Article: Too many chefs in the kitchen

[NAM37]

From: http://www.chicagoflame.com/media/paper519/news/2006/01/16/Sports/Too-Many.Chefs.In.The.Kitchen-1369776.shtml?page=2

It has already been six months since five former Conference-USA schools, including midwestern institutions such as DePaul and Marquette, joined the Big East. Now with six nationally ranked teams (No. 3 Villanova, No. 4 Connecticut, No. 10 Louisville, No. 12 Pittsburg, No. 16 West Virginia and No. 25 Cincinnati) stacked into this 16-team mega-conference, it will be tough road ahead if local-area schools plan to make a run at the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Stacked with so many great to above-average teams this season, some are saying it's likely the Big East could send as many as ten-yes, 10! -teams to the Big Dance come March. However, the NCAA tournament selection committee may be wary of that large a number coming to the tournament from one conference, raising the possibility that such a Big East-loaded bracket would force Big East teams to square off against each other in the opening rounds. In the past, two teams from the same conference could not play until a regional final. However, this season, thanks to the twenty-seven-year-old conference, two teams may face each other as early as the second round for the first time.

This may force some pretty good, tourney-worthy teams like DePaul or Marquette-teams that are on the proverbial bubble-to be the odd men out this year. A situation like this definitely wouldn't have unfolded had they stayed in the Conference-USA, where they-along with Cincinnati and Rick Pitino's revived Louisville Cardinals-were the big fish in a comfortable-sized pond, to becoming lowly prey in a pond that's seemingly too big for itself.

It didn't have to be this way, of course. But then again, once the ACC lured the Big East's football elite-Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College-the stage was set for the Big East to become THE premier basketball conference of college sports. So with that, DePaul, Marquette, Cincinnati, Louisville and the University of South Florida left C-USA, bolstering the Big East ranks to 16 teams. (And on a side note: while we're talking about it, why did USF get to jump from C-USA to the Big East with the big boys anyway? A perennial bottom-feeder in the conference, USF is like that dorky little kid at the playground that, for some reason or another, got to tag along with the big boys to the newer, better playground. )

Presently in the C-USA, No.5 Memphis is a huge fish in a bowl of southern guppies. Since last year's mass exodus, C-USA has become an exclusively Southern conference and now has four teams-UTEP, Houston, Rice and SMU-from Texas alone. Meanwhile, DePaul (8-6 overall, 1-2 Big East) and Marquette (12-4. overall, 2-1 Big East) are struggling to make a name for themselves in the land of Huskies, Red Raiders and Wildcats. For teams that hail from this side of the Alleghenies, this surely is no easy task.

Just ask Notre Dame. The famed university out of South Bend joined the Big East in just about everything except football in 1995, looking to resurrect a fledgling hoops program. Now, the Fighting Irish (9-5 overall, 0-3 Big East) find themselves at the bottom of the conference with the impossible task of winding up with the necessary winning conference record to make the tourney. In fact, out of 27 NCAA appearances in Notre Dame's men's basketball history, only three have come ever since the Irish joined the Big East in 1995

But who knows, maybe I'm being too critical of DePual's and Marqutte's choice of conference anyway. After all, since its inception in 1995, Conference USA has been a league that seems uncomfortable in its own skin. Beginning with a three-division regular season bracket with the Red, White and Blue divisions from '95-'97, to the American and National Divisions '97-'03, to just the plain old have-em-all-bunched-up-in-one slate in the last few years.

But in reality the only sensible jump from C-USA to the Big East was Cincinnati's, seeing as how the Bearcats had managed to garner either a regular season or tournament championship in the C-USA every year, with the exception of '02-'03. But for Marquette and DePaul, teams that combined for just two regular season championships in C-USA since 1997, the move may have been an act of desperation more than anything else. Marquette was, for some reason, still high off the Golden Eagles '03-'04 loss to Kansas in the Final Four, and DePaul is still clinging to the glory of years long gone by.

It's just going to be impossible for these teams to make it in the Big East.

And just last week it was announced that the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden has sold out. This is the same tournament that has been held at New York City's Madison Square Garden for the last 24 years and no team left of Pittsburgh-and this is only just recently in 2002 and 2004-has come out Big East Tournament Champions. A midwestern school has no business in that kind of environment.

The point is this: both DePaul and Marquette should get out of the Big East as soon as possible before they get cooked into NCAA mediocrity. And while they're at it, they might as well drag Notre Dame out its sorry Big East experiment as well. With conferences changing names and Division I fluctuations happening left and right, no time is better for midwestern programs to coalesce and form their own conference that isn't centered around Madison Square Garden.

[TyBull]

Hey Dork... It is all about FootBULL.......

[Joe]

This 16 team Big East will have a media outlash by 2008. The pot is already brewing, college gamenight on ESPN has ripped it multiple times.

[NAM37]

Hey Dork... It is all about FootBULL.......

Exactly.

[BullDoug]

A perennial bottom-feeder

Not exactly true.  More like a perennial middle of the road CUSA team.

[Cubanbull]

Please the 16 team BE basketball is the BEST conference in the land and thats a fact that Vitale  has even said on air.

[Joe]

No doubt the BE is the best in the country right now. However, wait until a schools like Cincy and Marquette consistently cannot make the tournament.

[Cubanbull]

The BE has currently SEVEN teams ranked in top 25 either in AP or Coaches poll. You will see 9 even 10 get into the NCAA tournament.

Watch and see.

[Joe]

No, 8 would be a stretch. Many of these team will end with 11-13 losses and be NIT bound. The NCAA will put a lot of Big East teams in, but down the line a good team is going to be left out.

[smazza]

the bulls future is secure in big east or other top conferences acc or sec

usf is a player in football and is in one of best cities in america