Is an All Big East Final Four A Possibility?

Added by Guest on March 11, 2013.

Peyton Siva and Louisville are a strong pick to make the final four, but can other Big East teams join them? (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

This is the final season of the Big East, as we know it. Later this year the conference will be torn apart and we will hardly recognize it. The Catholic Seven will likely remain, but many others will be gone. Syracuse will join the ACC. New schools Butler and Xavier will likely be on the way.

But could the traditional Big East go out with a bang? Everyone has been clamoring all season about the Big 10, but the Big East has still been a quietly potent conference. And this has been the year of the upset so you can expect a few powerhouse number one seeds to go down.

Here is a look at a few Big East teams that could possible fill out the Final Four:

Marquette

There wasn’t a lot of hype for this team coming into the season, but head coach Buzz Williams has had this squad overachieving at a very high rate. In fact, you could argue that the Golden Eagles have as many quality wins as any team in the country with victories over Wisconsin, UConn, Georgetown, Syracuse, Notre Dame and two wins over Pittsburgh.

Do not count Marquette out. They are capable of beating any number one seed in the nation.

Louisville

Louisville is one of the safest picks (if such a thing exists) to make the Final Four not only from the Big East, but of any team in the country. They are an extremely balanced team that only lost five games all season. Of those five losses, only one (Villanova) could be considered a very disappointing defeat and even that was on the road and so not exactly a shocking upset. 

When Peyton Siva is efficiently playing within the offensive system and controlling the tempo Louisville is arguably the hardest team to beat in the nation.

Georgetown

The Hoyas are probably the hottest team in the country. Since January 21st they have only lost one game including four wins over ranked teams and you don’t want to bet against a coach like John Thompson III during March Madness.

They strongly rely on Otto Porter Jr. who is not exactly a bad person to place your bets on. Porter is averaging 16 points per game off of 50 percent shooting to go along with almost eight rebounds.

Syracuse

It’s a long shot, but don’t completely count Syracuse out.  Things may seem bleak at the moment, but Jim Boeheim typically has his team prepared to make some sort of run come Tournament time.

The Orange certainly struggle in areas (shooting being the major one), but they do one thing very well: rebound. They rebound very well as a team. The guards, forwards and centers all go get the ball after a missed shot. That might not amount to much, but the game usually slows down in the postseason and being able to control the boards is a huge advantage.