ESPN’s Katz has already revised his pre-pre-season Top 25, and Marquette is not mentioned. BIG EAST rivals are listed as follows:

#6 Villanova – “The Wildcats drop a tad, as Scottie Reynolds’ decision to enter the draft without an agent has resulted in some uncertainty. But the incoming class — Maalik Wayns, Dominic Cheek and big man Mouphtaou Yarou all are top-25 recruits — is so good the Wildcats get the benefit of the doubt here. With the departure of three Syracuse underclassmen, Nova should be the pick to win the Big East.”

#21 Syracuse – “The Orange take a huge tumble from the top five to the back end of the top 25 with Jonny Flynn’s decision to stay in the draft and the departures of Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf. But Brandon Triche at the point, Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson on the wing, Andy Rautins shooting 3s, and the scoring ability of Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku inside make the Orange a top-25 team.”

#24 Pittsburgh – “The Panthers re-emerge in the rankings despite losing the top three scorers/leaders of their Elite Eight team, Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields. The rotation of four guards — Jermaine Dixon, Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and Gilbert Brown — should be a tough matchup in the Big East. The key will be how quickly newcomers up front — namely top-five power forward Dante Taylor — develop into productive posts.”

This is interesting, considering 7 BIG EAST teams made the Tournament this year, and earlier in the season, 8 teams made the Top 25, to set an NCAA record. The departure of talent in the league is astounding, but considering the excellence this conference prides itself on, it should be no surprise to see more than Katz’s potential three teams in the polls.

MUScoop has the breaking news that Buzz Williams and his staff have signed the 7′2″ Center.

Here’s his Scout.com Profile

MUTV Assistant Sports Director Brad Galli chats with Mike Van Sickle and Matt Haase about their second place finish at the BIG EAST Championships, April 22, 2009 at the Al McGuire Center .

Mike Van Sickle finished the BIG EAST Championships at -6, three strokes back of individual champ, Adam Hadwin, of Louisville.

Marquette, as a team, lost its chance at a repeat, as the Louisville Cardinals won the 2009 crown with a total tournament score of -17. Marquette was the runner-up, at -12.

Marquette’s Matt Haase shot an all-time BIG EAST Tournament low 64 today. Look for more coverage on MUTV tonight, and check out exclusive coverage tomorrow, on “The LockerRoom” and MUTVsports.com

BIG EAST Golf Championship Final STATS and STORY|
PHOTOS

FLORIDA – Mike Van Sickle is heading into the final day of the BIG EAST Championships tied for first after shooting a -5 round today, to put his overall tournament score at -4. Van Sickle already owns the Marquette school record for wins with eleven, and is nationally ranked as a top amateur. Marquette Associate Athletic Director Luke LeNoble is giving fans live updates from the course on his Twitter page.

The team, on the other hand, is in second. But the Louisville Cardinals are holding a commanding lead. They are at -8, while Marquette is +3.

PART 1 and PART 2 of our interview with Mike Van Sickle and Dustin Schwab from the past fall. They gave us a demonstration on how to golf.
 LIVE scoring of the BIG EAST Tournament

Milwaukee – Sophomore forward Patrick Hazel of the Marquette University men’s basketball team will transfer to another program at the end of the Spring semester, head coach Buzz Williams announced Monday morning. 

“We are grateful for the two years Pat was a part of our institution, and our program,” Williams said.  “He has been an excellent teammate since he arrived, and has done an outstanding job in the classroom. He has made the decision to go back closer to home, and hopes to have a more expanded role at his next stop. Everyone in our program wishes him nothing but the absolute best.”

In two seasons with the Golden Eagles, Hazel appeared in 35 games as a reserve.  He averaged 1.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest in an average of 8.5 minutes per game.

FROM OFFICIAL MARQUETTE PRESS RELEASE

Due to our contract with CNN & CBS, we are prohibited from putting non-Marquette video online. But we did pull together a few clips from Monday’s SportsTime, our SportsCenter-esque show, and posted them here:

Final Four Preview:

Jerel McNeal’s All-American selection:

Marquette Golf FAU Spring Break Championships breakdown:

Tune in to ESPN tomorrow, for Jim Rome Is Burning…featuring Marquette Head Coach Buzz Williams