Big East Sports Blog

 No.17 UConn 84  No.18 Notre Dame 76

A.J. Price left Notre Dame with more questions than answers after Wednesday night, as Price led No.17 UConn past No.18 Notre Dame 84-76 in the match up of the week in the Big East.  The Huskies survived another dominating performance by Irish forward Luke Harangody, who had 32 points and 16 rebounds in the game.

Price dished out nine assists to go along with his 26 points, and he connected on four 3-pointers and shot 10-of-19 from the field.  Jeff Adrien added 13 points and nine boards and Craig Austie added 14, but it was Austrie at the defensive end matched up against Irish guard Kyle McAlarney that made the difference.  McAlarney was held to just 12 points this time around, after buring UConn (19-5, 8-3) for 32 in the first meeting earlier this season.  The Irish were unable to get other players on track aside from Harangody and head coach Mike Brey couldn’t find someone to step up in place of McAlarney.  UConn’s defense in the second half held Notre (18-5, 8-3) Dame to 33 percent shooting

 South Florida 89  Syracuse 78

As impressive as UConn’s victory over Notre Dame was, South Florida stole the show on Wednesday night, shocking Syracuse 89-78 behind the duo of Kentrell Gransberry and Dominique Jones.  Gransberry had 23 and nine rebounds and Jones scored a game-high 29 points.  South Florida (11-15, 2-11)blew a 16-point to DePaul in their last contest, but used a 20-1 run down the stretch to run away from the Orange.  Donte Greene led Syracuse (17-9, 7-6) with 17 points and Jonny Flynn added 16.  Flynn has now logged 40 minutes in each of the last six games.

 Cincinnati 60 St. John’s 43

Cincinnati surpassed their win total from a year ago with a 60-43 win over St. John’s.  John Williamson led the Bearcats with 25 points and 11 rebounds.  Cincinnati (12-12, 7-5) held St John’s a terrible night shooting, making just 12 field goals the entire game, five of which came from beyond the arc.  The Red Storm (10-14, 4-9) shot just 5-of-22 in the 1st half, and had their three game winning streak snapped in the process.  The Bearcats find themselves currently in the thick of the Big East Tournament picture. 

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

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.

Anything less than a thriller between Georgetown and Syracuse just wouldn’t be Big East basketball, and on Big Monday folks in the Verizon Center and all across the country weren’t disappointed.

Down seven points with five minutes remaining, No.9 Georgetown rallied to force overtime and avoided the upset at the hands of Syracuse, coming away with a 64-62 win.  The familiar names led the way for the Hoyas (15-2, 5-1), in the form of Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace.  Hibbert had 15 points and nine rebounds, including the only made field goal in the overtime session, while Wallace added 15 also. 

But on this night, the hero was backup point guard Jeremiah Rivers for the Hoyas.  Rivers played fantastic defense on Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn, who attempted a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have given the Orange the victory.  Flynn was a man on a mission, playing the entire 45 minutes, while leading Syracuse with 24 points.  His last desperation 3-pointer rimmed out at the buzzer, clinching the win for Georgetown.

Donte Greene chipped in with 15 points, despite going 1-of-13 from the field at one point in the game.  Greene finished the night 5-of-19; Arinze Onuaku added 12 points and 13 rebounds.  Aside from Flynn, Syracuse’s backcourt struggled, with Paul Harris and Scoop Jardine combining for just seven points, despite playing a combined 82 minutes. 

Greene shook off a bad night shooting down the stretch, draining a 3-pointer to put Syracuse up 60-55 with two minutes remaining.  But Hoya guard Jessie Sapp scored five of his 11 points in the final two minutes, connecting on a long 3-pointer and a layup to pull the contest even at 60 with 74 seconds left in the game. 

The overtime frame saw only six points between the two teams and only one basket from the field on a jumper from Hibbert.  The first three minutes of overtime were scoreless from the field, and the only points for either team came from Sapp, by way of the free throw line.  Syracuse just flat out ran out of gas in overtime, going 0-for-6 from the field and making just 2-of-7 free throw attempts.  Onuaku went to the line twice, but missed all four of his attempts.  Hibbert’s jumper put Georgetown up 64-60 with a minute remaining in overtime.

It was the fourth time in almost 10 days Syracuse was in action. The Orange did everything they could to pull off the upset; they outrebounded the Hoyas by 10 and held the Hoyas to just 35 percent shooting in the game.  Still for the Orange, they shot just 36.5 percent and have lost four of their last five.  A little over a year ago, Syracuse defeated Georgetown 72-58 to end the Hoyas’ 11-game win streak.  The Orange have had Georgetown’s number of late, winning seven of the last eight games.

It was impressive the way Georgetown never panicked or tightened up down the stretch, trailing by five with two minutes to go.  Sapp stepped up huge by pulling Georgetown even and Rivers stifled Syracuse’s main offensive threat (Flynn) in the second half and in overtime.  The victory puts Georgetown in sole possession of first place in the Big East standings at 5-1, and they run their home record to a perfect 10-0 so far in 2007-08 season.

No.9 Georgetown will face off against West Virginia on Saturday, while Syracuse will look to regroup Sunday against Providence.

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.

There were two games on the Big East slate on Wednesday night and Syracuse and Villanova both held serve on their home floors, getting wins over Rutgers and DePaul.

Syracuse 81, Rutgers 59

The trio of Donte Greene, Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris helped Syracuse end their two-game skid with a victory over Rutgers 81-59.  Greene, Flynn and Harris accounted for 75 percent of the Syracuse (13-5, 3-2) offense.  The trio scored 61 of Syracuse’s 81 points.  Flynn led all scorers with 24 points, Harris added 18, and Greene finished with 19.  The Orange shot a blistering 60.4 percent while pounding Rutgers on the glass, outrebounding the Scarlet Knights 40-24.  Rutgers (8-10, 0-5) was led by a pair of freshman, Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn.  Chandler had a team-high 16 points and Coburn chipped in with 11 points.  Leading scorer J.R. Inman finished the night with just four points on 2-of-8 shooting. 

Syracuse used a mammoth 17-2 run to lead 31-16 with under four minutes to play in the first half.  The Orange took a 38-22 lead into halftime, and were never threatened in the second half, leading by as many as 32 points.  Rutgers and Seton Hall are the only remaining teams in the Big East without a conference win (Rutgers 0-5, Seton Hall 0-3).  Rutgers will aim for their first conference win at DePaul on  Saturday at 2 p.m., while Syracuse will face off against No.25 Villanova Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome.

#25 Villanova 76, DePaul 69

Villanova remembered the upset victory at the hands of DePaul a few weeks ago on opening night in conference play, losing 84-76 on Jan.3rd.  It was payback time on Wednesday night.  Despite DePaul leading by as much as 16 early in the game and holding the lead through the first 10 minutes of the second half, Villanova stormed back, using a 15-0 run, to fly past DePaul 76-69 on Wednesday night.

Villanova (12-3, 2-2) has face adversity before this season, being down as much as 21 to LSU and rallying for the win, and for whatever reason, something seems to get the Wildcats charged up and energized when they trail by significant double digits.  Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points for Villanova, including the final dagger in the form of a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to put Villanova up 72-66.  Antonio Pena added 17 points and Dante Cunningham finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. 

For every comeback, there is indeed a level of collapsing and complacency by the leading team.  DePaul (7-9, 3-2) helped Villanova jump back into the game by not scoring for more than five and a half minutes.  DePaul led 57-50 with just under 10 minutes to go and Villanova went on their 15-0 run to steal the lead back.  DePaul didn’t end the run until Draelon Burns scored with 4:13 left to go, with the Blue Demons trailing 65-59 after the bucket by Burns.  Burns led DePaul with 27 points and Dar Tucker had 18.  Villanova feasted on DePaul inside, scoring 30 points in the paint and hammering the Blue Demons on the glass, 43-20;  DePaul managed just four offensive boards, while the Wildcats grabbed 14.  The Blue Demons weren’t very balanced on offense, with Burns and Tucker the only two Blue Demons in double figures.  The duo combined for 65 percent of the offense, while the rest of the squad combined for just 24 of their 69 points.

It looked as if DePaul was on their way to making it 2 for 2 over Villanova this year, and this month, but DePaul took their foot off the gas and failed to slam the door shut on Villanova.  DePaul was clearly the better team in the first 30 minutes, but the problem is a full game consists of 40 minutes and DePaul just didn’t play a full, complete ballgame.

#25 Villanova squares off against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome this Saturday at noon, and DePaul will host Rutgers on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The meeting between West Virginia and Syracuse marks the first time ever that Jim Boeheim and Bob Huggins faced off against one another.  Between the two storied head coaches, they’ve collected almost 1,400 wins, but on this afternoon Huggins earned win No. 601 rather easily against Boeheim.

West Virginia held Syracuse to a season-low in points and Alex Ruoff lead the charge for the Mountaineers, as West Virginia blew by Syracuse 81-61 on Sunday afternoon.  Ruoff drained 7-of-10 3-point attempts on the afternoon, finishing with 23 points.

Ruoff led four Mountaineer players in double figures.  Darris Nichols had 17 points and six assists, Joe Alexander and Da’Sean Butler each added 13 points for West Virginia (12-4, 2-2). 

Syracuse (12-5, 2-2) was held to just 61 points, a season low for the Orange.  They were dreadful from the outset, and playing on the road in the Big East, slow starts and poor shooting will kill you.  Syracuse miss-fired on 16 of their first 23 shots, and finished with just seven field goals in the first half.  As if there poor shooting wasn’t bad enough, the Orange turned the ball over a season-high 19 times, including 10 first half turnovers. 

The man-to-man defense for WVU stymied the Orange, and more impressively, WVU was able to keep up their man-to-man pressure throughout the entire game without tiring.  They wore down and wore out Syracuse, who just didn’t compete on this afternoon.  Syracuse missed 10-of-13 3-point attempts, with leading scorer Donte Greene going 2-of-8 from beyond the arc and 3-of-12 overall.  Greene finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Arinze Onuaku led Syracuse with 15 points.

The poor shooting by Syracuse in the first half helped propel West Virginia to a 35-20 halftime lead, and things only got worse for SU.  West Virginia went on a 23-5 run that carried over from the first half to the second half, and before Syracuse knew it, they were in a big hole, down 45-23 with 16 minutes to play.  The closest Syracuse got was within 15 points the entire second half.  The Mountaineers led by as many as 26 with five minutes to play in the ballgame.  Both teams are now tied in the Big East standings at 2-2.

It was the biggest home victory for West Virginia over Syracuse in more than 30 years.  Of their 12 wins this season, they’ve won by an average margin of 14 points, however, they’ve dropped their first two games on the road in the Big East.  West Virginia has now won 14 straight home games, and they’ll aim for 15 in a row at home when they host St. John’s on Thursday night at 7 p.m.  Syracuse has dropped two straight in the Big East, with both losses coming on the road.  The Orange had won their previous six games.  They’ll head back home on Wednesday night when they welcome Rutgers into the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m.

Deonta Vaughn dropped in 29 points to help Cincinnati defeat Syracuse 74-66 on Wednesday night, putting an end to the Orange’s six game winning streak.  20 of Vaughn’s 29 points came in the first half, as Syracuse was only able to muster 23 first half points.  Cincinnati has now won three of their last four games.

Cincinnati (7-8, 2-1) took a 35-23 lead into halftime, using a monstrous 21-4 run to close out first half action.  Before the run, Syracuse (12-4, 2-1) held the lead, 18-14.  Vaughn scored 12 straight points to give Cincy the lead 29-20 during their first-half late run.

Freshman Donte Green scored 25 points and pulled down 12 boards and sophomore Paul Harris added 20 points.  The duo combined for more than half of Syracuse’s point total, while shooting 52 percent.  The rest of the Syracuse squad combined to shoot a miserable 28 percent from the field.  Freshman point guard Jonny Flynn turned in a forgettable night, finishing with nine points on an awful 2-of-15 shooting.

Syracuse started the game off well, jumping out to a 14-5 lead, but a 14-4 spurt by the Bearcats put Cincinnati up 19-18 and the Bearcats never trailed again.  The closest Syracuse got was within six points late in the second half.

Syracuse will be on the road once again this Sunday when they travel to Morgantown to take on West Virginia at 2:30 p.m.  Cincinnati will aim for two in a row when they host Villanova on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Syracuse remained perfect in conference play early this season, improving to 12-3 and 2-0 in Big East action with an 89-77 win over South Florida on Saturday.  The Orange had five players in double figures, led by Donte Greene with a team-high 21 points.  Double-doubles from Paul Harris Arinze Onuaku also helped Syracuse past South Florida.

Harris had 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Onuaku added 16 points and 12 boards.  Freshman point guard Jonny Flynn chipped in with 12 points and Scoop Jardine finished with 14 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.  The Orange have now won six straight games.

South Florida (10-5, 1-1) trailed at halftime 47-33, but a quick 9-2 spurt in the first two minutes to begin the second half brought the Bulls within 9, 49-40.  Wisely Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim called timeout and made a defensive adjustment, getting the Orange out of their traditional 2-3 zone defense and switched to man-to-man. 

The move worked like a charm, effectively putting an abrupt end to South Florida’s run.  Syracuse went on a run of their own, outscoring South Florida 12-2 over the next five and a half minutes, and the Bulls were held without a basket from the field during that stretch.  South Florida’s only points during the run were from the foul line, and the Bulls finally made a field goal with just under 13 minutes to play.

The Bulls only trailed by one, 26-25 in the first half of play but over the final eight and a half minutes of the first half, Syracuse outscored South Florida 21-8, taking a 14-point lead into halftime.  South Florida didn’t help themselves by only shooting 61.9 percent from the line and they were pounded on the glass by the Orange, 53-36.

Dominique Jones led South Florida with 23 points and Chris Howard had 19.  Kentrell Gransberry added a double-double, scoring 14 and pulling down 13 boards.  South Florida is still searching for their first road win in the Big East since they joined the conference three years ago.

Syracuse will travel to Cincinnati on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and South Florida will also be back on the hardwood on Wednesday when they return home to take on Pittsburgh at 7:30 p.m.

Syracuse picked up their fifth win in a row on Wednesday night with a 76-70 victory over St. John’s in the Big East opening game for both squads.  The Orange (11-3, 1-0) handed the Red Storm (6-6, 0-1) their third loss in four games behind Arinze Onuaku and Donte Greene. 

Onuaku led the Orange with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Greene added 22 points, 17 coming in the first half.  Jonny Flynn chipped in with 14 points and along with Paul Harris and Scoop Jardine, those three combined for all 18 of Syracuse’s assists.

Syracuse held St. John’s to 38.7 percent shooting.  The Red Storm were led by freshman Justin Burrell, who scored 21 points and grabbed 12 boards.  Foul trouble plagued Anthony Mason Jr. all night and was held to just 10 points  The Red Storm were able to hang around for most of the game, refusing to allow Syracuse to pull away.  But the Orange built an 11-point lead with three minutes to play in the game, and the Red Storm were unable to mount one final push. 

Syracuse will get their first stiff test in conference play when they host South Florida on Saturday at noon.  St. John’s will look to end their recent slide against Cincinnati on Saturday night at 6 p.m.