2010-2011 Big East Basketball Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds | Sportsbookbuzz.com

2010-2011 Big East Basketball Preview, Predictions Picks & Odds

With a 15-3 record in the Big East and a 30-5 record overall, the Syracuse Orange won the regular season Big East title. The Orange lost their two leading scorers in Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins, but they have plenty of talent ready to pick up the slack.

The West Virginia Mountaineers, Villanova Wildcats and Pittsburgh Panthers finished tied for second in the conference with 13-5 Big East records. West Virginia actually won the Big East tournament, and they carried that momentum into their first Final Four appearance since 1954. Villanova loses its second all-time leading scorer Scottie Reynolds, but still has one of the Big East’s most talented teams. Pittsburgh returns most of its strong core, with the exception of guard Jermaine Dixon.

The Marquette Golden Eagles and the Louisville Cardinals finished tied for fifth in the Big East with 11-7 conference records, Marquette loses leading scorer Lazar Heyward, but they have a solid core and a good recruiting class on the way. Louisville will need to find a way to replace the production of all three of last season’s leading scorers.

Finishing tied for seventh in the Big East with 10-8 conference records last season were the Georgetown Hoyas and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Georgetown loses center Greg Monroe, but returns leading scorer Austin Freeman and talented guard Chris Wright. Notre Dame loses Luke Harangody, the Big East’s leading scorer last season with 22.4 PPG.

Last season’s 9-9 Big East record was good for a tie for ninth place between the South Florida Bulls and the Seton Hall Pirates. South Florida will likely take a step backwards this year with the Big East’s second-leading scorer (Dominique Jones) heading off to the NBA. Seton Hall returns a nice core, including the conference’s third-leading scorer Jeremy Hazell, as well as talented forward Jeff Robinson.

The Cincinnati Bearcats and the Connecticut Huskies tied for nth place with a 7-11 record in the Big East. Cincinnati looks to be heading towards a rebuild after losing their two leading scorers. Connecticut has to believe last season was an anomaly; they have the talent to take a big step forward in 2010.

Rounding out the conference were the St. John’s Red Storm (6-12 conference), Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-13), Providence Friars (4-12) and DePaul Blue Demons (1-17). Each will hope to see progress in their rebuilding processes this season.