Not exactly what we signed up for, but complaining will do no good...
If they do hang together, it's likely the traditional Big East basketball schools will see more of each other and play fewer games against the expansion members. Aresco said the league is considering a scheduling model where "brand name" teams such as St. John's, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette and Connecticut might play more home-and-home series.
"The media companies really like that idea, and so do our basketball schools," Aresco said. "Our southern cluster of schools understand they're going to raise their brand awareness because of Big East basketball. So, if there are more games among the other teams, they can work with that. It's the kind of thing that will strengthen our conference."
My guess: two hoops divisions.
Old school:
UConn
Providence
St. Johns
Villanova
Georgetown
Marquette
DePaul
Seton Hall
New school:
UCF
USF
Cincinnati
Memphis
SMU
Houston
Temple
Tulane
Each team does a home & home with every team in the same division (14 games) and plays 6 more games against teams in the other division. Division winners get seeds 1 and 2 in the tournament and the rest of the tournament is seeded based on record.