The Big East is a BIG FRAUD!!!

[afan]

Well who from the Big East would you have not allowed in the tournament this year? Marquette is the only one that probably didn't deserve to go and they ended up making the Sweet 16.

Since 2003...

SEC-has 2 National Champs and 4 Final Four Teams during that span
BIG TEN-has 0 National Champs and 5 Final Four Teams
ACC-has 3 National Champs and 5 Final Four Teams (only one team wasn't UNC or Duke)
PAC 10-has 0 National Champs and 3 Final Four Teams (all UCLA)
BIG 12-has 1 National Champ and 4 Final Four Teams
BIG EAST-has 3 National Champs 9 Final Four Teams

I don't question that they have a few good teams year in and year out. My point is that they didn't deserve 11 teams this year. I would have left out the last 6.

[TheAsianSensation]

Ok, seriously, UConn's non-conference schedule, if it was held by, say, a MVC team, would be getting praise from everyone.

I'm all for attacking the power conferences but the Big East this year is not the time or spot to attack.

[Tulsa Brave]

The Big East lost 9 of 11 games during the first weekend of the tourney
The Big East lost 6 of 8 to lower seeds
The Big East lost 2 of 8 against their own conference

Without a doubt if there was ever a conference that did not deserve 11 bids it was the Big East. At the very least they obviously were seeded incorrectly. In addition to bad seeds, etc, their non-conference schedules (in particular Syracuse and even U-conn were absolutely loaded with cup cakes and home games). There is no end to the number of teams that were more deserved to go the the dance than the Big East 11 teams (two teams in the MVC for example, Witchita State and Missouri). Have you checked last years performance for the Big East in the Tourney? It was even worse. They are over hyped year after year (not to say that there aren't a few decent teams (obviously U-conn this year)).

Yeah Missouri State who beat NOBODY and I mean NOBODY besides Wichita State all year deserved to go over any of the 11 Big East teams who got in???? Really???? I assume you believe Milwaukee and Hofstra should have gotten in too, over say Cincinnati and Marquette??? How do you figure? By the way the Big East won more than the 2 games you mention the first weekend of the tourney...I count 7-4 in round 1 and 2-5 in round 2...so instead of losing 9 of 11 games, they lost 9 of 18 games...big difference. They also went 6-3 against lower seeds in round 1 (and 1-1 against higher seeds), so not sure where your 2-6 came from...

[BradleyJD]

They played and beat:

Wichita State
Michigan State
Kentucky
Texas
Tennessee
Cincinnati(NCAA Tourney)
S.D. State (NCAA Tourney)
Arizona (NCAA Tourney)
Kentucky (NCAA Tourney)
Butler (NCAA Tourney)

They did have some "cupcakes" but I wouldn't blame them. You are not going to play in the Big East AND schedule 15 brutal non-conference games on top of it.

Those first 5 games I mentioned are good, hard games.

One didn't play in the ncaa tourney, others got beat early on in the tourney, a few were good teams. And, the majority of the teams were "cupcakes".

Really??

So, year in and year out, you believe Wichita State, Michigan State, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas are "cupcakes"?

And you think UConn needs to schedule harder than that, even though they will also be playing 6-10 NCAA teams, year in and out, during the conference too???

No way.

[afan]

Really??

So, year in and year out, you believe Wichita State, Michigan State, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas are "cupcakes"?

And you think UConn needs to schedule harder than that, even though they will also be playing 6-10 NCAA teams, year in and out, during the conference too???

No way.

Check their pre-season schedule...the majority, cupcakes and home games. You may remember just a few years ago that Syracuse did not make the ncaa tourney due to their weak schedule. Beheim is infamous for his cup cake schedule year after year. And Michigan State, and Tennessee were "weaker" than normal teams this year.

[TheAsianSensation]

UConn's non-conference SoS: 39

I mean, yes there's cupcakes, but everyone has at least 2-3 cupcakes. UConn has a couple more, but if we're going to criticize their non-con, then by rule, you think 90% of all non-conference schedules in the entire country are total crap and they should do better.

I mean listen to yourselves and look at the stats. You're calling 90% of the schedules in the country crap!

[bigdaddystuck]

Check their pre-season schedule...the majority, cupcakes and home games. You may remember just a few years ago that Syracuse did not make the ncaa tourney due to their weak schedule. Beheim is infamous for his cup cake schedule year after year. And Michigan State, and Tennessee were "weaker" than normal teams this year.

Michigan St. and Tennessee were weaker true but they were still 2 teams that got into the tournament and I am pretty sure when the schedule was made that nobody thought they were going to be "weaker". No way any team is going to schedule all of their non-con games against top 25 talent...I don't even think it is possible! Their SOS was 39! Not much room for improvement!

[Tulsa Brave]

Check their pre-season schedule...the majority, cupcakes and home games. You may remember just a few years ago that Syracuse did not make the ncaa tourney due to their weak schedule. Beheim is infamous for his cup cake schedule year after year. And Michigan State, and Tennessee were "weaker" than normal teams this year.

Compare Missouri State's non-con to UConn's game by game...both opponents and results. Remember you think Missouri State deserved a bid over some iof the Big East teams despite getting blasted by every halfway decent team they played in the non-con.

[BradleyJD]

Check their pre-season schedule...the majority, cupcakes and home games. You may remember just a few years ago that Syracuse did not make the ncaa tourney due to their weak schedule. Beheim is infamous for his cup cake schedule year after year. And Michigan State, and Tennessee were "weaker" than normal teams this year.

I agree some play very weak non-cons, but UConn was not one this season.

Michigan State was a preseason top-5 I think! I don't think Calhoun made the schedule knowing MSU or Tenn. would struggle?!

[tornado]

not sure if it was mentioned elsewhere --

UConn returned to Connecticut after winning the National Championship....
and how many fans were there to greet them?

"several dozen"
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/artic...sey=nav%7Chead

other sources said it very few -- less than 100 -- pretty weird -- they probably had more show up to welcome the womens team

nevertheless-- the "fans" on campus still saw this as a reason to riot and cause trouble...
and there were considerably more rioters than there were people who greeted the team!

"Some fans got a little too raucous. Police say fans caused minor property damage on campus and in Storrs.
Campus police arrested 24 revelers, and state police made three off-campus arrests. Most were for vandalism, but others
were accused of breach of peace, inciting a riot, criminal trespassing and interfering with a police officer.
Of the 24 arrested on campus, 10 are UConn students.

Police said one car was flipped and a couple of fires were started in dumpsters. A couch was set on fire and a car was overturned
at an off-campus apartment complex. State police say a crowd of 200 or so had gathered, and some were throwing bottles at troopers.
Dogs were used to disperse the crowd."

[Tulsa Brave]

Several dozen out in the cold rain at the airport, but 7500 at the arena where they went right after that.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6297126

Most people when given the choice between a nice warm indoors and a cold rain outdoors will choose the indoors...whether it be the people in CT, IL, OK, or anywhere else. Not to mention many of the students likely had no way to get to the airport even had they wanted to be there.