NCAA Basketball Futures - Big East's Best of the Rest

Here is a quick look at the Big East conference teams that are will be chasing Villanova, West Virginia, Connecticut, Louisville and Georgetown. The team most likely to make the NCAA tournament coming first with last year's straight-up and ATS records are in parentheses:

SYRACUSE (28-10 SU, 18-16 ATS) is staring a big void in the face, as Jonny Flynn went off to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Freshman Brandon Tiche should get his fair chance to run the offense. These team has beef up front, of that much you can be assured - Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku weigh over 500 combined pounds. The most of intriguing of the many newcomers is Wesley Johnson, an extremely talented 6'7" transfer from Iowa State, who may have made All-Big 12 last year if he had stayed. A lot of people are writing off the Orange because Flynn and Eric Devendorf aren't there, but I would not count them out.

CINCINNATI (18-14 SU, 11-15 ATS) has a nice inside-outside thing going with scoring guard Deonta Vaughn (15.3 ppg) and bulldog big man Yancy Gates (6'9", 260 pounds). The newcomers are real important here. Cashmere Wright, who was a medical redshirt last year, will be the point guard, and he'll be a good one. 6'6" Lance Stephenson is a highly-touted recruit out of Brooklyn. Center Ibrahima Thomas, a transfer from Oklahoma State, can be an impact player and will be eligible in mid-December. The Bearcats should be able to get to the NCAA's.

NOTRE DAME (21-15 SU, 12-19 ATS) lost a lot of experience with Kyle McAlarney gone, along with three key role players. The main guy is back, though. Luke Harangody (23.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg) put himself into the draft, then worked out for some teams, who liked what they saw, then pulled himself out. Reliable guard Tony Jackson comes back to join him. There are outside shooters coming in, and a big boost should come from Ben Hansbrough, brother of Tyler, a 6'3" senior transfer from Mississippi State. Good times should come back to South Bend.

SETON HALL (17-15 SU, 18-9 ATS) returns four starters. Guards Jeremy Hazell and Eugene Harvey and forward Robert Mitchell combined for almost 40 points per game last season. They've got an infusion of talent coming in, and that includes Herb Pope, a 6'9" transfer from New Mexico State who was a Parade All-American coming out of high school. If there are nine tournament sports coming out of this conference, the Pirates could get one of them.

ST. JOHN'S (16-18 SU, 13-15-1 ATS) might be there to grab one of those NCAA spots if the above teams don't deliver. This team will be healthier this season. Anthony Mason Jr. returns after missing all but three games last season. There is other talent, like Malik Boothe and Paris Horne, and maybe coach Norm Roberts won't have to wear Kevlar like he did last season.

PITTSBURGH (31-5 SU, 17-13 ATS) lost DeJuan Blair, Levance Fields and Sam Young. That creates a void that will take more than a season to recover from, although on the positive side, the Panthers bagged another great Steel City high schooler in Dante Taylor, a McDonald's All-American.