We was looking over Joe Lunardi’s picks for the NCAA Tournament, and he has the ACC with 8 and Big East with 7 teams getting in right now.  In looking further into a theory we have about the Big East, we came up with this breakdown.

–UConn - lost to Georgetown and Pitt.  Could be a big win for Georgetown, but it was many weeks ago and they have been awful since.
–Pitt - lost to Villanova and Louisville.  Both of these teams are in the tourney anyway.
–Marquette - lost to USF and Villanova.  Nova is in and USF has no chance.
–Louisville - lost to UConn and Notre Dame.  This win by ND could help.
–Villanova - lost to Marquette, Louisville, UConn, and West Virginia.  Only WVU needed any help.

Then you look at Providence, Cincinnati, and Syracuse - they have no “big” conference wins.  None of them had that game where people went, “Wow, they just beat [blank].”  The teams at the top did not give them the big win they needed.  But then look to the ACC.

UNC - lost to BC, Wake, and Maryland.  BC and Maryland may get in due to beating the acclaimed Heels.
Clemson - lost to UNC, Wake, FSU, Virginia.  Feather in the cap of FSU to have this win at Clemson.
Duke - lost to Wake, Clemson, UNC, BC.  BC helped by this win as well (added to forgetting about Harvard).

Look at the middle-of-the-road teams in the ACC.  You have Maryland, who just beat UNC for their marquee win.  BC has beaten Duke and UNC.  Va Tech, who still plays Clemson, Duke, and UNC - has a win at Wake Forest.  Combine all that with Ga Tech pulling in a 1-12 record and UVa at 3-9 - and you have the ACC with 8 teams potentially in the tourney.  The middle teams beat the bad teams and have managed to squeak out at least one big win.

That’s why we think the ACC teams in the middle look more appealing.  For the Big East, teams like Providence and Cincinnati get lost in the shuffle since they are never on TV and have no marquee wins.  Plus, with so many teams in the league, there’s always a Marquette-Louisville type game going on that more appealing for a network than Cincinnati-Pitt game.  So even if one of those teams gets that big win, you may only see the highlights.

We think 8 is a bit much for the ACC, but there’s a great opportunity out there for teams like Maryland, Va Tech, and Boston College to cement their places.  Meanwhile, if Providence ends up at 10-8 in the Big East, will anyone know?