Nova is the #1 team in the nation

[Markedman]

Still not convinced they are that good but then again nobody is really that good this year. I think Iowa, Oklahoma and Maryland might be the top 3 teams......
http://sportspolls.usatoday.com/ncaa.../coaches-poll/

[MU/Panther]

Let's hope they are #1 in the AP poll!

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Right now, I don't think there's really any debate that Villanova deserves to be #1. Not sure they are the best team, but when you look at their body of work, their quality of losses, and the caliber of play they have shown since conference play began, I'm not sure you can really argue anyone convincingly against them.

[Markedman]

Also #1 in AP....another big step for the Big East in its new form....http://collegebasketball.ap.org/poll

[Goose85]

Nova and X are both in top 5 and play each other one more time.
If both take care of business that should lead to some very good seeds come tourney time.

CBS has #1 seed Xavier, #2 seed Nova, #6 seed Providence, #8 seed Seton Hall, and #10 seed Butler.

A pretty good year if the Big East can get half the league in the tourney.


http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

Nova and X are both in top 5 and play each other one more time.
If both take care of business that should lead to some very good seeds come tourney time.

CBS has #1 seed Xavier, #2 seed Nova, #6 seed Providence, #8 seed Seton Hall, and #10 seed Butler.

A pretty good year if the Big East can get half the league in the tourney.


http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/bracketology

the real key won't be the seeds, it is going to be can any of them get to the elite 8 or final 4, until we start getting teams in the national championship discussion occasionally it won't matter.

[warriorfan4life]

the real key won't be the seeds, it is going to be can any of them get to the elite 8 or final 4, until we start getting teams in the national championship discussion occasionally it won't matter.

Nova and X have great opportunities to make deep runs, but again it has to happen.

[CaribouJim]

I was figuring PC as no worse than a 5 seed - moot point right now.

[unclejohn]

Having the top team in the country, even if it is just for a week, is great for the conference. Yes, getting far in the tournament sure helps and the BE did not do that last year. But then again, most years before the league split, the BE's post-season performance was underwhelming, but it stayed in the discussions about top teams and top conferences. I do not think anybody can argue that the Big East is a major league and is here to stay. (Of course, rodent fans will argue about it anyway.)

[Goose85]

Nova has DePaul and St. John's this week.
Nova then has Temple and Butler the following week.

Villanova really has a good chance to hang in there at #1 until their Feb 24 midweek game at Xavier.
It would be really nice for the conference to have the top ranked team for a few weeks.