Big East Preview

I had intended to do this after the game tonight, but I do not know if I will have the time so here we go.

Counting a win over Stony Brook tonight (knock on wood), the Irish will be 12-1. Forget our point guard situation for a minute, we have had a terrific nonconference season. Many people (including myself) felt that was impossible. Well done, lads. Now it's time to look to the future.

We should beat Louisville to start the season off. Georgetown has lost to Oregon and Old Dominion at home, but without our point guard in D.C. I think we lose. Then we play West Virginia at home. A lot will be answered after today's game for the Mountaineers vs. UCONN, but I still think that will be a Notre Dame win.

Seton Hall should not be a problem at home. Villanova on the road will be difficult and right now I will mark it as a loss. South Florida at home, another easy win.

@ St. John's should be a solid road win. Playing Villanova at home, I think we return the favor and get the victory. Beginning a three-game road trip, Syracuse in the Carrier Dome worries me. It's the kind of game a good team needs to win, but I think the Orange will pull it out.

South Florida on the road gets us the same result as earlier. DePaul in Chicago will be a fun road game, and should attract lots of Irish fans. The Blue Demons did beat Kansas earlier in the year, but have been very weak otherwise. I say we win. Then, Providence back at the Joyce Center. Florida State beat this team by 30. We can manage something near that. Irish win.

Should beat Cincinnati on the road. DePaul at home is a win. Marquette could be our sole home loss. Unfortunately, I think it will be. A win at Rutgers finishes the year.

J 03 Louisville- Win
J 06 @ Georgetown- Loss
J 09 West Virginia- Win
J 14 Seton Hall- Win
J 17 @ Villanova- Loss
J 21 South Florida- Win
J 23 @ St. John's- Win
J 27 Villanova- Win
J 30 @ Syracuse- Loss
F 03 @ South Florida- Win
F 08 @ DePaul- Win
F 15 Providence- Win
F 18 @ Cincinnati- Win
F 20 DePaul- Win
F 24 Marquette- Loss
M 03 @ Rutgers- Win

Overall- 24-5, 12-4 Big East

Look at that. I tried to be as fair as possible based on how the team is playing right now, and four losses is all I could get. Obviously, several of those could go either way, but right now 12-4 marks us as a three seed in the BET, with a first round bye. A win and a loss in New York will put us in the NCAA Tournament as a 3 or 4 seed, at worst. Once there, anything can happen.

If you have any comments feel free to post them. I hope reading this was a therapeutic as writing it was for me. Good luck to the team as we enter the serious portion of the year. Hopefully they can make my prediction come true.