Houston jumped out to an early lead on Illinois and never looked back on their way to the Sweet 16.

Villanova is joining Providence in trying to make a statement. The Lunatic said that he felt the Big East might be a step slower than some of the other conferences. I am not sure that I have been totally wrong. UConn was upset by 12 seed New Mexico State, and Marquette and Seton Hall both loss in their 8/9 matchups by double digits.

But the Big East is showing some life. Providence completely destroyed Richmond yesterday to make the Sweet 16, Creighton gave Kansas a fight before yielding to the Jayhawks, and right now Villanova has come out to lead Ohio State by 11 at halftime.

I am not sure yet what to think. It does remind me that conferences don’t win championships, teams do. It is sometimes easier to evaluate by looking at the whole conference, but the top 2 teams in the Big East are showing they are a step above the rest of their conference.

We’ll see what the 2nd half brings – not sure the Buckeyes can catch up in this one, but you never know what can happen in March.