You can call it apathy brought on by the coming structural changes, or schools looking ahead to greener pastures and failing to focus on the present. But just weeks into the new college basketball season, the Big East is no longer simply deteriorating off the court; it is doing so on it as well.
Just a season after sending a record 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament, the Big East has seen ranked sides fall to "juggernauts" hailing from mid−major conferences such as the Big South, Mountain West and Conference USA. Critics have long held the belief that the Big East's teams are overrated and its plethora of tournament spots is undeserved. In other words, the Big East is the SEC of basketball. Now, the conference is giving such pundits more than enough ammunition.
The carnage began on Nov. 16, as Long Beach State came into Pittsburgh and became only the second non−Big East team in history to beat the Panthers — ranked No. 9 in the country at the time — at the Petersen Events Center, winning 86−76. The game required no Cinderella miracle; the 49ers' lead never fell below six points in the entire second half. Long Beach State shot 59.3 percent from the field against a Pitt team that finished last year 19th in the nation in opponent's field goal percentage, and out−rebounded the Panthers, who were seventh in rebounds per game in 2010−2011.
For years, Pitt has disappointed in the postseason, making the Sweet 16 just once in the past four years despite earning a No. 1 seed in two of those seasons and never being seeded worse than fourth in its region. Now, it looks like such disappointments might be spreading to the regular season, just as the team prepares to dart to the ACC.
Three days after the Panthers' collapse, Cincinnati followed suit with an even more embarrassing loss, falling 56−54 to Presbyterian College, which has just started its fifth season in Div. I, has fewer full−time faculty members than Cincinnati has players on its football roster, has never had a winning campaign and has already lost to Duke by 41 points this season.
The Bobcats led by 17 with nine minutes to go and by seven with 90 seconds to play, but managed just seven points in the final 10 minutes to give the Blue Hose an opening. They responded, and junior Khalid Mutakabbir hit a three−pointer with 7.6 seconds to go to complete the upset of the then−No. 20 Bobcats, who have also lost to Marshall in overtime.
Defending national champion Connecticut — then ranked No. 4 — completed the lackluster trifecta on Friday, dropping a game to Central Florida, a school that has never won in the Division I NCAA Tournament. The Huskies, like Cincinnati, led by 17 points, but they couldn't close out the Golden Knights, who stormed back, taking the lead with just over two minutes to play and holding onto it from there, 68−63. UCF was led by Marcus Jordan, who may as well have been his legendary father Michael that night, tallying 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
Perhaps Jordan is the perfect place to start in analyzing what is going wrong with these Big East powers, as many of them lack a go−to player in tough spots. UConn lost Kemba Walker to the NBA this past season, and while Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier have both developed into top−tier players, neither has the ability to create separation the way Walker did, making them less dangerous one−on−one with the shot clock ticking down. It is telling that neither scored during the final nine minutes of the upset.
Pittsburgh was hit hard inside, losing forward Brad Wanamaker and leading rebounder Gary McGhee. Wanamaker was at his best in some of the team's biggest games, including scoring six of the Panthers' final eight points in a three−point victory over Villanova. Though Ashton Gibbs — the team's leading scorer — is still around, Pitt's lack of size was on clear display as it fell short against Long Beach State.
Though the Big East lacks headline players, it is still making headlines. Pittsburgh and Syracuse are headed to the ACC, while West Virginia was invited to join the Big−12. Many of the Big East's schools may be less worried about where they are in the conference standings this year than which conference they will be part of next year.
While Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Cincinnati have the marquee losses, many of the conference's other schools are struggling just as much. The Mountaineers dropped a game to Kent State, and Villanova almost reached the Top 25 before dropping two straight to the likes of Saint Louis and Santa Clara.
If the Big East hopes to achieve its prior glamour before what may be its final conference championship at Madison Square Garden, it is going to need to turn things around in a New York minute.
