Big shift is apparent in revamped Big East

When South Florida -- an upstart convert from Conference USA -- upset then-11th-ranked DePaul last Wednesday in the teams' first foray into Big East play, it signaled a new life for the conference that traditionally has been dominated by the women from Storrs, Conn.

Of the five new members of the Big East (South Florida, DePaul, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Marquette), DePaul (9-1) has made the biggest impact. But conference play has barely started, and by the end of the campaign, it's quite likely that the usual suspects won't be the ones you expect them to be.

''I think all the coaches in the league, both in the men's and women's side, have said this is a great league for the fans, this is a great league for the media," said DePaul coach Doug Bruno. ''It's a brutal league for the coaches. There's going to be a darn good team that finishes 10th. That team could finish third or fourth in another league. That's the reality of the new venture."

With UConn's abysmal performance against North Carolina last week, undefeated Rutgers has become the cream of the conference. But it's not the surprise team. That distinction goes to DePaul. And, if it keeps up its pace, South Florida (4-2).

Despite losing two of its top guards and resorting to a six-player rotation, South Florida knocked off DePaul in a stretch of three straight games against ranked opponents, sandwiching the win between losses to North Carolina and Michigan State.

And DePaul already took out its only ranked opponent, Purdue, to start December. It's a long way to come for a team that stole its star, Khara Smith, out of the clutches of an Illinois State team that hardly makes the national calendar.

''I think the best thing that can happen is we get in and knock each other off," said Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer. ''Nothing is predictable. We're all so grateful that Connecticut carried the banner for so long. Everyone thought of the Big East as Connecticut and the rest of them. That's not good for the Big East or women's basketball. It's time that the rest of us assume more of a responsibility."

With four teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (No. 7 Rutgers, No. 9 UConn, No. 13 Notre Dame, and No. 16 DePaul), it seems that the revamped Big East is well on its way.

1-2 punch

Duke won its only game last week, dominating Texas Christian, and still lost ground in the AP poll. After No. 1 Tennessee beat No. 19 Texas and No. 10 Stanford, the Lady Vols picked up three additional first-place votes to extend their lead over the No. 2 Blue Devils from 13 points to 21. Though it's premature to be comparing the two at this point, especially when the top seven teams remain unbeaten, the Lady Vols already have defeated four current top 20 teams, while Duke has just one win in that category (over Texas). But they are widely acknowledged as the best two teams in the country, the ones with the most talent and fewest questions, and could be locks to show up in Boston in April. Of course, you never know . . . Baylor coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson announced Monday that Angela Tisdale (15.7 points, 7.3 assists) had violated a team rule and would not take the floor for the next three games . . . Texas is down two players as of late last week. Freshman Earnesia Williams (5.2 points, 2.5 rebounds) fell victim to a torn ACL in her right knee and junior Kalee Carey, who had played only 10 minutes this season, left the team . . . One of the biggest games of the season comes up tomorrow: No. 3 LSU travels to Columbus to face No. 4 Ohio State. Both teams are undefeated.

Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. Material from wire services was used in this report.