2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Unkind to Big East

Last year, seven teams from the Big East made the NCAA Tournament. Four of those schools made the Elite Eight.

This year, eight Big East teams made the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, after two rounds, only two of those teams remain. As a whole, the Big East has looked extremely overrated during this tournament.

Below is a quick breakdown of how the eight Big East teams have fared so far. I must warn you, it’s not pretty.

• No. 3 seed Georgetown lost in the first round to No. 14 seed Ohio, which finished ninth in the MAC.
• No. 6 seed Notre Dame lost in the first round to No. 11 seed Old Dominion, which won the Colonial Athletic Association.
• No. 6 seed Marquette lost in the first round to No. 11 seed Washington, which finished third in a supposedly weak Pac-10 Conference.
• No. 9 seed Louisville lost in the first round to No. 8 seed California, which won the Pac-10 Conference.
• No. 2 seed Villanova lost in the second round to No. 10 seed Saint Mary’s, which finished second in the West Coast Conference.
• No. 3 seed Pittsburgh lost in the second round to No. 6 seed Xavier, which finished second in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
• No. 1 seed Syracuse and No. 2 seed West Virginia are still alive.

I wonder how many Big East teams would have made the tournament if March Madness began this week. Hindsight is always 20/20.

This year’s NCAA Tournament has taught us that the middle of the Big East is vastly overrated.

So far, only one Big East team has performed to their seed. That team is Louisville, whose No. 9 seed meant it was “expected” to lose in the first round, which the Cardinals did. On second thought, statistically speaking, in No. 8 versus No. 9 matchups, No. 9 seed actually wins more often. Thus, even Louisville can be considered an underachiever.

The two most disappointing Big East teams are Georgetown and Villanova. The Hoyas were overrated all season. Every though they finished eighth in the Big East, the Hoyas entered the Tournament as a No. 3 seed (ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll). How does a team that finished eighth in the Big East get a No. 3 seed, while the team that finished seventh (Louisville) gets a No. 9 seed? That just does not compute. Strength of schedule can only go so far.

In any event, Georgetown faced Ohio in the first round. Ohio finished ninth in the MAC this season — ninth. Yet the Bobcats destroyed the Hoyas 97-83 in the opening round. How does a team that finished ninth in the MAC dominate anyone from the Big East, let alone a tournament team? It was just a terrible showing by the Hoyas.

Meanwhile, ‘Nova finished fourth in the Big East this season, earning a No. 2 seed. The Wildcats looked terrible in the first round, squeezing by Robert Morris in overtime. If you thought they would snap back in the second round, you were wrong. There, Villanova was dominated by Saint Mary’s, falling 75-68 in a game that was not as close as the score indicates. In two games, Villanova barely even had the lead. It looked anxious against Robert Morris and overmatched against Saint Mary’s.

So what went wrong with the Big East? Why were they overvalued and how did six of the eight teams invited to the Big Dance fail to make it out of the opening weekend?

Even in the aftermath of the Big East’s poor showing, these questions are still difficult to answer. The six Big East teams that went home early lost in a variety of ways to a variety of different teams. They lost to high-scoring offenses (Xavier), defensive-oriented teams (Old Dominion), and everyone in between.

One statistic that jumps out at me is that four of the six Big East teams that lost did so to opponents that were not from BCS conferences. To me, that means something. Big East teams lost to foes from the Atlantic 10, Colonial, MAC, and West Coast. I am a huge fan of mid-majors, but when so many teams that finished the season near the top of the Big East lose to these teams, it’s a sign that the conference was overvalued.

The other two Big East teams that lost on the opening weekend did so to Pac-10 schools. Wait, wasn’t the Pac-10 supposed to be down this year? Maybe so, but the top of the Pac-10 is clearly better than the upper middle class of the Big East.

For fans of Syracuse and West Virginia — the two Big East teams still alive — there is good news. Much like the tournament success of California and Washington have proven, the overall strength (or weakness) of a conference does not mean that the top teams are not good. In the Big East’s case, Syracuse and West Virginia are both outstanding teams.

The Big East was extremely overrated this season. Hopefully, this poor showing does not affect the number of Big East teams that make next year’s tournament. The NCAA Selection Committee would say it won’t, but who knows?