After a week, the Big East should feel a lot better about itself.
Instead of feeling slighted by Sunday’s selection, the conference could boast of being undefeated through the first four days of the NCAA Tournament.
Only three teams from the Big East were selected to the dance, despite KenPom.com ranking them as the second-best in the conference, but with a perfect 6-0 record, They responded by sending the team to the Sweet 16.
No. 1 overall seed Connecticut put an exclamation point on its start to the tournament by defeating No. 9 seed Northwestern 75-58 at Barclays Center.
Creighton, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, and Marquette, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, overcame a second-round scare to join the Huskies in the second weekend.
Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman said, “The teams that are left are here to find a way to send a message that the Big East is one of the elite basketball conferences in the country and that we are playing at the highest level.” I think there are,” he said. , speaking publicly for the first time since Seton Hall, St. John’s and Providence were scorned. “We’ve been to the Final Four four times since 2016, we have the No. 1 overall seed, we have a No. 2 seed in Marquette, we have a No. 3 seed in Creighton, and that’s our league. It speaks to the strength of…Wouldn’t it have been better to have a little more team? That’s true, but this year’s cookies didn’t crumble like that. What can we do about that now? There is no.”
Connecticut coach Dan Hurley believes the Big East should have received at least five bids and should have elevated other underperforming leagues, though he declined to name specifics.
The Mountain West sent six teams to the tournament, but only No. 5 seed San Diego State remained alive late Sunday night.
The SEC went 5-6 in the first two rounds, with only two of the eight teams reaching the Sweet 16.
Even in the powerhouse Big 12, only two teams made it through.
There’s a group chat among Big East coaches where the three still alive are supported by other coaches.
“I know everyone is excited to see us continue to push and represent the league at a high level,” Hurley said. “Obviously there was a mistake. It sucks.”
Ackerman avoided criticizing the committee, saying multiple times that the Big East respects the committee’s process.
She was told that an unusual number of bid thieves were affecting the league’s bubble teams.
Five of those cases were the highest in recent years.
Otherwise, Seton Hall could have been chosen, and perhaps either St. John’s or Providence.
Selection committee chairman Charles McClelland said St. John’s Quad 1 record (4-10) precluded it from competing.
He blamed Seton Hall’s win over Connecticut because center Donovan Clingan was injured during the game, and pointed to poor metrics for Providence and No. 58 in the NET rankings. .
Virginia, the last remaining team, certainly didn’t deserve a crushing loss to Colorado State in the First Four.
But Ackerman declined to slam the league, which has the fewest teams since 1993.
“Are we working behind the scenes to try to understand it better, to make our concerns known? Yes, that’s happening. It’s going to continue for months to come,” she said. Ta. “And that’s how we attack this. I don’t think standing here at this table and yelling out loud is going to get more teams into the tournament this year.
field. charles wenzelberg
“That could get me on the back page of the New York Post, and they could write better things about the Big East, and I could get a lot of complaints from disgruntled Seton Hall fans and Providence fans last week. I wouldn’t even have to get the emails I got,” St. John’s fan. But that’s the job. I’m not going to make any wild predictions here, but I’m very confident that three or more of his teams from the Big East will be in his NCAA Tournament next year. ”
Ackerman said the Big East is working to get a better handle on what’s most important to the committee, and she has been told to continue to develop a tight schedule.
There may also be a review of the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool), which is one of the metrics referenced by the committee. For now, she’s excited about the performances of Connecticut, Marquette and Creighton.
“We want to get some teams to the Final Four and win a national championship in the next few weeks,” Ackerman said.
