The Big East is a crowded, disorganized, haphazard, jumbled - but most importantly - beautiful mess. There are so many teams in the conference that it's hard to get a real grasp on which teams are good until about the the third round of the Big East Tournament.
Case in point, the 2010-2011 Georgetown Hoyas. At the beginning of the Big East season, the Hoyas were struggling. They didn't look at all like the top fifteen team they were projected to be in the preseason. It was hard to envision them making a deep run into the Big East Tourney, let alone the NCAA. But what a difference a few weeks makes.
The Hoyas have reeled off a couple quality wins, and all the sudden, they are right back in the thick of things, literally. They are only 2.5 games back of the Pitt Panthers for the lead in the conference, and just a game back of the all important fourth seed, which means a double bye in the Conference tournament. Seventh might not be considered in the thick of things in any other conference, but in the Big East, it's not all that bad.
It as the depth of good teams that caused the initial slide the Hoyas went on to start the season, but it is also the reason they have a chance to get back into the championship conversation. Last night they beat the Louisville Cardinals, a ranked opponent that beat one of the top five teams in the country this past weekend. Every time you step on the floor in the Big East, you have a shot to earn what any other team in the country would consider a "statement win."
For the Hoyas, it meant an early slide down the rankings. But with the surge they are now, it's that strength of schedule that could get them back into the top ten.
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