It’s been a while since I filled this space. Since then, I’ve married and moved, and I’ve finally settled to the point where I can again attend to my Visions. I hope I didn’t leave you in a lurch and that you’re glad I’m back.

There’s a lot to cover, and I’m not going to do it all in one day. There are coaching changes, transfers, early-entrants and recruiting headlines to deal with over the coming weeks. We also have to do a little post-mortem for what happened at the end of March and begin to look ahead to next season.

That’s a lot to do, but I think we’re up for the challenge. Come here for the detailed analysis and opinion, and go to NBE Basketball Report for day-to-day news and notes. He’s on top of the daily doings in the Big East — and especially the recruiting scene. Between this space and his, you shouldn’t need to go to anyone else — including Andy Katz (and, of course, you should never read Seth Davis) — for some Big East love.

Today, we’re going to discuss the two coaching changes in the Big East. I’m not going to take the hackneyed stance that sees each team’s coaching search as evidence that the Big East is too brutal to attract top candidates. That’s been done, and it’s only partly true. We’ll get to that aspect of the situation, but there’s more than just that one storyline.

Read full story >

You’ll see that our NCAA Tournament preview is up on the site and went up on Tuesday. As with the Big East Tournament preview, we wanted to give you a little outline of the pace of the cast so you can flip around if you like.

Intro and headlines: Big East champs, all-tournament team (1:00)
East Region preview: Notre Dame, Louisville (3:20)
Midwest Region preview: Villanova, Georgetown (14:00)
South Region preview: Pittsburgh, Marquette (25:30)
West Region preview: Connecticut, West Virginia (38:50)
Other tournaments: Syracuse in the NIT, Cincinnati in the CBI, Seton Hall gets snubbed, Providence turns down CBI, fires head coach Tim Welsh (50:20)
Final Four predictions (1:03)

After months of evaluating teams and seeing them jostle for position, I’m left without much conviction behind my last few picks to make the NCAA Tournament. Thursday saw almost every team around the bubble lose, a symbol of a season in which the nation’s mediocre seemed especially so.

In the end, I narrowed the bubble teams to 15 who could reasonably be excluded in a fight for the last seven spots. Here’s my rational behind each team making or missing the field.

Note: the bracket above assumes a few outcomes tomorrow. 1) Kansas beats Texas. If that doesn’t happen, you can simply flip those two in this projection. 2) Wisconsin and Arkansas win their conference tournaments. If either loses, the last teams in are in severe trouble. Also, a Wisconsin loss would cost the Badgers a No. 2 seed. I will post an update bracket should Sunday’s results dictate.

View full bracket projection >

NEW YORK — In the last two Big East Tournament finals, Pittsburgh’s saw its dreams of hoisting a Big East championship trophy dashed first by Syracuse and then by Georgetown. It seemed academic that the Panthers, playing four games in four days with just a seven-man rotation, were destined to end a third straight Big East season in the same disappointing fashion.

But in a business where lazy journalists use words like “heart,” “desire” and “passion” as throwaway lines, the 2008 Big East Tournament final went to the team who displayed those intangibles, the one who wanted it more. While Georgetown seemed intent on winning in a clinical fashion, the Hoyas quickly learned that a championship in this 16-team behemoth is won only by those who show the willingness to bleed for it.

Pittsburgh defeated Georgetown, 74-65, to win the Big East Tournament title on Saturday night, led by tournament Most Outstanding Player Sam Young’s 16 points and senior Ronald Ramon’s 17. Teammate Levance Fields added 10 points and six assists and earned All-Tournament honors as the catalyst for an offense that Georgetown, the nation’s leader in field-goal defense, couldn’t contain all evening.

Read more >

NEW YORK — Seeding doesn’t matter. Fatigue doesn’t matter. Getting outrebounded by 15 doesn’t matter. The only two things that seem to matter in the Big East Tournament is that Pittsburgh is playing and it’s at the Garden.

This was surely the year that Pittsburgh was not going to get back to another Big East final. As a No. 7 seed and having to play on the first day of the tournament, the odds were against Jamie Dixon’s team. But the Panthers played the odds like experienced Vegas bettors and will again play on the last day of the Big East Tournament after a 68-61 win over Marquette on Friday night.

On Saturday night, the Panthers will play in their seventh Big East Tournament final in eight seasons — an accomplishment almost impossible to imagine in and of itself, but even more so considering what Pittsburgh has been through this season.

Read more >