Big East Tournament Opening Round Notes
by Ray Floriani
NEW YORK – Big East opening round scores:
Villanova 75, DePaul 67
Syracuse 78, Connecticut 65
West Virginia 92, Providence 79
Marquette 76, St. John’s 67
The game of the day on this first day of Big East action could be a tossup. Syracuse-Connecticut was probably the most intense. If you like a wide-open outside shooting affair, West Virginia-Providence was ideal.
Connecticut entered the game knowing it needed a title or at least appearance in the finals for an NCAA bid. The last two years, the Orange eliminated the Huskies as an added incentive.
Syracuse entered with a 10-6 conference record and certainty that their NCAA ticket was punched. Still, Jim Boeheim wouldn’t mind another win as insurance. Connecticut actually drew first blood with their transition game. They led at the break 38-36, but in the estimation of Boeheim, Eric Devendorf, “saved us that first half.” Devendorf had 15 at the break, then the Orange settled down and Demetrius Nichols took off. The 6’8″ forward scored 19 of his game-high 28 points after the break.
“The second half turnovers killed us,” Connecticut mentor Jim Calhoun said. “Then Nichols put the game away.”
Later, West Virginia just proved to be a defensive problem all night. Back in late February Providence defeated the Mountaineers at home 64-61, largely on the strength of their 2-3 zone. Friar coach Tim Welsh zoned but was soon shot out of it.
“We had to go pressure man-to-man,” Welsh said. “Still, those threes came and that is demoralizing.”
The Mountaineers shot a Big East Tournament record 17-of-31 from beyond the arc. For the game John Beilein’s club hit 51 percent (31 of 61). Frank Young and Alex Ruoff paced West Virginia with 21 points each. Both also knocked down 5 treys.
“We out-rebounded (33-27) and out-shot them,” Welsh lamented. “We still lose. It’s so tough to chase four, sometimes five players when they are taking those threes.”
Earlier in the day, Villanova, another club certain to get to the Big Dance, solidified or erased any doubt with a nice win over DePaul. It was a classic “two man” game with Scottie Reynolds (29 points) and Curtis Sumpter (25) leading the way. In fact, they were the only Wildcats to score field goals in the first half.
“We are starting to get some chemistry and learn about ourselves,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
Reynolds, the conference Freshman of the Year, logged 37 minutes in place of senior guard Mike Nardi, who played two minutes due to a calf injury. “We missed Nardi’s attitude. He’s like a coach on the floor, but Reynolds did a very good job.”
DePaul was led by Sammy Mejia in their first trip to the Big East Tournament. The Blue Demons had chances but couldn’t capitalize. “Whenever we got close, we missed easy shots,” coach Jerry Wainwright lamented. “We are an equal opportunity offense, but this year we have struggled shooting the ball.”
Minus Lamont Hamilton, out with a knee injury, St. John’s didn’t figure to stay with Marquette. The Red Storm, largely limited to a perimeter game, did battle gamely and took the Golden Eagles to the final minutes before succumbing.
Notes
- It was a tough 24 hours for Connecticut. The women were upset by Rutgers in the Big East finals in Hartford the night before. By late afternoon on the first day of the men’s tournament, the Huskies were one and done.
- Rutgers coach Fred Hill took in some action before hitting the recruiting trail.
- Notable basketball alums spotted include Mark Plansky and Chuck Everson, who played on Villanova’s ’85 title team. Syracuse had several former players present, including Billy Owens and John Wallace.
- John Beilein’s philosophy about getting an NCAA bid is simple: no politics. “Winning is the idea,” Beilein said. “The NCAA tournament committee does a great job. This time of year, just focus on winning and everything takes care of itself.”
- Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, a good solid coach, was named coach of the year. One Villanova insider, agreeing with the choice of Brey, noted last year’s winner Jay Wright probably turned in a better coaching job this season in molding a young team.
“We are young,” Wright admitted,” but we have excellent seniors like Curtis Sumpter and Mike Nardi who show the way and talk to the younger players.” - Louisville assistant Steve Massiello was scouting the PC-West Virginia game. How hard is preparing for West Virginia? “It’s a nightmare,” Masiello said. “They zone defensively in that 1-3-1 and spread the floor on offense. The ball never settles and they have so many players who take and hit those threes.”
- Connecticut assistant George Blaney discussed the Huskies youth. “When you have four new players it can be tough. We have nine. We didn’t even get to install our offense until late November because we spent so much time covering basics.”
- The first quarterfinal matchup will be an interesting one. Georgetown, the top seed, gets No. 9 Villanova. The two clubs split this season, so a competitive meeting is on tap to start action on Thursday.
- Providence had a good inside presence in Herbert Hill (20 points 10 rebounds) against West Virginia. The Friars fell into the perimeter game also, launching 16 threes and hitting 10. In fact, in the first half both teams epitomized the outside game by combining for an 0-for-1 showing at the line.
- Grant Billmeier from Seton Hall was in attendance to see former St. Pat’s teammate Mike Nardi. Billmeier had surgery on his knee in February, is rehabbing and hopes to get a shot in Europe. When asked if he was heading to Rutgers to see St. Pat’s against St. Anthony’s in a huge New Jersey high school meeting, or “civil war”, Billmeier replied, “I’m heading down about seven.” He wouldn’t miss it for anything.
On the Baseline
- DePaul cheerleaders on their first trip to MSG were impressed. “It’s actually a bit smaller than the United Center (Chicago),” junior Amanda Dickerson of Naperville, Ill. said. “But it’s such a special place.”
- Syracuse senior cheerleaders Kristen Leister of Fayetteville, NY was staying in New York until Friday. She hoped the Orange would be here as well. Leister has an interview at NYU Dental School. Syracuse cheer excels in the classroom, as Leister noted one teammate is set to study at Oxford this summer.
- Marquette cheerleaders and dance teams know their school’s history. Several recent DePaul grads I spoke with had no idea who George Mikan was. When I asked sophomore Biana Pallotto who Al McGuire was, the Marquette cheerleader replied, “He was a legend. His name is on our court and he put Marquette basketball on the map.” That reply was “top shelf” as the late McGuire would say.
