Big East

The 2008-09 Big East season should bring as much excitement as any.  Commonly regarded as the toughest conference in college basketball, it has the potential to put 9+ teams into the NCAA tournament come March.

At the backbone of a great team comes a great coach, and the Big East has plenty of great coaches.  But which coaches are the best?  Let's just say that a well-padded résumé is not enough to give a coach top honors in this conference.

CHN's 31 conference ranking, including 10 year historical averages based on average RPI finish. For more information on historical RPI averages, check out the Conference Data Page. Links lead to league preview pages.

This is the second of six annual statistical projections of BCS conference starters. The lineups are based on the Starting Fives series of articles released two weeks ago, along with a couple of changes due to recent developments.

Writers Predictions: BCS Conference Champions

Who will be this year's BCS conference champs? CHN writers take a shot at some predictions.. and the results are mostly you'd expect.

2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank School Pts.

1. Connecticut (9) 214

2. Louisville (3) 205

3. Pittsburgh (3) 200

4. Notre Dame (1) 195

5. Villanova 153

6. Marquette 146

7. Georgetown 141

8. Syracuse 139

The battle to get onto the Big East’s top player list is about as fierce as the battle for this year's conference title.  The Big East is truly a beast this season, and it has the players to prove it.