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.

Notre Dame was able to outlast Providence in overtime 81-74 on Thursday night, behind  31 points and 14 rebounds from Luke Harangody.  Ryan Ayers picked up the slack with 10 points, as well as Tory Jackson, who added 14.  Jackson and Ayers elevated the Irish offense without Kyle McAlarney and Rob Kurz, who were 5-of-19 combined shooting for 19 points.

Despite five players in double figures, with Dwain Williams leading the way with 20, Providence lost this one at the free throw line.  The Friars were just 6-of-16 from the line, with center Ray Hall struggling the most, going 2-of-10 from the line.  Hall had a chance to put Providence up four with a minute left but bricked a one-and-one chance from the line.  After a couple Irish misses, Providence appeared poised to win, but Harangody came up with a huge steal from Geoff McDermott and Harangody sunk both from the line to tie the game up at 61, forcing overtime.

The Irish outscored Providence 20-13 in the overtime frame, using a timely 14-5 run in the overtime session to pull away with the victory.  Providence had this one, and essentially beat themselves with their poor free throw shooting.  They outrebounded Notre Dame 48-38 and surprisingly with the prescence of Harangody, dominated the paint, outscoring Notre Dame 36-26.  However, in the Big East, on the road, 6 free throws out of 16 won’t get it done.

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.

Seton Hall was led by center Brian Laing who finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Jamar Nutter added 19 as Seton Hall won for the third straight game 88-75 over Providence.  The win also marks the first time in two years on the road against a Big East foe.

Weyinmi Efejuku had a game-high 23 points and Jeff Xavier had 16 for Providence (12-6, 3-3), but couldn’t prevent Providence from taking their first loss at home this season (8-1).  The loss also ends the Friars’ 3-game winning streak.

Seton Hall (13-6, 3-3)  trailed 26-11 in the first half after connecting on just 3 of 11 shots, until Providence came roaring back to close out the first half on a 26-12 run. Providence clung to a 38-37 halftime lead.

The Pirates used another run, 21-6, over a six minute span to balloon the lead to 70-54 and led the rest of the second half, shooting 57.1 percent in the second 20-minute frame.  Seton Hall made 24-of-27 free throws and shot 50 percent from 3-point range (8-of-16).  Providence, however, struggled badly from beyond the arc, hitting on just 6-of-23 attempts and missed 11 free throws (23-of-35).

Seton Hall returns to the Prudential Center on Sunday at noon against Cincinnati.  Providence will also return to action on Sunday when they visit Syracuse at 2 p.m.

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.

Geoff McDermott led four Friars in double figures, scoring a game-high 24 points to lead Providence over South Florida 86-70 on Saturday.  Team leading scorer Jeff Xavier and Dwayne Williams both had 16 points and Randall Hanke added 10.  Providence (11-5, 2-2) won their second straight conference game after losing their first two, and are a perfect 8-0 at home.  South Florida (10-7, 1-3) has dropped three games in a row, all conference losses.

Providence shot the ball well, especially from beyond the arc, shooting 13-of-21 from 3-point range, connecting on eight in the first half.  Williams led the Friars with five three’s.  Providence led comfortably at the half, 43-31 and blew the game open with a 17-8 run in a seven minute spurt in the second half and the Bulls never came close to threatening.

Kentrell Gransberry led South Florida with 22 points and collected six rebounds, while Chris Howard had 16 points and Dominque Jones added 10 points.

Next up for Providence, a road tilt on Thursday night against the UConn Huskies at 7 p.m.  South Florida also returns to action Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Seton Hall

Providence thumped Rutgers on Wednesday night 76-50, keeping the Scarlet Knights winless in Big East play. Despite a see-saw first half that featured numerous lead changes with Providence leading by one at the break, 35-34, Rutgers (8-8, 0-3) went stone cold from the field in the second half, hitting on only 2-of-20 field goal attempts (10 percent shooting).  The Scarlet Knights shot just 32 percent for the game, while turning the ball over 18 times.  Providence manhandled Rutgers on the glass, 43-27, and mauled the Scarlet Knights in points in the paint, 44-14.

Providence (10-5, 1-2) notched their first win in Big East play behind 24 points from Brian McKenzie.  Jeff Xavier added 11 points and Randall Hanke finished with 12 points.  J.R. Inman led Rutgers with 11 points and Anthony Farmer was the only other Scarlet Knight in double figures with 10.  At one stretch, Rutgers went 12 minutes without a field goal during their dreadful second half.

Providence will aim for their second straight conference win on Saturday afternoon when they host South Florida at 4 p.m., and Rutgers will host Louisville on Sunday at noon.

No let down for the Blue Demons coming off their upset win over No.16 Villanova on Thursday, as DePaul beat Providence on Saturday night 70-65.  Despite only eight points from their leading scorer Draelon Burns, DePaul (6-7, 2-0) won their their second straight game over a Big East opponent, marking the first time in their history they have won their first two conference games.

Dar Tucker led DePaul with 15 points and Will Walker added 13.  Walker was a huge factor down the stretch, helping DePaul to the win.  Walker hit a three-pointer to put the Blue Demons up 67-60 with less than three minutes to go.  Then Walker sealed the deal, stealing an inbounds pass and went the all the way to rack, only to have his layup attempt goaltended with one second to play.

Providence (9-5, 0-2) made a good game of things, cutting their 13-point deficit at halftime (37-24) to five points after a 10-3 run got the Friars back in it early in the second half.  With DePaul lagging and in need of boost, Tucker drained two 3-pointers and threw down a slam dunk to get the juices flowing again for the Blue Demons.  Providence refused to fold, cutting the DePaul lead to three on two different occasions, 60-57 and then 68-65 with a minute to go.  Providence, however, couldn’t get any closer.

The Friars had a chance to tie the game at 68 twice in the final 10 seconds.  After a Tucker miss, Providence couldn’t connect on a 3-point attempt, but got another chance after Tucker missed a free-throw.  Off the inbounds, however, Walker stole the ball and had his layup goaltended at the other end to seal the victory.

Weyinmi Efejuku had a game-high 20 points and Jeff Xavier added 15 points for the Friars, who remain winless in conference play.  Providence will be idle until Wednesday night when they host Rutgers at 7:30 p.m.  DePaul will square off against Georgetown on Tuesday night at 9 p.m.

Too much speed, a superior bench and Dominic James spelled an easy victory for No. 11 Marquette over Providence 96-67  in the Big East opener for both teams on Thursday night.  The Golden Eagles won their seventh straight, snapping Providence’s four-game losing streak in the process.  Marquette improves to 11-1, while Providence goes to 9-4.

Marquette was superior in every aspect of the game.  They won the rebounding edge 37-23.  Their bench came up huge, outscoring Providence’s bench 36-17.  The usual names for Marquette shined through in the form of Dominic James, Lazar Hayward, and Wesley Matthews, while the typical names for Providence,  Geoff McDermott and  Weyinmi Efejuku, struggled all evening.

James, Hayward, and Matthews avenged their 74-59 opening loss in conference play a year ago to Providence.  The trio combined for 54 points, with James leading the way scoring 21 points.  As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 88 percent from the free throw line, and 53 percent from the field.

For Providence, it was a difficult night from the field and the line.  Efejuku and McDermott combined for only 16 points, with Jeff Xavier and Brian McKenzie carrying the bulk of the offensive load.  McKenzie scored a team high 21 points and Xavier added 11.  The Friars missed 10 free throws (17-27), shooting only 63 percent from the line.

A telling stat on this night for why the Friars were on the wrong side of the tracks: Providence managed just 14 defensive rebounds, whereas Marquette snared 14 offensive rebounds.  The Golden Eagles stormed the glass all evening, beating up Providence with their superior physical play, and the Friars never came close to matching the intensity and toughness of Marquette. 

Marquette held a 41-32 halftime edge, but the Golden Eagles busted things wide open, using a 22-5 run to go up 63-37, essentially put this one in the books with 14 minutes to play.  Providence was unable to get any closer than 20 points for the duration of the second half.

Marquette will travel to Morgantown this Sunday at 2 p.m. when they meet West Virginia, while Providence will look to rebound from the loss when they visit DePaul on Saturday night at 8 p.m.