For those who have been questioning next year's prospects, especially from the lower level programs, here's what Bracketology Expert is projecting nationally for next year:

5. Marquette
9. Georgetown
16. Villanova
36. Creighton
45. St. John's
48. Providence
49. Butler

Usually the cut off for the At large berths is somewhere around #50. So, that means 7 of 10 teams projected for next year's tournament. Worst case scenario is 4 teams in for sure with 3 others on the bubble fighting to get in down the stretch.

We all knew that St. John's & PC were headed in the right direction with all the young players they have. It's nice to see that someone else sees it that way too. /this demonstrates that this will be a strong conference right out of the gate.

http://www.bracketologyexpert.com/2013/0...ville-1-2/

The AAC is only projecting 4 in the top 50 and the ACC is projecting the same 7 as the new BE even with the big influx of programs from the old Big East.

Two mentioned schools show up as well.

#17 VCU
#33 SLU

(04-05-2013 02:58 PM)LouPower Wrote:  Two mentioned schools show up as well.

#17 VCU
#33 SLU

Yep. There's a real opportunity to take a second step up next year.

Great news.

Call me skeptical until I see it re Prov and STJ though. Neither beat a top 35 RPI team this year.

Pretty shocked Xavier isn't in there. We should definitely be top 50 RPI. Wouldn't be shocked if we crack Top 25 later on in the season.

(04-05-2013 03:19 PM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  Great news.

Call me skeptical until I see it re Prov and STJ though. Neither beat a top 35 RPI team this year.

Okay I'll call you skeptical.

I'm not going to look up the RPI's, but I know that Providence beat the following:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Villanova (home & away)

They also took UConn into OT twice before losing to them and lost to Pitt by just 4. With a young team, they finished the season 9-4. Combined with those 4 wins, that's good enough for me to buy into them going forward.

St. John's was another young team, one that did not finish the season well. But they did have some big wins:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
UConn
St. Joe's (on the road)

St. John's took both Villanova & Marquette into OT before losing to them. They were a young team who may be ready next year or it may take another year. But there's a lot of talent on that team and it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see them step up next year.

BTW, you may want to double check the RPI. I can't believe that none of those teams I listed was a top 35 RPI. But I'll defer to you since I'm not going to take the time to look them up.

(04-05-2013 05:08 PM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 03:19 PM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  Great news.

Call me skeptical until I see it re Prov and STJ though. Neither beat a top 35 RPI team this year.

Okay I'll call you skeptical.

I'm not going to look up the RPI's, but I know that Providence beat the following:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Villanova (home & away)

They also took UConn into OT twice before losing to them and lost to Pitt by just 4. With a young team, they finished the season 9-4. Combined with those 4 wins, that's good enough for me to buy into them going forward.

St. John's was another young team, one that did not finish the season well. But they did have some big wins:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
UConn
St. Joe's (on the road)

St. John's took both Villanova & Marquette into OT before losing to them. They were a young team who may be ready next year or it may take another year. But there's a lot of talent on that team and it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see them step up next year.

BTW, you may want to double check the RPI. I can't believe that none of those teams I listed was a top 35 RPI. But I'll defer to you since I'm not going to take the time to look them up.

St. John's also beat Florida gulf coast, something our Hoya friends can't claim.

(04-05-2013 05:08 PM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 03:19 PM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  Great news.

Call me skeptical until I see it re Prov and STJ though. Neither beat a top 35 RPI team this year.

Okay I'll call you skeptical.

I'm not going to look up the RPI's, but I know that Providence beat the following:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Villanova (home & away)

They also took UConn into OT twice before losing to them and lost to Pitt by just 4. With a young team, they finished the season 9-4. Combined with those 4 wins, that's good enough for me to buy into them going forward.

St. John's was another young team, one that did not finish the season well. But they did have some big wins:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
UConn
St. Joe's (on the road)

St. John's took both Villanova & Marquette into OT before losing to them. They were a young team who may be ready next year or it may take another year. But there's a lot of talent on that team and it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see them step up next year.

BTW, you may want to double check the RPI. I can't believe that none of those teams I listed was a top 35 RPI. But I'll defer to you since I'm not going to take the time to look them up.

Lol in the time it took you to write that you could have looked it up. Anyway, only one of those teams was in the 30s (ND) and Cinci and Uconn were barely top 50. St. Joe's? 100. Nova 54.

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2013/rpi

I agree with the Xavier poster and would put money on that team before either Prov or St. John's being on that list when the season is over.

(04-06-2013 08:54 AM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 05:08 PM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 03:19 PM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  Great news.

Call me skeptical until I see it re Prov and STJ though. Neither beat a top 35 RPI team this year.

Okay I'll call you skeptical.

I'm not going to look up the RPI's, but I know that Providence beat the following:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Villanova (home & away)

They also took UConn into OT twice before losing to them and lost to Pitt by just 4. With a young team, they finished the season 9-4. Combined with those 4 wins, that's good enough for me to buy into them going forward.

St. John's was another young team, one that did not finish the season well. But they did have some big wins:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
UConn
St. Joe's (on the road)

St. John's took both Villanova & Marquette into OT before losing to them. They were a young team who may be ready next year or it may take another year. But there's a lot of talent on that team and it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see them step up next year.

BTW, you may want to double check the RPI. I can't believe that none of those teams I listed was a top 35 RPI. But I'll defer to you since I'm not going to take the time to look them up.

Lol in the time it took you to write that you could have looked it up. Anyway, only one of those teams was in the 30s (ND) and Cinci and Uconn were barely top 50. St. Joe's? 100. Nova 54.

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2013/rpi

I agree with the Xavier poster and would put money on that team before either Prov or St. John's being on that list when the season is over.

Okay, I have more time today, so I've looked it up. Didn't know that you were using Nolan's version. Try http://www.realtimerpi.com. They have Notre Dame in the top 35. And both St. John's and Providence had wins over Notre Dame.

But frankly I really don't care about RPI, which is partly why I didn't bother to look it up in the first place. I know enough about college basketball to know that the wins I listed are tough games and significant wins - as is a road win over St. Joe's.

I also know that UConn's final RPI ranking is not who they were throughout the season. And it's not because they were exposed late in the season. They had serious injuries which crippled them down the stretch, resulting in losses in 3 of their last 4 games. Along with the losses came a drop in RPI, which had been in the top 25-30 for much of the season. They were healthy when St. John's beat them in early February and that was in fact a big time win for St. John's. That same UConn team beat Syracuse a week later.

I have no idea how good Xavier will be next year. Nor do I know why you're so confident in them. Looking in the rear view mirror at Xavier's past doesn't tell us a whole lot about where we're going. Although Xavier's history gives me a lot of confidence in them for the long term, it doesn't mean they'll be good every year. Xavier is losing 3 of their top 7 players including their leading rebounder. They have two 3-star recruits committed for next year. Not exactly a big recruiting class. Over the past 2 years they've brought in a total of three 4-star recruits.

Let's compare that with St.John's who has brought in ten 4-star recruits over the past 2 years. They don't lose anyone from their top ten players this year. They were a very young team, which is why they struggled at times, but they're loaded with talent and have everyone back. I'll take them over Xavier in a heart beat.

Let's compare Xavier to Providence. PC is bringing in a 4-star and a 3-star recruit this year, which puts their recruiting class a notch up on Xavier's . More important is that they brought in two 5-star recruits last year. Xavier doesn't have a single 5-star recruit on their roster. They had only one senior on this year's team. Like St. John's they were a very young team. But they finished strong and headed in the right direction with more help on the way.

St. John's and Providence both brought in new coaches with in the past few years. These are not the guys who were responsible for the declines of their respective programs. Both have turned things around and have their programs headed in the right direction. The prospects are bright for both programs because they lose little from this year and have lots of talent to improve with. Xavier OTOH loses a lot from this year and doesn't have the incoming talent to replace what they're losing. Other than recent history, I have no idea why anyone would have confidence in their prospects for this year. Seems more like a rebuilding year for them based on what I'm seeing.

1 As bad as this sounds, I believe Georgetown will have a great regular season but not so much once the tourney starts.

(04-06-2013 09:35 AM)ivet Wrote:  1 As bad as this sounds, I believe Georgetown will have a great regular season but not so much once the tourney starts.

Wow! That would be a shock.

(04-06-2013 09:43 AM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-06-2013 09:35 AM)ivet Wrote:  1 As bad as this sounds, I believe Georgetown will have a great regular season but not so much once the tourney starts.

Wow! That would be a shock.

I dont care how we finish the regular season, I just DO NOT want to be seeded so high. I hope we get a 12 seed next year, we'll have a better chance surviving playing a 5 seed the first round.

(04-06-2013 10:09 AM)ivet Wrote:  

(04-06-2013 09:43 AM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-06-2013 09:35 AM)ivet Wrote:  1 As bad as this sounds, I believe Georgetown will have a great regular season but not so much once the tourney starts.

Wow! That would be a shock.

I dont care how we finish the regular season, I just DO NOT want to be seeded so high. I hope we get a 12 seed next year, we'll have a better chance surviving playing a 5 seed the first round.

My freshman year back in '99-'00 my johnnies were a 2 seed and almost got upset by northern arizona. Man, I was in shock. I couldn't believe it was the same team who went into Camron Indoor and beat the Dookies. We ended up losing the next game to Gonzaga in what was their first or second big upset.

(04-05-2013 02:58 PM)LouPower Wrote:  Two mentioned schools show up as well.

#17 VCU
#33 SLU

Wichita State #37 as well.

Another note on VCU from that, they left out two "newcomers" who were forced to sit last year, 6'6 260lb Mo Alie-Cox, and 2012 ESPN top-100 player Jordan Burgess, both of whom were ruled ineligible last season so were forced to sit. Jordan is the brother of the NCAA's all-time consecutive starts leader, VCU legend Bradford Burgess.

Rams are going to be reeeeeaaal tough last season, on paper our best team ever.

(04-06-2013 09:30 AM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-06-2013 08:54 AM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 05:08 PM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 03:19 PM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  Great news.

Call me skeptical until I see it re Prov and STJ though. Neither beat a top 35 RPI team this year.

Okay I'll call you skeptical.

I'm not going to look up the RPI's, but I know that Providence beat the following:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Villanova (home & away)

They also took UConn into OT twice before losing to them and lost to Pitt by just 4. With a young team, they finished the season 9-4. Combined with those 4 wins, that's good enough for me to buy into them going forward.

St. John's was another young team, one that did not finish the season well. But they did have some big wins:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
UConn
St. Joe's (on the road)

St. John's took both Villanova & Marquette into OT before losing to them. They were a young team who may be ready next year or it may take another year. But there's a lot of talent on that team and it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see them step up next year.

BTW, you may want to double check the RPI. I can't believe that none of those teams I listed was a top 35 RPI. But I'll defer to you since I'm not going to take the time to look them up.

Lol in the time it took you to write that you could have looked it up. Anyway, only one of those teams was in the 30s (ND) and Cinci and Uconn were barely top 50. St. Joe's? 100. Nova 54.

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2013/rpi

I agree with the Xavier poster and would put money on that team before either Prov or St. John's being on that list when the season is over.

Okay, I have more time today, so I've looked it up. Didn't know that you were using Nolan's version. Try http://www.realtimerpi.com. They have Notre Dame in the top 35. And both St. John's and Providence had wins over Notre Dame.

But frankly I really don't care about RPI, which is partly why I didn't bother to look it up in the first place. I know enough about college basketball to know that the wins I listed are tough games and significant wins - as is a road win over St. Joe's.

I also know that UConn's final RPI ranking is not who they were throughout the season. And it's not because they were exposed late in the season. They had serious injuries which crippled them down the stretch, resulting in losses in 3 of their last 4 games. Along with the losses came a drop in RPI, which had been in the top 25-30 for much of the season. They were healthy when St. John's beat them in early February and that was in fact a big time win for St. John's. That same UConn team beat Syracuse a week later.

I have no idea how good Xavier will be next year. Nor do I know why you're so confident in them. Looking in the rear view mirror at Xavier's past doesn't tell us a whole lot about where we're going. Although Xavier's history gives me a lot of confidence in them for the long term, it doesn't mean they'll be good every year. Xavier is losing 3 of their top 7 players including their leading rebounder. They have two 3-star recruits committed for next year. Not exactly a big recruiting class. Over the past 2 years they've brought in a total of three 4-star recruits.

Let's compare that with St.John's who has brought in ten 4-star recruits over the past 2 years. They don't lose anyone from their top ten players this year. They were a very young team, which is why they struggled at times, but they're loaded with talent and have everyone back. I'll take them over Xavier in a heart beat.

Let's compare Xavier to Providence. PC is bringing in a 4-star and a 3-star recruit this year, which puts their recruiting class a notch up on Xavier's . More important is that they brought in two 5-star recruits last year. Xavier doesn't have a single 5-star recruit on their roster. They had only one senior on this year's team. Like St. John's they were a very young team. But they finished strong and headed in the right direction with more help on the way.

St. John's and Providence both brought in new coaches with in the past few years. These are not the guys who were responsible for the declines of their respective programs. Both have turned things around and have their programs headed in the right direction. The prospects are bright for both programs because they lose little from this year and have lots of talent to improve with. Xavier OTOH loses a lot from this year and doesn't have the incoming talent to replace what they're losing. Other than recent history, I have no idea why anyone would have confidence in their prospects for this year. Seems more like a rebuilding year for them based on what I'm seeing.

I have bolded the two incorrect statements in the above post. Xavier is bringing in a 4-star and 3-star recruit (the 4-star guard from LA will likely start ahead of Davis next season. Xavier also has a 5-star player on their roster in Christon. From what I am hearing, Stainbrook is a beast, and will start at the 5 next year. I expect the Muskies to be very very good next season, and they will almost certainly challenge for the top of the new Beast.

Melky, you're a little incorrect with your thoughts on Xavier.

As X-man said, Semaj Christon is a 5 star and was one of the best freshman point guards in the country last year. Next year, we actually bring in two 4 stars and two 3 stars. Two players (Jalen Reynolds 4 star and Myles Davis 3 star) were ineligible this past year but will be playing next season. They're joined by 4 star G Brandon Randolph from California and 3 star F Kamall Richards.

While we lose 3 of our top 7 scorers as you put it, the only big loss is F Travis Taylor. Brad Redford can be easily replaced by the sharpshooter Davis, and Jeff Robinson didn't produce much at all. Xavier also will have transfer big man Matt Stainbrook to clog up the middle. He will start from the get-go.

I can't say I know much about SJU or Providence but I do believe you're selling the Muskies short. I expect them to be in the top half of the league in 2013.

Recruiting rankings are about irrelevant. I mean, less than irrelevant.

SLU had nobody over 2* and won this year's A-10 over Butler, Xavier, VCU, and others.

Xavier will be very good.

(04-06-2013 04:27 PM)LouPower Wrote:  Recruiting rankings are about irrelevant. I mean, less than irrelevant.

SLU had nobody over 2* and won this year's A-10 over Butler, Xavier, VCU, and others.

Xavier will be very good.

Why?

(04-06-2013 04:27 PM)LouPower Wrote:  Recruiting rankings are about irrelevant. I mean, less than irrelevant.

SLU had nobody over 2* and won this year's A-10 over Butler, Xavier, VCU, and others.

Xavier will be very good.

I agree 100% about the rankings. They are pretty much a joke.

(04-06-2013 03:07 PM)X-man Wrote:  

(04-06-2013 09:30 AM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-06-2013 08:54 AM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 05:08 PM)Melky Cabrera Wrote:  

(04-05-2013 03:19 PM)monroedoctrine Wrote:  Great news.

Call me skeptical until I see it re Prov and STJ though. Neither beat a top 35 RPI team this year.

Okay I'll call you skeptical.

I'm not going to look up the RPI's, but I know that Providence beat the following:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
Villanova (home & away)

They also took UConn into OT twice before losing to them and lost to Pitt by just 4. With a young team, they finished the season 9-4. Combined with those 4 wins, that's good enough for me to buy into them going forward.

St. John's was another young team, one that did not finish the season well. But they did have some big wins:

Notre Dame
Cincinnati
UConn
St. Joe's (on the road)

St. John's took both Villanova & Marquette into OT before losing to them. They were a young team who may be ready next year or it may take another year. But there's a lot of talent on that team and it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see them step up next year.

BTW, you may want to double check the RPI. I can't believe that none of those teams I listed was a top 35 RPI. But I'll defer to you since I'm not going to take the time to look them up.

Lol in the time it took you to write that you could have looked it up. Anyway, only one of those teams was in the 30s (ND) and Cinci and Uconn were barely top 50. St. Joe's? 100. Nova 54.

http://warrennolan.com/basketball/2013/rpi

I agree with the Xavier poster and would put money on that team before either Prov or St. John's being on that list when the season is over.

Okay, I have more time today, so I've looked it up. Didn't know that you were using Nolan's version. Try http://www.realtimerpi.com. They have Notre Dame in the top 35. And both St. John's and Providence had wins over Notre Dame.

But frankly I really don't care about RPI, which is partly why I didn't bother to look it up in the first place. I know enough about college basketball to know that the wins I listed are tough games and significant wins - as is a road win over St. Joe's.

I also know that UConn's final RPI ranking is not who they were throughout the season. And it's not because they were exposed late in the season. They had serious injuries which crippled them down the stretch, resulting in losses in 3 of their last 4 games. Along with the losses came a drop in RPI, which had been in the top 25-30 for much of the season. They were healthy when St. John's beat them in early February and that was in fact a big time win for St. John's. That same UConn team beat Syracuse a week later.

I have no idea how good Xavier will be next year. Nor do I know why you're so confident in them. Looking in the rear view mirror at Xavier's past doesn't tell us a whole lot about where we're going. Although Xavier's history gives me a lot of confidence in them for the long term, it doesn't mean they'll be good every year. Xavier is losing 3 of their top 7 players including their leading rebounder. They have two 3-star recruits committed for next year. Not exactly a big recruiting class. Over the past 2 years they've brought in a total of three 4-star recruits.

Let's compare that with St.John's who has brought in ten 4-star recruits over the past 2 years. They don't lose anyone from their top ten players this year. They were a very young team, which is why they struggled at times, but they're loaded with talent and have everyone back. I'll take them over Xavier in a heart beat.

Let's compare Xavier to Providence. PC is bringing in a 4-star and a 3-star recruit this year, which puts their recruiting class a notch up on Xavier's . More important is that they brought in two 5-star recruits last year. Xavier doesn't have a single 5-star recruit on their roster. They had only one senior on this year's team. Like St. John's they were a very young team. But they finished strong and headed in the right direction with more help on the way.

St. John's and Providence both brought in new coaches with in the past few years. These are not the guys who were responsible for the declines of their respective programs. Both have turned things around and have their programs headed in the right direction. The prospects are bright for both programs because they lose little from this year and have lots of talent to improve with. Xavier OTOH loses a lot from this year and doesn't have the incoming talent to replace what they're losing. Other than recent history, I have no idea why anyone would have confidence in their prospects for this year. Seems more like a rebuilding year for them based on what I'm seeing.

I have bolded the two incorrect statements in the above post. Xavier is bringing in a 4-star and 3-star recruit (the 4-star guard from LA will likely start ahead of Davis next season. Xavier also has a 5-star player on their roster in Christon. From what I am hearing, Stainbrook is a beast, and will start at the 5 next year. I expect the Muskies to be very very good next season, and they will almost certainly challenge for the top of the new Beast.

I'm using rivals.com. They rate both Xavier recruits for next year at 3 stars. They rated Christon at 4 stars last year. I realize that ratings services can differ.

I'm having a hard time following your thinking with regard to next year's Big East race. Georgetown tied for the BE regular season this year and they have everybody back AND they're bringing in two 4-star recruits. Xavier tied for 6th in the A-10, loses 3 of their top 7 players and brings in one 4-star recruit. How does it follow that they're going to challenge the defending regular season co-champ?