SWENGALI

Big East vs. ACC Is No Contest

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty images
IS THE BIG EAST really that good?

Some ACC supporters seem skeptical, claiming their league of choice is tops in college hoops.

When one team is left standing at the end of March Madness, ACC powers North Carolina, Duke or Wake Forest may be cutting down the nets.

For now, though, I'm sticking with the Big East as the best — not just this season, but perhaps of all time.

The Big East matches the ACC's best with national title contenders Pittsburgh, Connecticut and perhaps even Louisville. Where the real separation comes is the run down from the top three.

Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Villanova are all slam dunks to make the NCAA tournament. All five could reach the Sweet 16, and there may even be a Final Four squad in that second tier. Throw in West Virginia and Providence, and the Big East's depth is apparent.

The ACC can sport Clemson and Miami, which are comparable to the Georgetown group. Florida State is a real stretch; Virginia Tech needs to build off its win over No. 1 Wake Forest; and Maryland doesn't even belong in the discussion yet.

Simply put, there hasn't been a league featuring as many highly competitive teams as are in the Big East this year.

Ranked teams square off seemingly every day. How do you compete with that?

So, back to our original question: Yes, the Big East is the best.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

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COMMENTS (4)

  • Great blog, I agree with it all. The ACC has been an excellent league, but it's time to move aside for the Big East. The depth is unmatched. South Florida beating Marquette truly shows this.

    By David Auge , Posted February 11, 2009 9:48 AM

  • if the big east is better than the acc, then why does it have a losing record against the acc this year? the one thing the BE has going for it is its number of teams. Out of 16 teams, 9 of them have double digit losses. only 5 in the acc have that number of losses. 4 teams in the big east have losing records, vs 2 in the ACC. If you think that those losses are mostly due to the difficulty of conference play... look at louisville. Why are they ranked so highly when they were beaten by several non conference foes, and soundly drubbed by notre dame (who in turn was crushed by UNC). If I'm not mistaken, the ACC had 3 number one teams, and 3 of the last 4 unbeaten teams. I'd continue the rant but I think I've proven my point.

    By ryan , Posted February 22, 2009 2:29 AM

  • Over the last 30 years, 8 championships have gone home to the ACC, while only 5 have gone to the 'mighty' Big East. Every year the Big East and Big 10 get 7-8 teams in the tourney, but they don't have the championship resume of the ACC.

    The ACC used to crush the Big East in the ACC-Big East challenge - so much so that the Big East backed out of the early season tourney. Oddly enought the ACC is now doing the same to the Big 10.

    The ACC is 8-5 against the Big East this year. The ACC has two teams with losing records and 6 teams sub .500 in conference, while the Big East has 4 teams with losing records and 8 teams sub .500 in conference.

    Do the math, the ACC is superior - even if ESPN and all the press spend their time sucking up to the Big East and Big 10.

    By rick , Posted March 10, 2009 10:34 AM

  • The mighty Big East don't look so hot now.

    By Brian , Posted April 4, 2009 10:11 PM
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