Where does the Big East stack up compared to last season?

You all were waiting for it.

And it finally happened.

You may not have noticed due to the beer and football induced stupor you were in on Sunday, but the Big East had a pretty rough weekend. Louisville, Providence, DePaul, Notre Dame, Villanova, Cincinnati, and Marquette all lost as the Big East went 7-7 over the course of Saturday and Sunday. That's seven losses in two days from a league that had 20 losses over the first month of the season.

Throw in the loss's that UConn and Pitt suffered in the Garden during the week, and nine different teams from the league lost last week.

The question now becomes, is this simply the Big East coming back down to earth - hey, they had to lose at some point, didn't they? - or is it a sign that the league is not quite as powerful as some of us speculated the last few weeks?

Last season, the consensus was that the Big East was one of the strongest leagues in the history of college basketball, but most of that strength was at the top of the league. Less than half of the teams in the Big East made the NCAA Tournament, but of the seven that did, five reached the Sweet 16, four made the Elite 8, and two reached the Final Four.

Can a league be one of the best ever when 9 of the 16 teams don't even qualify for the Big Dance?

Part of the reason there was so much hype regarding the Big East was that they started off so strong. At one point early in the year, nine teams were ranked in the top 25. Two teams that spent time in the top 10, Notre Dame and Georgetown, ended up missing the dance completely.

So, as any reasonable blogger would do, I'll compare.

Last year on December 16th, the Big East was 116-28 as a league. This year? 117-27. That's a one game difference.

Crazy, right?

Now take into account the disastrous weekend the league just had, and it is pretty obvious that as of last Friday, the Big East was well beyond where they were at this same point last season, and last season the conference was considered one of the best ever.

There's more.

Seven teams that got out to great starts last season fell way off as the year went along:

• Seton Hall and St. John's both started the season 8-1 before hitting a mid-year swoon and finishing 17-16 and 16-18, respectively. Both the Pirates and the Johnnies are much improved this season, and despite neither playing at full strength right now, St. John's is 8-1 while Seton Hall is 8-0.
• Notre Dame (7-2) and Georgetown (7-1 on Dec. 16th, 10-1 to start the season) both shot up the polls early in the season, but for a variety of reasons collapsed during the rigors of Big East play, finishing 21-15 and 16-15, respectively.Georgetown is 8-0 this season and once again approaching the top 10, while Notre Dame is 9-2.
• Cincinnati started the year 7-2 and looked like a team that could compete for a bubble spot, but struggled during conference play as a result of their lack of balance offensively and finished 18-14. They are 6-2 this year and have much more help for Deonta Vaughn.
• Providence looked like they could also compete for an at-large bid as they started the season 6-3. They are 7-4 this year, but don't look like they will be a factor come March.

What does all this mean?

Could the Big East actually be better this season than it was last season?

Depends on what you mean by better.

No, they don't have the same powerhouses at the top of the league. Sure, Syracuse, West Virginia, and even Villanova and possibly Georgetown may compete for #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, but will three of those teams be #1 seeds? Not with Kansas, Kentucky, and Texas around.

But the Big East is deeper this season. Teams like Marquette, Louisville, Pitt, and UConn, traditional Big East powers, are going to occupy the middle of the league standings. Seton Hall, South Florida, St. John's, Cincinnati, and DePaul, teams that have been consistently at the bottom of the league, also look to be middle of the pack teams.

Does that make it a better league?

This article is also posted at Rush the Court, along with a weekly Big East review.