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Top 5 Conferences In College Basketball

By Bryce Olin

Dec 23, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Stanley Johnson (5) disputes a call towards his bench during a game against UNLV at Thomas and Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Stanley Johnson (5) disputes a call towards his bench during a game against UNLV at Thomas and Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 20, 2014; Villanova, PA, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Josh Hart (3) and head coach Jay Wright and guard Ryan Arcidiacono (15) celebrate a victory against the Syracuse Orange at Wells Fargo Center. Villanova defeated Syracuse 82-77. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2014; Villanova, PA, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Josh Hart (3) and head coach Jay Wright and guard Ryan Arcidiacono (15) celebrate a victory against the Syracuse Orange at Wells Fargo Center. Villanova defeated Syracuse 82-77. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Big East

Projected Tournament Teams: Villanova, Butler, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Xavier

The Big East is a weird conference, and I don’t know what to make of it through the non-conference.

Overall
Rk School W L W-L%
1 Butler 9 3 .750
2 Georgetown 7 3 .700
3 Villanova 12 0 1.000
3 St. John’s (NY) 10 1 .909
3 Seton Hall 9 2 .818
3 Providence 10 3 .769
3 Xavier 8 3 .727
3 Creighton 9 4 .692
3 Marquette 7 4 .636
3 DePaul 6 6 .500

Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table
Generated 12/26/2014.

St. John’s played Gonzaga tough at Madison Square Garden but lost to the Zags. After that game, Steve Lavin’s team has turned up the intensity and seem to have figured out how to play together, which was a problem early in the year.

Admittedly, I haven’t seen a lot of Butler, Georgetown, Seton Hall, or Xavier this season, but from what I have seen, they’ve all been impressive in their own way.

Butler knocked off North Carolina by pounding the Tar Heels on the offensive glass. Georgetown came up just short of pulling off a massive upset of Wisconsin in the Bahamas. Seton Hall hung in there against Wichita State, but then got destroyed by Georgia, surprisingly. Xavier hasn’t really played anyone this season, so I can’t put my finger on how good the Musketeers will actually be.

Villanova is easily the best team in the conference and should win the conference, but you never know in college basketball.

Marquette, Providence, and Creighton also have a shot to make the tournament if they can perform well in the conference. I don’t think those teams are even that far behind the six teams Jerry Palm has in out of the Big East.

This season isn’t going to be the old, smash-mouth basketball of the Big East, but everyone is going to beat up on everybody. It’s going to be one of those conferences, and ultimately, that might prove to be a bad thing.

Next: Big Ten