Big East Conference Notebook
The Jump
The recently released narrative entitled The Jump by Ian O’Connor says Jim Boeheim and Syracuse appeared to be the perfect fit for Sebastian Telfair when he was being recruited out of the Coney Island projects. He eventually committed to Louisville and then reneged by jumping straight to the pros.
Syracuse was coming off a national championship in addition to the departure of Carmelo Anthony. Boeheim needed to “feed the beast” and Telfair was the chosen one. Regarding Boeheim, O’Connor says, “Something was telling him to leave Telfair alone.” Boeheim then says, “I don’t want to get involved in a long, drawn-out process where Sebastian ends up in the NBA anyway.” There also was an indication that the Telfair party asked Syracuse for extra things such as gifts and money, which Syracuse was said to be vehemently against.
Merger Almost A Done Deal
As Louisville prepares to enter the deep waters of the Big East, Rick Pitino and his Cardinals are in the midst of one of the school’s best runs. They are ranked No. 9 in the country and as league expansion looms Louisville, along with four other Conference USA schools, are preparing to take the leap. Here’s a look at each team’s progress thus far:
1. Louisville: 12-2 Conference USA, 24-4 overall
Ranked AP No. 9
Quality wins: Florida, Marquette twice and Cincinnati twice
Quality losses: Kentucky, Iowa
2. Cincinnati: 10-4, 22-6
Ranked AP No. 22
Quality wins: Miami (Ohio), Charlotte
Quality losses: Illinois, Louisville
3. DePaul: 10-4, 18-7
Received votes in this week’s ESPN/USA Today poll
Quality wins: Northern Illinois, Notre Dame
Quality losses: Cincinnati, Charlotte
4. Marquette: 6-8, 18-9
Quality wins: Wisconsin, DePaul
Quality losses: Arizona, Louisville, and Charlotte
5. South Florida: 4-10, 11-14
Quality losses: Richmond, Louisville, Cincinnati, and DePaul
See Ya, Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya
While Connecticut and Villanova each return 11 players in 2005-06, some of the other Big East schools will not be as fortunate. Among those programs losing marquee players are:
Syracuse: Hakim Warrick
Notre Dame: Chris Thomas, Jordan Cornette
Pittsburgh: Chevon Troutman, Yuri Demetris
Providence: Ryan Gomes
Seton Hall: Andre Sweet, John Allen
West Virginia: D’or Fischer, Ty Sally
Player of the Week
Hakim Warrick, Syracuse Orange
On a cold night in his final home game in which a basketball community honored the beloved champion, Hakim Warrick set a new career-high with 36 points in a 91-66 win on Senior Day. In his final game in the Carrier Dome, Warrick shot 12-of-16 from the floor and made 12-of-13 foul shots. The 6-foot-8 Philadelphia product scored 35 points earlier in the week with an arsenal of moves defeating St. John’s by 83-69. Warrick is now second in the league in scoring (21.1 points per game) trailing Ryan Gomes by only four tenths of a point.
Freshman of the Week
Rudy Gay, Connecticut Huskies
The freshman from Maryland continued his aggressive style of play this week in games against Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. The 6-foot-9 forward from Maryland led all Huskies with 17 points including a traditional 3-point play to seal the victory at Pittsburgh. Gay also scored six points and added seven rebounds earlier in the week against Torin Francis, Dennis Latimore and the big frontcourt of Notre Dame. Gay is one of six Huskies averaging eight or more points. He is also averaging 6.0 rebounds per game and has 46 blocked shots so far.
1. Boston College Eagles (12-3 Big East, 23-3 overall)
Next Up: Saturday at Rutgers at 7:30 p.m.
Coach Al Skinner must have never seen this coming. Pittsburgh was “mistakenly” talked about as a possible bubble team by some naïve analysts and was “desperate” for a victory. BC was coming off a game against Seton Hall in which Coach Skinner’s team should have blown the Pirates out of the water but didn’t. So Monday’s showdown as Boston College welcomed Pittsburgh was guaranteed to be a battle. And for just the third time during this season, BC came up short. In a physical contest in which Craig Smith might have clinched his spot as Big East Player of the Year, the Eagles did not have enough to fend off the Panthers. Pitt won convincingly, 72-50. The loss drops BC into a first-place tie with Connecticut with just one game left on the Eagles schedule. Jared Dudley, the Eagles’ verbal leader, was completely shut down, held to just four points in 36 minutes, his worst outing of the year.
2. Connecticut Huskies (11-3, 19-6)
Next Up: Wednesday vs. Georgetown at 7:30 p.m., Saturday vs. Syracuse at 4 p.m. (CBS)
No. 15 UConn had a big month of February and helped its cause tremendously. The Huskies picked up an 88-74 win over Notre Dame and then defeated Pittsburgh on the road at the Pete. On a late opportunity for Pittsburgh, Carl Krauser inadvertently threw a pass that was picked off by Rudy Gay with his bird-like wingspan. The steal resulted in a fast-break layup and a foul for a 68-63 lead and an eventual 73-64 victory. This was Jim Calhoun’s 699th career win. UConn is starting to come together and Charlie Villanueva and freshman Rudy Gay are both leading the charge. Gay led all Husky scorers with 17 points against Pittsburgh while Villanueva matched a career high in points with 25 versus the Irish. With some luck, UConn still has a shot to win or share part of the regular-season conference title.
3. Syracuse Orange (11-4, 24-5)
Next Up: Saturday at Connecticut at 4 p.m. (CBS)
It was a special night at the Carrier Dome. Jim Boeheim won his 700th and seniors Craig Forth, Josh Pace and Hakim Warrick played their final home game.
Fans bid adieu to Syracuse’s most beloved four-year scholar athlete, and then Hakim Warrick followed up a special ceremony with a special performance. With Warrick scoring a career-high 36 points, the Orange began to pull away in the second half against worn-down Providence to win by 91-66. Two of the candidates for Big East Player of the Year, Warrick and Ryan Gomes, exchanged blows in a test of endurance.
Before the Providence game, Syracuse had lost three of its previous five games. A night for celebration was long overdue. Then bad news came, and again it surrounded Billy Edelin. Edelin was benched and did not play against the Friars. School officials were unclear as to explaining why he did not play. The issue is said to be an off-the-court problem. Edelin was suspended from the team earlier this season with academic problems.
4. Villanova Wildcats (9-5, 19-6)
Next Up: Wednesday vs. Seton Hall at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at St. John’s at 2 p.m.
Coach Jay Wright and the Philadelphia folk have been talking about this for a while. It was all talk though, that was the problem. Now, in sole possession of fourth place and a favorable schedule to boot, the Wildcats are back in business. Although they nearly gave away a 13-point second half lead, Villanova became just the second team all season to defeat the Boston College Eagles with a 76-70 victory last Wednesday. Without Mike Nardi, who has now missed his third straight game with an ankle injury, Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry took control combining for 34 points and kept a tempo going that the Eagles were never able to adjust to. Foye kissed a shot off the glass with 43.4 seconds left and the shot clock running out to make it 73-68. Curtis Sumpter scored 20 points, 18 of those coming in the first half.
On Sunday, the Wildcats defeated Georgetown 67-56 for their fifth straight victory. Villanova has moved from No. 24 to No. 19, and, with Seton Hall and St. John’s left on the schedule, ‘Nova is rolling along in the driver’s seat right now.
5. Pittsburgh Panthers (9-6, 19-7)
Next Up: Saturday at Notre Dame at 2 p.m. (CBS)
John DeGroat and Chris Taft had arguably their best games of the season in Pittsburgh’s win against BC. The 6-foot-6 junior DeGroat came off the bench to play 16 minutes and provided a much-need spark. Dishing the ball and coming up with some key second chance buckets, DeGroat finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, five offensive in Pitt’s 72-50 victory at No. 5 BC. The Panthers handed the Eagles their first home loss of the season. In a very physical game, in which at times official Joe Lindsey seemed to have misplaced his whistle, No. 24 Pitt had an unexpected late-season weight lifted off its shoulders. It was in the first half, when BC’s Craig Smith and Jared Dudley sat for a quick breather, when the Panthers pounced, though Pitt went into intermission up by only 28-25. With 7:49 remaining in the second half, the Panthers crashed the boards off a miss and Chris Taft came up with the put back to take a commanding 57-42 lead. Taft, known for occasionally taking plays off, had 12 points and 8 rebounds. The freshman Antonio Graves put the nail in the coffin with a three-pointer with 3:02 left to push the lead to 67-49.
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-6, 16-9)
Next Up: Wednesday vs. Rutgers at 8 p.m. (ESPN Classic), Saturday vs. Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. (CBS)
The Irish received little to no offense Sunday when they welcomed Coach Ben Howland and his UCLA Bruins to South Bend. Chris Quinn scored 17 points but was just 7-of-19 from the floor and UCLA out-muscled Notre Dame on its way to a 75-65 victory, a win that may have given the PAC-10 its fourth team in the NCAA Tournament. The loss drops Notre Dame into a two-way tie for sixth place in the Big East regular season standings and the Irish are now currently out of contention for a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
7. Georgetown Hoyas (8-6, 16-9)
Next Up: Wednesday at Connecticut at 7:30 p.m., Saturday vs. Providence at 7:30 p.m.
Georgetown lost its third straight game when it visited a streaking Villanova. The Hoyas kept it close until midway through the second half when Villanova pulled away. Six-foot-8 junior Brandon Bowman led all scorers with 22 points, connecting on 4-of-5 from downtown. Bowman was the only Hoya to score in double figures against the Wildcats. With UConn and Providence the two remaining games, the Hoyas are torn. West Virginia is slowly creeping up the ladder and Notre Dame, tied with Georgetown in sixth place, is in desperate need of wins and has a favorable home game schedule left against Rutgers and Pittsburgh.
8. West Virginia Mountaineers (8-7, 18-8)
Next Up: Saturday at Seton Hall at noon
West Virginia made its latest pitch to the NCAA Tournament committee with a 70-66 victory at Pittsburgh. Six-foot-11 junior Kevin Pittsnogle continued his streaky shooting by knocking down 4-of-7 from 3-point range and scoring a game-high 22 points. Pittsnogle followed up his 22-point performance with 14 against Rutgers, leading four players in double figures in a 76-58 win. Joe Herber had a strong first half and finished with 11 points, five rebound and five assists. The Mountaineers have now won four straight and six of seven and are making a strong bid for the NCAA Tournament.
9. Seton Hall Pirates (3-11, 11-14)
Next Up: Wednesday at Villanova at 7:30 p.m., Saturday vs. West Virginia at noon
Seton Hall dug deep against Boston College. The Pirates were able to pull within five with just less than two minutes to play, but the Eagles physically outplayed the Hall winning by 70-58. Freshman star Justin Cerasoli did not play due to an undisclosed illness. The Pirates actually managed to take the lead by 44-42 on a Donald Copeland three-pointer with 12:59 remaining in the game. Freshman forward Brian Laing had one of his best outings this season with 15 points, including 3-of-6 from outside. At the end of the game, John Allen got into a shoving match with a couple of BC players.
Earlier in the week, Seton Hall lost at home 67-54 to Providence. Coach Orr has now benched J.R. Morris and his 10.1 ppg and 5.8 rpg for the last three games because of conduct detrimental to the team.
10. St. John’s Red Storm (3-12, 9-17)
Next Up: Saturday vs. Villanova at 2 p.m.
Mike Kryzewski was forced to call a timeout. The Blue Devils, after all, were playing in the “world’s greatest arena” and St. John’s had the place rocking. The Red Storm, hosting non-conference rival Duke, pulled within 41-37 on a bullet pass from to Daryll Hill to a cutting Lamont Hamilton, the crowd cheering frantically in stunned disbelief. The Johnnies lost 58-47 but gave Duke a headache and remained competitive for 40 minutes. Of course, Sheldon Williams in foul trouble and a porous shooting display by J.J. “He’s awesome baby!” Redick contributed to the close contest. The Blue Devils made a run in the second half but with 10:04 left, Cedric Jackson received a pass off a steal by Eugene Lawrence and went in uncontested for a layup to cut the deficit to 38-33 and the Garden was abuzz.
11. Providence Friars (3-12, 13-16)
Next Up: Saturday at Georgetown at 7:30 p.m.
Ryan Gomes became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 19 points in the Friars’ 67-54 win over Seton Hall Wednesday night. The senior All-American broke Jimmy Walker’s 38-year old record of 2,045 points. Gomes also grabbed his 1,000th rebound and is just the fifth player in school history to achieve that feat.
While Gomes and his teammates celebrated the achievements, Syracuse was waiting to make some history of its own. The Friars made their first trip to the Carrier Dome in seven years. None of the players could understand what they were in for, not even some of the newest Friars coaches. And on Senior Night and Jim Boeheim’s opportunity to reach No. 700, the Friars got caught in an ambush. Gomes scored 21 points but it was not enough as Providence fell by 91-66. Randall Hanke, who had a big presence in the first half and finished with 17 points, picked up his fourth foul less than three minutes out of intermission. With Herbert Hill struggling and Hanke sitting, Gomes was forced to play center for the Friars against a deep Syracuse front line.
12. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-12, 9-16)
Next Up: Wednesday at Notre Dame at 8 p.m. (ESPN Classic), Saturday vs. BC at 7:30 p.m.
The ship has sunk. Rutgers has Notre Dame and Boston College left on the schedule and the season is all but over. They will play the No. 6 seed in a first round Big East Tournament game and a win would put them up against No. 1 Boston College. Sophomore Quincy Douby currently leads the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg and scored 18 points at West Virginia on Saturday in a 76-58 loss. Freshman Ollie Bailey continues to exude confidence and is third on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.8 rpg).
