Big East Sports Blog

Five players scored in double figures, as West Viriginia handed Rutgers their fifth consecutive loss 81-63 on Thursday night.  The Mountaineers have struggled of late, winning for just the second time in their last five outings.  West Virginia led 42-27 at the break and Rutgers never threatened in the second half.  Rutgers couldn’t keep a hold of the basketball, committing 17 turnovers that resulted in 29 easy points for the Mountaineers, who turned the ball over just four times. 

The Golden Eagles swarmed the Panthers, using a 17-0 run early as the second half began and No.25 Marquette routed No.24 Pittsburgh on Friday night, 72-54.  Jerel McNeal had 17 points for Marquette, and while Dominic James was held to just five points, he dished out an array of beautiful assists, 12 in all, and James didn’t turn the ball over once.

Pittsburgh got a huge emotional boost, returning guard Levance Fields to the lineup, who missed the last 12 games with a broken left foot.  Fields, as expected, struggled to get his legs under him the first time out, shooting 1-of-7 from the field for four points.  Sam Young led the Panthers with 18 points.  Pittsburgh had a hand in helping Marquette during their 17-0 run, committing eight turnovers in the opening nine minutes of the second half and misfiring on nine of their first 11 shot attempts.  The Golden Eagles dominated the Panthers in the paint as well, pounding Pittsburgh 16-2 in the lane.  Freshman DeJuan Blair was silenced, finishing with just six points and five rebounds, and it was a tough night as well for Ronald Ramon, who had four points on 1-of-7 shooting.  Overall, Marquette’s defense limited Pittsburgh to 37 percent shooting from the field.  The Golden Eagles picked up their first win against a ranked opponent this season.

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

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.

Hibbert leads No.5 Georgetown in romp of Irish

Pre-season All-American Roy Hibbert poured in 21 points and dished out five assists to lead No.5 Georgetown easily past Notre Dame 84-65 on Saturday.  The Hoyas’ stalwart was defense was in full effect against the Irish, holding Notre Dame to a season low 32.8 percent shooting from the field.

DaJuan Summers had a double-double for Georgetown (14-2, 4-1) with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman guard Austin Freeman dropped in 16 points.  The Hoyas shot 52.8 percent from the field.  Their starting five dominated the Irish, scoring 76 of their 84 points, despite being outrebounded by Notre Dame, 36-30.

Luke Harangody led Notre Dame 13-4, 3-2) with 13 points on just 3-of-13 shooting from the field before fouling out in the second half.  Harangody had a difficult afternoon at both ends of the floor.  He struggled offensively, and had the unpleasant task of matching up against Hibbert at the defensive end of the floor.  Kyle McAlarney also had a rough day from the field, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field, and just 2-of-8 from 3-point range.  McAlarney wasn’t the lone Irish player to struggle from long distance; Notre Dame shot 28 percent from downtown on 7-of-25 shooting.  Notre Dame was 20-of-61 from the field.  The 64 points was a season low scored by the Irish, who dropped 64 points alone in the second half last weekend against Connecticut.

The Hoyas were trailing 17-16 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half.  Emphasis on were.  Georgetown preceded to race to a 15-0 run, a stretch in which the Irish went almost seven minutes without a basket.  Georgetown took a 38-25 lead into the break.  Notre Dame wasn’t able to get back into the game in the second half, and there 1-of-10 start from the field in the second didn’t help matters much.

No.5 Georgetown returns to action on ‘Big Monday’ against long-time rival Syracuse.  Notre Dame will have a full week off to prepare for Villanova next Saturday, Jan.26th.

No.25 Villanova bests Syracuse in the Carrier Dome

Anytime you’re able to pick up a win in the Big East, let alone on the road in place like the Carrier Dome, it’s a tremendous feeling, a feeling Villanova was able to experience first hand on Saturday.

Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcat attack and No.25 Villanova took full advantage of the foul trouble Syracuse found themselves in, picking up the road win 81-71.  Syracuse had four players with at least four fouls, with Scoop Jardine and Donte Greene fouling out for the Orange.

Villanova (13-3, 3-2) rebounded in the second half from a disappointing effort in the first half, shooting just 29 percent.  Greene picked up his fourth foul not even three minutes to start the second and then Arinze Onuaku got his fourth with just over 12 minutes to go.  The Wildcats wiped out a five point deficit at the half, trailing 35-30. 

Villanova went up 57-53 with just over 10 minutes to play when Greene and Onuaku checked back in, giving Syracuse (13-6, 3-3) a momentum boost with eight points between the two.  The warm, fuzzy feeling for the Orange didn’t last long, as Greene fouled out with about five and a half minutes left.  Onuaku pulled Syracuse to within three, 66-63, but Corey Fisher canned a 3-pointer and then Reynolds was fouled on a 3-point attempt and sunk all three free throws.  Villanova led 72-63 with three and a half left and the Orange couldn’t mount one final charge. 

Losing Greene killed any momentum or ideas of a comeback by Syracuse and a lot of credit goes to head coach Jay Wright and Villanova.  His players hung tough after a difficult first half, with the home crowd feverishly into it and they battled back down the stretch and came up with some tremendous baskets and key execution on offense in crunch time.

Fisher added 15 for Villanova and Cunningham chipped in with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.  Villanova’s bench outscored Syracuse 31-5.  Losing one player is very tough for Syracuse, but then losing Onuaku killed Syracuse.  Freshman Jonny Flynn led Syracuse in scoring with 23 points.  Greene finished with 12 and Onuaku added 10 points and 10 rebounds before both players fouled out. 

No.25 Villanova will travel to Rutgers on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.  Syracuse will face off against rival Georgetown on Big Monday at 7 p.m.

Cincinnati beats second ranked opponent in as many weeks, knocking off No.15 Pittsburgh

Last Saturday, Cincinnati took a bite out Villanova, this week, it was the same story, just a different chapter.  This Saturday, Pittsburgh bit the dust at the hands of Cincinnati as the Bearcats upset No.15 Pittsburgh 62-59.

With things tied at 40, Cincinnati (9-9, 4-2) used a late 13-0 run with just over 4 minutes to play and was able to stave off a late rally by Pittsburgh (15-3, 3-2).  The Panthers had one final attempt to send the contest to overtime, but Keith Benjamin’s 3-point attempt was blocked with three seconds to play.  Benjamin, with Pittsburgh already depleted by injuries, suffered a cut on his hand and needed stitches.  He left the game in the first half, but returned in the second half for Pitt.  Sam Young led the way for Pittsburgh with 24 points and nine rebounds.  Benjamin was the only other Panther in double figures, finishing with 11.  Freshman DaJuan Blair finished with only four points and three rebounds and was hampered by foul trouble in the second half.  Tyrell Biggs, who replaced Blair, also found himself in foul trouble, and was limited to six points off the bench.

Deonta Vaughn led Cincinnati with 14 points.  Adam Hyrcaniuk finished with 12 points and team high seven rebounds and Rashad Bishop added 11.  The Panthers shot just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, and led by one at the break, 28-27.  The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Panthers.

With the victory, Cincinnati has moved into a three-way tie for second place in the Big East at 4-2.  DePaul and West Virginia are also 4-2.  The Bearcats have won three of their last four games.

Pittsburgh returns to action on Wednesday night at St. John’s at 7 p.m., while Cincinnati also returns to the hardwood on Wednesday night with a home contest against Connecticut at 7:30 p.m.

The first game on Big Monday was just that for No.15 Pittsburgh - big.  The backcourt tag team of Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin scored 18 points apiece to help the Panthers defeat No.5 Georgetown 69-60 on Monday night.

Pittsburgh (15-2, 3-1) extended their home winning streak to 13 games, and handed Georgetown (13-2, 3-1) their first conference loss.  Despite the losses to Levance Fields and Mike Cook, the Panthers are 4-1 without Fields in the lineup.  Freshman DeJuan Blair didn’t cower or shy away from 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert, getting 15 points and nine rebounds against the Georgetown big man.  In their two wins over top 10 teams this season, Duke and now Georgetown, Blair hasn’t shone the look of just a freshman, rather a dominant upperclassman, going for 30 points and 29 boards in the two contests.

Jonathan Wallace led Georgetown with 14 points.  Hibbert had the game’s only double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.  The Hoyas bench outscored the Panthers 21-7, but it was the trio of DaJuan Summers, Jessie Sapp and Austin Freeman that didn’t get things done for the fifth-ranked Hoyas.  The trio combined for just 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting.  Summers was held scoreless in the game and miss all seven shots he took.

After a see-saw, physical first half with Pittsburgh leading by just one, 27-26, Georgetown came out flat and slow, as the Panthers went on a 15-4 spurt to lead 42-30, with Ramon and Benjamin leading the charge on back-to-back 3-pointers.  The Hoyas responded with an 8-0 run, getting to within three at 47-44, but Pittsburgh answered back, going up by eight with eight and a half minutes to play, 52-44.

Georgetown never led against Pittsburgh in the game, and the rebounding factor once again hindered Georgetown.  Against a much smaller Pittsburgh team, the Panthers were able to outrebound the Hoyas 37-33.  Georgetown’s inability to make a late push in the game was due largely to their severe ineffectiveness from 3-point range, shooting just 3-of-20 from downtown.  The Hoyas had entered the night as the best shooting team from the field in the country at 51.6 percent, but a lot of credit goes the Pittsburgh on the defense end, holding Georgetown to just over 44 percent in the game.

You can’t say enough good things about the way head coach Jamie Dixon has this Pittsburgh team playing, down to just nine players due to the injuries to Fields and Cook.  No excuses coming from Pitt, they’re just doing the work and doing whatever it takes to pull out wins.  They wanted, and maybe even needed, this one more than the Hoyas, as Pittsburgh extracted some revenge from the blowout loss they suffered nearly a year ago to Georgetown in the Big East Championship Game 65-42.  Both teams are now in a five-way tie atop the Big East standings at 3-1, with Marquette, Cincinnati and DePaul all at 3-1 as well.

No.15 Pittsburgh will be off until this coming Saturday when they travel to Cincinnati to face off against the Bearcats at 4 p.m.  No.5 Georgetown will also have off until Saturday when they return  home to face Notre Dame at noon.

Men’s Basketball Players of the Week honors were handed out on Monday, Jan.14th, as Deonta Vaughn was named Big East Player of the Week and DeJuan Blair was named Big East Rookie of the Week.

Vaughn helped Cincinnati to a 2-0 week for the Bearcats during games through Jan.13th.  Vaughn started the week dropping 29 points in a win over Syracuse 74-66 on Wednesday, Jan.9th, then followed up with a 25-point outing in an upset victory over Villanova this past Saturday 69-66.  Vaughn is averaging just under 23 points per game in the Big East action this season.

Freshman DeJuan Blair was named Big East Rookie of the Week for the third time this year after helping Pittsburgh to a 2-0 record as well this week.  Blair scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the 79-66 win over South Florida on Wednesday, Jan.9th, then dropped 20 points and pulled down 14 boards in the win over Seton Hall this past Saturday.  Blair shot close to 60 percent in both victories this week (58.8 percent) and he’s nearly averaging a double-double in his first season for Pittsburgh, scoring 12.2 points and grabbing 9.9 rebounds per game.

Sam Young and DeJuan Blair helped lead the offense for Pittsburgh, as the Panthers defeated Seton Hall on Saturday 84-70 in Big East play, keeping the Pirates winless in conference play.

Young scored a game-high 28 points and the freshman Blair added 20 points and snared 14 rebounds in the win.  Pittsburgh (14-2, 2-1) did not trail at all in the game, and they finally were able to pull away from the pesky Pirates after senior center Brian Liang injured his hip.

Liang injured his right hip early in the second half after a collision with Young.  Young’s elbow caught Liang on the hip, forcing the center to head into the locker room.  With Liang, the Pirates fell behind by 10, 45-35 after trailing 33-30 at halftime.  Liang had 15 points in the first half, but once he returned, wasn’t the same player.  In his absence, the Pirates simply could not find a way to get baskets without their leading scorer.  Eugene Harvey led Seton Hall (10-6, 0-3) with 25 points and Jamar Nutter added 10 points in a team-high 36 minutes.  The Pirates shot just 34.8 percent from the field;  the 3-point line was highly unkind for Seton Hall, nailing just 5-of-23 attempts for 21 percent.

Pittsburgh shot 49 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range.  The backcourt tandem of Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin combined for 26 points and 14 of Pittsburgh’s 22 assists.  The Panthers are 3-1 without injured point guard Levance Fields and 3-2 without Mike Cook.

Despite only nine scholarship players due to the injuries, Pittsburgh has emerged as one the premier teams in the conference, as they’ve suffered only two losses.  The Panthers will put their 12-game home winning streak on the line when they host No.5 Georgetown in a much anticipated ‘Big Monday’ match-up. 

For Seton Hall, they’ve arguably had the toughest start to their Big East schedule.  They’ve lost to UConn, Marquette, and Pittsburgh.  Both losses to Pitt and Marquette were on the road and both were ranked inside the Top 25.  The Pirates will look for their first Big East win on Thursday when they host South Florida at 7:30 p.m.