Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - OUTLOOK: The Beast of the East is back and primed for basketball dominance again in 2008-09. Stemming from the preseason AP Poll, it seems the rest of the country is also convinced that the Big East Conference will again be a significant player leading right up until March Madness and beyond. No fewer than seven teams from the conference are represented in the Top-25 heading into the season, with Syracuse knocking on the door and West Virginia also receiving a few votes. Jim Calhoun has his UConn Huskies (second in the nation) poised to give North Carolina a run, but Calhoun has to be aware that right behind him in the rankings is Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals, a team that finished last season ranked 13th in the nation. The Pittsburgh Panthers have enough people believing in them to earn a place at No. 5, while Notre Dame is breathing down their necks at No. 9, which gives the Big East an amazing four teams in the top-10, twice as many as any other conference. However, those four teams cannot rest on the confidence of others because Marquette, Georgetown and Villanova also appear in the opening poll. As for the rest of the monster conference, some teams will just have to settle in for another series of demoralizing defeats and hard-fought setbacks. Bringing up the back end of the league will be South Florida, Seton Hall and DePaul, while a team like Rutgers has to get better in 2008-09 only because it couldn't really get much worse. Providence, Cincinnati and St. John's will be a mix and match of success and failure that, while there may be a surprise or two, shouldn't have much of an influence on the outcome of the final standings.

CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Connecticut

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Connecticut; 2. Louisville; 3. Villanova; 4. Pittsburgh; 5. Notre Dame; 6. Marquette; 7. Syracuse; 8. Georgetown; 9. West Virginia; 10. Providence; 11. Rutgers; 12. Cincinnati; 13. St. John's; 14. DePaul; 15. Seton Hall; 16. South Florida

TEAM BY TEAM ANALYSIS:

CONNECTICUT: Except for a couple seasons ago when the Huskies were mere mortals, every year seems like it could be UConn's year to make something happen, not only in the Big East but in the NCAA Tournament as well. At the end of last season the squad backed into the "Big Dance" and was immediately ushered out by San Diego in the first round, something that hall-of-fame head coach Jim Calhoun has to believe was just a minor bump in the road for this elite program. Of all the significant contributors from a season ago, only Stanley Robinson (10.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg) is no longer with the group, which means the Huskies have one of the most experienced squads hitting the hardwood in the conference in 2008-09. With an average of 77.5 ppg, UConn was not only third in the conference, it was also 30th in all of Division I, with much of that having to do with the play of Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price who were responsible for 14.8 and 14.5 ppg, respectively. One of the best one-two punches on the East Coast, Adrien handled the responsibilities on the inside with his team-best 9.2 rpg, shooting 50.1 percent from the field, while Price directed traffic out on the perimeter with his 192 assists over the course of 33 starts. Jerome Dyson and Hasheem Thabeet were also crucial pieces to the UConn offense, adding 12.5 ppg and 10.5 ppg, respectively, but the former missed several conference games and at times had difficulty handling the ball. As for Thabeet, his scoring was simply an added bonus because it was and is his defense in the paint that makes him so invaluable. Ranked third in the nation in blocked shots per game, Thabeet was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year as the team led the nation for the seventh consecutive season in blocked shots per outing. Craig Austrie was a great player to have coming off the bench for half the season, posting 7.5 ppg, but perhaps his increased time on the floor will help to improve his mediocre 37.6 percent shooting.

LOUISVILLE: Last season, the Cardinals made it all the way to the Elite Eight before being ushered out of the NCAA Tournament, once again an impressive performance by the team, but head coach Rick Pitino wants more. Although this year's squad has to replace David Padgett and his 11.2 ppg, the chances of Pitino's bunch pushing further into the madness of March and excitement of early April is certainly a possibility. First and foremost, this group retains the services of Terrence Williams, a senior forward who last year recorded not one but two triple-doubles, just the third and fourth such efforts in the history of the program. Can Williams do it all for Louisville? Absolutely, but he'd be even a better player if he could get his head straight at the free- throw line where he converted a mere 57.1 percent for the year. What's worse, when it came to taking on the rest of the Big East, Williams made good on just 52.8 percent at the stripe. The other knock against Williams, who finished with averages of 11.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg and a team-best 162 assists, is that he believes he is a three-point threat even though he converted only 28.8 percent of those tries in league play. Because of his ineffectiveness at the foul line, the team as a whole suffered with just 64.7 percent accuracy, which was second-to-last in the conference and 293rd in the nation last season. Junior guard Jerry Smith (10.7 ppg) is perhaps the most viable deep shooter on this squad after knocking down a team-best 68 tries, but he is also valued as a top-notch defender who came up with a team-high 62 steals a season ago, one of the many reasons why and how the Cardinals placed second in the Big East and 22nd in the country in points allowed with 61.5 ppg. Throw Earl Clark (11.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 59 blocked shots) into the mix and Louisville has one of the most athletic guard/forwards in the conference, while Edgar Sosa (7.6 ppg) could prove to be the wild card for the group.

VILLANOVA: Head coach Jay Wright has guided his Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament the last four seasons, which makes his success an expectation at Villanova again here in 2008-09. Were it not for a five-game slide between the end of January and the start of February last season, perhaps the Wildcats would have been a higher seed in the tournament and had an easier path to take, but finishing with a record of 22-13 was still nothing to sneeze at. However, placing eighth in the Big East standings with a mark of only 9-9 had to be a concern for the Villanova faithful who have been waiting for a return to the title game in the "Big Dance" for more than 20 years now. Losing Curtis Sumpter in the paint is a crucial blow for the Wildcats, but it's not as though the team hasn't dealt without having a post presence before. Remember, this is the team that opted to run with a four-guard offense a few years back and made it wildly successful. Nevertheless, getting Casiem Drummond comfortable down on the blocks could be key to this team's success, not to mention having freshman center Maurice Sutton (6-11) available. The bottom line here for the Wildcats is that Scottie Reynolds is back to try and right some wrongs from a season ago when he struggled from time to time. Reynolds still ended up with 15.9 ppg overall, but when it came to the Big East he tended to have his issues with just 14.7 ppg, 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 32.1 percent accuracy beyond the arc. Dante Cunningham now assumes the role of the front line leader, which means he'll have to do better than 8.8 ppg and 6.5 rpg, not to mention having turned the ball over twice as many times (80) as he had assists (37). Corey Fisher (9.1 ppg, 92 assists)) should see his responsibilities increased in order to take some of the pressure off Reynolds in the passing department, while Shane Clark (7.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg) needs to stop thinking he's a perimeter threat after making a mere 28.6 percent of his three-point tries overall and a miserable 2-of-22 showing in league play.

PITTSBURGH: A narrow 65-64 win over Duke at Madison Square Garden a few days before Christmas should have been a springboard to bigger and better things for the Panthers a season ago, but the squad followed that huge effort with a demoralizing 80-55 setback to Dayton on the road nine days later. You can be sure that head coach Jamie Dixon, now in his sixth season with Pittsburgh, is not going to let something like that happen again to his crew. The Panthers, the reigning Big East Conference Tournament Champions, managed to recover though and actually made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being dismissed by Michigan State, so all was not lost. However, what has been lost all these months later are key contributors in Mike Cook, Keith Benjamin and Ronald Ramon, which means the job gets a little harder for coach Dixon and his nucleus of scorers. Junior forward Sam Young, one of two players to have started all 37 games for the Panthers in 2007-08, brings his energy and skill back for more and while it will be difficult to improve upon his 18.1 ppg, there's still some work that can be done in order to ensure that he can collect better than 6.3 rpg and continue to help out on the interior after posting 42 blocked shots. DeJuan Blair, a center who claimed a share of Big East Rookie of the Year honors, is only going to get better, which means the rest of the conference had best keep an eye on the big man because he has his sights set on increasing his scoring (11.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg). Hopefully, someone has gotten into his ear about more of a focus at the free- throw line where he was just 62.4 percent successful. LeVance Fields, who missed a dozen games at the onset of the Big East slate a year ago, has to make up for lost time and opportunity, which means he'll be pushing for more than 11.9 ppg, that is as long as he's regained his confidence from behind the three-point line where he was a mere 27.7 percent accurate.

NOTRE DAME: The Fighting Irish begin and end with the play of junior forward Luke Harangody, the first reigning Big East Player of the Year to return to school in several years. What's most remarkable about his ascension to the conference elite is that Harangody was barely on the radar last season, but that only means that opponents in 2008-09 will be ready for this time around. Ready for Harangody and actually stopping him are two different things though, after he averaged 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game a year ago. What was most impressive about Harangody was that he actually played better as the season wore on, especially against the rest of the Big East. In fact Harangody, who shot an even 50 percent from the field overall for the season, jacked his scoring output to 23.3 ppg versus league opponents and also hit the boards a bit harder with 11.3 rpg as well. But Harangody will not have to carry this team on his back all by himself this year, because Kyle McAlarney is also a player who returns after having started all 33 games for the Irish. A three-point specialist who isn't afraid to fire at will, the senior guard was especially accurate in 2007-08 when he converted 44.1 percent out on the perimeter and had an even hotter hand in conference play at 46.3 percent, all of which contributed heavily to his 15.1 ppg. Because of his efforts, Notre Dame not only finished atop the Big East, it also placed seventh in the country with 40.5 percent accuracy from three-point range overall. Although McAlarney shot a total of just 67 free throws the entire year, his 82.1 percent at the stripe figured into the team's 73.8 percent, which again led the conference and was 38th nationally. Tory Jackson, the third of the full- time starters back for another turn, he may have suffered at the charity stripe (.520), but he made up for it by playing a complete, all-around game with 8.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg and a team-best 193 assists and 58 steals, making him the wild card for Notre Dame again this season.

MARQUETTE: The biggest news for the Golden Eagles this season is that they'll be pursuing their fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth without Tom Crean on the sidelines. Crean, who bolted for the coveted Indiana coaching job, left in his place one Buzz Williams whose only previous head coaching experience came at New Orleans a couple years back. In 2007-08, Marquette was one of the top teams in the nation in the early going, losing only to Duke by a mere four points for its first and only loss until the new year. Guard Jerel McNeal was a big part of that success and he's back for his senior campaign to take the Golden Eagles even further this time around. A year ago, McNeal led the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg and was also one of the main distributors of the ball with 124 assists over the course of his 35 starts. Perhaps just as impressive, McNeal tried to shoot for his second straight Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year award by registering 76 steals, his efforts helping to provide Marquette with 9.3 thefts per game which placed the program second in the conference and 10th in the country. McNeal was not the only one picking the pockets of opponents though, Dominic James also showed some quick hands for the program as he came away with 62 steals of his own. James (12.9 ppg) also recorded a team-best 154 assists and hit the boards on occasion for almost three rebounds per contest. Even though James worked hard to make a difference, at times he did more harm than good by shooting just 39.8 percent from the field and 66.4 percent at the charity stripe, certainly not numbers that a player who handles the ball as much as he does would be proud of these days. Also returning starters for the new coach are Lazar Hayward and Wesley Matthews who contributed 12.8 and 11.3 ppg, respectively. In the case of Matthews, unlike any of the other returning players on the roster, he actually picked up the pace when it came to league play, lifting his scoring output to 12.3 ppg as he went from 31.3 percent shooting from three-point range overall to 43.2 percent in those crucial Big East battles.

SYRACUSE: Needing a bit of good news after losing Donte Green and his 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, the Orange had to be tickled pink when they got the word that Eric Devendorf had been granted another year of eligibility. The guard played in just 10 games a season ago before going down with an injury and head coach Jim Boeheim is thrilled to have his floor general back leading the attack for Syracuse after the team finished 2007-08 with a record of 21-14 following a trip to the NIT where it picked up a pair of wins before bowing to UMass by four points at home. A fearless gunner who never saw a shot he didn't like, Devendorf brings a maverick mentality to the Orange after he produced 17 ppg and shot 40.7 percent from three-point range in the 10 games prior to his injury. But Devendorf won't be left to do it all by himself, because in his absence the Orange saw the meteoric rise of Jonny Flynn who claimed a share of the Big East Freshman of the Year honor. Flynn, who played more than 39 minutes in Big East outings, tallied 16.8 ppg on those contests. Spreading himself across the floor for whatever it was the team needed, Flynn was first on the squad with his 185 assists in 35 starts and cleared close to three rebounds per game from his guard position. The rise of Flynn helped to give Paul Harris some freedom as the forward checked in with 14.5 ppg and, like Flynn, played better in league games with his 15.8 ppg, although he saw his rebounding drop one full board per contest. Arinze Onuaku was a pleasant surprise with his 12.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game however, his amazing 62.8 percent shooting from the field made it crystal clear to opponents that they'd rather send him to the free-throw line where he was a pitiful 44.5 percent. Somehow, the Orange are probably willing to take that trade-off considering the team was second in the conference and 20th nationally in rebounding a year ago with a margin of plus-5.9 boards per game.

GEORGETOWN: Roy Hibbert turned his back on the NBA and instead made himself available to his Georgetown brethren for another year in 2007-08, but the possibilities never came to fruition for one of the top middle threats in college basketball. The Hoyas, under the direction of John Thompson III then in his fourth season, finished first in the Big East for the second straight year, but even though the team had a better conference mark (15-3) it still failed to win the league tournament and then made it to just the second round of the NCAA Tournament, a huge drop off following Georgetown's appearance in the Final Four a year earlier. But whatever happened last year is now a distant memory because these Hoyas belong to DaJuan Summers and Jessie Sapp. Summers is the top returning scorer for the unit with his 11.1 ppg and is also the best performer on the glass as well with close to five and a half rebounds per game. But while Summers shot the ball from the field rather well for the season overall (.429), his accuracy in Big East meetings dropped all the way down to .366, his three-point shooting a mere 29.8 percent, which means he's probably better served by remaining close to the paint and leaving the perimeter shooting to those who tend to have a better feel, like Sapp. Sapp (9.7 ppg) saw his shooting percentages dip in conference play as well, but it wasn't nearly as glaring. Austin Freeman brings back near double-digit scoring as well with his 9.1 ppg and unlike Summers and Sapp, he actually saw his scoring raise slightly versus the rest of the conference. A transfer from Florida State who will not have to sit out a year, 6-10 Julian Vaughn could pay immediate dividends in the paint for the Hoyas if they use him correctly.

WEST VIRGINIA: The novelty of having one of its favorite native sons back to guide the basketball should have worn off by now in Morgantown, but don't tell that to the Mountaineer faithful and head coach Bob Huggins. A member of the 600-win club in college basketball, Huggins got his WVU squad all the way to the Sweet 16 in Phoenix before bowing out against Xavier in overtime, 79-75. Most impressive about the team's run in the postseason was that it bounced back from a 17-point loss to Georgetown in the Big East Conference Tournament and then went on to defeat both Arizona and Duke in the first two rounds. Overall, the team finished 26-11 and was tied for fifth in the league standings at 11-7; not bad for someone who was desperate to erase a few ugly notes off the court in recent years. Unfortunately for Huggins, he no longer has Joe Alexander to lean on, the spirited performer having been picked up in the first round of the NBA Draft after posting 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Gone also is Darris Nichols and his 10.7 ppg and 119 assists over the course of 37 games, which leaves Alex Ruoff ruling the roost with his fearless perimeter shooting and aggressive defensive stance. Ruoff finished last season with 13.8 ppg, mostly on the strength of his 41 percent three- point shooting. In fact, of the 353 shots he attempted from the floor, 239 were let loose beyond the arc. Da'Sean Butler (12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg), the only player to have started each and every game for the Mountaineers, will have to provide the inside presence that the program needs in order for them to feel comfortable with their barrage of long-distance launches. Junior guard Joe Mazzulla had several highlights down the stretch for the Mountaineers in their pursuit of greatness, which means he'll be expected to come up with more than just 5.8 ppg and increase his distribution from 85 assists over 37 games. WVU finished second in the conference and 16th in the nation with a scoring margin of plus-11.3 ppg, but one has to be careful not to get enamored with that number because it came on the backs of opponents like Prairie View A&M (106-41) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (110-44) early in the campaign.

PROVIDENCE: First and foremost with the Friars, they'll be under new management this season as Keno Davis comes over from Drake where he made a huge impact in his first and only season as the head coach. Bloodlines probably have something to do with Davis getting the gig with Providence, with his father Tom having been a head coach at Boston College in the early days of the Big East Conference, not to mention Keno's hardware for winning the 2008 AP National Coach of the Year Award. Whatever the reason for Keno Davis to show up in Rhode Island, he'll have his hands full trying to change the climate that was established late last season when the team hit the skids with just one win in the month of February and a total of three victories from the middle of January on. At the very least, having someone like Jeff Xavier ready to take the floor every night is reason enough to think this team can turn it around. Xavier, a transfer from Manhattan who is now listed as a senior at the guard position, is the top returning scorer for the unit after putting up 12.4 ppg. However, unless he finds a way to make a bigger impact from the field versus the rest of the league after shooting only 39.7 percent and a mere 32.2 percent beyond the arc in conference outings, he might not be the star that coach Davis hopes he is this season. Weyinmi Efejuku brings his 11.6 ppg back to the program and Brian McKenzie (10.9 ppg) hopes to settle in as one of the primary three-point threats this season for a team that finished third in the Big East last year and was 63rd in the nation with 37.6 percent shooting behind the three-point line. Geoff McDermott, a starter in 31 games a season ago, is one of the most well-rounded performers in the entire league with his 10.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg and team-best 151 assists and 36 blocked shots and while it may be asking a lot for him to maintain those numbers, it would also be a good thing if he upped his free-throw shooting from a mere 59.5 percent in conference play.

RUTGERS: Save for remarkable back-to-back wins against Villanova and Pittsburgh near the end of last January, the Scarlet Knights always seemed to be tripping over something. The team finished with a total of only three wins after the new year and was a disappointing 3-15 in conference and 11-20 overall in Fred Hill's second season at the helm. For the second time in as many seasons, coach Hill could not get his team beyond three conference wins and that's going to be a problem if the trend continues into this year. However, while some of the other teams in the Big East see drastic changes to their rosters, Rutgers enjoys having all the crucial parts returning, even though it was tough to decipher which of those parts were the most important a year ago. When it comes to scoring, JR Inman takes the lead with his 12.2 ppg. However, in addition to his scoring dropping almost three points per game against the rest of the conference, Inman also suffered from poor free-throw shooting in league action at a pitiful 48.6 percent and was responsible for 45 turnovers in 18 games, while logging a mere 11 assists in order to try and keep his teammates interested. Corey Chandler was just a freshman at guard in 2007-08, but he made sure that he took advantage of very opportunity, which led to his 11.9 ppg and team-best 10.5 ppg in Big East play. A role player who was in the starting lineup in all but one game for the Scarlet Knights, Hamady Ndiaye chipped in 5.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as one of the most active players on the glass, yet handling the ball in the paint was dangerous for Ndiaye and the Knights because he ended up making just 54.3 percent of his free-throw chances. In addition to being last in the conference in three-point shooting (.318), Rutgers was also last in terms of scoring margin, beaten by an average of 6.3 ppg to rank 293rd in the country.

CINCINNATI: Losing to Belmont in the 2007-08 season opener was no way to begin Mick Cronin's second season with the Bearcats. The team then struggled with Western Carolina and bowed to Bowling Green the following two games, something Cronin hopes won't happen to his cronies this time around. On the positive side, Cincinnati has top scorer Deonta Vaughn back in the lineup for 2008-09 after he started every single game for the Bearcats and unleashed 17.3 ppg and a team-best 133 assists as well last year. While the team was shooting a mere 32.8 percent from three-point range, Vaughn showed that he has the touch out on the perimeter where he made good on almost 40 percent of his attempts. Finishing second-to-last in the Big East in three-point accuracy, Cronin has to believe that Vaughn can continue his hot shooting and the rest of the team might catch the bug as well. Another constant from the starting lineup last year, Rashad Bishop is back for the Bearcats, but other than that the team will have to work several new faces into the rotation, something that won't be easy given how rough and tough the Big East can be from one night to the next. Bishop (5.4 ppg) was far from a scoring machine as he converted only 39.5 percent from the floor and a woeful 29.2 percent beyond the arc. Although he's not eligible until the end of the 2008 fall quarter, Western Carolina transfer Nick Aldridge is a huge addition to the roster after he posted averages of 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. Coach Cronin also has to cross his fingers that someone like Steven Toyloy, a center from Miami-Dade Community College, is ready for the big time and can come close to averaging a double-double as he did a season ago.

ST. JOHN'S: Once the crown jewel of the Big East Conference, the Red Storm played more like a light breeze in 2007-08 when they posted a mere 11 wins in 30 games and finished 5-13 in league play. Now entering his fifth season at the helm of St. John's, Norm Roberts has just one winning season under his belt and has yet to win a single game in the Big East Conference Tournament, an event that his team missed out on last year after finishing 14th in the standings. Last season, began with some promise as the program ripped off four straight victories, but then reality set in and the Storm posted just a single win in the month of January. One of only two players to have started all 30 games last season, Eugene Lawrence is one of two players (Larry Wright) of significance who have moved on, which means Anthony Mason Jr. is back as the primary focus of the St. John's offense. Mason, a Big East Conference Honorable Mention selection in 2007-08, missed eight games due to an ankle injury, but as long as he's back up to speed expect him to try and exceed his 14.0 ppg. Hopefully he'll be able to bring the same sort of intensity that he had in conference meetings when he upped his scoring output to 15.7 ppg as he shot an impressive 41.0 percent from three-point range, even while clearing better than five rebounds per contest. Justin Burrell could be a significant contributor in the paint for the Red Storm following up averages of 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, but if nothing else he really needs to give more consideration to how he handles the ball because he finished his 30 starts with just 16 assists and was guilty of an unsightly 85 turnovers. Because the squad seemed to be always fumbling the ball away, the Red Storm finished dead last in the conference and 293rd in the country in scoring with just 62.1 ppg. D.J. Kennedy gained experience last season by starting all but one game, so expect to see his scoring (7.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg) take a step forward.

DEPAUL: In the 13 years that Jerry Wainwright has been a head coach, last year's results were the worst (11-19) as far as a winning percentage is concerned. The Blue Demons fell all over themselves down the stretch, winning just a single game during the month of February and two games total after blowing up Florida Gulf Coast (92-60) in late January. Unfortunately for DePaul, the outlook for 2008-09 doesn't appear too cheerful, especially with leading scorer Draelon Burns having taken leave of the Blue Demons, taking his 17.6 ppg with him. Other significant pieces to the puzzle who appeared in the starting lineup more often than not, Karron Clarke, Wesley Green and Cliff Clinkscales are also part of the faithfully departed. What Wainwright has left in the cupboard are Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal who both finished last season as double-digit scorers with 13.6 and 10.7 ppg, respectively. Tucker focused his energies out on the perimeter where he conference 50-of-156 shots, while Koshwal's nearly eight and a half rebounds per game were much needed. However, between the two of them there was not a confident free-throw shooter to be found, Tucker making 63 percent at the stripe and Koshwal a mere 55.4 percent, which is why DePaul was third-from-the-bottom in the Big East and 292nd in the nation as a whole with 64.8 percent shooting at the free-throw line. Another problem area that the coaching staff needs to clean up is field goal defense because DePaul made everyone look good a season ago as it permitted opponents to knock down 46.6 percent from the floor, the highest such number in the Big East, placing the program 288th among all Division I squads. Placing 12th in the country in personal fouls per game (15.3) tells the story of either a team that is very fluid, or one that shies away from physical play a little too much.

SETON HALL: Although it is only natural for a coach to want to move on to what he perceives are bigger and better things, Bobby Gonzalez might be having second thoughts about leaving a Manhattan team a few years back that was the cream of the crop in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In his two seasons with Seton Hall, Gonzalez has won a total of just 11 Big East Conference games and has yet to pick up a single victory in the conference tournament. A streaky team to say the least in 2007-08, the Pirates lost four straight to close out the season and had a mere two wins from February on, so the pressure is on for Gonzalez to produce. Unfortunately, the Hall has lost a couple of huge players who accounted for nearly 30 of the team's 76.6 points per game a year ago in Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter. While the bench is not completely stripped of quality, experienced performers, the Pirates do have some work ahead of them. Eugene Harvey takes over the role as the top scorer after putting up 13.3 ppg a season ago, but his feeble attempts at being a three-point threat (23.4 percent) were pretty much a joke. Clearly his strength lies in playing a physical game that can earn him trips to the free- throw line where he made 140-of-192 chances. Again, putting his long-distance aspirations on hold will also give him more time to devote to being a distributor (156 assists) and a defensive stopper (62 steals) qualities that this team needs right now just to survive after it finished last in the conference and 313th nationally with 77.3 ppg allowed. Jeremy Hazell (12.8 ppg) could stand to pick some better shot opportunities from time to time, but the fact that he accounted for 14.4 ppg in league play tends to give him a pass in that area.

SOUTH FLORIDA: Time to break out your programs for the South Florida Bulls because you won't be able to recognize the team without one. The team has just three seniors on the roster and as many as six freshmen and another couple of newcomers who are transfers. The Bulls are in just their fourth season in the Big East Conference and they feel like the forgotten squad that no one ever thinks about, perhaps because of geography. Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that this program has won a total of just seven league games the past three seasons. Of those seven victories, three have come against Rutgers, so take that with a grain of salt. Regardless of what the past has been for South Florida, head coach Stan Heath insists on moving onward, even if his roster is more than half new to him. Losing Kentrell Gransberry (16.0 ppg, 10.8 rpg) is a huge blow to the program, but as a consolation prize the team returns three quality starters in Dominique Jones, Jesus Verdejo and Chris Howard, all of whom started at least 29 games for the program a year ago. Jones could be considered one of the top players in the conference with his 17.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg and team-best 47 steals, all while working his way to the free-throw line where he made good on 123-of-162 (.759) attempts. Verdejo, a senior guard who once attended Arizona, seems to be a steady constant with his 10.7 ppg, while Howard (8.4 ppg, 150 assists) needs to make better choices with his shot out on the perimeter where he converted a woeful 6-of-30 in conference play a year ago. As a group, it might be smart for Heath to put a pit more emphasis on free-throw shooting during practice, considering the team was last in the conference and 302nd in the nation with just 63.8 percent success at the stripe.