Top Players in Conference
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati
A.J. Price, UConn
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Sam Young, Pittsburgh
Dominique Jones, South Florida

Player of the Year
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

Player to Look Out For
Dar Tucker, DePaul

Projected Big East Finish
1. Louisville 16-2
2. Marquette 15-3
3. West Virginia 14-4
4. UConn 13-5
5. Notre Dame 12-6
6. Villanova 12-6
7. Georgetown 11-7
8. Syracuse 10-8
9. Pittsburgh 10-8
10. Providence 8-10
11. DePaul 5-13
12. South Florida 4-14
13. Cincinnati 4-14
14. Rutgers 4-14
15. Seton Hall 3-15
16. St. John's 3-15

Louisville
Nobody should be questioning that Louisville is the favorite to win the Big East, although some do have questions. Understandably so since Louisville lacks a star player, although 5-Star freshman Samardo Samuels could change that right away. Nevertheless, the core of this Elite 8 team from a year ago is still intact and Pitino will have them playing fantastic defense.

Marquette
Call me a homer if you want, but why don't they get more attention. James and McNeal have both nearly gone pro, but a lot of us Cheeseheads will tell you that Matthews and Hayward are just as good. They nearly lost in OT to Stanford to end their season last year, but this very experienced group won't let their season end so quickly this time around.

West Virginia
I seem to be much higher on this team than most, as I thought they were pretty underrated last year. They played awfully well in the NCAA tourney, and despite losing Nichols and Alexander, they return two very good overlooked players in Ruoff and Butler. They also bring in a 5-Star Prospect in Devin Ebanks. Look for their interior defense to be a strength once again.

UConn
I think the Huskies will be pretty good, but they are a team that doesn't belong in the top 10 nationally. On the plus side, Kemba Walker will be an immediate impact freshman, and A.J. Price is one of the top players in the conference. However, I'm concerned about their defensive issues defending the perimeter, and they lost both of their tourney games to end the season.

Notre Dame
I feel that Notre Dame is being a bit overrated as I've seen them in a lot of people's top 10. They benefited from a fortunate Big East schedule last season and Wazzout exposed them in the postseason last March. Their defense has really struggled under Brey's reign as well. Remember, Marquette beat them by double digits on a neutral court in the Big East tourney and return just as much.

Villanova
Villanova returns the most of any team in the conference, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see them improve from tied for 8th a year ago to 6th in a very competitive conference this season. They're going to have four upperclassmen in the starting lineup, and this group was very good defensively last season. They have plenty of depth off the bench as well.

Georgetown
A lot of people have this team ranked too high, as Georgetown probably lost the most of any team in the conference. They will struggle finding replacements for Wallace, Hibbert, and Ewing, Jr. Fortunately, Sapp and Summers are still around so they still have talent, but not enough to win two-thirds of their conference games.

Syracuse
Syracuse has the potential to rebound from a couple of disappointing seasons and make the NCAA tourney this year. They only went 8 deep last season, so depth could be an issue although the Orange only lost Donte Green from that squad. Perimeter defense looks to be the main area of concern, although offensively they have enough talent to be reckoned with.

Pittsburgh
I've probably got Pittsburgh ranked lower than anywhere else you'll find, but I'm confused as to why so many people are sky high on them? Sure, Sam Young is one of the best players in the conference and they have other talent in Blair and Fields. However, they only went 10-8 in conference last season, and have little depth after losing Ramon and Benjamin.

Providence
I think Providence could surprise a lot of people with some impressive wins during conference play. They return most of their team and will have a lot of upperclassmen out on the floor. Can they improve the defense, especially the interior defense since they start such a small lineup? If they can, look for them to sneak up on some teams.

DePaul
A mediocre team that will be much of the same at best once again this season. Half of their team were seniors, so it's hard to be too optimistic. One bright spot will be Dar Tucker who played very well as a freshman. However, they looked like they took defensive series off at times last season.

South Florida
USF did have a few notable wins last season, and the star play of freshman Dominique Jones was a nice surprise and he'll emerge as one of the best players in the conference. Losing Gransberry will have this team struggling once again, however.

Cincinnati
The lone bright spot on this team is Deonta Vaughn, who's an outstanding player on a crappy team. They had some bright spots last year, but they lost their final seven games, and they're a pretty young team that lost four seniors from last year's squad.

Rutgers
They'll still be near the bottom of the conference, but they should be improved from a season ago. Talent wise, they shouldn't have won double digit games last season, but Hill has them playing some pretty good defense. They'll have a trio of senior starters, too.

Seton Hall
Seton Hall was able to overachieve and win 7 games last season, but they'll have a hard time winning more than a few after losing roughly half of their team. They really sucked on defense last year and losing Laing and Nutter only makes this team worse.

St. John's
The Red Storm haven't been good in quite some time, and there's not much hope for this season, either. There's not much you can say other than they just have very little talent and won't be able to compete in this conference.