No one wants to face these teams in March. Though the overall body of work may not be optimal, they have shown the capability to play with anyone on a somewhat consistent basis. I was close to putting Marquette in Tier 2, but the loss of Dominic James hurts them too much to be considered a Final Four hopeful.
Tier 4 - Bubble Teams
Big East -- Providence (71), Cincinnati (55), Notre Dame (73)
ACC -- Boston College (48), Maryland (54), Miami (46), Virginia Tech (65)
The next few games for these teams will unquestionably be a huge factor in deciding which conference does, in fact, reign supreme. Providence's RPI will soar after its win against Pittsburgh; the same goes for Tech's win against Clemson. You can bet that one or two of these teams will gain momentum after a few wins and then do some damage in the tournament -- it happens every year. The question is, which ones?
Tier 5- Bottom-Feeders
Big East -- Seton Hall, Georgetown, St. John's, DePaul, Rutgers, South Florida
ACC -- Virginia, Georgia Tech, NC State
These teams aren't RPI worthy, and this is where the ACC closes in on the Big East. Although Georgetown and Seton Hall field decent clubs, the other four are somewhat laughable. At least the ACC teams have a few notable wins. DePaul doesn't even have a conference win, and Rutgers' only conference win came against DePaul. This is where having a 16-team conference can hurt you.
The Big East versus ACC comparison, at this point, is too close to call. While it is clear the Big East has a few more teams who have a good chance to go deep in the tournament, the bottom of the Big East is abysmal.
It looks like the Big East will get seven or eight teams in the tournament and, similarly, the ACC could field anywhere from six to nine.
The next month and a half will put many questions to rest, but for now we can only speculate.
At this point in the season I would have to say the Big East has a slight advantage simply because the abundance of high-quality, consistent teams.
The debate this season will rage on until a champion is crowned, and unless either conference plays superior in March, perhaps longer.
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