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The Big East Tournament kicks off this week, and regular season champions Syracuse are still the number one pick. Syracuse's size continues to prove too much for opponents, and their style of play continues to impress. The Panthers have a tough tournament ahead of them - they'll most likely end up facing Notre Dame and either West Virginia or Louisville to get to the final, and any of those matchups could spell disaster for Pittsburgh. The Panthers have the game to grit their teeth and tough it out and come out on top. First in the conference in scoring defense and third in field goal percentage defense, the Panthers have the offense to win it all, but sports book cappers know that how their path unfolds will determine their success. Oddsmakers are also keeping a close eye on Lousiville. While the Cardinals were the no. 1 seed last year, Louisville will have to win four games in four days to make it two in a row.

In off-the-court College Basketball happenings, it is being reported that some conferences have discontinued the practice of giving gift packages for teams that make the conference and NCAA tournaments. The Big Ten, MAC, and Pac-10 have taken the cost cutting measure in an effort to reduce overall spending - an effort that could reduce budgets by as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Teams aren't the only ones that will no longer be receiving free swag - the move includes a halt to gift packages for VIP and media (why the media is even accepting gifts, I have no idea).