Is Louisville the Best Team in the Big East? NCAA?

If you have been vaguely paying attention to college basketball up to this point due to your attention being focused on other sports then now is the time to start paying attention.  A good place to start would be watching Louisville play.

Their biggest win of the season came about a week ago when they took on Kentucky.  The winner of the game obviously got to lay the claim to being the best basketball team in the bluegrass state, and I do not want to minimize the importance of that, but the real implication of that game goes much deeper. By winning that game Louisville proved it was the real contender.

This is the best team that Rick Pitino has got to coach in his tenure.  They have the talent and the experience it takes to make a run at a National Championship.  Making a run at the championship  is one thing.  They will have to win to prove they are the best team in the NCAA.  But before we ask if Louisville is the best team in the NCAA we have to take a look and see if they are the best in the Big East division.

If we look at just win/loss records both Syracuse and Notre Dame are 14-1 and only placed ahead of the Cardinals by the grace of playing more games.  If we look at the rankings Louisville is ranked as the third best team in the nation.  Syracuse is number 7 while Notre Dame is ranked 17.  Also, Bovada’s NCAA basketball championship odds put the Cardinals at 12/1 to win the NCAA Championship.  That is higher than any other Big East team.  The odds have not been updated since Louisville’s big win against Kentucky.

If you are still skeptical that Louisville is the best team in the Big East we will get a definitive answer January 19 when Louisville takes on Syracuse.  Syracuse is the only Big East team that truly rivals Louisville as the best in the Big East and whoever wins that game can be considered the best in the Big East.

What about the best team in the NCAA?

On this one there is still a lot of basketball left to play and they face some stiff competition in this category.  Teams like Indiana and Duke would definitely have something say about anyone declaring Louisville the best team in the NCAA.  In other words, time will tell whether or not Louisville has what it takes to be considered the best team in the NCAA.