"What the Hell is Going On Out There?"

Syracuse vs West Virginia (photo from syracuse.com)

Lauren Dellipoali



The words of legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, “What the hell is going on out there,” nicely sums up this season in the Big East.

    Now ignoring the who’s coming into the league and who is leaving, this basketball season has been a head scratcher. Pittsburgh, touted as one of the top teams in the league and a possibly National Championship contender, has face planted, and it looks as if they already have their bags packed to head to the ACC. Pitt has already lost seven Big East games and nine overall, which is unprecedented for a team under Jamie Dixion.

    Syracuse has proved that they are the cream of the crop, starting 20-0, however that winning streak ended with a road loss against a sub-par opponent in Notre Dame, and Syracuse barely made it out alive in a home game against West Virginia. With Fab Melo being held out for an unspecified amount of time for what the university is calling academic reasons, it will be interesting to see how this team performs without him. They are currently 2-1 without him, but they have not played as well as they did with him. Melo was having a breakout season, and will now have to sit and wait to see if and when he can return to the Orange.

    Another Big East player who is suspended, again, for unspecified NCAA reasons is Uconn’s Ryan Boatright. Boatright was held out at the beginning of the season while the NCAA looked into his eligibility, and played well after he was cleared to return to the Huskies. Recently the NCAA reopened the investigation and Uconn is once again left without a promising star. The defending National Champions have also struggled this year, but after their run last year, it is difficult to count them out of another magical run. Jeremy Lamb may not be Kemba Walker but he’s pretty good. 

    Cincinnati is a bit of a surprise team, and has really responded after the terrible incident involving Xavier, which incited a bench-clearing brawl. The Bearcats have complied a 15-6 record overall and are right in the thick of things in the Big East with a 5-3 record.
The once powerhouse Big East may be losing some steam, but it is not losing its exciting up-tempo style of play, and the remainder of the year will be sure to provide many moments which will pose the question “What the hell is going on out there?”