Big East Conference Notebook
by Jesse Ullmann and Zach Van Hart
Pittsburgh Panthers (14-0 overall, 3-0 Big East)
Up Next: Wednesday at Rutgers at 8 p.m.
Pittsburgh is off to a fast start in Big East play keeping its unbeaten overall mark intact. The Panthers are one of only three schools in Division I still perfect joining Duke and Florida. The closest Pitt came to losing was last week in double overtime versus Notre Dame. Aaron Gray’s 25 point, 11-rebound performance proves an interior scoring presence has been established. Behind Carl Krauser (17.7 points per game) Gray is the only other Panther averaging in double figures (13.1). With a bevy of talent in Pitt’s backcourt, the 7-foot center from Emmaus, Penn., might be a big factor for Jamie Dixon.
West Virginia Mountaineers (12-3, 4-0)
Up Next: Tuesday vs. Providence at 7 p.m.
Not a bad start to Big East play for the Mountaineers. Sandwiched in between two close wins against South Florida and Georgetown, West Virginia went on the road and defeated previously unbeaten and third-ranked Villanova 91-87 and then handily beat Marquette 104-85 on Saturday.
In the Villanova game, three starters scored 20-plus points and the team shot 11-of-22 from the 3-point line. The Mountaineers struggled for the first half against Georgetown in their conference home opener, but came alive during the second half thanks to Kevin Pittsnogle’s 23 points. If the title was in doubt, WVU sewed it up after the win in Villanova: This is the team that no one wants to play come tournament time.
Syracuse Orange (15-2, 3-0)
Up Next: Monday vs. Connecticut at 9 p.m. (ESPN), Saturday at Villanova at 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun meet at the Carrier Dome for the first time since last fall’s Hall of Fame induction in Springfield, Mass. With one more win, Boeheim surpasses Don Haskins, former Texas El-Paso head coach and hall of famer himself, as 17th all-time in the wins column as a head coach in Division I men’s college basketball.
The Orange is riding a 12-game win streak. Double-doubles by both Demetris Nichols, who went for 18 points, 10 rebounds and Terrance Roberts’ 11 points, 10 boards led to a 77-58 win at Cincinnati, the first visit since Cincinnati became a member of the Big East this season. Gerry McNamara scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
Connecticut Huskies (14-1, 2-1)
Up Next: Monday at Syracuse at 9 p.m. (ESPN), Saturday at Louisville at 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Hilton Armstrong continues to put forth very inspiring efforts night in and night out. Remember, he has learned from some of UConn’s best-ever frontlines in the past couple of years. The 6-foot-11 senior from New York posted 19 points and 6 blocked shots in the Huskies’ 74-67 win over Georgetown on Saturday, his second straight game with 6 blocks.
The question in Connecticut surrounding the Huskies: is Rudy Gay the most overrated player to ever come through Storrs? At 6-foot-9, 220 pounds (almost identical to Lebron James) the Maryland native will definitely get his shot at the bigs, but so far back down here on earth, Gay has been a little disappointing. For a pre-season Wooden All-American candidate, he is not in the top 10 in Big East scoring or field-goal percentage, and against the powerhouses out in Maui, with the exception of one sensational performance where we saw glimpses, he had a bad showing. Gay still has a world of time to get better.
Cincinnati Bearcats (13-4, 2-2)
Up Next: Thursday at Xavier at 9 p.m., Sunday vs. Rutgers at 2 p.m.
The Bearcats hung tough at Connecticut in their first game against a perennial Big East team before losing 70-59. But the bigger loss was that of senior forward Armein Kirkland, who tore the ACL in his left knee during the first half against the Huskies. His loss leaves Cincinnati with only eight scholarship players; only two are above 6-foot-7. The Bearcats defeated former Conference USA foes DePaul and Marquette before falling to UConn, and suffered an ugly loss to Syracuse afterwards. Eric Hicks continues to carry the team on his back, recording a triple-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 10 blocks) during Cincinnati’s four-point win against Marquette.
Villanova Wildcats (11-2, 2-1)
Up Next: Tuesday vs. Seton Hall at 7:30 p.m., Saturday vs. Syracuse at 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Still, at this juncture in the season Jason Fraser has yet to have started a game. Will Sheridan has been the replacement as the sole big man in Jay Wright’s four-guard starting lineup. Sheridan is averaging just two more minutes than Fraser is coming off the bench and yet with Curtis Sumpter out indefinitely, the Wildcats still have this mystique. In Austin, Texas, the Cats lost 58-55 to the Longhorns but afforded themselves an opportunity to win the game in the final minute, which is impressive enough.
Villanova’s backcourt, if you can believe it, might have just gotten better. An apparent commitment from St. Patrick’s (N.J.) star guard Corey Fisher for next year has reportedly already been made.
Georgetown Hoyas (10-4, 2-2)
Up Next: Tuesday vs. South Florida at 7:30 p.m., Saturday vs. Duke at 1:30 p.m.
After two warm-up games in the Big East (Providence, St. John’s), the Hoyas faced the real deal with their road game at West Virginia. And for a half, it looked like Georgetown was more than up for the occasion. The Hoyas led by as many as 11 late in the first half, but then the wheels started to fall off. The Mountaineers made a late run to close the gap to two by halftime and pulled away for a 68-61 win. Georgetown also came up short in another seven-point loss, to UConn on Saturday. Still, the tough defeats proved Georgetown will not be an easy win for any team, anywhere in the Big East. The key for the Hoyas is balance. Five players are averaging between 9 and 12.8 points per game, and three players are averaging between 5.2 and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Marquette Golden Eagles (12-5, 2-2)
Up Next: Tuesday at DePaul at 8:30 p.m., Friday vs. Notre Dame at 9 p.m.
It didn’t take long for the Golden Eagles to notch their first major Big East win. In fact, it came in their first Big East game, as Marquette shocked previously unbeaten and second-ranked Connecticut in surprisingly easy fashion last week 94-79. Exploding for the type of performance Golden Eagle fans hope to see more of, Steve Novak poured in 41 points against the Huskies. Marquette was brought down from the clouds by old nemesis Cincinnati, but won a tough road match at Seton Hall by four this week. It’s the type of win that could have been taken for granted in Conference USA, but any road win in the Big East is a plus for the Eagles this season.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (12-4, 2-1)
Up Next: Wednesday vs. Pittsburgh at 8 p.m., Sunday at Cincinnati at 2 p.m.
Behind Quincy Douby’s 20-point showing, the Scarlet Knights won on the road beating DePaul 78-68 and proving all the more that maybe Gary Waters does indeed have a plan. Rutgers outrebounded, outshot and simply outplayed DePaul, which was held to 34 percent shooting. Four Rutgers players scored in double digits, but it’s been the Douby show all along. The 6-foot-4 guard from Brooklyn is averaging 23.3 ppg – that’s best in the Big East. Douby is shooting 46.6 percent and he continues to build confidence around himself and his teammates. If Rutgers is intent on making this year’s Big East Tournament, though, it must get more contributions on offense. The next highest scoring effort to Douby’s is 9.4 ppg.
Louisville Cardinals (13-3, 1-2)
Up Next: Tuesday at St. John’s at 9 p.m., Saturday vs. Connecticut at 9 p.m.
The jury remains out on the Cardinals. An interesting pre-conference schedule (one road game, long layoff at the start of the season) showed a Louisville team playing close games against inferior competition. Then the Cardinals came out and promptly lost their conference opener at home – granted it was against Villanova. Factor in a nagging injury to Taquan Dean, causing him to miss their last game, and no one knows how tough this team is. A bright spot has been the play of guard Brandon Jenkins. With Dean out against UC Davis earlier this week, Jenkins scored a career-high 31 points. Known more for his defense and intangibles, Jenkins showed he’ll light it up if need be. Right now, it’s unknown if those points will be needed.
Seton Hall Pirates (9-5, 1-2)
Up Next: Tuesday at Villanova at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN Classic), Friday vs. South Florida at 7 p.m.
Seton Hall played just one game last week, a loss to Marquette. Seemingly back in full form is Jamar Nutter, who in returning from a suspension for violating team rules dropped in a team-high 19 points in a hotly contested 67-63 loss at home to the Golden Eagles. Paul Gause has become another option despite a little mental lapse (against St. John’s) in what would have been described in soccer terminology as an “own goal”. Gause is one of 6 substitutes averaging more than 9 minutes per game. Seton Hall unexpectedly finished with an impressive 8-3 non-conference mark but with four of the next five on the road and Villanova and UConn coming into the foreseeable view over the horizon, SHU fans beware: do not expect the sky, the stars and the moon from your Pirates.
St. John’s Red Storm (8-6, 1-2)
Up Next: Tuesday vs. Louisville at 9 p.m. (ESPN2), Saturday vs. Pittsburgh at noon
First the good. St. John’s, for the first time in nearly four seasons, broke a 17-game Big East road-losing streak with a convincing 68-49 win over the Bulls of South Florida. The first win of the Big East season for the Johnnies almost came a week earlier when at Madison Square Garden the Storm gave Georgetown a run for their money.
And now the bad. That 17-game road-losing streak should’ve already been broken. The Red Storm opened up the season in an incredibly frustrating way against Seton Hall. Up by 20 points in the second half St. John’s allowed Seton Hall to climb back forcing an overtime and allowing Seton Hall to literally steal one in their own gym, 69-61. Lamont Hamilton must step up his production on both ends and improve his shooting both from field-goal range and the charity stripe. Hamilton has the ability to be the leader of the team with Daryll Hill now out on a game-by-game basis.
DePaul Blue Demons (8-7, 1-3)
Up Next: Tuesday vs. Marquette at 8:30 p.m., Saturday at Providence at 7:30 p.m.
The Blue Demons are probably right about where they expected to be. Following a bad loss at Cincinnati, where they never play well, the Demons came home and beat a solid Notre Dame team, then had Pittsburgh on the ropes for a half before falling to the unbeaten Panthers on the road. DePaul does not have the weapons to out-gun the top teams in the Big East but are solid enough to keep games close and maybe squeak out an upset or two. Junior guard Sammy Meija is showing the leadership this team needs, averaging 15.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Expect DePaul to finish close to .500 in the conference at season’s end.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-5, 1-3)
Up Next: Friday at Marquette at 9 p.m.
One could look at the Irish’s conference mark and think, “What? I thought Notre Dame was supposed to be good?” Well, the record is misleading because the Irish opened at Pittsburgh, at DePaul and at home against Syracuse, who always plays well against the Irish. Yes, they probably should have won one of those three, but a 0-3 conference start is not the end of the world, and Notre Dame showed that when it rolled over Providence on Saturday. Colin Falls and Chris Quinn continue to play well outside, and Torin Francis is starting to get help inside from Rob Kurz and Luke Zeller. Notre Dame can still recover and even earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament, but it cannot afford any bad losses against some of the lower-tier conference teams.
Providence Friars (7-7, 0-3)
Up Next: Tuesday at West Virginia at 7 p.m., Saturday vs. DePaul at 7:30 p.m.
After being switched to the two-guard (way to wait until his senior year!), Donnie McGrath is thriving at his new spot. McGrath is averaging 14.6 ppg including 14 points on three 3-pointers in a highly contested 72-67 loss at the Dunk’ to Louisville and former PC head coach Rick Pitino.
Pitino on his return to his former home: “They gave me a standing ovation. That was great. When I returned to Kentucky they didn’t give me a standing ovation. It was far from a standing ovation actually.”
Tim Welsh and Providence need to get conference wins soon or else they may find themselves as one of the four teams left out of the Big East Tournament. Currently the Friars rank last in conference play in scoring defense, second to last in defensive rebounding and their assist-to-turnover ratio is a less-than-mediocre 0.87. DeSean White, who grew up in Philadelphia and is no longer on the active PC roster, wants to transfer to LaSalle or St. Joseph’s.
South Florida Bulls (6-10, 0-3)
Up Next: Tuesday at Georgetown at 7:30 p.m., Friday at Seton Hall at 7 p.m.
Forget the fact that the Bulls are 0-3 in conference play. They are arguably the pleasant surprise of the Big East after Week 1. The Bulls hosted West Virginia and went into Syracuse and nearly defeated both teams, losing by four and six points, respectively. This was the team that everyone picked to finish last and it was close against two of the better teams in the league, playing one of them on their home floor. James Holmes is lighting up the hoop, averaging 19 points per game, and forward Solomon Jones is becoming a double-double man, averaging 13.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. With a game against Seton Hall coming up, South Florida has a good chance to crack the ‘W’ column.
