by Hall2012 » Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:16 am
It's gotta be Creighton, Xavier and Butler, right? Butler hasn't quite had the level of success the other 2 have yet, but reality is that that the change in conference affiliation raised the ceiling (and really, probably the floor as well) for all of them.
Villanova, Providence and Seton Hall benefited somewhat as well as they were able to raise their level of play (Nova from mid-high to championship level, PC and SH from largely buried to mid-high with a couple conference championships) but an argument could be made that their timing was coincidental (the only recruiting boost offered would be the decline of some former rivals). For example, it would be silly to suggest a Nova team good enough to win a natty wouldn't have been good enough to win the old Big East. PC and SHU may not have gotten their Big East banners in the old league, but I expect they still would've been solidly in for their NCAA tournament bids. Even if they were a little farther down the standings, that league was consistently putting 8-10 teams in the dance.
Seton Hall Pirates
Big East Tournament Champions: 1991, 1993, 2016
Big East Regular Season Champions: 1992, 1993, 2020