College Basketball Betting: ACC vs Big East Debate
Written January 29, 2009 by Evan Altemus
This question has been talked about for most of the college basketball season. Everyone has their own opinion on this matter, but what is the best way to evaluate each conference? To make this article a better read, I will save everyone from boring technical and in-depth statistical analysis. Instead, let’s take a look at both conferences by comparing teams.
Georgia Tech, N.C. State, and Virginia are the worst teams in the ACC, no doubt. Meanwhile, Rutgers and DePaul are the bottom feeders in the Big East. Rutgers is horrible, with no wins against quality competition, as well as win-less in Big East competition. DePaul isn’t much better, as their best win is against Saint Louis. Meanwhile, the three worst teams in the ACC have played much better against conference and non-conference competition. They have covered against the spread much more than DePaul or Rutgers, especially in conference play. However, let’s take a look at the middle of the road teams in each conference, as DePaul and Rutgers might just be vastly worse than the rest of the Big East.
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The middle tier teams in the ACC are clearly Clemson, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Florida State, and Miami. The 2nd tier teams in the Big East are not clearly defined, but I consider them to be Notre Dame, Syracuse, Providence, Cincinnati, South Florida, and Seton Hall. Overall, the ACC has a slight advantage here as well. Boston College has wins over St. John’s and Providence. Clemson has impressive non-conference wins at South Carolina and at Illinois. Miami won at Kentucky, but Georgetown soundly beat Maryland. Overall, the average teams in the ACC have a slight edge over the middle tier Big East teams.
However, this question is answered when looking at the best teams from each conference. The top teams in the Big East have a decided advantage because of the number of outstanding teams. The ACC’s only legitimate national championship contenders are Wake Forest, North Carolina, and possibly Duke. However, the Big East has four or five teams that could make a run at the Final Four. Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Marquette, Louisville, and possibly Villanova have an excellent chance at contending for a title. These teams have size, great guard play, physical defense, and clutch players. In addition, West Virginia is another top team in the Big East, but they aren’t going to contend for a championship. Essentially, the Big East’s top teams far out number the ACC’s national title contenders. I put much more weight in the quality and quantity of these top teams when judging which conference is better.
One game stands out when comparing the other teams in each conference. It is Georgetown’s nine point loss at Duke a week and a half ago. The Hoyas are nowhere near the best team in the Big East, but they were able to play the Blue Devils even in the 2nd half. In fact, if not for a late 1st half run by Duke, the game would have been much closer. Statistically the game was essentially even, as both teams shot around 50% from the field and had similar rebounding and turnover numbers.
I feel that the Big East is a better overall conference because of the quality and quantity of their top teams. These teams have to play at least six more games against upper echelon competition than the top teams in the ACC, which is a fact that isn’t widely discussed. Overall, the Big East is a better conference than the ACC. You can bet on the ACC or the Big East all season at BetUS.
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