Not sure how many Big East fans we have here, but as a graduate of Syracuse University I feel like I am required to follow the conference.  Not like Big Ten basketball scores in the low 50's are really making me regret my decision, but anyway...

This year, the Big East tournament will be including all 16 teams.  I'm sorry, but this is just plain silly. Disregard the fact that there are in fact 16 teams (about 4 or so too many) in this conference, and that the Big East features teams in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.  Doesn't sound too "eastern" to me, not to mention, what happened to geographical groupings for conference?  That's a whole other issue, but still.

Take DePaul, for instance.  How on Earth the Blue Demons deserve a spot in any post-season tournament of any kind defies any level of sanity. Not one conference win in 18 tries. Not a one. Nice job, Jerry Wainright.

Then again, it's not as if the other three teams new to the tournament this year (in years past the top 12 made it) were much better. South Florida, Rutgers and St. John's had a combined 12 wins. If anyone saw those teams play, they know that even that total isn't representative of how bad, how truly pathetic these "teams" were.

I actually had the misfortune of going to a St. John's game, earlier this year at the Garden.  The misfortune came from the fact that I actually paid for the tickets.  The effort by the Johnnies was certainly there, but they struggled mightily with the whole "score points" concept which seems to be a fundamental backbone of the game.

People in favor of allowing all the teams into the tournament cite the fact that other conferences don't exclude anyone and that every team deserves a shot. Well, I'm all for fairness, but when you have a lengthy time to finish in the top 12 out of 16, meaning that you'd have to be in the bottom 25% of the conference not to make it, you should be able to do it if you want to be seriously considered for any post-season play. If you can't rank at least 12th, maybe you should sit this one out, and think about how bad you really were.

And so now, the Big East gets an extra day on TV, the Garden an extra to sell horrible concessions and over-priced seats. And we, the fans, get the pleasure of some lovely matchups. Cincy and DePaul? Seton Hall and South Florida? Hold it in, if you can.

By the way, my pick (wild and crazy, I know) is for Pitt to beat Louisville in the finals.  Who do you like?