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Louisville

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Pittsburgh

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Other (Cincinnati, Seton Hall, South Florida, St. John's)

Wednesday is the day where the final days before Selection Sunday begin to get ever more hectic. The Big 12 and Conference USA both begin play with four first round matchup, and while the teams set to represent the Big 12 in the NCAA Tournament appear to be set in stone the same can't be said for C-USA. On the "clock" Wednesday is none other than Tulsa, who be playing the tournament in their city even though the Bok Center is not their home floor. Rice is the opening round opponent, a team that they must be to simply retain hope of being a part of the discussion.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the third straight year, Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.

RPI #'s updated as of 3/07/10, 2:00 pm.

 

Cincinnati (15-10, 6-7, 52 RPI)

Marquette (16-8, 7-5, 59 RPI)

Notre Dame (17-10, 6-8, 78 RPI)

Seton Hall (15-9, 6-7, 57 RPI)

South Florida (16-9, 6-7, 55 RPI)

UCONN (15-11, 5-8, 50 RPI)

The Big East is nearly as strong at the top as it was a year ago, when it could claim three of the four number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament. This season, however, nearly half of the Big East teams lie squarely on the bubble. There seems to be very little separation between teams 6-12 in the conference and it is difficult to determine who will end up where when the season ends. The Big East Tournament may be the deciding factor on which bubble teams make it, and which fall short.

 

Wednesday was a big night in Conference USA with the top six teams in the standings playing each other. And with the results the race is now pared down to four teams separated by one game, with Tulsa and UTEP both coming back from double-digit deficits while Memphis beat UAB in a game much tighter than the 85-75 final would indicate. There were 31 lead changes, with the Tigers taking the lead for good on a pair of Wesley Witherspoon free throws with 3:40 remaining.

Despite losing a ton of talent in the off-season, the Big East is still one of the country's most exciting and talented leagues.. and it features the country's dominant fantasy star: Luke Harangody. Other players to watch include newcomers like Lance Stephenson and Youphtaou Yarou and vets like Scottie Reynolds and Da'Sean Butler.

 

Ranking players is more art then science. How do you compare the potential of freshmen with seniors who have already peaked? How much does physical talent come into play versus intangibles and experience? How big a role do numbers play?