ACC Preview: The New-Look ACC Is Stacked

The long wait will soon be over when the first full slate of NCAA basketball games of the 2013-14 season will tip-off on Nov. 8. Some of our favorite players have moved on the ranks of professional athletes, new recruits have been polishing their games in gyms with recognizable logos on the court, and schools have switched conference allegiances. Through a series of conference previews, the BDD crew will do its best to prepare you for the next 4.5 months of collegiate hoops.

Duke freshman Jabari Parker is a big reason why the Blue Devils are a favorite to win the ACC. (bigstory.ap.com)

Favorite: Duke
Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pitt are entering their first season in the ACC, but it is still Duke who is projected to be at the top of the standings. The Blue Devils received 50 first-place votes from ACC media in the preseason poll in large part thanks to freshman Jabari Parker and Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood. Duke lost Seth Curry, Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly, but Quinn Cook will take over at point guard and the Blue Devils have the talent to find themselves in first in the ACC at the end of the season. Go ahead and circle the regular-season finale between UNC and Duke in Durham to possibly decide the conference.



Dark Horse: Virginia
Virginia is ranked No. 24 in the preseason AP poll, yet with the star power of the teams mentioned above, it is quite possible Virginia gets overlooked. Still, the ACC writers have the Cavaliers finishing fourth in the conference, and with four returning starters (most notably the top to scorers from last season, Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell), Virginia could improve on a 23-12 record from a year ago. Virginia gets two key games at home at the end of the season against Notre Dame and Syracuse before ending the year at Maryland. This team seems poised to pull and upset or two at the expense of the conference elite.


Player of the Year: Jabari Parker, Duke
The ACC media picked Syracuse's C.J. Fair, who last year led a very talented team in scoring with 14.5 points per game and added seven rebounds per game. Fair very well may be the best player in the ACC this year, but it's tough to pick against another freshman phenom in Jabari Parker. Remember, Parker was on the cover of Sports Illustrated being called the next LeBron before Andrew Wiggins. Obviously any comparison between LeBron James and a player who has yet to record a minute in college is absurd. Still, it would be no surprise if the 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward burst onto the scene and dominated the ACC this year.  


Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
The natural instinct, after looking at who our favorite, player and newcomer of the years are, would be to select Mike Krzyzewski as coach of the year. Then we came across an interesting stat. Coach K has not won ACC Coach of the Year since 2000. That's not a knock on Krzyzewski. He's one of the greatest coaches of all time. Instead, it seems like the media like picking coaches such as Jim Larranaga of Miami and Leonard Hamilton of Florida State who have brought up surprising teams to the top of the conference. That's why if Boeheim can have Syracuse in competition for the ACC crown in the Cuse's first year in the conference, he seems like a strong pick for coach of the year. Also keep an eye on Tony Bennett from Virginia if the Cavaliers make one of those Florida State-like runs in conference play.


Newcomer of the Year:Jabari Parker, Duke
It seems like with many of our previews, the picks for conference player of the year are also newcomers. That's a credit to how strong this freshman class is, and tells you a bit about the culture of college basketball in the one-and-done era. Parker will be dangerous from all over the court and finds a way to score. His teammate, and Mississippi State transfer, Rodney Hood should also make a big impact on the Blue Devils this season and could be in the hunt for this award at the end of the year.

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Friday Roundtable: Most Underpaid Coaches In College Basketball

Mike Brey has Notre Dame - and one Cincinnati Bengals fan - ready for war. (USO photo by Mike Theiler)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall recently got a raise after taking his team to the Final Four, which got us to thinking, who are the most underpaid coaches in college basketball?

Alex:
Bob McKillop. His name doesn't carry the same swagger as a Bill Self and he doesn't have a well-known nickname like Coach K, but it should spark some memories, at the very least. Like the time McKillop's Davidson team knocked down Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin on a march to the Elite Eight behind strong team chemistry and the hot hand of Stephen Curry, coming within three points of the Final Four as Kansas outlasted the Wildcats. Or the time, more recently, when McKillop's squad beat Self's Jayhawks in what was essentially a home game for KU (they played in Kansas City), as teamwork and a knack for efficient three-point shooting prevailed against the college all-stars (Thomas Robinson, anyone?) and rich tradition of the eventual national runner-up.

The list goes on, yet McKillop is just the 49th-highest paid coach ($370,618 with no incentives or bonuses) in NCAA hoops, trailing the likes of current Kansas State head coach and Illinois-reject Bruce Weber (No. 25; $1.5 million with $655k available via bonuses) and Cincinnati's Mick Cronin (No. 29; $1,358,900 before $555k in possible bonuses). McKillop has been consistently more successful than both relative to his school and conference affiliation (Southern), taking the Wildcats to seven March Madnesses since 1997-98, including six in the past nine seasons. His brand of basketball isn't flashy and he doesn't attract top-tier recruits, but he develops the right recruits in a system that allows them to play to their strengths without sacrificing team ideals for individual success.

Kyle:
The good people at USA Today ranked the 62 highest-paid college basketball coaches for 2013, and most of the names at the top are no shock to anyone. Yet one that surprised me, because of the conference, success of the program and number of years with the school was Mike Brey of Notre Dame. Brey is the No. 41 highest-paid college basketball coach at $616,843 without any bonus opportunities.

Notre Dame has not been a national title contender much, but the program has always been competitive in the brutal Big East, and considering where the program was before Brey took over, he is a steal for $616,000. Brey came to Notre Dame in 2000-01, and after not making the NCAA Tournament since 1990, Brey has taken the Fighting Irish to the big dance in eight of his 13 years as head coach, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2003. Notre Dame has also had 20 wins or more in ever season but three during that stretch.

Brey might not be an elite college coach, but when Jay Wright and Travis Ford are making $2.2 million a year and Mike Montgomery at Cal is making a million more than Brey, he has had a lot of success for just over half a million dollars.

Saying Goodbye To The Big East Tournament As We Know It

The Big East is playings its final conference tournament as the conference we grew up knowing. (wikipedia.com)

For years, the Big East Tournament has been a great appetizer to the NCAA Tournament a week later. Regularly holding the title as one of the most competitive and best conferences in college basketball, the Big East has for years put on a show in the world's best basketball arena: Madison Square Garden.

The Big East Tournament as we know it will come to an end Saturday with the final championship game with a stacked lineup of contenders. The new Big East will still have solid teams, yet is an interesting group, but it won't be the same.

One of the reasons that the Big East is so popular is the great matchups that form long before the title game. Starting as early as the quarterfinal rounds, nationally ranked teams and conference rivals have to begin the brutal march to Saturday, with no cakewalks thrown in. Take this year for example, as No. 1-seed Georgetown has to face a 22-win Cincinnati team in the quarterfinals today, while No. 19 Syracuse and No. 17 Pittsburgh and No. 24 Notre Dame and No. 12 Marquette face off later in the day. By having so many talented teams playing each other in the early rounds really makes the title game wide open. Any of the teams just mentioned, not even including No. 2-seed Louisville, could win the Big East Tournament this year.

The conference tournament that gave us so many great moments (those Georgetown games in the 1980s, Kemba Walker's amazing tournament performance in 2011 to lead UCONN to the title and the Syracuse/UCONN six-overtime thriller in 2009 just to name a few) has one more chance to wow the country with great matchups and memorable performances. Let's hope the tournament give fans a high note or two to end the era on, because an underdog in the championship game, an overtime thriller or a few buzzer-beaters is what we've grown to expect from the Big East Tournament, and it would be a fitting way to say goodbye.

The motivation to win should be even higher in this final year. Whenever dealing with the breakup of a group (relationship, business, AC/DC cover band) you always want to be the one to walk out on top. There is a mountain of pride and bragging rights awaiting Saturday and the tournament's winner, who can always say it was the Big East champion in the final year of the "old" Big East. For those teams leaving for the ACC, this would be a great way to go out and a trophy to hold over the heads of those left behind. For a member of the Catholic 7, it proves your new conference will have legitimate contenders. Every team has a reason to win, and with the stakes this high, the competition should be fierce.

In the age of conference realignment, we should be used to change. Nearly every fan base in the country has been affected by it over the past three or four years. While change is natural, it is disappointing to have to say goodbye to some of the most thrilling and hyped moments of the sport, and the Big East Tournament was definitely one of those.

Adidas Reveals Questionable Uniform Choices

Adidas' latest uniform design for its college basketball teams has not gotten great results so far. (darrenrovell's twitter account)

Adidas unveiled its new uniforms for a few of its college basketball-sponsored programs, which are Louisvile, UCLA, Baylor, Notre Dame, Kansas and Cincinnati. So far, the response has not been good. For Louisville, UCLA and Baylor, those are not undershirts you are seeing on the arms of the players, but rather the uniforms were actually designed with sleeves.

ESPN Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell tweeted out a picture of the uniforms and then tweeted this after receiving negative reviews from fans:

The colleges have final say in whether the uniforms will actually make an appearance in a game, so it will be interesting to see how many schools jump on board with the Adidas design. The other talking point with the picture circling through the Internet and social media is how much the shorts resemble those of the brand Zubaz.

Let us know your reaction to the uniforms by leaving a comment in the comment section.

Villanova's Amazing Week Could Turn Season Around, But There's More Work To Do

After knocking off No. 5 Louisville and No. 3 Syracuse in back-to-back games, Villanova is looking more like a NCAA Tournament team than it did a week ago. (ncaa.com)

Last week wasn’t just a good week for Villanova basketball. It was one of the best weeks they could have asked for in a time when a chance at the NCAA Tournament was falling out of reach.

This was the type of week that can turn around a season. At 11-7 and facing three straight Big East losses, Villanova was sinking to the bottom fast. On Jan. 22 Nova found new life with a 73-64 upset of No. 5 Louisville, whom many have picked to win a national title this year. It was a huge win for the resume, but still in the season as a whole, looked more like luck than what was meant to happen.

Then Saturday came with another matchup with a top-five team in No. 3 Syracuse. It took a little bit of magic in a game-tying 3-pointer by Ryan Arcidacono to send the game into overtime, but again Villanova found a way to win 75-71.

Not many teams even get the chance to play top-five opponents in back-to-back games, let alone come away with two victories. The feat is so impressive many are now asking if the team that lost to Columbia by nearly 20 points earlier this year could now be in the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Jay Wright has won his share of big games with Nova, so it’s a little less surprising to see this happen with him as the coach. He deserves much of the credit for getting his team prepared for such formidable opponents. This is a very young team who might finally be finding its identity. But the work is not over yet.

Last week was the momentum shift, but this week will prove what kind of team Villanova really is. The Wildcats still have 11 Big East games remaining, where they could either spring off this confidence boost or fall back into the losing pattern of the first half of the season. The next test is Wednesday, when Nova travels to No. 24 Notre Dame.

Both of the top-five wins were at home, and the Wildcats have struggled on the road (4-3) thus far. It’s easy to point at those signature wins as evidence, but those will only help if Nova continues to win. Only two currently ranked teams remain on Villanova’s schedule, so the Wildcats can’t afford any bad losses.

It’s a great story if Nova can write it; a young team struggles early, postseason dreams seemingly out of reach before turning it around midway through the season and reaching the NCAA Tournament. But wins over Louisville and Syracuse won’t get the Wildcats to their goal alone.

A road win at Notre Dame would sure help in making this great week evolve into a season Nova fans didn’t think would be possible a week ago.

Ranking The Top 5 College Basketball States in 2012-13

Kansas and Kansas State have led the way for Kansas to be the most successful state in college basketball. (espn.com)

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander recently published a story examining the best college basketball state of the modern era. The answer may surprise you, but the argument is very much a sound one. This got me to thinking about what other great college basketball states are out there right now. This is not of all-time, but strictly this season. Only looking at the best three Div. I teams in the state (sorry Juco studs), we ranked the top five college basketball states of the 2012-13 basketball season to date. Agree with it? Thank you. Don't agree, let us know your top five.

No. 5 Florida
Florida could have been even higher on the list if Florida State would have been able to carry over the success of last season when they won the ACC Tournament. But the Seminoles have dropped off to a 10-7 record this season and can't seem to win the big games. FSU still has a meeting with Duke and two games against NC State to find a signature win. Miami has been a better surprise, working its way into the top 25 and at the top of the ACC at 4-0 (prior to the Hurricanes game against Duke Wednesday night). Still, the Florida Gators are the best of the state and a legitimate top-10 team who look to be the easy favorite to win the SEC.

State record: 37-12

No. 4 Kentucky
It still feels strange to say that the University of Kentucky is currently holding the state back in our rankings, but a defending national champion is not used to going 12-6 to start the following season. John Calipari has talent, but it's very young talent who still have a lot to learn. Louisville isn't helping matters either, dropping two straight in a talented Big East, but the Cardinals are still a Final Four contender. Murray State has also been down by last year's standards, starting 14-4. The Racers 5-1 in conference play and shouldn't lose too many more before the tournament. Last year the state of Kentucky was stronger with two Final Four teams and all three making the tournament and it should be expected for that level of play to return sooner than later. But right now the state is struggling, by it's standards, which still means two good team and a very good team.

State record: 42-13  

No. 3 North Carolina
This state had by far the most potential at the start of the year. Where Kentucky had two teams who were expected to hang out in the top 10 all year, North Carolina could have potentially had three comfortably in the top 25. Duke lived up to its end as the No. 1 team, but North Carolina's youth and inexperience has made for a tougher path than expected. Roy's boys have rebounded with two straight ACC wins after starting conference play 0-2, but five losses at this point in the season is unfamiliar territory for the Tar Heels. NC State, while still in the top 25, already has four losses and have lost two of three after upsetting Duke. These are still three dangerous tournament teams, but two have a lot yet to accomplish.

State record: 43-10  

No. 2 Indiana
Indiana is synonymous with basketball (enter Hoosier's reference here). But it's the mid-major (if you can even call them that) of the state is actually keeping this basketball powerhouse state ranked so high. Butler's 16-2 start and No. 9 ranking has them talked about the with best of college basketball. The Bulldogs already have wins over UNC, Indiana and most recently Gonzaga. The Hoosiers are one of the favorites to win the Big Ten, although the brutal conference schedule could hurt Indiana's record and ranking. Notre Dame's dismissal from the top 25 after losing three of four games is keeping Indiana from the No. 1 spot.

State record: 47-8  

No. 1 Kansas
Kansas probably wouldn't have been your first guess, right? But the Sunflower State is playing basketball better than anyone. All three Div. I teams are ranked in the top 20 and are showing no signs of slowing down. Kansas has won 16 games in a row while K-State's only loss in the last nine game came at the hands of the Jayhawks Tuesday (this includes a neutral-site win over Florida). Wichita State knocked off Creighton last weekend and is making a claim for a Missouri Valley Conference title and is tied with Creighton for the conference lead. All three teams are practically no-brainers to make the NCAA Tournament and don't be surprised if one or more makes a deep run.

State record: 49-6 

After Another Boring BCS Championship, Cherish March Madness

It's been a while since the BCS has seen a moment as nail-biting as KU's Mario Chalmers hitting a buzzer-beater. (sportsillustrated.com)

A college football playoff is coming soon, like a glimmer of sunlight on the horizon. But it didn't come soon enough to save us from yet another blowout in the BCS National Championship last night.

Unless your favorite words are "Roll Tide," you probably weren't thrilled with how the game turned out. A 14-0 lead in the first quarter; 28-0 at halftime. There was no reason to watch the second half. Alabama was too dominant and Notre Dame isn't built to come back from large deficits.

College sports will have another major postseason event in just over two short months. March Madness is a completely different setup with a different kind of excitement. One thing is as certain as certainty can be, it won't be boring.

If you watched Alabama/Notre Dame last night, take a second to remember your excitement level during the game ('Bama and ND fans excluded) and then cherish the fact that the NCAA Tournament is built to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Both have flaws. People complain that it's more likely the best team in the country is not playing in the national championship game in basketball. Although after watching Notre Dame last night, would anyone still say the Irish deserved the spot over Oregon (hindsight is 20/20)? At least 64 teams still have a chance at a title as the postseason begins. Nothing Oregon could do in the Fiesta Bowl could get them a date with Alabama. And you can't say the two teams playing for a basketball title didn't earn their way. No computers helped them out. They each won five games against the country's best teams to earn a chance at a title.

Where March Madness separates itself in the excitement levels is before the title game. It was more than a month since Alabama and Notre Dame had last played. More than a month was spent analyzing and speculating every aspect of the game. Alabama's been there before, but Notre Dame has the underdog card. The anxiety and excitement was built up over that month until it reached a peak right before kickoff, which makes for a great event. That is, until the game is a dud. It's like getting socks on Christmas morning. You wait all this time for the best day of the year and it turns out there was nothing to be excited about.

NCAA Tournament games can be blowouts, too. There's no question about that (although they are usually much closer than the most recent BCS Titles). But it's those first two weeks of upsets and buzzer-beaters and Cinderellas that makes watching that title game worth it. Your team might not have reached the title game, but after watching Butler make a magical run and jumping into the spotlight, didn't you want to see if they could finish the ride? Nothing that Alabama or Notre Dame did in the last month makes you feel like that.

A football playoff is coming soon to help clean up the mess of the BCS and add excitement. Still, as you fill out your bracket in March, don't take those three weeks of mayhem for granted. It may not be perfect, but it's definitely not boring.


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Does Notre Dame Have Another Championship Contender In Basketball?

Could Notre Dame's basketball team also be a contender for a national title? (southbendtribune.com)

Notre Dame's football team is hours away from possibly winning the BCS National Championship.

This is an impressive feat that will cause a lot of green beer (or Gatorade, for you under-21 fans) to be flowing in celebration tonight. It would also mean the Irish would be halfway toward accomplishing an even more difficult feat: winning the BCS National Championship and Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament in the same year.

But does Notre Dame's basketball team have what it takes to cut down the nets in Atlanta? Only one school, Florida in 2006, has been able to pull this off, proving how difficult the task is. Notre Dame is the only school in this year's football championship with a possibility for a basketball title. Sorry, Alabama, but you're 8-5 with losses to Tulane and Mercer. Plus you're 225th in the country in points per game (65.5) and 260th in rebounding (33 per game). It's just not happening this year.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, has quietly started the season 13-1 and is moving up the top-25 while riding an 11-game winning streak. The schedule hasn't posed many challenges, but the Irish do have wins against Kentucky (which looked better when it happened) and BYU on a neutral site. Senior Jack Cooley has been fantastic this season, leading the team in points (15.5 per game) and rebounds (11.4).

Some serious questions still remain with the Irish, first of which is Notre Dame has yet to play a true road game this season, with three games being on neutral sites. Second is what happens when the Irish are seriously tested? Their only game against a ranked team was Kentucky, which is just now working its way back into the top-25.

Conference play seems to answer all of the remaining questions, and the Big East is certainly the place to find answers. It may soon be dissipating into oblivion, but the Big East had five teams ranked in the top-25 before Monday's rankings were released, and Notre Dame will play a total of seven ranked teams (Louisville and Cincinnati twice) in conference play.

Question marks aside, this Irish team has the foundation for success. Notre Dame has experienced upperclassmen, balanced scoring (five players averaging nine or more points per game) that makes the Irish a scoring threat as a whole (averaging 77.6 ppg) and they are unselfish (No. 1 in the country in assists with 19.9 per game).

The Irish are not on anyone's short list for national champion picks, but neither was the football team at the beginning of the season (insert 'Luck of the Irish' jokes here). The basketball team will take the court hours before the football team tonight for a tough road test against Cincinnati.

Notre Dame football's championship fate will be decided by the end of the night. We'll have to wait until March for the basketball team's fate. While the football championship alone will have a big impact on the school, adding a basketball championship to it this year would put in an elite and historic class.


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Big East Preview: Syracuse And Notre Dame Will Challenge Louisville For The Big East Thrown

The long wait will soon be over when the first official NCAA basketball game of the 2012-13 season will tip-off on Nov. 15. Some of our favorite players have moved on the ranks of professional athletes, new recruits have been polishing their games in gyms with recognizable logos on the court, and schools have switched conference allegiances. Through a series of conference previews, the BDD crew will do its best to prepare you for the next 4.5 months of collegiate hoops.

Peyton Siva and Louisville have their eye on the Big East Title. (thesportsbank.net)

Favorite: Louisville Cardinals

The Cardinals made it to the Final Four last year, and many are starting them out as the No. 2 team in the country in preseason polls. The main reason for this — besides seeing the coaching job Rick Pitino did last year — is senior point guard Peyton Siva. He only averaged 9.1 ppg and 5.6 assists, but Siva is the leader of this team and when he plays well, the Cardinals usually win. Louisville is having to replace last year's leading scorer Kyle Kuric and guard Chris Smith, but this is a balanced-scoring team who has a fairly easy schedule — except for traveling to Memphis and the rivalry game against Kentucky — heading into Big East play.

Dark Horse: Notre Dame

Notre Dame is returning all five starters from a team that went 22-12 last season. The Fighting Irish struggled at times a season ago, losing games they shouldn't have to Georgia and Rutgers, but Notre Dame also knew how to string big wins together. During a stretch in 2011-12, the Irish knocked off No. 1 Syracuse, No. 19 UCONN and No. 15 Marquette in a span of four games. Mike Brey's squad doesn't have nearly as challenging of a non-conference schedule this year, and should compete with Louisville and Syracuse for the top of the Big East.

Player of the Year: Peyton Siva, Louisville

Siva epitomizes the term "Most Valuable Player." He probably won't score the most points in the conference and have the best numbers, but Louisville is a much better team when he is on his game compared to when he struggles. Siva was selected as the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, so he clearly has the conference — and the nation's — attention. If Siva can cut back on the turnovers this year (he averaged more than three per game last season) and continue to be a scoring threat, the award is his to lose.

Newcomer of the Year: Steven Adams, Pitt

Last year was a season to forget for the Pitt Panthers, and Steven Adams is a freshman that can help fade the memories of the 22-17 overall and 5-13 conference records in 2011-12. The 7-foot center from New Zealand was the No. 6-ranked player on the ESPN 100, and has been praised for his athletic ability. Adams has the build and athleticism to be a force in the paint from the first game he plays and that presence in the low post could be what Pitt needs to return to their successful ways in the Big East.

Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

Louisville is the clear favorite to win the conference, but they will have to take down the defending Big East champions in Syracuse, who went 17-1 in conference play last season under Boeheim. The Orange lost a talented group in Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters and Fab Melo, but now it is Brandon Triche and Rakeem Christmas' turn to run the show and a preseason ranking of No. 9 in the country shows this team not expected to falter. With the loss in talent from a year ago, if Boeheim's team can breeze through a semi-challenging non-conference schedule and lead this team to a conference championship or within a game or two of that mark, he will have a strong case for the award. This could be the last chance Boeheim has to win the award before Syracuse and Pitt move to the ACC.


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Notre Dame's Move to ACC Drives Stake Into Big East

Notre Dame's basketball team, along with all sports except for football, is the newest member of the ACC. (und.com)

The Notre Dame football program has yet to hear an offer sweet enough to lure it away from it's Independent status, which is not a surprise. That move could still be years away. But for all other sports, and basketball most importantly, the Irish are the newest members of the growing juggernaut that is the ACC.

ESPN's Brett McMurphy reported Wednesday morning that Notre Dame will join the ACC in all sports except for football. It is still unclear when that will be. The Big East has a 27-month exit rule, but the last three schools to leave the conference — West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse — have all left early.

For basketball fans, the Big East Conference Tournament is one of the biggest events of the season. The brutal road of ranked teams facing off as early as quarterfinal games in Madison Square Garden made for wildly entertaining basketball. Enjoy this year's tournament, because after this year, it won't be the same.

Conference realignment has been mainly dictated by football, which makes sense seeing as it is the largest revenue sport. So while Syracuse and Pitt are both basketball schools (West Virginia has been successful in both), the moves to the ACC and Big 12 was also because of football.

But now a school has made a move to a new conference without its football team, for now, and there lies the potential death of the Big East.

Don't get me wrong, Notre Dame's decision was also about football. Part of the agreement to move to the ACC is that the football team, while still an Independent, must schedule five ACC opponents every year.

Notre Dame saw the decline of their conference in basketball as well, and bolted before it became worse. While the football team is still involved with the school's move to the ACC, the team itself is staying still. Most conference realignment moves happen because of football, but Notre Dame's acceptance into the ACC may motivate teams without football programs to also make a switch.

Who is to say teams like Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova — who do not have FBS football teams — won't do the same? UCONN has also expressed an interest in leaving the Big East, which would make them the fifth team to do so in the last two years. Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova can't be blamed for also heading to greener basketball pastures.

In an uneasy time for conferences, the Big East is by far the most vulnerable and Notre Dame's departure puts it on even shakier ground. As a school, Notre Dame has the most tradition and national recognition in the Big East, even without football. The biggest basketball conference in the country may be on the verge of extinction.

Notre Dame's departure will be possibly the most painful to the Big East because it reopened the door for schools without football to follow. Football aside, Notre Dame didn't trust a future in the Big East, and other schools in the conference probably feel the same way. It's only a matter of time before they too seek out opportunities elsewhere.


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