The Big East Flexes its Muscles

With the first two rounds of the 2009 NCAA tournament in the bag, the Big East has five teams in the Sweet 16. This may not be a surprise to many because of the five, three were #1 seeds while the other two were #3 seeds. It is, however, a testament to the depth and strength of the conference this year. In fact, I would not be surprised if the Big East sends three or even all four teams to this year’s Final Four. Here is a preview of what’s in store for the Big East later this week.

MIDWEST REGIONAL (Indianapolis, IN)

No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 12 Arizona, Friday, 7:07 p.m. ET

The Midwest is home to a very interesting Sweet 16 match up between the Louisville Cardinals and Arizona Wildcats. Some thought Arizona didn’t even belong in the field of 64 yet here they are in the Sweet 16. The bus should stop here though. Louisville’s length on defense will cause problems for the Wildcats. Chase Budinger and Nic Wise need to play flawless games for Arizona to have a chance. I think the Cardinals run away with this one. Vegas seems to agree as Louisville is an 8 ½ point favorite at the moment.

SOUTH REGIONAL (Memphis, TN)

No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Syracuse, Friday, 7:27 p.m. ET

In the South Region Syracuse has the toughest road to the Final Four if they want to represent the Big East there. They will have go through Blake Griffin and a dangerous Oklahoma team just to meet the winner of UNC vs. Gonzaga. However, if Jonny Flynn can limit the turnovers and run the offense as he did vs. Arizona State, Syracuse will be a tough out. Especially if they continue to spread the scoring around. Four players were in double digits vs. Stephen F. Austin while five were against Arizona State. If that trend continues, I expect Syracuse to pull off the upset against Oklahoma later this week. Coach Jim Boeheim seems to have his team playing exceptionally focused basketball at the most critical time of the year.

EAST REGIONAL (Boston, MA)

No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 4 Xavier, Thursday, 7:27 p.m. ET

I fully expect DeJuan Blair to continue his dominance and the Panthers to advance vs. a talented Xavier team. Sam Young seems to be un-guardable at this point and senior guard Levance Fields continues to hit big shots and has a 2.8 assist to turnover ratio thus far. Pittsburg hasn’t played at its highest level yet but don’t expect that trend to continue. It may not be pretty, but the Panthers will advance.

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 3 Villanova, Thursday, 9:57 p.m. ET

In the lower half of that East Region Villanova faces a solid Duke team that is well coached and doesn’t make mistakes. Villanova will undoubtedly run and try to take advantage of their depth. I expect their guard play to launch them into an Elite 8 rematch with Pittsburg who they defeated 67-57 earlier this season. Scottie Reynolds has been quiet thus far. Look for him to step it up and quarterback Villanova to a close win against the Blue Devils.

WEST REGIONAL (Glendale, AZ)

No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 5 Purdue, Thursday, 7:07 p.m. ET

The Huskies have been the most dominant team in the field so far with wins by 56 over Chattaooga and 26 over Texas A&M. Senior guard A.J. Price is playing with something to prove after being injured early against San Diego in the first round last year. A game which the Huskies regretfully lost. Hasheem Thabeet needs to step it up on the offensive side of the ball for the Huskies to really have a shot at winning it all. I expect them to roll over Purdue this Thursday though, especially if they continue to rebound as well as they have been. Over the first two games they have out rebounded their opponents 93-55 for a +38 differential. Purdue, on the other hand, has only a +3 differential in their first two games. The Huskies will control the boards and glide into the Elite 8 where they may have a much anticipated battle against Memphis.

Here are my projected Elite 8 games. Beware of the Big East!
Midwest: No 1. Louisville vs. No 3. Kansas
East: No 1. Pittsburg vs. No 3. Villanova
South: No 1. North Carolina vs. No 3. Syracuse
West: No 1. Connecticut vs. No 2. Memphis