Your 2009-10 Big East season will be fueled by mint juleps

Rick Pitino has already RSVPed and agreed to bring the mint.

The Big East announced conference matchups today, and the Huskies will play both Louisville and Notre Dame twice:

Home: Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Seton Hall, West Virginia.

Away: Cincinnati, Georgetown, Lousiville, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova.

A few brief thoughts on first glance:

• My, that road schedule seems harder than the home schedule. The Huskies get home games against three of the four worst teams last season, while they seem to take on every heavy-hitter, sans West Virginia, on the road.
• The Mountaineer makes his return to Gampel/Hartford. Connecticut rejoices.
• Louisville, Notre Dame and Cincinnati are three solid home-and-home opponents. All six games are winnable, but they'll be competitive.
• Levance Fields is no longer around to be the muse of sign-makers across the state.