Blades,
That's why UConn really upgraded the OOC. That and because when you have a team that can win the national championship and is one of the 2-3 leading contenders, and those contenders do not exist in conference, you go out and schedule as many of them as you possibly can.
The new Big East is still better than the AAC would have been, even the old AAC pre-Big12 raid. Outside of DePaul, Villanova and Seton Hall have decent teams, although they are not really teams that could go far in the NCAA. Nor is DePaul. The new Big East needs to pick it up in recruiting.
That being said, does anyone think UConn will go undefeated? I think they will not drop a game in the Big East, but the game at SC is certainly a possible loss. I am going to say this will be a 1 or 2 loss team (like last year) heading into NCAA tournament. Undefeated is a possibility, but in my view not likely.