It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago many thought the Big East Conference was on the verge of mediocrity.

After the exodus of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College to the ACC, it seemed that the Big East would face hard times.

Although the conference’s reputation was tarnished after losing the programs, the 2008 – 2009 basketball season has proved without a shadow of a doubt that the best college ball is played in the Big East.

Need proof?

Three different Big East teams held the AP’s number 1 ranking eight of the regular season’s eighteen weeks. Six conference teams finished the regular season ranked in the top 25; more than any other conference in the country. Four conference teams will finish the season with over 30 wins, and 8 will finish with at least 20 wins. 

The Big East accounted for five teams in the Sweet Sixteen (a record amount from one conference), four in the Elite Eight, and now UConn and Villanova make up half of the Final Four.

Skeptics point to the bottom half of the Big East as weakening the conference, but the fact of the matter is that the bottom four teams (DePaul, Rutgers, USF and St. John’s) went 31 – 20 against non-conference opponents, and only USF had a non-conference record below .500.

Ultimately, history will remember the team that wins the tournament next week, but regardless of who takes home the title no one can argue that the Big East Conference is the closest you can get to the NBA in college basketball.

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