Big East Sports Blog

No.23 Louisville 88  DePaul 68

Terrence Williams matched his season high of 22 points and David Padgett added 20 to help No.23 Louisville cruise past DePaul 88-68.  The Cardinals once again used a stifling defense to win their fourth straight, holding DePaul to 37 percent shooting.  Louisville (19-6, 9-3) jumped all over DePaul early, leading 23-8, and led 37-21 before DePaul’s 10-2 cut the lead to 39-31 at the half.  Dar Tucker’s 22 points off the bench couldn’t help the Blue Demons (10-14, 5-7) avoid their fifth loss in the last six games, and the Blue Demons are clinging to life in the playoff picture in the Big East, sitting in the 11th spot.

No.25 Marquette 89  Seton Hall 64

No doubt about this one, the Golden Eagles made it look effort-less against Seton Hall.  Marquette smothered the Pirates (15-10, 5-7) early and often, scoring the game’s first 15 points and leading 21-4 after just seven minutes of action.  Marquette (17-6, 7-5) led 40-22 at halftime, putting this one away in the first 20-minute frame.  Lazard Hayward led four Marquette players in double figures with 23 and a game-high nine boards.  The Golden Eagles pounded on the Pirates 43-29 on the glass.  Jeremy Hazell led Seton Hall with 18 points and Brian Laing finished with 17 and pulled down just three rebounds.  Marquette sweeps the season series with Seton Hall, and the Golden Eagles are winners of four of their last six.

No. 24 Pittsburgh 82  Providence 63

Providence hung around in the first half, trailing by five at the break, as the Friars wouldn’t allow the Panthers to run and hide.  Then, the second half came.

Pittsburgh held Providence to just six points in the first 11 minutes of action in the second half, allowing Pittsburgh to pull away from Providence 82-63.  Sam Young’s career-high 22 points propelled the Panthers (19-5, 7-4) to their 14th home win of the season and Ronald Ramon and DeJuan Blair finished with 15 points apiece.  It hasn’t been pretty for Providence (13-11, 4-8) lately.  They’ve lost six of their last seven, and are now winless against Pittsburgh in their last eight tries.  To make matters worse, the loss drops the Friars to 1-6 on the road this season in the Big East.

Monday, Feb.4th

• Louisville 71, #16 Marquette 57
• St. Joseph’s 77, Villanova 55

Tuesday, Feb.5th

• #6 Georgetown 63, South Florida 53
• Providence 79, DePaul 65

Wednesday, Feb.6th

• #19 UConn 63, Syracuse 61
• #22 Notre Dame 95, Seton Hall 69
• St.John’s 52, Rutgers 45

Thursday, Feb.7th

• #25 Pittsburgh 55, West Virginia 54

Friday, Feb 8th. - No games scheduled

> Find great Big East gear including Providence clothing, Villanova apparel & more through Big East Fans.

Scoreboard for Monday, Jan.28th

UConn 69, Louisville 67

The Huskies prevail on Big Monday behind a big night from guard A.J. Price, who poured in 20 points.  UConn pounded Louisville on the glass, winning the rebounding advantage 40-29.  Very uncharacteristic night for Louisville.  The Cardinals jacked up 33 3-point attempts, connecting on 11; Juan Palacios and Terrence Williams combined to hoist 17 3’s.  UConn played with a short bench, due to suspensions to Doug Wiggins and Jerome Dyson last week.  The frontcourt duo of Stanley Robinson and Jeff Adrien combined for 28 points and 20 rebounds to help UConn to win their 4th straight.

Tuesday, Jan.29th  - #17 Marquette 62, South Florida 52

With Jerel McNeal and Dominic James struggling, Lazar Hayward scored 23 points and Wesley Matthews dropped in 16 to help Marquette past South Florida.  McNeal was held to six points, James managed only three for the Golden Eagles.  In a surprising twist, (not really) Kentrell Gransberry turned in another double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, but the Bulls were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime defict.

Wednesday scoreboard - Jan.30th

• #6 Georgetown 74  St. John’s 42
• #18Pittsburgh 69  Villanova 57
• Syracuse 60  DePaul 55
• Cincinnati 62  West Virginia 39
• Seton Hall 84  Rutgers 71

Saturday, January 26th

• Notre Dame 90  #18 Villanova 80
• UConn 68  #7 Indiana 63
• Louisville 67  St. John’s 57
• Rutgers 77  #13 Pittsburgh 64
• Marquette 79  DePaul 71
• #9 Georgetown 58  West Virginia 57

Sunday, January 27th

Seton Hall recorded their 4th straight win with a 64-61 win over Cincinnati.  Center Brian Laing dominated with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Jamar Nutter finished with 20 points.  Deonta Vaughn tried to keep Cincinnati within strking distance, scoring 15 points in the game.  Vaughn was the sole Bearcat in double figures.  Cincy trailed by 56-53 down the stretch but the Bearcats couldn’t get over the hump and pull out the victory.  The Pirates improve to 14-6 and 4-3 in the Big East.  Cincinnati falls to 9-11 and .500 in the conference at 4-4.

Freshman Donte Greene powered Syracuse with 24 points, as the Orange were able to fend off pesky Providence 71-64 on Sunday afternoon.  The freshman came up large in the final minutes of the game, breaking a 56-all tie with a 3-pointer and Syrcause sealed the game at the free throw line with 8-of-10 attempts in the final 90 seconds of action.  Providence was led by Dwain Williams with 21 points and Jeff Xavier with 16.  Weyinmi Efejuku and Geoff McDermott both finished scoreless on a combined 0-of-9 shooting.  Syracuse pounded the Friars on the glass, outrebounding Providence 47-32; six Syracuse players had at least four rebounds, with Arinze Onuaku leading the charge with 14 boards.  Syracuse pulled to .500 in Big East play (4-4) and 14-7 overall, while Providence fell below the .500 mark (3-4) and 12-7 overall.

No.18 Panthers blast Red Storm 81-57

Pittsburgh loves to play in their home away from home, Madison Square Garden, and they easily handled St. John’s 81-57 on Wednesday night.  Forward Sam Young led three Panthers players in double figures with 26.  Ronald Ramon added 16 and five assists and DaJuan Blair finished with 10 points, along with eight rebounds.

Pittsburgh (16-3, 4-2) improve to 19-8 all time at MSG since 2000.  They’ve played in six of the last seven Big East Championship games, and they also defeated then No.6 Duke a week before Christmas 65-64 in overtime.  Pittsburgh shot 54.5 percent for the game and a torrid 61.5 percent in the 2nd half.

Anthony Mason Jr. was the sole bright-spot for St. John’s (7-10, 1-5), scoring 23 points on an impressive 12-of-17 shooting from the field.  The Red Storm have dropped four straight and six of their last seven games.  They’ll attempt to stop their recent slide Saturday at Louisville, while No.18 Pittsburgh squares off against Rutgers on Saturday also.

Cardinals take care of Bulls 80-60

Earl Clark’s 18-point effort off the bench led Louisville’s rout of South Florida 80-60.  Jerry Smith and David Padgett added 12 each.  Louisville lead comfortably at halftime 45-26.  The Louisville defense held South Florida to 39 percent shooting, while forcing the Bulls into 15 turnovers.

Kentrell Gransberry once more led South Florida (10-10, 1-6) with 22 points and 10 rebounds.  Gransberry doesn’t get nearly enough attention he deserves.  He’s almost a guaranteed double-doubled every night, but the rest of his support cast just doesn’t provide him with much help.  Freshman Dominique Jones finished with 17, however, the next highest output by a Bull player was just seven points.  South Florida has lost six in a row, all in the Big East and all by double-digit margins. 

Louisville will host St. John’s on Saturday.  South Florida returns to action Tuesday, Jan.29th against Marquette.

Huskies slip past Bearcats 84-83

UConn’s balanced offensive attack with four players in double figures, helped the Huskies over Cincinnati 84-83 on Wednesday night.  Center Hasheem Thabeet led UConn (13-5, 4-3) with 22 points and seven rebounds and guard Jerome Dyson finished with 20 points.

Cincinnati (9-10, 4-3), on the other hand, was a one-trick pony on offense.  Deonta Vaughn dropped 34 points on the Huskies, but was the only Bearcat in double figures.  Cincinnati squandered a 12-point lead with six minutes left in the second half, and eventually allowed UConn to square things at 80 with 90 seconds left to play.  A.J. Prices’ two free throws gave UConn the lead 84-83 and Cincinnati’s last-ditch effort failed on a miss by Marcus Sikes.

The Huskies found their way to the free throw line 37 times  in this one, and more impressively, made 32 of them.  UConn trailed at the break 41-38 and picked things up at the offensive end of the floor in the second half with a 46-point outburst. 

UConn will aim for their 3rd straight on Saturday afternoon against No.7 Indiana.  This could be just the signature type of win the Huskies need on their resume as their play has picked up and improved recently with wins over Marquette and now Cincinnati.  The Bearcats have dropped two of their last three and they’ll look for a win against Seton Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Seton Hall 92  Louisville 82

With just over four minutes to play in the contest, Seton Hall went on a ferocious run to finish the game, picking up the victory over visiting Louisville 92-82 on Saturday.

Trailing 80-78 in the closing minutes of the second half, Seton Hall went on a 14-2 run, electrifying the home crowd at the Prudential Center.  While Seton Hall (12-6, 2-3) got off nights from Jamar Nutter and Eugene Harvey (both combined for just 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting), they received more than plenty from center Brian Laing and Jeremy Hazell.  Hazell dropped a game and career-high 29 points, including sinking 8-of-14 3-pointers, and Laing added 25 points and six assists.  The Pirates shot 62.5 percent in the second half, making 15-of-24 field goals, while shooting 46 percent from downtown on 13 made 3-pointers.

Louisville (13-5, 3-2) was led by Jerry Smith, who scored 25 points and Terrence Williams turned in a triple-double with 10’s across the board: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists.  It is Williams’ second triple-double of the season, the first coming against Hartford on Nov.17th.  David Padgett added 12 points and Juan Palacios finished with 11.  Derrick Caracter and Earl Clark totaled just nine points on a combined 31 minutes played.  The loss snaps Louisville’s four-game winning streak.

Seton Hall will aim for their third win on Thursday night when they travel to Providence.  Louisville will be playing their 3 road game in their last four games on Wednesday against South Florida.

DePaul 75  Rutgers 73

Unfortunately sometimes you’re best just isn’t good enough and Rutgers swallowed an extremely difficult pill on Saturday, losing to DePaul 75-73.  Rutgers couldn’t have shot the ball any better than they did, shooting 61.7 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from 3-point range on 8-of-14 attempts.  However, Rutgers was unable to hold a seven point lead at halftime, 42-35, and DePaul pulled off the comeback victory.

Draelon Burns led DePaul (8-9, 4-2) with 20 points and pair of freshman, Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal, played their parts as well, with Tucker scoring all 12 of his points in the second half, and Koshwal finished with 18 and five rebounds.

With the game locked at 18 in the first half, Rutgers (8-11, 0-6), Rutgers exploded for a 16-2 run to lead 34-20, and led by as much as 15 in the first half, 37-22 with a little more than six minutes to play.  DePaul hung tough and cut the lead to seven going into halftime.  DePaul took only their second lead of the game, 64-63 with five and a half minutes to play.

The resilient Scarlet Knights took the lead back 69-66 on a 3-pointer by J.R. Inman, who led Rutgers with 22 points and eight rebounds, but Inman’s effort just wasn’t enough to keep the Blue Demons down.  DePaul responded with a 7-0 run and 73-69; the Blue Demons never trailed again.  Rutgers has now lost six straight games, all in conference.  Four of their six consecutive losses have come on the road, and the Scarlet Knights are still in search of their first win in 2008, with their last win coming over Manhattan on Dec.29th.

Rutgers will attempt to end their six-game skid when they host Villanova on Wednesday night.  DePaul will play their last out-of-conference game on Monday against Florida Gulf Coast.

There were 4 games on the Big East slate on Thursday night, with Seton Hall, Providence, Louisville and West Virginia all picking up key victories in conference play.

Seton Hall 74, South Florida 64

The monkey finally comes off their backs, as Seton Hall gets their win this season in Big East play, defeating South  Florida 74-64.  Seton Hall (11-6, 1-3) had four players score in double figures, with Jeremy Hazell leading the charge with 22 points.  Jamar Nutter added 13 points and John Garcia pitched in with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

South Florida (10-8, 1-4) was led by Kentrell Gransberry, who had 21 points and 10 boards.  The Bulls doubled-up the Pirates early, leading 12-6 before Seton Hall raced back with a 15-0 run, all coming on 3-pointers, to go up 21-12.  The Pirates led at the break 36-30.  South Florida would get no closer than three points the entire second half, as they lost their fourth straight game.  They’ll try to end their four-game slide on Sunday afternoon when they West Virginia at 2 p.m.  Seton Hall returns to action on Saturday night when they host Louisville at 8 p.m.

West Virginia 73  St. John’s 64

With the scored tied at 29 at halftime, West Virginia used 59 percent shooting from the field in the second half to knock off St. John’s 73-64 on Wednesday night.  Da’Sean Butler led WVU (13-4, 3-2) with 19 points and Joe Alexander added 15 points.  John Flowers and Darris Nichols each finished with 10.  The Mountaineers have now won three of their last four.

St. John’s (7-9, 1-4) dropped their third straight despite 15 points off the bench from Larry Wright and 14 points from Anthony Mason Jr.  The Red Storm outrebounded the Mountaineers 39-30, but never came closer than six points in the second frame. 

It boiled down to a couple big runs by WVU in the first and second half.  Down 19-13 in the first half, the Mountaineers went on a 13-2 run to go up 26-21, however St. John’s late 8-3 run closed out the first half at 29 apiece.  With just under eight to play in the second half, WVU went on a decisive 19-6 run to led 55-43.  The win marks the 15th straight at home for West Virginia.  They’ll travel to South Florida on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., while St. John’s will be idle for five days until they return to action next Wednesday, Jan.23rd, when they host Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.

Providence 77  Connecticut 65

Providence pulled off a little bit of shocker in Gampel Pavillion on Wednesday night, defeating Connecticut 77-65.  Dwain Williams scored 23 points for the Friars, who hit 14 3-pointers on the night, topping their 13 they hit earlier in the week against South Florida.  Williams was 6-of-9 from behind the arc and Brian McKenzie was a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown, finishing with 20 points.  Geoff McDermott added 12 points and Jeff Xavier finished with 11.  The Friars are officially on a winning streak, having won three straight conference games.

Jeff Adrien led UConn (11-5, 2-3) with 16 points and 15 rebounds, Doug Wiggins had 15 and A.J. Price added 12.  The turning point of the game game when Price picked up his fourth foul with just under 13 minutes to go with UConn trailing 43-40.  With Price on the bench, Providence (12-5, 3-2) went for the kill, going on a 17-8 run to lead 60-48.  Price would return to action, but was unable to spark a Huskie run.  UConn couldn’t get the Friars lead under nine points the remainder of the second half.  While Providence flourished from 3-point range, UConn floundered, shooting just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc and 24 percent shooting in the second half.  The Huskies shot 37 percent for the game, while Providence shot 43 percent.  UConn will look to rebound off the home loss with a home victory, when they face off against Marquette on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.  Providence will have a week off and they’ll return to action next Thursday, Jan. 24th at home against Seton Hall.

Louisville 71 #13 Marquette 51

Don’t look now, but Louisville is healthy and starting to play with a lot consistency.  Just ask Marquette, who saw first hand, how dangerous Louisville is becoming.  Louisville dominated No.13 Marquette from start to finish, smashing the visiting Golden Eagles 71-51 on Thursday night. 

Louisville (13-4, 3-1) shot 49 percent from the field, as Terrence Williams led the way with a game-high 20 points and David Padgett finshed with 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Cardinals, which outscored Marquette 35-12.  The Louisville defense limited Marquette to just 30.4 percent shooting and held the Golden Eagles without a 3-point field goal; Marquette went 0-of-12 from beyond the arc.  Louisville has won four straight and moved into a 4-way tie atop the Big East standings at 3-1.

Marquette (13-3, 3-2) was reduced to a jump shooting team largely because the tenacious Louisville defense allowed close to zero dribble-drive penatration from the Golden Eagles.  Jerel McNeal led Marquette with 16 points and Wesley Matthews finished with 14.  As if the brow beating wasn’t bad enough, Marquette lost guard Dominic James in the second half, after James reaggrivated a wrist injury with about six minutes to go.  James did not return and finished with a season-low three points.  The Golden Eagles also lost the battle on the glass 40-28.

No.13 Marquette will try to rebound on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when they travel to Connecticut to take on the Huskies.  Louisville will aim for their fifth straight win on Saturday night at 8 p.m. against Seton Hall.

Louisville won for the seventh time in eight games, defeating Rutgers 64-49 on Sunday afternoon.  Jerry Smith led the attack for Louisville (12-4, 2-1) with 14 points.  Edgar Sosa added 10 points off the bench for the Cardinals.  Louisville’s benched outscored Rutgers 25-3, as the starters for Rutgers (8-9, 0-4) scored 46 of their 49 points. 

David Padgett added nine points for the Cardinals and Juan Palacios and Derrick Caracter each finished with eight points.  Rutgers controlled most of the play in the first half, but Louisville decided to quit sleep walking and went on a 12-0 run to go up 28-20, and led 28-23 at the break.

The Scarlet Knights shot just 28.6 percent in the first half, while committing nine turnovers.  Rutgers shot just 31.4 percent for the game, while Louisville shot 41.5 percent, 52 percent from the field in the second half.  Louisville controlled the glass 40-33 and forced Rutgers into 16 turnovers.

Jaron Griffin scored a career-best 23 points for Rutgers and J.R. Inman added 11 points.  Rutgers dropped their fourth straight game, all in the Big East.  Rutgers will attempt to put an end to their four-game slide and notch their first win in 2008 when they visit Syracuse on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.  Louisville will host No.15 Marquette on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Louisville welcomed back Earl Clark from a one-game absence and got their first win in conference play, a 63-54 win over West Virginia on Thursday night.

Clark was absent from the game this past Saturday against Kentucky, due to a violation of team rules.  Clark finished the night with a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  Jerry Smith led Louisville (11-4, 1-1) with 14 points and Edgar Sosa added 10 points off the bench.

The Cardinals weren’t as crisp as they would’ve like to have been, shooting 41 percent, but their terrific defense was the difference in the game, holding West Virginia to just 36 percent shooting on the night.  The Mountaineers (11-4, 1-2)had trouble almost from the opening tap trying to solve the variety of pressure defenses from Louisville, from their full court press to their ball-hawking half-court defensive sets.

Joe Alexander paced West Virginia with 22 points, but he received very little help from his supporting cast.  Alex Ruoff, West Virginia’s leading scorer, finished with 13 points on just 4-of-13 shooting, including a dreadful 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. 

With the game all square at 22, Louisville closed out the first half on a 10-2 run, taking a 32-24 lead into halftime, and the Cardinals never trailed in the second 20-minute frame.  West Virginia trailed by as little as six in the second half, but Louisville had an answer, either in the form of basket or defensive stop, each time the Mountaineers attempted to put together a run to get back in the game. 

Louisville will head to Rutgers to face off against the Scarlet Knights on Sunday at noon, while West Virginia will return home to square off against Syracuse on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Maybe if both teams were vying for the national title in April, or maybe if they were both ranked inside the top 5.  Or maybe if both teams were undefeated, this game would have lived up to the ‘Dream Game’ it was being called as.  But despite the up-and-down year Louisville has had and a year in which Kentucky may very well miss the tournament altogether, Rick Pitino surely will take the victory in his old stomping ground.

Louisville ended a three-game skid against in-state rival Kentucky on Saturday afternoon with an 89-75 victory.  The Cardinals (10-4, 0-1) turned in one of their best defensive efforts all season, forcing the Wildcats into 22 turnovers and holding freshman Patrick Patterson to just six points on 3-of-14 shooting.  Senior Juan Palacios led Louisville with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists.  Jerry Smith also had 17 points and Terrence Williams added 15 points and six rebounds for the Cardinals.  In all, Louisville had five players score in double figures.

It was a complete team effort for Louisville, the kind of effort you always hope for as a head coach and certainly Rick Pitino had to enjoy the effort his squad put forth.  Everyone contributed, everybody in white and red was ready to play, and Kentucky just never got close to the same effort and intensity Louisville played with.  It also helps that Palacios was huge on this afternoon, putting the offense on his back and doing it all for the Cardinals.

For Kentucky, they fall to 6-7 on the year and it’s been a forgettable 13 games so far.  They’ve lost to San Diego at home and now to one of their biggest rivals.  And who can forget the stunning loss to Gardener-Webb.  Ramel Bradley poured in a game-high 27 points and Joe Crawford added 19 points.  Louisville’s defense limited Kentucky to just 41 percent shooting from the field.

Trailing 31-30 at halftime, the Cardinals came out smoking with an 8-0 run that shell-shocked Kentucky.  The Wildcats were on their heels and Louisville could smell it.  Kentucky got sloppy with the ball and the Cardinals turned things into a track meet; Louisville responded early in the second half, and Kentucky never met the challenge.

Louisville busted things wide open at 62-40 and the rout was on.  Kentucky rallied with about 90 seconds to play, cutting the lead to 10, but it was too little too late for the Wildcats.  Louisville sealed things in the final minute with free throws to put Kentucky on ice. 

Louisville will seek out their win in conference play on Thursday night when they host West Virginia at 7 p.m.