I don't know who's necessarily digging in their heels. My point is that this is a historically weak Big East and any objective discussions about record or improvements should at least consider that. It's probably why the metrics are unfriendly. But I recognize that showing signs of improvement is very important, particularly on the recruiting trail. The point made above about perceptions is an excellent one.
I've seen that argument several times, but I actually think any objective discussion should acknowledge that it was a particularly difficult year in the Big East. Rather than being so top heavy, EVERY team was a difficult out (including us and DePaul). It is the first 10+ team conference in history to have
every single team finish above .500. So, unlike the ACC, where you can chalk up losses to the top but plan on beating up the bottom, you actually had to go to battle every time you were on the court. That makes winning a lot of games infinitely harder. Just look at NCSU. They didn't beat Virginia, Duke, Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, Florida State, or Louisville, but they finished 9-9 in the ACC.
I firmly believe this year's Hoya squad playing last year's conference opponents would have swept DePaul and SJU, taken 3 of 4 from MU and Butler, at least split with Providence and Creighton, and still gotten the one win against SHU. That's 10ish wins while going 1-5 against the top three teams and only 3-7 against the top five.
This team is definitely making strides. All teams with as much youth as we're starting are mercurial. We started 3 freshmen, a sophomore, and a senior. That's 4 total years of playing coming into the season for our starters.
Other BEast teams' starters:
Georgetown: 1 SR, 1 SO, 3 FR; 4 years Villanova: 2 SRs, 2 SOs, 1 FR; 8 years
Marquette: 3 JRs, 1 SO, 1 FR; 7 years
Seton Hall: 1 SR, 2 JRs, 2 SOs; 9 years
Creighton: 2 JRs, 2 SOs, 1 FR; 6 years (this is counting Zegarowski as a starting Freshman, even though Jefferson started more games)
Xavier: 1 SR, 2 JRs, 2 SOs; 9 years
St. John's: 1 SR, 3 JRs, 1 SO; 10 years
Providence: 1 SR, 1 JR, 1 SO, 2 FR; 6 years (a little muddy because of injuries, so I went with Jackson as the fifth starter because 2nd most in minutes played)
Butler: 2 SRs, 2 JRs, 1 SO; 11 years (also muddy because of shifting around for a formula - went with Baldwin, McDermott, Thompson, Jorgensen, and Fowler)
DePaul: 3 SRs, 2 SOs; 11 years
Given our 3rd place finish while having the least experienced starting lineup, I think we've positioned ourselves well for the next few years, ceteris paribus.