Big East/SEC Challenge Wish List

The SEC and Big East announced today a two-year agreement to play one another in an annual challenge.  This follows on the heels of back-to-back seasons in which a mini-version of this challenge existed, in which four teams from each conference competed for the challenge bragging rights.  There was enough momentum from this subsample for the conferences to agree on including all members in the SEC (12 teams) against twelve (out of 16) teams from the Big East.  The twelve teams from the Big East will be chosen at a later date.

The fact that we still don’t know which Big East teams will compete makes for a great opportunity to blog.  As with any challenge it’s all about the matchups.  You have to select matchups that will ultimately be competitive but also have as much marketability as possible in order to draw the highest ratings.  I put pen to pad tonight and did my best to break down the matchups I would want to see and some logic behind the choice.  Below is my personal wish list.  The conferences are free to use this in their decision making.

Kentucky vs Syracuse

Hype factors:  Both are perennial power basketball schools; the teams met in the 1996 Championship game; they almost never meet adding to the sexy matchup factor; perhaps most importantly they are #1 or #2 in annual home attendance every year, something the announcers can hype up until you vomit; the famed Syracuse 2-3 zone defense against the Dribble Drive Motion Offense of Kentucky.

Tennessee vs Connecticut

Hype factors: I went with this matchup mainly because Tennessee has already played Pittsburgh and Villanova this year, so I feel like there’s some process of elimination here.  Next year’s matchup should have new blood.  Now that UConn has rebounded from last year’s disappointing campaign this matchup oozes excitement.  Tennessee continues to be a giant-killer with wins over several Top 10 teams in recent years.  Lets throw the Vols another chance to add a feather to the hat.

Florida vs Louisville

Hype factors:  Lock this up.  Done deal.  Ricky P vs Billy D.  Mentor vs Pupil.  Championship winning coaches.  This is long overdue.  Marketing dream.

Vanderbilt vs West Virginia

Hype factors: This is a coaching decision for me.  I appreciate what Stallings and Huggins get out of their players.  The Mountaineers stifling defense pitted against Vanderbilt’s persistent offense.  I really think this could be the best matchup of the entire challenge.  Both coaches are gracious competitors and I think they would provide a great scene for college basketball fans.

Auburn Tigers: SEC Tournament Spoilers?

The Auburn Tigers are finally making me look smart.  Finally. But I’ve been high on them all through the non-conference slate, mainly because they had one of the few decent road wins for SEC teams (they won @ Virginia….not saying much for the SEC).  On top of that it just seemed natural to predict a rise in Auburn’s SEC status.  Here are some reasons I labeled them my sleeper team in the SEC:

–Head Coach Jeff Lebo is now in his fifth year, giving him ample time to pull together his own complete roster.
–They have 10 juniors/seniors on their roster
–They have a legit athletic big man in Kovortney Barber (12.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg)
–The SEC is down this year, giving off the radar teams a chance to shine
–Again, if you followed their non conference, they performed well on the road. They lost in overtime to Dayton (Dayton was and is still extremely good this year). They lost by only 7 pts at Xavier. And they beat Virginia on the road. They sprinkled in some lame losses but the signs of progress were in motion.

Auburn as of today is currently on a 4 game winning streak that includes wins over Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi State (by 15) and @ Georgia (Georgia is awful but lets remember UGA just beat Florida, so for Auburn to cruise in and squash a feel-good team by 12 is still impressive). Auburn now stands 6-5 in conference, good enough for third place in the SEC West. They are FINALLY playing like an experienced team. It will be virtually impossible for Auburn to overtake LSU in the Western division, but Auburn is serving notice to SEC brethren that they will not be an easy out in the SEC tournament.

If lowly Georgia could make a miraculous run and win the SEC Tournament last year surely Auburn can this year.