Well the Big East Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament starts today at noon with Depaul facing off against USF (ESPN2). Before that, let’s take a real quick look at the tournament and what to expect over the next few days.

Mike_B:

I just wanted to highlight a few points before the tournament gets underway:

Favorites to Win: Syracuse, WVU, Pitt
Dark Horse Teams: Villanova, Georgetown, Notre Dame
Big Dance Implications: Win one game, get a low 3 seed. Reach the Finals, get a high 3 seed. Win the Big East Tournament, Low 2 seed.

I like Pitt’s chances to get to at least the semi-finals, but I am skeptical of them reaching the finals. They will likely play either WVU or Louisville, and both teams gave Pitt troubles at The Pete. Granted MSG is home away from home for Pitt, it’s still going to be a tough task for Pitt if either team is on.

Dan_P:

I agree with Mike for the most part. I’m going with Syracuse and WVU in the final, with Syracuse taking it all. Despite losing to Louisville, I think Syracuse is just too good to lose in this tournament. Even if Louisville has Syracuse’s number, the Cardinals aren’t going to make it to the championship game, which is the only game in which they could meet Syracuse in this tournament.

Look for Pitt to beat Notre Dame and play a close game with WVU in the semifinals. If Pitt can play a tight game with no mistakes, they could get to the finals where they’d have a good shot at beating Syracuse.

So there it is. Remember, coverage starts at noon on ESPN2 today. Pitt will play their first game on Thursday at 7 PM on ESPN.