The Big East is balanced this season

It has been a long time since there was a good college basketball team in the NYC metro area.

Unless you consider Storrs, CT, in the NYC metro area.

This season was supposed to be different. Seton Hall had added transfers Herb Pope, Jamel Jackson, Jeff Robinson, and Keon Lawrence to a solid core. St. John's was bringing everyone back, including one of the most underrated players in the league in DJ Kennedy. Rutgers lost Corey Chandler, but with Mike Rosario returning alongside Gregory Echinique and Hamady Ndiaye, the Scarlett Knights were expected to be much more competitive in the league.

The non-conference season seemed promising. They combined to go 28-7 before the Big East season, which included wins over Temple, Siena, and Cornell, three teams that could very well be playing in the tournament.

Hell, it seemed like both the Pirates and the Johnnies had a good shot at making a run to the dance.

But a week into league play, these teams have yet to win a game, going 0-5. What's worse is that four of those five losses have come at home.

So what happened?

For starters, injuries have played a big role. St. John's is just getting Justin Burrell back after a sprained ankle held him out for a couple weeks, and still hasn't had Anthony Mason, Jr., who is battling hamstring problems. Rutgers lost Echinique for the season to an eye injury. And if you look closer, four of those five losses came against teams that look destined to be dancing. In each of those four games, the loser wasn't blown out as much as outlasted.

But the bigger issue may a bit more subtle. You see, winning is a skill; a learned trait. It takes experience, it takes leadership, and it takes smarts. Its the ability to understand time and score, knowing when to step on the gas and when to rein it in offensively and run some clock. Its knowing what is a good shot, and the ability to run your sets offensively and get those good shots.

After watching any (or all) of these games, do you believe that Seton Hall, St. John's, or Rutgers knows how to win a close game?

I don't.

Can the same be said for Marquette?

The Golden Eagles were written off by a lot of people before the season started, but after an impressive showing at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, it seemed like Buzz Williams team might be better than some of us thought.

But Marquette has had just as much trouble in close games. They are currently sitting at 9-5 on the season, losing those five games by a combined 17 points, three of which came on the final possession.

Two of those losses came in Marquette's first two Big East games, as Da'Sean Butler and Scottie Reynolds both hit game-winners in the final seconds.

What does this all mean?

Well, what we know for sure is that Marquette is much better than expected, Seton Hall has a ton of talent, and that St. John's is good (they beat Temple in Philly, and regardless of what Kansas did on Saturday, beating this Temple team in Philly is impressive) and will only get better when Mason returns.

Maybe this says more about the Big East conference as a whole than anything about a specific team.

Maybe this proves what we expected - that the Big East is incredibly balanced this season.

Maybe this shows us that the difference between finishing 12-6 and 6-12 in the league, the difference between making the tournament and heading to the NIT, isn't a matter of talent. Its a matter of leadership, of experience, of smarts.

Maybe the difference is simply having guys that know how to win these close games.