Big East Outlook for 2012-13

USF vs Notre Dame/AP Images

Lauren tells us what teams to look out for in the Big East.


By Lauren Dellipoali

The start of the college basketball season is months away, so naturally it is time to pick some winners and make predictions. The Big East is lining up to be a crap shoot with top teams leaving for other conferences, teams rebuilding and a team that is ineligible for postseason play and has lost the majority of their roster because of it. So, who’s going to reign supreme in the Big East next season? Let’s take a look.

Notre Dame is an intriguing team. With head coach Mike Brey waiting to hear from the NCAA on the eligibility of seniors Scott Martin and Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame could potentially have solid talent returning. They played above and beyond expectations after losing Abromaitis last season, and if he returns, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Louisville may not have been the best team during the regular season, but during the post season, they were the best the Big East had to offer. Pitino will coach this team up like he did last year, and with the majority of his roster, including guard Peyton Siva returning, they could rise to the top of the regular season standings as well.

USF has the potential to be the sleeping giant of the league. With a number of the big guns leaving or irrelevant, USF has the opportunity so show the league what they are made of. They played well in the league; losing games by a small margin while compiling a 12-6 in conference record and a 22-14 record overall. If teams take them lightly, USF will respond and show the Big East they are for real.

St. Johns is my sleeper pick for the Big East. They struggled last season without Steve Lavin, but they also had a very young and inexperienced squad, which was shaken up by the transfer of sophomore guard Nurideen Lindsey. With their head coach back on the bench, and a more stable and experienced roster, the Red Storm can turn some heads this year.

Rick Pitino as Robin

Cardinals coach Rick Pitino (front center)/AP Images

As long as he stays where he is, he will always be Robin. As long as he stays where he is, he will always be the second most famous guy in town to Colonel Sanders. But now-a-days that does not bother Louisville’s head coach Rick Pitino. 


By Lauren Dellipoali 

He lead his Cardinals to the Final Four and they are the final Big East team remaining. After a tough loss to Syracuse to end the season, many did not predict the Cards to go far, but Pitino had faith, and how could he not?

Pitino has been around the block more than once. He used to coach at the rival school, Kentucky, and made the mistake of not guarding Duke’s Grant Hill in the infamous loss in 1992. He made up for that by winning the title in 1996, but then he jumped to the NBA before landing at Louisville.

With all Pitino has been through in his life from losing his six-month old son, to losing two brothers-in-laws to the famous extortion case, Pitino has been through it all. To him this is just a game, not life or death. The once hard-edged yeller from Long Island has toned it down, and is now simply enjoying the ride.

Pitino, 59, should be mentioned with guys like Krzyzewski, Boeheim and Calhoun on top on the wins list, but he’s not. His two NBA stints cost him years during which he could have added to his win total, which would likely be over 800. That doesn’t seem to bother Pitino as he recently said on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption that he doesn’t think about the wins he could have had, but he said he gained valuable information from his time with the Celtics and Knicks.

As the last Big East team remaining in this tournament, and as one of the few teams actually staying in the Big East, the Cardinals have shown the Big East and college basketball they are a force to be reckoned with. They may not receive the love and praise as their rivals Kentucky, and their town may always be better known as the birthplace of KFC, but Pitino and his team seem content with playing second fiddle.

Ready to Dance in Tallahassee

Florida State vs North Carolina/AP Images

Florida State is one of the number of schools looking to take off their bowling shoes and grab a pair of dancing ones.

By Ron Schiltz

The Seminoles are usually a football powerhouse, one that takes over the northern panhandle of the Sunshine state. As many teams have shown this year, FSU is strutting their stuff on the hardwood now instead of the gridiron. The team has a 21-9 record over all, but an impressive 12-4 record in the tough ACC is what has the ‘Noles sitting in the #17 spot following the last week of the season.

Florida State did not start out well in their non-conference games, going 9-5 even before the ACC opener against Clemson. They stumbled against Harvard, Michigan State, UConn, and Florida. The worst lost came the game after Florida, when the Seminoles were beat by lowly Ivy Leaguer Princeton in overtime at home. Many of the struggles continued in their ACC opening game against Clemson. The ‘Noles were blown out by 20 in a rout by the Tigers and the season was looking bleak.

Then something happened on January 14th; the #3 ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina came to Tallahassee. I’m not sure what Head Coach Leonard Hamiliton said before the game, but my God did it work. The ‘Noles romped the #3 team in the land 90-57 in front of a huge home crowd that rushed the floor to celebrate the win.

From that game on the Seminoles were a force to be reckoned with. They went into Cameron Indoor Arena to face Duke two games later and knocked off the Blue Devils by three. That was Duke’s first loss at home in 45 straight games. Michael Snaer hit a three at the buzzer to win the game.

The ‘Noles have rolled fairly smoothly through the rest of the season loosing only one bad game at Boston College by four. FSU won its last two games to roll into the ACC tournament and, more importantly, what is probably a 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.