Big East Media Days on Tuesday

CSTV will present its third edition of college basketball media days this Tuesday. This time they will feature the Big East. Expected to be similar to their MWC and C-USA presentations, Seth Davis will interview the coaches and players for a few minutes while the in-studio host opens the revolving door for the commercials in between interview segments. The Big East coverage along with the MWC and C-USA presentations will rebroadcast a few more times on CSTV before the season begins.

My Big East predictions? This actually looks like a sub-par year for the Big East considering some of the big names in the 16-team powerhouse. The three Big Apple schools are in recovery mode, South Florida is there for football, Providence will struggle, Marquette and Notre Dame are having a change of ...guard (literally), DePaul is having a new coach and system, Louisville is suffering from injuries and pre-season attrition (just like every year), Cincy has an old new (!) coach but the core of seniors is in tact so there is hope. The Pitt bubble may start bursting unless they find a way to win by scoring 40 points per game (Herb Pope doesn't arrive until 2007).

Who is gonna be solid then? UConn, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Louisville, Georgetown

Even in a transition year, the Big East looks strong but it is not the big monster everyone is hyping this season..

Marquette, Notre Dame and DePaul could potentially get it together before next season. They have the raw materials to get it done by March.

My bold prediction: DePaul's coach Jerry Wainwright is the next Thad Matta.