Duke Basketball!!

[GritzRgreat]

is just around the corner.

fully armed & ready for battle.

ACC ROCKS!!

[Redskin4ever]

Really Sucks!

[The Evil Genius]

Weird that the ACC>Big East in Football but now the Big East>ACC in basketball.

[airborneskins]

GO TARHEELS !!

[hokie4redskins]

That's funny, Virginia Tech beat Duke in basketball too. HA!

TEG, not sure where you're basing the assumption the Big East is better than the ACC in basketball. Why? Cuz WVU suddenly had a fluke success? Please.

Not that I want to give UNC any props, but the ACC is the defending National Champ in hoops. Undisputable, irrefutable. You clearly have an inferiority complex.

[The Evil Genius]

hokie,

Look at the new members who joined the Big East in basketball this season. Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati join while they lose out on BC.

And before last year, where did the NCAA champion come from. And the year before? ;)

[airborneskins]

hokie,

Look at the new members who joined the Big East in basketball this season. Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati join while they lose out on BC.

And before last year, where did the NCAA champion come from. And the year before? ;)


:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Everyone knows that the ACC is where its at (when it comes to B-Ball). SO you got, Louisville, Marquette and Cincinati. BFD. Take a look at UNC, DUKE, MD, VA, VA TECH, WAKE, NC STATE, GA TECH, FL STATE, CLEMSON, and Miami.. :doh:

[miragv]

In terms of programs the ACC has the lead for now from top to bottom.

But this year the ACC will be weak. Duke is by far the favorite to be the best, after that its anyones guess.

[SkinsForLife260]

Lets go terps this year!

[EersSkins05]

WVU’s success wasn’t a fluke. Ask your ACC runner-up Demon Deacons about that.

They’re returning all but one starter, who is being replaced by a very capable and talented Frank “The Tank” Young, and probably have the most game-experience of any team in the country with essentially 4 different 4-year starters, and a 4-year sparkplug off the bench in Pat Beilein who will throw up 20 on any given night.



Meanwhile, lets not even get into how good Villanova, Syracuse, Louisville, and UConn are going to be. Then add in a seriously improved Georgetown team to Notre Dame, Marquette, Cincinnati, Pitt, Providence, and St. Johns. Our weakest teams will be Seton Hall and Rutgers, but I bet they’d give Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Miami a decent run for their money.



UNC and NC State are rebuilding this year after losing their real talent to the NBA. (WVU beat NC State without Julius Hodge, recall.) Duke and Wake will be the cream of the ACC, with some contention from GT.



All that said, there isn’t a team in the entire ACC I’d take over Villanova this year. And UConn, Syracuse, and Louisville is more formidable than Duke, Wake, and GT.



Don’t worry, Dick Vitale will still kiss your ass. But don’t bring that weak “UNC is the champ” argument when UNC lost every single one of their key players to the NBA, and the Big East won the two previous championships.

[REDPepper]

this is the big east's best year ever in basketball probably, villanova could very well run away with a championship, but honestly, syracuse, uconn, and cincy are all on teh decline, yes, gtown is getting better, but not much... i still think the ACC is the better conference in their worst year yet! lol

Duke is #1 in teh nation as of now, BC is top ten, UNC, despite losing many players, will be decent, va tech is a tossup, just have to wait and see, miami kept a lot of their good players, and diaz should lead them into the top 25 at some point this season, gtech is gone, forever... nc state is supposedly better without hodge, uva has a very young team, but scouts are saying sean singletary is the real deal, and that uva could surprise people this year... i dont even need to continue, yes, big east may be better this year, but its the only year that will ever happen

[FightForOldDC21]

3 in a row going on 7 in a row... terps gonna hore the dukies

[EersSkins05]

I can honestly say that the only time I've ever rooted for Maryland is every single time they play dook. lol

[TSmithTheReal#36]

UMD owns Dook
ACC owns Big Least

[EersSkins05]

a) "Big Least" does not apply to basketball.

b) UM lost at home to a WVU team consisting almost solely of freshmen and sophmores at every key position.

[mjah]

UM lost at home to a WVU team consisting almost solely of freshmen and sophmores at every key position.
UM did this while fielding their worst team in ten years, judging by their first-in-a-decade postseason absence.

Enjoy WVU's success while it lasts. Tick... tick...

[TSmithTheReal#36]

1.The Big East is the only conference close to the ACC for basketball but they still aren't close.The Big East may have won the previous 2 tournament but Before Uconn and Syracuse won, it was Maryland and Duke.
ACC 3 Titles in 5 years to Big East 2 titles in 5 years.
Besides last year when was the last time WV was ever better than MD at basketball?? Your acting like WVwon a title or something, congrats you made the tourney. I know it's been awhile but you won nothing let me know you do.

2. When Maryland starts playing their "HOME" games at the MCI Center and it says BB&T Tournament on the court please let me know.

ACC>Big least

[EersSkins05]

UM did this while fielding their worst team in ten years, judging by their first-in-a-decade postseason absence.

Enjoy WVU's success while it lasts. Tick... tick...


I was talking about this year, but the same was true last year too, I suppose.



And I'm not saying WVU is a college basketball powerhouse either. (Although they also beat Maryland the last time the two played.)

Just that it makes you look like a HUGE homer every time you refer to the Big East basketball teams as the "Big Least", when there is a VERY strong argument that there is no better college bball league in the NCAA.

You can have the glitz and the glamor of Tobacco Road. God knows Dickie V. will have a full throat whenever he's covering one of your games.

Meanwhile, I'll take Nova, Syracuse, and UConn who are going to be stronger than ever, and WVU, Louisville, Cincinnati, maybe Pitt, and maybe Notre Dame also, will all make the tourney. People that know college bball know that the ACC is far weaker than the Big East this year, as it won't field anywhere near that amount. (Name em if you doubt me.)

[mjah]

Just that it makes you look like a HUGE homer every time you refer to the Big East basketball teams as the "Big Least", when there is a VERY strong argument that there is no better college bball league in the NCAA.
Proof by repeated assertion is no way to make an effective point. We all know you dislike the "Big Least" moniker. Frankly, it's a good nickname because it captures the complete disconnect between Big Least fans' inflated perception of their conference and the more sobering reality. No wonder you want to quash it. I would too, if I found myself a Big Least fan.

If the ACC didn't look somewhat weaker than usual this year and the Big Least wasn't coming off an unusually successful year with Cinderella stories from folks like WVU, we wouldn't even be having this conversation because it would be off-the-charts ridiculous. That fact alone tells you all you need to know about the overall states of each conference. ACC > Big Least. Even if it's by a smaller margin than usual this year, you can write it down.

As for other topics you touch on... I don't give a damn about Dook Vitale. He and Roach K share a hotel room and violate North Carolina sodomy laws when College Gameday rolls into Durham, and that seems to be the way they like it. One of the best things about the ACC expansion was eliminating Tobacco Road's stranglehold on the conference. So these days they can do whatever they like down there, and the rest of the ACC doesn't have to care much about it anymore. When folks start talking about Dook basketball again, I'll be visiting BC and watching my Terps tear them up on the gridiron.

:D

[GritzRgreat]

I'll be shocked if Duke doesn't win it all.

the best big in the country
the best shooter
the best recruit
and a deeper bench.

+ the best coach in basketball.

the Big East is good
but not in the ACC class.

[EersSkins05]

"Unusually successful year" is not a moniker I would place on the Big East last season. Any conference that has won 3 of the last 7 championships (as has the ACC, mind you) is not unusually sucessful in any year.

You would also be surprised to find that the Big East, as presently constituted, contains teams that have won precisely the same number of national championships in men's basketball as the Vaunted ACC. Each conference now boasts teams with 10 national championships in their resumes.

ACC
UNC- 4
Duke- 3
NC State- 2
Maryland- 1

Big East
Uconn- 2
Cincinnati- 2
Louisville- 2
Georgetown- 1
Marquette- 1
Syracuse- 1
Villanova- 1

Or maybe you wish to talk about the leagues' recent success? How about the total number of teams as represented in both conferences now that finished in the top 25 of last year's rankings?

ACC- 5 (UNC, Duke, Wake, BC, NC State)
Big East- 6 (Louisville, WVU, Villanova, UConn, Syracuse, Cincinnati)


Uh-oh. So explain to me again how the ACC is CLEARLY dominant to the Big East?

[halter91]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/halter91/UNCbanner.jpg

it could be a tough year for the Heel's, but I'm sure Roy will be successful.

[EersSkins05]

I think an aspect of UNC's championship run that has gone completely under the radar is that Roy Williams won the championship, but those were all Matt Daugherty's recruits. I think he should get more credit than he does.

No doubt though, Roy Williams has proven himself to be a good (if not great) recruiter, so I'm sure UNC is in good hands for the foreseeable future.

[mjah]

So explain to me again how the ACC is CLEARLY dominant to the Big East?

Sigh. :rolleyes:

As clearly explained earlier, last year's final Top 25 represented an unusually strong finish for the Big East, and tellingly, a slightly weak year for the ACC in which they nevertheless still took home the NC trophy! A single set of Top 25 results, even if they show that the ACC and Big Least shared essentially equal representation in the Top 25, are only minimally relevant to the your failed argument. If you can't just muster the courage to accept these facts for what they are, there's nothing more that any rational human will be able to do to show you the truth.

There's also a greater story at play here. The ACC, seeing the writing on the wall for one conference or the other, raided the Big Least's very own cupboard for their football teams and still managed to maintain an edge in basketball. The Big Least, given a nation full of other teams to woo, somehow managed to reload for basketball only to a level of near-parity with a less dominant ACC season. No doubt there are still plenty of bruised egos in Big Least Land over that, but that's just the way it is. There's no reason to vent that, as many have, upon the conference who was wise enough to act first.

And yet, I often see Big Least fans allowing frustration with their second-place status to cloud their judgment and lead to irrational claims of equality with, or even superiority to, the ACC. A powerful illustration of irregular human behavior under duress.

Let it go, for your own mental health! I have only your very best interests in mind. :D

[EersSkins05]

:doh: I show you numbers, you show me opinions.

Granted, the Big East is no longer the dominant football conference that it once was, and now has only Louisville and WVU as ranked flag-bearers. You'll get no argument from me there. (I would be surprised to see them hold onto their BCS bid, although presumably there would have to be a conference to replace the Big East's bid, and the other available conferences, the MAC, Conference USA, etc., aren't very strong candidates either.)

The truth of the matter is that there is no precedent for what to expect from Big East basketball as it currently exists because the new schools throw a rather sizable kink into the system. All we really have to base any opinion on is the performance of the schools in recent years as well as the expectations from the conference this year.

That's how you judge the strength of a conference- how good they are NOW.
(Or as Big East Coach Rick Petino might say, "Hey, Juan Dixon isn't walking through that door. Lonny Baxter isn't walking through that door." :laugh:

UConn, Louisville, Pitt, Cinci, WVU, Notre Dame, Nova, and Syracuse aren't going to stop getting good recruits. Success fosters success. Maybe they won't be stocking the roster with the McDonalds All-Americans that are going to Duke every year, but we seem to be doing just fine with our Carmelo Anthonies, Emeka Okafors, Francisco Garcias, Ben Gordons, etc.

Your argument that the Big East has somehow now narrowed the talent gap with the ACC since the acquisitions of Cincinnati, Marquette, and Louisville fails on a monumental level. The competition for best basketball conference between the ACC and Big East was close BEFORE the Big East added those schools.

Now your best bet is to stick with the PAST, as you seem to realize.

[mjah]

Wheeeeee!

I show you numbers, you show me opinions.
Oh, sorry. As you failed to comprehend the numbers, you naturally will be blindsided by the inevitable analysis phase of this thread. My apologies for leaving you behind.

Granted, the Big East is no longer the dominant football conference that it once was
I believe you misspelled the phrase, "it never was."

Given your claimed obsession with numbers-only discussion, you will no doubt want to look that up and verify it for yourself.

"Dominant football conference." :laugh:

I would be surprised to see them hold onto their BCS bid
As would I. Which is a shame, as that BCS bid is the only thing separating the Big Least from the Conference USAs of the nation.

Such a quick and curious fall for such a "dominant football conference."

A lost BCS bid would be a very serious blow to the Big Least. Personally, I'd hate to be a fan of a conference that irresponsibly sat on their hands and waited for the hammer to drop, instead of acting responsibly and deliberately to keep that bid. Maintaining BCS status as a football conference is financially much, much more important than desperately clawing at top-dog basketball status.

All we really have to base any opinion on is the performance of the schools in recent years as well as the expectations from the conference this year.
Yep.

That's how you judge the strength of a conference- how good they are NOW.
If by "NOW" you mean "over the past several years," then you are correct.

To use only "NOW" is to commit the classic mistake of ignoring actual trends and focusing only on the ever-present anomalies in those trends.

Classic, classic mistake.

Big East Coach Rick Petino
Clearly you are the resident expert on the Big East.

Remind me to introduce you to a friend of mine by the name of Bandwagon Boy.

Your argument that the Big East has somehow now narrowed the talent gap with the ACC since the acquisitions of Cincinnati, Marquette, and Louisville fails on a monumental level.
I believe you misspelled the phrase, "My argument."

Subject to that obvious correction, I agree with you wholeheartedly.

It's about time you figured this out! Thanks for playing.

[EersSkins05]

Again, I was hoping for something, ANYTHING to back up your position.

I can see I won't get that.

I'll get snide comments in a transparent attempt to belittle the argument you can't refute with anything other than obviously biased opinions.

:D

This was fun while it lasted.


Go skins.

[mjah]

When you type things like this...

...argument that the Big East has somehow now narrowed the talent gap with the ACC since the acquisitions of Cincinnati, Marquette, and Louisville fails on a monumental level.

...How could I possibly disagree? I can't find a single statistic to refute that unexpected bit of candor.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Seriously, you're trying to argue that Big Least = ACC. It's a dead-end failure of an argument, as several people have already correctly indicated and as you have amply and repeatedly demonstrated. If you want to set fire to the grim strawman of opinion vs. fact, put down your stones and move out of your glass house.

Alternately, you can feign disinterest and walk away with nothing to show for it except egg on your face. That's up to you. If that is indeed the case, best of luck with your other opinions.

A third option, which you probably won't accept because you know it's impossible for you to do, is to stop arguing about the argument and just get back to the discussion. I'd be a big fan of that. But keep in mind that opinion naturally follows fact, always. That includes the flow of discussion in this thread. You wouldn't be fooling anyone by using the opinion-vs-fact decoy as cover as you run away.

[EersSkins05]

A guy tries to end things peacefully, but then he’s baited back into the fray with more blind assertions…

Before you again provide no data to support your position, please keep in mind we’re talking about BASKETBALL.



Here’s the facts I’ve already provided you:

- History of the teams in the two conferences- both have teams representing the same number of national titles won (10)

- Recent success- both conferences have the same number of national champions (3) in the last seven years

- Last year’s final results- teams ranked in the top 25 at the end of the most recent season- ACC- 5, Big East- 6



Obviously, you want more:

- http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2186200 (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2186200) (ESPN’s Andy Katz examines Big East basketball, stating, “Now, 20 years after the Big East was the nation's "it" conference, with three teams making the Final Four in 1985 … the Big East is once again back on top ... although the formula has changed a bit.”)

- Fun Fact- The worst team in the Big East, St. Johns, beat two separate ACC teams last year- NC State and Virginia Tech.

- Speaking of Virginia Tech, that perennial bottom-dweller of Big East basketball managed to finish with an 8-8 record in the ACC, finishing 5th in the conference. VT’s highest finish in the Big East in the previous 3 years? 10th. It sure is fun playing in a conference that only goes 4 deep before VT is the team to beat…

- Teams now in each conference in the NCAA Tourney last year- Big East 8, ACC- 6.

- There was serious debate last year as late as February as to whether or not TEN separate teams from the Big East would make the tournament. Alas, we settled for 6.

- Talking about last year is very fun, but this year should be even more fun. Check the posts above to note your own admission that this year is a rebuilding year for the ACC. Also, take note that the Big East got stronger than they were last year by adding two perennial basketball powerhouses, Cincinnati and Louisville, as well as the very respectable Marquette program.



From top to bottom, the Big East is a better basketball conference.



Have a nice day.

[mjah]

(ESPN’s Andy Katz examines Big East basketball, stating, “Now, 20 years after the Big East was the nation's "it" conference, with three teams making the Final Four in 1985 … the Big East is once again back on top ... although the formula has changed a bit.”)
The same Andy Katz who, in his list of the fifty projected best teams for the upcoming season, lists fewer than half of the Big Least's "improved" list of current members? As compared with fully 75% of the ACC?

That Andy Katz? You're quoting him? And using that to argue that the Big Least is "better from top to bottom?" Are you sure you even want to go anywhere NEAR that?

But then again, maybe I missed USF somewhere on that list. That would put the Big Least at 50% in Katz's eyes.

Come on. Even in absolute numbers, the ACC wins this one 8-7. And the ACC only has 12 members! The percentages are:

ACC: 75%
Big Least: <44%

Yeah, the Big Least is better from top to bottom. Now THAT is high comedy. :laugh:

Better try a different angle next time, and try not repeating yourself. In this post, I spared the eyeballs of lurkers by omitting all the selective facts that you've already posted twice. I do understand your need to make up for the skimpy volume of facts supporting your argument by posting the same ones over again to suggest the appearance of a well supported argument, but enough is enough.

- Fun Fact- The worst team in the Big East, St. Johns, beat two separate ACC teams last year- NC State and Virginia Tech.
I don't know what your point is here, as that's a useless statistic.

But here's another Fun Fact: That very same NC State team embarrased your very own UConn boys in the Big Dance, where it actually counts for something important. That's the same UConn who tied for the best conference record in the entire Big Least!

And who did they tie with? Boston College, who left for the ACC. :laugh:

Your two best performers in the 2004-05 Big Least, each either humiliated or departed.

Good thing you have Louisville, or you surely would have had the good sense to give up on this thread long ago -- and we'd be deprived of all the entertainment you provide.

Ultimately, of course, these Fun Facts aren't terribly important and they aren't helping you much. So let's move on to some other topic where your lack of knowledge about your own conference won't cause you further humiliation.

Speaking of Virginia Tech, that perennial bottom-dweller of Big East basketball managed to finish with an 8-8 record in the ACC, finishing 5th in the conference. VT’s highest finish in the Big East in the previous 3 years? 10th. It sure is fun playing in a conference that only goes 4 deep before VT is the team to beat…
I try to help you with a topic change, and you just step right back into the poop. :doh:

Your guru Andy Katz has projected Virginia Tech -- which you assure me is a mediocre team, at best -- to be better than the majority of the Big Least this year. Care to try and explain that away? By all means, waste your time dancing around that one. Go ahead. No, really. Go ahead. I'm seriously requesting that you dance around this one. It'll be fun.

It's interesting how a legitimately improved team is so easily misunderstood by those with agendas that conflict with reality.

Teams now in each conference in the NCAA Tourney last year- Big East 8, ACC- 6.
That's 50% of each conference -- again, a down year for the ACC and the Big East still can't pull away. Care to make these comparisons for the four previous years too, and get back to me? I'll be waiting for your results.

I'll bet a lurker $1 that he doesn't do it. Too embarrassing for him.

And by the way, I certainly hope you aren't going to claim that having 8 out of 16 teams in the Big Dance is somehow better than having 6 out of 12 in it. The shotgun principle doesn't apply in college basketball. Particularly when none of your 8 even managed to sniff the title game (no, Louisville got smoked by 15 against Illinois). What a dominant conference!

There was serious debate last year as late as February as to whether or not TEN separate teams from the Big East would make the tournament. Alas, we settled for 6.
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were only talking about facts -- as you demanded repeatedly. Are you now dropping that demand?

Or is it close enough to a fact that some folks had opinions about Big Least teams that ultimately neglected to get the job done? :laugh:

Check the posts above to note your own admission that this year is a rebuilding year for the ACC.
...And you've lost the reading comprehension game, again. Better luck next time.

But leave it to a Big Least fan to wipe his brow with relief at the prospect of a down year for the ACC. Nobody will blame you for that.

From top to bottom, the Big East is a better basketball conference.
And you accuse me of spouting unsupported opinions? Your "facts" in no way support your "blind assertions!" :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

By the way, a friend (Big Ten fan and therefore neutral in this debate) dropped in while I was typing this. The conversation went like this:

HIM: What are you up to?
ME: Correcting a Big Least homer who thinks his conference is somehow the best in the nation in basketball.

[One-second pause]

HIM: Well, I suppose there's still honor in beating up old ladies.
True story and an instant classic.

ACC > Big Least, and that's just the end of the story.

Your argument is dead and buried, friend, whether you choose to understand that or not.

[EersSkins05]

- NC State beat Uconn in the tournament? :(

- Oh wait, it's ok. WVU, who finished 7th in their conference, beat a Wake Forest team in the tournament that finished 2nd in the ACC, with the same 13-3 in-conference record as UConn and BC. (I hope you made as much money off that game as I did...)
BTW- WVU also beat NC State in the regular season.

- Andy Katz has a preseason top 50 list that includes more members of the ACC than the Big East? :(
- Good thing preseason lists don't count for jack sh*t. But if you really want to count a preseason list as some sort of statistical barometer, it is worth noting that 6 Big East teams crack his top 25, while only 4 make it from the ACC. Not that a preseason list matters though. (It doesn't.)

Your guru Andy Katz has projected Virginia Tech -- which you assure me is a mediocre team, at best -- to be better than the majority of the Big Least this year. Care to try and explain that away?

- Again with the preseason lists? Ok, actually, it's pretty easy to "explain away." You see, when you have a conference of 11 members and 6 of those members finish with losing records in-conference, that means that your conference is "top-heavy". Compare w/ the Big East, where a majority of the members are competative every single year, as evidenced by the fact that only 4 out of 12 teams from last year actually had losing records in-conference.

This means that while Big East Teams are consistently banging each other while playing competative basketball (even Providence had some moments last year) with 8 out of 12 opponents, ACC teams play the same number of in-conference games, yet only face a winning in-conference team 45% of the time.

Virginia Tech was relieved to be facing Virginia, Clemson, Florda State, NC State, and Maryland 55% of their games.

Of course they'll be expected to do something. They're a former Big East team that gets to play in the ACC.

- So let me get this straight, the ACC had a down year last year, is rebuilding this year, the already existing big east teams will be stronger than ever, and they just added two college basketball powerhouses and one very respectable program as well? And you're saying that my assertion that the Big East is a stronger basketball conference now is somehow laughable? And I'M the homer? :doh:

- I don't want to spend the next hour looking for the total number of teams to make the tournament from each conference over the last 4 years. But I'm not particularly worried about what you'll find if you want to dig it up. Feel free to post it.
(Also bearing in mind that I'll be perfectly comfortable w/ the knowledge that 2 of those tournaments ended in Big East championships.)

- Congratulations. You took BC. We'll take Louisville, Cincinnati, and Marquette. :laugh:

[mjah]

In the interest of humoring you with the notion that your sails haven't been shot away and your rudder obliterated, let's continue.

First, enough with the "Fun Facts." I'd be happy to oblige you in another round of head-to-heads between middle-tier conference teams. We can go on and on about NC State and who they beat, who beat them, who UConn rolled over against, who reaped benefits from the annual Wake choke-job, etc. (Good game, by the way -- impressive win by WVU.) But they don't mean much.

It's a good thing WVU won that game, BTW, or the Big Least would have been 0-3 against the ACC in this year's tourney. Come to think of it, that's a statistic with some weight to it.

Good thing preseason lists don't count for jack sh*t.
And yet earlier you tried to make hay from Andy Katz's preseason opinion, which -- as you certainly noticed since you read and quoted his article -- was supported by even less empirical evidence than his actual preseason list.

Can't have it both ways. Hop, hop, hop... Solid debate is not a game of Frogger.

Again with the preseason lists?
Yeah -- from your guru Andy Katz. Whose opinion you quoted after insisting that only facts were good enough to appear on these pages.

I'm glad you got the point, though: Preseason projections are a complete joke. So let's stick with established performance, shall we?

Ok, actually, it's pretty easy to "explain away."

(Quoted author does a hilarious dance trying to rationalize the fact that VT has actually managed to stop being a national basketball punching bag)
That was a great dance you just did. I really enjoyed that. Hilarious, and it looked like you really meant it. Bravo!

Unfortunately, it was full of nothing valuable regarding national success. In particular, the fact that you mentioned that Tech would be relieved to be playing Maryland is a dead giveaway that you just went to a website and noted down teams with losing conference records last year. Way to do research!

Maryland had a down year last year -- as did much of the ACC relative to competing conferences, as I'm sure you already know -- but if you knew anything at all about Maryland's recent history and spent half a second thinking about it, you'd immediately realize that VT had absolutely no relief at the prospect of playing the previous year's ACC champion with a decade-long NCAA tournament streak. They just played well against a struggling opponent. That's what improved teams do.

Your dance was good, though. We'll see how VT plays this year. If they end up in the tournament, I expect you to buy a hat and eat it.

So let me get this straight, the ACC had a down year last year, is rebuilding this year, the already existing big east teams will be stronger than ever, and they just added two college basketball powerhouses and one very respectable program as well? And you're saying that my assertion that the Big East is a stronger basketball conference now is somehow laughable? And I'M the homer?
I think we've already been over why you're the homer.

Most of this quote is true line-by-line, except for your crystal-ball assertion that "the already existing big (l)east teams will be stronger than ever," which smacks of Andy Katz-ism and therefore is inadmissable according to your own standards. If you don't put three teams in the Final Four and win an NC this year, you will be immediately and irretrievably wrong with your Magic Eight Ball prediction. I certainly hope you won't be putting money on that.

ACC fans hear this every year: "Oh, you won't be top dog anymore. Someone's gonna gitcha." And then, like clockwork, it fails to happen. Come tournament time the ACC is on top again, and the naysayers scurry back into their rat-holes. Same hot air, different year.

I don't want to spend the next hour looking for the total number of teams to make the tournament from each conference over the last 4 years.
Embarrassment trumps a little diligence! Did I call that, or what?

And I win a dollar!

You would have been better off just not mentioning this and hoping that I had forgotten about it. That has occasionally been a successful dodge strategy for you in previous posts.

Congratulations. You took BC. We'll take Louisville, Cincinnati, and Marquette.
You realize it'll basically take a financial miracle to keep your conference together in its current form over the next 5-10 years, right? Or do you not care about that?

I do not envy your conference affiliation, nor their prospects for future, in the slightest. I imagine even the Big Ten probably feels the same way!

[EersSkins05]

lol- I really didn't want to spend the time necessary to find out which Big East/ACC teams made the tourney in the last 4 years. I have no idea of what that data will show, honestly.

Feel absolutely free to do the legwork yourself and post it.

The rest of it, meh, we've been over it enough. Do not accept this as a token of the validity of your argument and/or the weakness of mine. I am simply tired of arguing with you over something as impossible to pin down as one conference vs. another when it's becoming apparent that we both have solid arguments for our side of the case.

I look forward to similar jousts once the actual season begins in a few months, and Dick Vitale places his face firmly in JJ Reddick's lap for 6 months.
(By the way, Dick Vitale made a MLB Playoff prediction on espn.com. I'd be willing to bet that if you think about the perfect team for him to pick, you could come up with his prediction no sweat.)

[The Evil Genius]

Based on who's returning this year, I would suggest that the Big East will have 3 top 10 teams in the first month of the polls (Louisville, UConn, and Villanova). WVU will probably be around 15 or so.

The ACC will probably only have one early season top 10 team (#1 or #2 rated Duke). UNC will get some love since they are defending and since they are UNC - but I think they are truly down this year. Wake and BC will be top 15-20 teams...but who else does that leave? NC State? MD?

Maybe I am shortsighted about the ACC this year - but it doesn't look as strong as it was in years past. And that's with the addition of a quality BC team.

[mjah]

Dick Vitale places his face firmly in JJ Reddick's lap for 6 months.
Until K tells Dick to cut it out, 'cuz it's his turn.

Can't argue with that. :laugh:

[RedsSKINS_7]

i smell a championship


goooo duke

[mjah]

I smell a bruised rib.

Ruh-roh!

[REDSKINZRULE]

DUKE = WHATEVER !!!

GO HEELS !!!!!

[REDSKINZRULE]

i smell a championship


goooo dukeyou guys say that every year ....we will see ...you guys are stacked thats for sure ...but once again what's new about that ???;)

[santanamoss89]

Go Duke!!!!

[SkinsHokieFan]

I hate Duke

Yeah I mean I really hate Duke

.6 added on to the clock, just enough time to make a bucket

Terrible

[Eagles_Legendz]

UCONN, Villanova, and Texas should all be above Duke in the polls.

I hate them.

Very much.

[mookie0720]

but now the Big East>ACC in basketball.


Um....No.

Maybe this year, but not historically and not in the future.

[PapaDRoc]

"Duke Basketball!"

That is the worst thread title I have ever seen.

[intheRIC]

Go Duke Go. If we don't absolutely anhiliate Penn tonight I'm predicting a Sweet Sixteen loss. If they rebound and crush Penn, we can make the FF. I don't know if any of you have actually been *watching* the games, but Duke has played like crap. This coming from someone who has tickets to see them at Gtown and at Temple.

[PapaDRoc]

Go Duke Go. If we don't absolutely anhiliate Penn tonight I'm predicting a Sweet Sixteen loss. If they rebound and crush Penn, we can make the FF. I don't know if any of you have actually been *watching* the games, but Duke has played like crap. This coming from someone who has tickets to see them at Gtown and at Temple.
Well coming from someone who bases their tournament predictions on how they play Penn, I'm not too sure if too many people are gonna take u seriously.

[intheRIC]

Well coming from someone who bases their tournament predictions on how they play Penn, I'm not too sure if too many people are gonna take u seriously.
Ha! Point well taken. The problem with the current team is that they either aren't that good (which is probable) or they play down to their competition (except for Seton Hall). I fully expect us to get spanked by Texas on Saturday. It'd be the best thing for our freshman.

[santanamoss89]

Ha! Point well taken. The problem with the current team is that they either aren't that good (which is probable) or they play down to their competition (except for Seton Hall). I fully expect us to get spanked by Texas on Saturday. It'd be the best thing for our freshman.

You were wrong. We killed Texas. We won by 31. Reddick had 41 and was 9 for 16 on 3 pointers. Duke is amazing. GO DUKE!!!!

[mjah]

Reddick
Is Redick still playing with bruised ribs? What a player. What a man.

Emeka says hello. :laugh:

[PapaDRoc]

I cannot wait for the first Maryland-Duke game......

[santanamoss89]

I cannot wait for the first Maryland-Duke game......

Maryland wont win like last year. Its a new year. GO DUKE!!!

[mjah]

Maryland wont win like last year. Its a new year.
I do believe I heard that last year. :silly:

We'll see...

[santanamoss89]

I do believe I heard that last year. :silly:

We'll see...

You might have heard that. But not from me. I think Duke plays Maryland January 11th.

[jabronijames]

Weird that the ACC>Big East in Football but now the Big East>ACC in basketball.


Weird how North Carolina (ACC) won the championship...

Big East licks my nads
Duke SUCKS!!

[santanamoss89]

Another win by duke. 10-0 baby!!!

[intheRIC]

Yup 10-0. Good to see Boykin get some quality minutes.

[jaysons]

yeah nobody in the ACC can touch us.

i hate to say it but the rest of ACC is garbage this year.
Duke may very well go undefeated.

JJ!!

[mjah]

Duke may very well go undefeated.
Keep stacking those dominos in a nice, tight line. The more, the merrier... :laugh:

[santanamoss89]

Dukes 12-0 now. Reddick is 2nd in NCAA in scoring. Damn their good.

[FightForOldDC21]

duke is a bunch of losers
redick likes men
so does melchoni

[Matt Kyriacou]

Duck Fuke!!!!!

[PapaDRoc]

Duck Fuke!!!!!
Well said. :applause:

[autographcollector]

Duck Fuke!!!!!


:cheers:

[santanamoss89]

duke is a bunch of losers
redick likes men
so does melchoni

Haha. They sure are losers...NOT. Loser arent 12-0.