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2008 Big East Conference Basketball Tournament

Written by Jimmy Boyd

The Big East 16 team power conference is one of the toughest conferences in the nation. Because the conference is so large, teams have to qualify just to participate in the conference tournament. Find out who Jimmy Boyd likes with his college basketball predictions to gain an automatic bid to the Big Dance in his 2008 Big East Conference tournament preview.

The Big East Conference tournament starts on Wednesday March 12th and concludes on Saturday March 15th. The teams in this conference are lucky enough to get to perform in one of basketball’s most hallowed halls – Madison Square Garden in New York City. ESPN will broadcast the entire Big East tournament so you Big East fans shouldn’t have a problem watching your favorite teams.

This will be the last season where only the 12 best records in conference play qualify for the Big East conference tournament. Starting next year, all 16 teams will get a shot to advance to the Big Dance by winning the Big East tourney and gaining automatic entry.

The Big East Conference is as talented and as deep as any in the country with Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, UConn, Marquette, and West Virginia leading the way. All of these teams will receive at large bids and I anticipate the committee selecting Pittsburgh as well. Villanova and Syracuse are on the bubble and will have to have impressive performances in the Big East tourney to get in.

Georgetown and Louisville are teams which I felt had legit shots at making the Final Four before the season started, and they are knotted at the top of the conference standings in first place with a showdown against each other to decide who’s going to win the regular season conference championship. While the Cardinals are the hottest team in the conference down the stretch, I like the Hoyas to win the Big East Conference tourney. Georgetown returns all but one of its starters from last season’s Final Four team and will be ready to repeat as Big East tournament champs.

If you’re a value hunter looking for a sleeper pick, the Pitt Panthers may be your best option. Pitt has reached the Big East Conference tournament final in six of the past seven seasons. 2003 was the only year it won it however. Still, Pitt has beaten Georgetown this season and has also beaten Duke. There’s no doubt that the Panthers can play, but I feel that Georgetown just has too much experience and would prevail if they were to face off on a neutral court.

2007 Recap:

Georgetown played its signature tough defense on its way to a Big East Conference tourney title last season. The Hoyas crushed Pitt 65-42 in the title game. The win gave Georgetown its seventh Big East title which is the most by any school in the conference.

Previous Winners:

2007 – Georgetown
2006 – Syracuse
2005 – Syracuse
2004 – UConn

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