Big East Conference Notebook
A Grand Raise
Geno Auriemma and Jim Calhoun, both well-respected head coaches for the UConn men’s and women’s basketball programs, used to hate each other. They have since made amends, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Geno grimaced when he found that Calhoun was the beneficiary of a more lucrative contract. Both coaches had their contracts renewed last week with Calhoun receiving a $9.1 million, six-year extension and an option for two additional years. This elevates Calhoun to the same salary level as Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Lute Olson of Arizona and Rick Pitino of Louisville. Mike Kryzyzewski of Duke and Kentucky’s Tubby Smith are the only two coaches in the college game making more than $2 million per year.
Six Top 25 Teams
Through the first half of the season six Big East teams have entered, exited, and/or remain in the Associated Press Top 25. Boston College, flying underneath the radar for quite some time, finally entered two weeks ago at No. 17 and has since moved up to No. 9. Defending national champion UConn started the pre-season at No. 8 and is currently at No. 16. Pittsburgh is No. 21 while the only other team representing the Big East, the one with the highest ranking, is Syracuse at No. 7. Past members West Virginia and Notre Dame have received votes since dropping out of the Top 25.
Emergency Landing For ‘Nova
The airplane carrying the Villanova Wildcats had to perform an emergency crash landing after Tuesday’s 83-78 victory at Providence. The plane was hampered by snowy weather and an ineffective tool that enables the plane to ascend. It left at 12:15 a.m. Wednesday and landed safely in Providence shortly thereafter. Team officials sensed there was cause for concern when flight attendants hinted at landing in the water, which turned out to be a moot point. Following the emergency landing, another chartered plane waited for the team, but some members of the traveling party opted to take the train back to Philadelphia instead.
Player of the Week
Jason Fraser, Villanova Wildcats
After splitting the first two conference games (defeating West Virginia, losing at Notre Dame), Jason Fraser led his Villanova Wildcats on the road to an 83-78 overtime victory at Providence. At the end of the game Fraser sustained what would later turn out to be a broken bone in his hand. He still managed to have his most impressive outing of the season scoring a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting in 34 minutes. Leading the Big East in blocks this season, the 6’10” 220-pound forward from Amityville, N.Y., blocked five shots and had 10 offensive rebounds. On the other end, Fraser defensively held Friars forward Tukka Kotti in check, allowing him just seven points.
Rookie of the Week
Jeff Green, Georgetown Hoyas
Fresh off a 22-point outing versus Connecticut, Green managed his fourth double-double this year posting 16 points while grabbing 10 rebounds in a 62-55 win at home over Rutgers. Green did a little bit of everything distributing four assists while blocking five shots. The 6’8″, 225-pound forward currently leads the team in conference scoring (14.7 ppg) and blocked shots and is second in field goal percentage. Green has started all 14 games. Green ended the week with 16 points in a 66-64 win over Villanova.
Syracuse Orange (4-0 Big East, 17-1 overall)
Up next: Tuesday vs. Georgetown at 7 p.m., Saturday vs. West Virginia at 2 p.m.
Hakim Warrick had dunks, pull-up jump shots, baseline drives and the conventional three-point play. The senior All-American is well versed in dominating opposition and that is exactly what he did in a nationally televised 75-71 victory at Providence. Warrick not only held Big East preseason Player of the Year Ryan Gomes to 14 points, but finished with a game high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Josh Pace had another outstanding game. After two turnovers caused by the Providence full-court pressure, Syracuse hung tough and with 1:21 to play, Pace hit for two points to give the Orange a 69-66 lead. After the Friars’ Donnie McGrath hit a three pointer, Pace answered with a lay-up for a 71-68 lead with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Jim Boeheim took the show on the road for his 300th Big East win Monday at Notre Dame. In a 71-60 victory, the Orange got 22 points from Gerry McNamara and 12 points from Hakim Warrick to lead the way. Only seven players saw action with Billy Edelin, who has gradually seen increased playing time, and Terrance Roberts coming off the bench. Edelin played 24 minutes and since being reinstated is averaging 15.7 minutes per game in Big East action.
Boston College Eagles (3-0, 14-0)
Next up: Wednesday vs. Villanova at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at St. John’s at 7:30 p.m.
Hakim Warrick and Ryan Gomes were for a while flying beneath the radar screen. Warrick won a championship in his freshman season with Syracuse and Ryan Gomes was the only non-senior named All-American last year. But perhaps the most underrated Big East player of the year is Boston College’s Craig Smith, who was not even a top 300, that’s right top 300, recruit coming out of high school. Now he has catapulted his BC Eagles to national prominence.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-1, 11-3)
Next up: Wednesday at West Virginia at 7 p.m.
Hosting Syracuse with less than six minutes to play in the second half, the Irish looked to be in control. And then things started to fall apart. Gerry McNamara and Josh Pace would combine for nine points including a deadly three-pointer that put the game away as the Irish would eventually fall 70-61. Chris Thomas and Chris Quinn seemed at times to be careless with the basketball, resulting in 17 turnovers. Arizona transfer Dennis Latimore couldn’t counterpunch Hakim Warrick and the Syracuse frontcourt. Latimore was held to just four points while preseason All-America candidate Torin Francis had four turnovers and four fouls. The Irish field goal percentage defense was woeful; they allowed the Orange to convert on an impressive 50 percent of their shots. Since hitting a backbreaking three-pointer at Seton Hall, Colin Falls has been playing very well averaging 11 points per game on 44.8 percent shooting.
Georgetown Hoyas (3-1, 10-4)
Up next: Tuesday at Syracuse at 7 p.m.
Coming off what may turn out to be the biggest upset of the Big East season with a win at Pittsburgh, Georgetown suffered a 66-59 loss to UConn at the MCI Center. Freshman Jeff Green had another outstanding performance in 38 minutes, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. The Hoyas’ defense managed to hold the Huskies to just 36 percent shooting in the second half. Green continued his ability to take over on both ends again Tuesday night in a 62-55 win over Rutgers. He finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and added five blocks and four assists.
Pittsburgh Panthers (2-1, 12-2)
Next up: Tuesday at St. John’s at 7:30 p.m. (MSG), Saturday at Connecticut at 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Carl Krauser, Antonio Graves, Dante Milligan, two other freshman and Chevon Troutman have all been injured so far. Oh yeah, Yuri Demetris too. To ring in the New Year, Pittsburgh lost two of three including a Big East debut against Georgetown. The Panthers would then barely escape a 66-63 overtime win against Rutgers.
Connecticut Huskies (2-1, 10-3)
Up next: Monday at Seton Hall at 7 p.m. (ESPN), Saturday vs. Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. (ESPN)
The departure of Marcus White was supposed to clear the way for Eddie Nelson and Hilton Armstrong. All three would get more minutes because of White’s decision to transfer to Purdue. But now Nelson may have to carry the brunt in Storrs because Armstrong was taken off the floor less than two minutes into the game against Oklahoma. He injured his right knee and did not play Saturday in a 78-64 win over Rutgers.
Coming off a win at Georgetown and a tough opening Big East season loss to Boston College, the Huskies traveled to a hostile environment in Norman, Okla., for an ESPN Big Monday game. Oklahoma has far too long flown under the radar as a solid top 25 team and they proved it by defeating UConn by 77-65. Sophomore Josh Boone had another poor outing with just two points on four shots and three rebounds in just 22 minutes. While Boone continued to struggle, Charlie Villanueva continued to improve, scoring 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds against Kevin Bookout, Taj Gray and the solid interior presence of Oklahoma.
Villanova Wildcats (2-2, 9-3)
Next up: Wednesday at Boston College at 7:30 p.m., Saturday vs. Kansas at Noon (ESPN)
Jay Wright had enough reason to be optimistic. His ‘Cats handed undefeated West Virginia its first loss of the season, and lost a tight one in South Bend to Notre Dame by 78-72. This past week, however, things would take a drastic turn for the worse. The 6’7″ forward Curtis Sumpter, the team’s leading scorer (17.4 ppg) and rebounder (8.8 rpg), found out that his injury sustained last week at practice is a sprained right knee and that he will miss 3-6 weeks. In addition 6’10” Jason Fraser, coming off career high’s against Providence with 25 points and 13 rebounds, underwent his latest surgery this weekend for a fractured bone in his shooting hand. He is out 4-6 weeks.
With all the pain and misfortune and Kansas coming to town in what may be a harsh non-conference test, Villanova will be at a disadvantage. Kyle Lowry is back, however, averaging 20.3 mpg and Will Sheridan and Chris Charles must step up in their injured teammates’ absence.
West Virginia Mountaineers (1-2, 11-3)
Next up: Wednesday vs. Notre Dame at 7 p.m.
The perimeter play from Mike Gansey and Pat Beilein along with the rookie Darris Nichols and transfer D’or Fischer have made West Virginia a team not to be reckoned with. After starting out flawlessly with a 10-0 record, the Mountaineers dropped their conference opener to Villanova. Last week, they fell to 10-2 with a 59-55 loss to Marshall. Poor shooting was part of the problem for West Virginia. Continuing to impress his coaching staff is D’or Fischer with his interior game. Fischer finished with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds.
Providence Friars (0-3, 9-7)
Next up: Wednesday at Rutgers at 7:30 p.m.
The Friars played sloppy basketball Tuesday in a home game against Villanova. This resulted in 29 turnovers and an 83-78 loss. The confidence buster did not deter the Friars heading into a Saturday showdown with Syracuse. Providence trailed by as many as 14 in the second half but Ryan Gomes hit a three from deep in the right wing corner with 4:27 left to cut the Friars deficit to 64-60. The Friars stayed hot from the perimeter and with 3:24 on the clock, guard Donnie McGrath connected from downtown to pull within two, 65-63 and get the crowd back on its feet. As Hakim Warrick and Josh Pace answered every Friars’ basket, freshman DeSean White scored three of his career high 15 points drawing fouls and grabbing offensive rebounds. With 4.1 seconds remaining, Dwight Brewington drew a foul and converted on a three-point play but it wouldn’t be enough as Providence would fall by 75-71. Brewington finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Seton Hall Pirates (0-3, 8-6)
Up next: Monday vs. Connecticut at 7 p.m. (ESPN Big Monday), Saturday vs. Rutgers at Noon (MSG)
Last year, a nail-biting double overtime victory was the result for Seton Hall when they met up with Pittsburgh. This year, though, the Pirates were down a man with Donald Copeland staying behind in New Jersey with flu-like symptoms and they fell just short, losing 67-63. Pitt’s Chevon Troutman scored a total of seven points in a 45-second span with 2:05 to play to keep the crowd on its feet. The Pirates would respond as freshman Justin Cerasoli knocked down a three pointer for a 63-62 lead with 1:49 left as both teams hammered back and forth. In the end, Pittsburgh was too much for Seton Hall to handle. Kelly Whitney fouled out with 1:22 to play but definitely had his way down low against preseason All-Big East member Chris Taft. Cerasoli finished with 15 points.
Although Seton Hall had only Pittsburgh to deal with last week they are in the middle of one of their toughest stretches. The Pirates have faced Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh and have UConn this week.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0-3, 6-7)
Up next: Wednesday vs. Providence at 7:30 p.m. (FSNY), Saturday at Seton Hall at Noon (MSG)
On Saturday, Quincy Douby and Ricky Shields each had solid outings for the Scarlet Knights when they visited the UConn Huskies, but Rutgers could not pull any closer than 10 points in a 78-64 Loss. Douby kept the game from getting away by scoring 15 points while Shields added 10 including a pair of three pointers.
Players will sometimes do things unintentionally that come back to nip them in the rear. So when sophomore guard Quincy Douby was held out of the starting lineup Tuesday against Georgetown for team misconduct, in retrospect, his absence resulted in no perimeter shooting for the Scarlet Knights and thus a tough loss. Let’s hope this was a one-and-done deal with Douby and Gary Waters and it is now behind them.
St. John’s Red Storm (0-3, 6-7)
Next up: Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. (ESPN), Saturday vs. Boston College at 7:30 p.m. (MSG)
The Red Storm fortunately had six days off after losing two consecutive games to ranked teams. Their weekend meeting at Notre Dame would present one of the most hostile environments for the Johnnies all season and they handled it with class. With 30 points from Daryll “Showtime” Hill and aggressive play from Lamont Hamilton and Ryan Williams, St. John’s fell just short, losing by 67-66.
The Johnnies were also able to hang around with West Virginia and even though the losses column currently features a higher number than the wins, a positive vibe is reverberating around campus as “the foundation” for Red Storm basketball is being replaced after last year’s disaster.
