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.

Coming down the home stretch during Rivalry Week, entering Big East play on Saturday, Georgetown, Notre Dame and UConn all went 2-0 dating back to last Saturday, Feb.2nd.  For the all the success the previously mentioned teams are having, DePaul, Villanova and Seton Hall posted goose eggs in the win column.

Beasts of the Big East

#6 Georgetown- defeated Seton Hall last Saturday 73-61, then followed up with a 10-point win against South Florida on Tuesday, 63-53.  While the Hoyas needed to rally from 10 points down, they pulled away late for the win and remain on top of the Big East standings at 9-1.

#22 Notre Dame.  Hot on the heels of the Hoyas are the Irish, who matched Georgetown by going 2-0 as well.  With wins over DePaul last Saturday 89-80 and mauling Seton Hall on Wednesday 95-69, the Irish remain just one game behind Georgetown in second place in the Big East at 7-2.

UConn - No team is hotter in the Big East right now.  The Huskies pulled out a tough, physical match up a week ago against Pitt, 60-53, and followed up one hard nosed win with another, knocking off arch rival Syracuse on Wednesday 63-61.  In their two wins this week, they’ve only surrendered an average of 57 points per game, and find themselves inside the Top 25 polls, riding a five game win streak and third in the Big East.

Iron unkind

DePaul- They played Notre Dame close, losing 89-80, but close doesn’t cut the mustard in the Big East.  The Blue Demons suffered their second straight loss this week on Tuesday, losing 79-65 to Providence.  DePaul has lost lost four straight, three on the road, since winning consecutive games over Rutgers and Florida Gulf Coast.

Seton Hall- After winning five in a row, the Pirates have had a power outage this week.  Thought they lost to the best two teams in the Big East ( 73-61 loss to Georgetown, 95-69 loss to Notre Dame), Seton Hall has only averaged 65 points in the two losses.

Villanova-Since starting 13-3, the Wildcats have lost five straight and went 0-2 this week, losing to Syracuse last weekend and getting hammered against Big Five rival St. Joe’s on Monday, 77-55.  An alarming stat this week for Villanova: they’ve given up an average of 82 points in both losses, while only scoring an average of 64.

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.

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.

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.

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.

No.15 Marquette won their 11th straight home game on Tuesday night with a 61-56 win over visiting Seton Hall.  Marquette (12-2, 2-1) was coming off a difficult loss this past weekend at the hands of West Virginia, but once again the Golden Eagles had their fare share of difficulties generating and sustaining offense.  Their backcourt trio of James-McNeal-Matthews combined to shoot 33 percent and the Golden Eagles finished the night shooting just under 33 percent as a team.

Jerel McNeal led Marquette with 14 points and seven rebounds and forward Dan Fitzgerald had 12 points off the bench on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.  Depth played a factor in Marquette’s ability to pull this one out, with the Golden Eagles finishing with 22 bench points to just nine from Seton Hall.  Fitzgerald’s fourth and final 3-pointer was the final dagger for the Pirates.  Fitzgerald drained a three with less than 10 seconds left, capping the win for Marquette.

This one didn’t turn into a track meet, rather a hard-fought defensive struggle in which Marquette played better defense down the stretch than Seton Hall.  Neither team shot the ball particularly well; Seton Hall finished the night shooting 36 percent and Marquette shot 32.8 percent.  Before Tuesday night’s contest, both squads came into the game averaging above 80 points per game.

Eugene Harvey led Seton Hall (10-5, 0-2) with 18 points and Brian Laing finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.  Both players combined for 11 of Seton Hall’s 21 field goals.  Jamar Nutter finished with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting.  All eight shots Nutter took from beyond the arc.  The 3-point shot wasn’t kind to Seton Hall on this night, as the Pirates shot 3-of-18 from 3-point range (16.7 percent).  Seton Hall starters were 0-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Both teams tooth-and-nail during the final six minutes of play.  Marquette finally took the lead down the stretch, but didn’t take more than a four point lead until Fitzgerald’s final 3-pointer allowed Marquette to win by six.  Seton Hall hurt themselves at the line, missing four free throws down the stretch, while Marquette converted on 6-of-9 attempts at the line.

Seton Hall controlled things for almost the entire game, forcing Marquette to play catch-up and come from behind.  The Pirates led in the first half 22-9 at one stretch and Marquette was completely caught on their heels.  Seton Hall led at halftime 31-24.  Marquette’s first lead since the first few moments of the game, came at 49-47 with less than six minutes to go; Marquette never trailed again in the game.

The win for Marquette may have been costly.  Guard Dominic James left the game with under six minutes to play after an intentional foul by Nutter sent James to the floor.  James suffered a sprained right wrist, and his availability for the game against Notre Dame this weekend is uncertain.  James finished the game with 13 points.

Marquette will host one of the hottest teams in the Big East, in the form on Notre Dame on Saturday at 2 p.m.  Seton Hall will aim for their first conference win on Saturday when they travel to Pittsburgh at 2 p.m.