As of this afternoon, half of the 16 teams in the Big East Conference are ranked in the Top 25. As conference play continues to heat up, we should relish the fact that these teams will continue to bludgeon each other for the rest of the season.
#4 Syracuse Orangemen (16-0, 3-0)
Somehow, some way, this team continues to find ways to remain unbeaten. Syracuse once again overcame a poor shooting night to defeat Seton Hall 61-56 last Saturday in their first scheduled road game of the season. The patented 2-3 zone held Seton Hall to 3 for 26 three-point shooting. We will see if they continue to remain undefeated this week as they play at St. John’s tonight, Cincinnati on Saturday, and at Pitt on Monday.
#5 Pittsburgh Panthers (15-1, 3-0)
Pitt’s hot shooting continued on Saturday when they defeated Marquette 89-81 at home. Pitt shot 60% for the entire game, which is remarkable for a team that focuses on defense. One cause for concern would be that the Panthers only forced two turnovers over 48 minutes because defensive pressure in the halfcourt is the key to winning championships. Well, they have a chance to work on that tonight at Georgetown.
#7 Villanova Wildcats (3-0, 14-1)
Villanova had a prosperous week, defeating South Florida 83-71 last Thursday and previously unbeaten Cincinnati 72-61 at home Sunday. Sunday’s victory was keyed by Corey Fisher’s 21 points. This was the first game of the year in which Fisher played under control for the entire game because he usually drives too far into the lane causing a turnover or throws up a brick. However, he was able to draw fouls and find open teammates on the court. The Wildcats’ perimeter defense was stellar as they held the Bearcats to 2-20 shooting from 3-point range. A big week awaits Villanova; they play Louisville at home tonight, Maryland at home on Saturday, and at Connecticut on Monday.
#18 Louisville Cardinals (13-2, 2-0)
Louisville started out conference play this week with easy victories over Seton Hall and South Florida. During these two games, the Cardinals found a new post threat in Stephan Van Treese. Due to injuries, Van Treese is making the most of his opportunity; he had 10 rebounds against Seton Hall and scored 12 points and grabbed 14 boards against South Florida. Hopefully, coach Rick Pitino doesn’t abort his progress tonight at Villanova.
St. John’s Red Storm (10-4, 3-1)
St. John’s suffered its first loss in conference play Saturday night at Notre Dame by the score of 76-61. Their hot shooting streak ended as the Red Storm shot 2 for 11 from 3 point range. Hopefully, they will be able to find their shooting touch tonight against the dreaded 2-3 zone of Syracuse.
Marquette Golden Eagles (12-5, 3-1)
Marquette was finally able to secure a victory over a ranked opponent Monday when they defeated Notre Dame at home 79-57. Dwight Buycks led the way by scoring a career-high 21 points. Marquette’s perimeter defense was outstanding; they held Notre Dame to 3 for 16 shooting from 3-point range. (It’s rather ironic that a Catholic school went 3-16 from the three-point line. Bad joke!)
The major key to the victory was that this was the first game this season for the Golden Eagles that Darius Johnson-Odom did not take the most field goal attempts. Hey Buzz, see what happens when he doesn’t ballhog. Your team beats ranked opponents. We’ll see if he stops ballhogging against Louisville on Saturday.
#25 Cincinnati Bearcats (15-1, 2-1)
Cincinnati suffered its first loss Sunday 72-61 at Villanova. The loss proves that Cincy had the easiest non-conference schedule ever put together by an athletic director. Their airtight defense let them down in the first twenty minutes as they were down 39-23 at halftime. Hopefully, they can rebound tonight against South Florida.
#9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-3, 3-2)
The Fighting Irish looked fatigued as they were clobbered 79-57 by Marquette on Monday night. With forward Carleton Scott out with a leg injury, only six Notre Dame players played more than 10 minutes in the game. The lack of depth may hurt them, but they don’t play again until Sunday at St. John’s.
#10 Connecticut Huskies (13-2, 2-2)
UConn had a very good week after a slow start in conference play. UConn went down to Texas on Saturday and won 82-81 in a wild overtime thriller. Kemba Walker (Of course!) led the team with 27 points as he was hounded all game by the pesky defender named Dogus Balbay. (Are Turkish people as irritable as he is? It seems like Turkish people are good at irritating people at sporting events by throwing flares at people.)
UConn was blew a nine-point lead in the second half. UConn almost lost the game on a critical error by Roscoe Smith. With the game tied at 73, Texas missed a shot with eleven seconds left in regulation. Smith grabbed the rebound, but he thought that one second was on the clock instead of 11. He heaved the ball downcourt as if it was a last-second buzzer beater. However, Texas regained possession with seven seconds left. Fortunately, Texas missed the real last-second shot.
Walker took over in the OT to give UConn its best victory of the season so far in a season filled with wins over ranked teams. The rest of the Huskies stepped up as three other players scored in double figures. Also, UConn outrebounded Texas 48-38 as Alex Oriahki went bonkers on the glass with 21 boards. Connecticut will look to continue its winning ways Saturday at DePaul.
West Virginia Mountaineers (10-4, 2-2)
The Mountaineers climbed back to .500 in conference by defeating Georgetown 65-59 on Saturday. Casey Mitchell regained his shooting touch in the game by scoring 28 of the team’s 65 points. Holding the Hoyas to 59 points shows that West Virginia has improved its defense. However, the defense will be tested tomorrow at home against Providence and on Sunday against #8 Purdue.
#19 Georgetown Hoyas (12-4, 1-3)
Georgetown is slumping badly after losing last week to St. John’s and West Virginia. The Hoyas will look to turn around their bad shooting tonight against Pittsburgh as they look to turn their season back around.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-6, 1-3)
Rutgers was 1-1 this past week. The Scarlet Knights thrashed Providence 85-72 last Wednesday. It was the most points that Rutgers has scored in a game all season; it helps that Providence doesn’t play any defense. However, the winning streak was halted at one as UConn defeated them last night 67-53. Rutgers will look to rebound Saturday against Georgetown at the RAC.
Seton Hall Pirates (7-9, 1-3)
Seton Hall stayed with Syracuse for the entire game last Saturday, but was unable to pull off the upset as the Pirates lost 61-56. Three for twenty-six shooting from 3-point range is totally unacceptable. Hey Seton Hall, learn to pass it into the post! How about not shooting any three’s tonight against DePaul tonight? The team let a 20 rebound performance by Herb Pope against Syracuse go to waste. Stop shooting bricks because all of those bricks were used to build a house for a homeless person in New Jersey.
DePaul Blue Demons (6-9, 0-3)
DePaul was off for the entire week and will resume play tonight at home against Seton Hall. The break was needed because the Blue Demons are currently on a three-game losing streak. Maybe the time off will have given the team better focus.
Providence Friars (11-6, 0-4)
Right now, the Friar fans are chanting “N-I-T” as Providence is now 0-4 in conference after their 85-72 loss to Rutgers on Saturday. They need to hurry up and win a game in this stacked conference or they could go winless for the rest of the season.
South Florida Bulls (6-11, 0-4)
South Florida is definitely not bullish as the team is currently on a six-game losing streak. Hopefully, they can snap the streak tonight against Cincinnati.
