Big East reset: Louisville is a cut above the rest thanks to its smothering defense

With conference play fast approaching, we'll reassess our preseason projections over the next week. Here's a look back at the Dagger's preseason Big East forecast and some updated predictions for the league season: Conference RPI: 3 Record against Top 25 teams: 3-8 Preseason predictions I'd like to have back: Selecting Steven Adams over Jakarr Sampson as preseason freshman of the year and  the wrong Louisville guard as preseason player of the year. Peyton Siva has been a solid distributor and defender once again for Louisville, but Russ Smith has emerged as the Cardinals' go-to scorer and top defensive weapon, averaging 19.7 points and 2.8 steals per game. Preseason predictions I still feel good about: My top eight in the Big East from Nov. 2: 1. Louisville 2. Notre Dame 3. Syracuse 4. Cincinnati 5. Pittsburgh 6. Georgetown 7. Marquette 8. UConn. We'll have a better idea in a few we...