Starting Five: SEC/Big East Challenge Edition

1. The SEC only managed to win 4 of 12 games last year and performed even more poorly this time around, winning only 3 games against the Big East.  At this point, calling the annual series a "challenge" is a tad misleading.  The Big East's 75% winning percentage in the most recent installment is all the more impressive considering Louisville, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh did not participate - teams that are ranked, have been ranked, or should be ranked, respectively.  New additions Missouri and Texas A&M sat this one out on the SEC side.  Only Florida, Mississippi, and LSU managed wins for the SEC.  While the Big East is not as strong this year as it has been in seasons past, the disparity in the quality of basketball played in these conferences is still substantial.  Florida, Missouri, and Kentucky are quality teams.  Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas are competitive and could be dancing in March.  Mississippi and Texas A&M aren't pushovers.  And LSU is interesting, because, while the Tigers are a mess on the offensive end, they play their hearts out on defense.  The bottom five teams - Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State - are awful (with the last three being basically unwatchable).  It will be interesting to see what happens to the SEC/Big East Challenge after the realignment chips fall.  While the high-profile Big East departures undoubtedly will narrow the gap between these conferences, I still think a conference featuring the Big East's non-football playing schools, its public university holdovers, and new additions like Memphis and Temple will be very competitive.

2. The LSU - Seton Hall matchup featured two of the most prolific thieves in the country.  Seton Hall junior Fuquan Edwin was second in the country in steals per game last season.  And LSU's Anthony Hickey entered last Friday night's game tied for second in the country in swipes per contest for the 2012-13 campaign.  The Tigers' sophomore point guard now leads the nation in steals after picking up 6 more against the Pirates.  (Edwin added 2 more to his own count.)  The Bayou Bengals are not exactly the most efficient on the offensive end, but they are a joy to watch on the defensive end.  Their press wreaked havoc on Seton Hall, forcing 26 turnovers.  Due to Justin Hamilton's early departure for the NBA, LSU is probably a year away from challenging for a NCAA Tourney bid.  Still, Hickey, former McDonald's All-American Johnny O'Bryant, and junior college transfer Shavon Coleman (currently averaging 17.4 and 7.6 boards per game and looking like an intriguing prospect) give new head coach Johnny Jones a nice core moving forward.

3. People are sleeping on Syracuse.  Sure, the Orange lost Kris Joseph, Dion Waiters, Scoop Jardine, and Fab Melo.  And it's also true that, despite having wins over San Diego State and now Arkansas, Syracuse is notorious for its historically cupcake-laden early season schedule (which almost never requires Jim Boeheim's team to leave New York).  So, on some level I get it.  You're skeptical.  But this is a really good team.  Former McDonald's All-American Michael Carter-Williams is a 6-6 point guard averaging 9.2 assists per contest.  Brandon Triche is a big-bodied two guard who made a number of big shots against the Razorbacks.  The Orange's frontline of C.J. Fair, Rakeem Christmas, and DaJuan Coleman is long and really causes problems for offenses in Boeheim's 2-3 zone.  And, as usual, Syracuse has depth - this year in the form of Trevor Cooney, Jerami Grant, Baye Keita, and James Southerland (who leads the Orange in scoring at 19.2 per game).  Southerland came off the bench and put 35 on Arkansas, hitting 9 of 13 from behind the arc.  The 6-8 forward has been the best sixth man in the country to this point in the season and has replaced Waiters as the Orange's offensive spark plug off the bench.

4. With Kentucky's early season growing pains and Missouri's personnel issues (senior guard and leading returning scorer Michael Dixon has left the team), Florida has been a bright spot for the SEC.  The Gators now have an 18-point win over Wisconsin and a 33-point win over Marquette.  Billy Donovan's squad is 6-0, and its smallest margin of victory came in a 13-point victory over Central Florida.  It should be noted that all 6 wins have come in Gainesville, but Florida has been impressive.  With trips to Florida State and Arizona up next, we soon will see just how good the Gators are.

5. Yes, Villanova picked up a 10-point win in Nashville over Vanderbilt.  But Jay Wright's squad has lost to Alabama by 20 on a neutral floor, against lowly Columbia by 18 in Philly, and also at LaSalle in overtime.  After seven straight NCAA Tourney trips, including a trip to the Final Four, the Wildcats finished 13-19 last year.  At the end of the season, Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek both decided to turn pro.  The current Villanova roster lacks the type of talent Wright has enjoyed over the course of the last decade.  For a program that seemed to be on the upswing and so popular with recruits, the current state of affairs is certainly surprising.  Wright has commented that he may have gotten away from recruiting the type of blue collar players that served as the foundation of Villanova's recent success.  Regardless of why Villanova is struggling, it's going to be a very long season in the Big East for the Wildcats.  A last place finish is not out of the question.