the Eastern Conference right now. The only somewhat argument you could make is putting Rondo over Rose. However Rose is in my opinion the MVP of the league right now averaging 24.6 ppg, 8.2 apg, and add 1 steal a game to that too. Rondo's early season assist numbers are staggering (12.5 asp) however he is not scoring on an effective enough level to be starting over Rose. Also note that Rose is winning games without his starting center in Noah, and he won many without Boozer. LeBron and Wade were obvious picks, both averaging over 25 a game. Amar'e is having the best season of his career (26 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 2.2 blocks), and is also an MVP candidate. Dwight is questionably the only true all-star center in the NBA, especially since Yao how been out all season. 2nd in the league in rebounding with 13.7 boards a game, also a great choice. No arguments whatsoever with the starters in the East.

Reserves

G --Rajon Rondo, Boston

G -- Ray Allen, Boston

F -- Paul Pierce, Boston

F -- Kevin Garnett , Boston

F -- Chris Bosh, Miami

G -- Joe Johnson, Atlanta

C -- Al Horford, Atlanta

The talented in the East is unlimited right? Not so much. Many people along with myself have been especially complaining about Bosh making the all-star game, while only averaging 18.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg. Your telling me Kevin Love has to get picked as a replacement player but Bosh can make it in the East? It really says a lot about the weak and top heaviness of the East this year. Rondo was obviously deserving, but none of these other players would have made it in the West. Due to the weakness, i definitely agree with the 4 Celtics, because they do the most for their teams and all contribute and compete on the offensive and defensive side of the ball every night. Horford is having a great season (16 ppg 10 rpg), a double double almost every night will get you in the all star game. Not to mention he is one of the top post defenders in the league. Johnson however for a guard is hard to take into the game. Averaging 20.5 ppg and 5.6 apg are good numbers, however not all star numbers for a scoring guard. I would have put Raymond Felton (17.3 ppg, 8.9 asp) because of the assist numbers mostly, and he is averaging 17 and not the true go to scorer on his team like Johnson is. In terms of Bosh again, sure i really do not think he deserves it. However, with Granger and Iguodala having down years on bad teams and Boozer having missed so much time with injury, there is really no one to replace him as a forward. Bottom line, the East has a lot of talent at the top, but not the spread of talent like there is in the West.

West

Starters:

Guard	Kobe Bryant	Lakers
Guard	Chris Paul	Hornets
Forward	Carmelo Anthony	Nuggets
Forward	Kevin Durant	Thunder
Center	Yao Ming	Rockets

There you have it, the starting lineup for the true power conference this year, similar to every year, in the NBA. Starting right from the top with Kobe was a given. With the Lakers having the second best record in the league and Kobe averaging 25.5 again, it is no surprise he is in the starting lineup. A really tough call at starting point between Chris Paul, Russel Westbrook and Deron Williams. I highly disagree with the starting of CP3 over Williams. Williams is averaging 5 more points (21.9ppg) and only .2 less assists (9.5). Sure CP3 is the flashy and more popular pick for the fans which is why he was voted a starter, however Williams is certainly having a more star powered season. This is not to say Paul shouldn't have made the game though, he without a doubt deserves it. Carmelo is just above Dirk in scoring with 24 a game, and stats wise he is certainly a starter. Dirk could have took his spot if not for the injury plagued season he has had. However, if Carmelo man average 24 while slacking some games, being benched the others because of "lack of effort in practice" it is certain that he has all the talent to be a deserving starter this year. Kevin Durant, 29 a game, third in the West, enough said. Give this guy a LOT of MVP consideration. We all know its a joke, thank China for all their voters voting for him. Only playing 2 games this year, and being out for the season this obviously does not matter. He was already replaced on the roster, by the fully deserving Kevin Love who is averaging 15.6 rebounds per game. I give full credit to the commissioner for making the right call and putting the most deserving guy out of the all star game, into it where he belongs.

Reserves:

G--Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs

F--Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

F--Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers

G--Deron Williams, Utah Jazz

G--Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

F--Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers

C--Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

The level of criticism I have with this list of all stars is ridiculous. As I have stated above, I believe that Deron WIlliams and Russel Westbrook were both highly deserving. I already talked a lot about Williams but Westbrook is having his best season yet, the Thunder are a top 10 team in the NBA and being the second option on the Thunder he is averaging 22.5 points, 8.6 assists and 5.1 rebounds. The only other player that can put up these kind of numbers in the league is LeBron. Highly impressive, and he even deserved thought as a starter. Also I talked about Dirk, and how he is having an incredible season. If not for injury problems, he would be the starter over Melo in my opinion. The last out of these that I have no problem with is Manu Ginobli. Manu is on the best team in the league, and has becoming the leader on the court. Averaging 18.5 points and 5 assists, might not be flashy but he has been playing clutch for the best team in the NBA. Have to say this was a great call. That is hard to say while taking out Steve Nash, Eric Gordon and Monta Ellis. However Manu is on the best team in the NBA, they aren't which really is a huge factor. The only one i wouldn't have a problem making it over Manu would be Nash because of the 11 assists a game. Though Ellis is a star with 25.3 points a game, how long has it been since the warriors were relevant? And sure Gordon is playing great basketball in L.A, but its hard to be undershadowed by Blake. I could go on for days about how much I disagree with Tim Duncan making the game. But I am just going to say this. Duncan is having his worst statistical season ever, and he made it over the NBA's leading rebounder in Kevin Love. I have the same issue with Blake Griffin. Though averaging 22 points and 11 boards as a rookie, he only made the all star game because of the jaw dropping dunks. But I have to sit back and ask myself, if he couldn't dunk like that, would he make the game? Probably not, Love would make it over him. Just a little food for thought. The last person is Pau Gasol. Not needed to say, Love should have made it over him as well. Averaging 18.7 points and 10.5 rebounds he has good numbers. However, Love should have made it over him, and it was a toss up between Pau, Aldridge and Odom. However, what is done is done. This should be a good all star game. Oh wait, they don't have those anymore.

College Basketball Games of the Week.

Just a review and analysis of the big games in the college basketball world from Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So I will dive right in starting with the games on Monday.

#14 Georgetown-62 #13 Louisville-59

My game of the week, definitely the most entertaining so far. This is in no way an upset, because it was played at Georgetown and we are looking at two very equal teams. This was a very sloppy game, especially in the first half where Louisville had 11 turnovers alone. Georgetown controlled the game until the second half, where Silva, who had a horrible game (1-5 with 8 turnovers), hit a deep fade away three that sparked a Louisville comeback. At the end however, Chris Wright took over the game (game high 24) and held of Louisville. There was not too much significance to this game, that being both teams were coming off of big wins, and you expected it to be a close game. They held steady to my rule about the Big East, win at home. Georgetown held to this, and behind their crowd ended up just getting by a hot Louisville team. Not a huge loss for Louisville though, its not everyday their starting point guard will turn the ball over 8 times. Both teams keep stride with this game, I fully expect Louisville to rebound just fine against DePaul at home against Saturday.

#3 Texas-69 #16 Texas A&M-49

As predicted, a total blowout. In my mind, the most talented team in the country in Texas is finally coming together and hitting full stride. As I said, I believe that A&M is the most overrated team in the country, because they can not score the ball. It doesn't matter who you are playing in the Big 12 49 points is NOT going to cut it. Middleton struggled, once again, and if he is not creating offense there is no offense for A&M. Especially against the, surprisingly, good defense of Texas. Bottom line though, no one in the Big 12 can compete with Texas except for Kansas. If Jordan Hamilton keeps playing like he has, he will not only lead the Longhorns to a #1 seed and a Big 12 championship, he will be Big 12 player of the year.

#18 Wisconsin-66 #10 Purdue-59

Another great game, and yet another "upset" that cannot truly be considered an upset. Last time I wrote about Wisconsin I specifically said i believe they are a top 20 team ONLY when they play at home. This game was in Kohl center, I in no way expected Purdue to win. Purdue made their run in the second half, making this a very competitive game, behind JaJaun Johnson and E'Twaun Moore. Both leaders and top players in the Big 10. Wisconsin sealed this game by playing tight defense, and not allowing Purdue to score on their final 3 possessions sealing the game. Leuer once again impressed for the Badgers, scoring 24 points, and Jordan Taylor took care of the ball and scored 15 of his own. This Wisconsin team has a lot of experience and leadership, and can not be easily beat at home. Even when Ohio State comes to Madison, don't expect an easy out for the Buckeyes.

North Carolina-106 Boston College-74

Why this game as a top game? Because North Carolina is now 16-5 and only one game behind Duke. The blew out a good Boston College team in Boston. Most importantly, the real reason i note this game; Harrison Barnes scored 26, and he has scored at least 20 in 3 games in a row. What does this mean? It means North Carolina is back, and Barnes is going start shining as the freshman all american he can be.

Ole Miss-71 #11 Kentucky-69

Coach Callipari is a genius, a top recruiter, (a cheater?) and he inspires his freshman to win. However, they are still freshman. On the road, they will turn the ball over (18 turnovers on the night) and they will make mental mistakes. Ole Miss is 2-5 in the SEC on the year, and in the SEC west, that is frankly pathetic. However, they took advantage of a loud crowd and freshman mistakes and took the game over. Around the 5 minute mark however, Brandon Knight (15 points) took the game over scoring 8 in a row and tying the game up. With a one point lead and only seconds left however, Kentucky's top defender and best "not freshman" Liggins made a horrible mistake by running under the screen to allow one of the best shooters in the SEC senior Chris Warren (18.4 ppg) take a deep three to win the game for Ole Miss. A huge deal? Not entirely because you saw the same situation where last years Kentucky team lost on the road to South Carolina. However this year there is not close to as much talent, and these freshman mistakes and constant turnovers need to change, or Kentucky will struggle come tournament time.

#23 Florida-65 #24 Vanderbilt-61

I expected Vandy to take this game, because I have no trust in Florida's defense and Vandy is a great shooting team. However Florida played well at home, behind the timely scoring of Walker, Boynton and Parsons especially in overtime. However, the real point of this game is officiating. It was clear, that Jenkins got fouled on a three point shot while down two with under a minute left. Not only was it not called, it wasn't called tipped, and on the air ball Florida got the ball right back and hit a 3 to go up 5. If the ref made this call, on the road, Vandy could have easily taken this game. Moral of the story? Refs need to make the big call at the end of the game. This loss is contributed to a bad call for Vandy, and i expect them to rebound and end up a better team then Florida at the end of the year.

#17 Syracuse-66 #7 Uconn-58

The Big East making any more sense to you? Yeah, me neither. I consistently talk about how to win this league you have to win at home, not matter who comes to your house. Uconn could not do this for the exact reason I said they couldn't previously. Kemba Walker couldn't hit shots (3-14, 8 points) and this stalls Uconn's offense. Sure they have Jeremy Lamb (22 points) who is coming on as an elite scorer, however Kemba didnt even attempt a shot for a 9 minute stretch in the second half. He stood around and made other people make the plays he has been making all year. Uconn will go no where unless he learns to play inspired, and not play like he is too good for everyone else. Also Cuse also woke up, the zone kept people from penetrating, and their offense played an inside outside game that worked well. Especially for Ricky Jackson (13 points, 13 rebounds). Syracuse outplayed Uconn at the XL center, and proved they are done sliding and ready to be competitors in the Big East once again. One huge worry though is, they have to develop a 3 point shot.

Those were the biggest games of the week so far, some other notables:

Oklahoma State- 76 #15 Missouri- 70

Missouri cannot win on the road, and with Texas and Kansas in the conference, I see them as no legit threat away from home. That is, unless they can learn how to score 80 on the road too.

#21 Illinois- 68 Penn State- 51

Penn State is a threat, at home. Strictly at home. Good win for the Fighting Illini.

#2 Kansas-88 Texas Tech-66

The most unimportant game up here, but this is Bill Self's first win at Texas Tech in his 8 year career at Kansas. Surprising huh?

#12 Villanova-75 Marquette-70

Right on the edge of breaking the top 25 again, Marquette falls on the road. Big East is tough to win on the road, Marquette couldn't do it again a better Nova team.

Check back soon for a preview and predictions for the big games on Saturday.