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.

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

Mountaineers edge Thundering Herd 66-64

Da’Sean Butler’s jumper in the lane with just under 6 seconds to play propelled West Virginia past Marshall 66-64 on Wednesday night.  Butler led the Mountaineers with 18 points and leading scorer Alex Ruoff turned in a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Darris Nichols finished with 10 points.

Mark Dorris and Darryl Merthie each had 20 points for Marshall (10-7), the only Thundering Herd players to score in double figures. 

The Mountaineers (15-4) allowed Marshall to hang around the final seven minutes of the game by shooting just 5-of-14 from the free throw line.  The Thundering Herd cut deficits of 12 and 5 down the stretch.  Merthie was fouled on a 3-point attempt by West Virginia forward Joe Flowers with 31 seconds left; Merthie sunk all 3 free throws to tie the game at 64.  West Virginia returns to conference play Saturday night at 7 p.m. against No.9 Georgetown.

Scarlet Knights get 1st Big East win with upset over Wildcats

The guard tandem of Mike Coburn and Anthony Farmer dropped in 22 points apiece to lead Rutgers to an upset victory over No.18 Villanova 80-68 on Wednesday night.  Rutgers entered the game 0-6 in conference play in the ‘07-’08 campaign and hadn’t beat a ranked team in more than two years, their last win coming on Jan.18th, 2006 against then-No.22 Louisville 65-56.

Freshman Malcolm Grant led Villanova (13-4, 3-3) with 23 points, including a stretch of 17 straight late in the second half, as he single-handedly tried to keep the Wildcats in the game.  Scottie Reynolds was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 16, but struggled terribly from the field, shooting 5-of-19 and missing on 7-of-8 3-point attempts.

Once again, Villanova was handcuffed by a poor start, as Rutgers (9-11, 1-6) jumped all over the Wildcats 16-2 behind a frenzied home crowd at the RAC (Rutgers Athletic Center).  Villanova turned the ball over a season-high 19 times and their 36.7 percent shooting didn’t help their cause either.  Rutgers, meanwhile, shot an even 50 percent from the field.  The Scarlet Knights entered the night dead last in shooting percentage in the Big East, but you couldn’t tell on this night.  They opened the game draining eight of their first 10 shots and shot 64 percent in the first half.  Villanova began the second half down 40-32, and preceded to go scoreless from the field for almost 12 minutes.

No.18 Villanova will look to rebound Saturday afternoon back at The Pavilion against visiting Notre Dame, while Rutgers will aim for their 2nd straight conference win against No.17 Pittsburgh.

Huskies hand Golden Eagles 2nd straight loss

Both UConn and No.13 Marquette were coming off losses last Thursday, to Providence and Louisville respectively.  On Sunday, UConn was determined to rebound from the loss at the expense of Marquette.  Connecticut dominated Marquette in Storrs, 89-73, handing the Golden Eagles their 2nd straight double-digit defeat in the Big East on Sunday.

A.J. Price led five Connecticut (12-5, 3-3) players in double figures, with 17 points and eight assists.  Craig Austrie and Jeff Adrien added 15 each, and Hasheem Thabeet turned in a good afternoon with 15 points, seven rebounds and six blocks.  As a team, UConn recorded 10 blocks in the game.

No.13 Marquette (13-4, 3-3) suffered their 2nd straight double-digit defeat on the road, and the Golden Eagles were held to just 40 percent shooting.  Lazar Hayward paced Marquette with 14 points and Wesley Mattews added 13.  In the loss last Thursday to Louisville, Marquette shot only 30 percent from the field and missed all 12 3-point attempts.  The backcourt duo of Jerel McNeal and Dominic James each added nine points apiece on a combined 7-of-20 shooting.

UConn was impressive from the free-throw line, sinking 33-of-39 attempts, with Marquette got to the line just 18 times, connect on 11.  The Huskies led 39-24 at the half, and went on a 12-5 early run in the second half to balloon their lead to 51-29, as the Golden Eagles missed on seven of their first nine shots to open the second half.  UConn’s largest lead of the game was 67-38 with nine and a half to play.

Connecticut will travel to Cincinnati on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., while Marquette will have five days off to regroup.  They’ll return to action on Saturday against DePaul.

Mountaineers use big 2nd half to storm past Bulls

Four players scored in double figures for West Virginia, as the Mountaineers picked up a 69-52 road win against South Florida on Sunday afternoon.

West Virginia (14-4, 4-2) was powered by Da’Sean Butler and Darris Nichols, who each finished with 15 points; Butler added 12 rebounds.  Alex Ruoff added 14 and Joe Mazzulla had 11.  Despite shooting only 29.6 percent in the first half, the Mountaineers picked their game up in the second, shooting 48 percent and dropping in 43 second-half points.

Kentrell Gransberry led South Florida (10-9, 1-5) once again, pouring in 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds.  Gransberry, however, had a day to forget at the free-throw line, going 2-of-11 from the charity stripe.  As a team, South Florida was just 4-of-15 from the line.  The Bulls also struggled from beyond the arc, going 4-of-19, including shooting 2-of-12 in the second half.

West Virginia, which has won three in a row, will host Marshall on Wednesday at 8 p.m.  South Florida, which has lost five straight and five of six Big East Conference games, will try to end their five-game slide on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against visiting Louisville.

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.

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.

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.

Marquette should have expected the unexpected when they ventured into Morgantown, but then again can you blame Marquette and head coach Tom Crean for being taken by suprise?  After all Huggins used a defensive scheme he’s never instituted before.  The gamble payed big dividends.

West Virginia abandoned their man-to-man defense and used a triangle-and-2 scheme to surprise and defeat No.10 Marquette 79-64 on Sunday afternoon.  The Mountaineers (11-3, 1-1) won their 13th straight home game and sixth straight Big East opener, while the loss ends a seven game winning streak for Marquette (11-2, 1-1).

The Mountaineers were able to avoid an 0-2 start in the Big East behind the tandem of Alex Ruoff and Joe Alexander.  Both players scored 19 points apiece and combined for eight 3-pointers against the Golden Eagles.  The dominant backcourt of Dominic James and Jerel McNeal didn’t have it on Sunday afternoon, with duo combining for only 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting.  Lazard Hayward and Wesley Matthews led Marquette with each scoring 13 points.  As James and McNeal go, so will Marquette, and unfortunately, the tandem couldn’t get into a rhythm or flow offensively, and neither could the Golden Eagles.

West Virginia’s defense caused havoc within the first 10 minutes of the game, causing nine Marquette turnovers that allowed West Virginia to go up 21-11 early.  Marquette settled down and countered with a 12-0 run to go up 23-21 with four and a half minutes to play in the first half.  After a see-saw first 20 minutes, West Virginia led at the break 29-28.

The Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run in the first few minutes of the second half to lead 43-40, but West Virginia again countered, going on an 11-2 run to lead 51-46.  Marquette couldn’t match the energy or tenacity, as the home crowd got into it and behind West Virginia, and the Mountaineers pulled away, leading by as many as 17 near the end of the game.  West Virginia nailed an impressive 13 straight free throws over the final two minutes of play get the victory.  The Mountaineers also held the rebounding edge, 38-26.

The loss marks the first time since Nov.21st Marquette has suffered a loss.  Their 64 point effort is the lowest point total of the season for the Golden Eagles.  No.10 Marquette will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday night when they host Seton Hall at 9 p.m.  West Virginia will head to Louisville to take on the Cardinals on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Apologies go out to Butch Jones, Doc Holliday, Terry Bowden and Jimbo Fischer.  Your interest was both flattering and appreciated.  But West Virginia found their man to replace former head coach Rich Rodriguez.  In fact, they never really had to look far to find him.

The Mountaineers removed the interim tag and promoted Bill Stewart to head football coach just hours after West Virginia convincingly destroyed Oklahoma 48-28 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday night.

Stewart was named the interim head coach on Dec.16th when then head coach Rich Rodriguez took the same position at Michigan.  Several candidates immediately were interested in the vacant job, including a pair of West Virginia natives, Central Michigan coach Butch Jones and former Auburn coach Terry Bowden. 

A lesson to be learned from all of this, for all coaches in any sport: player support means everything.  If the players are willing to back you, stand behind you and go out there, suit up and lay it all on the line, that’s the highest reward.  It helped to have star quarterback Pat White backing him.  During the post-game press conference, White immediately began lobbying for Stewart to take over.  When White spoke,  Athletic director Ed Pastilong listened.

Stewart was the head coach at VMI from 1994-96, going 8-25 in three seasons.  Stewart has also had stops as an assistant coach at North Carolina, Arizona State, Air Force, Salem College, William & Mary, Navy, and Marshall.

This season, Stewart was the tight ends and fullbacks coach, as well as special teams coordinator.  Stewart arrived in Morgantown in 2000 after he spent a couple seasons in CFL (Canadian Football League) as an offensive coordinator.

The departure of Rich Rodriguez was supposed to be the final death blow for West Virginia leading into the Fiesta Bowl.  They lost the Backyard Brawl, the chance to play in the BCS title game, and then Rodriguez bolted for Big Blue.  The Mountaineers weren’t supposed to contend with Oklahoma, let alone beat them soundly. 

Hats off and congrats to Stewart.  He got this team back to the level of football they were playing B.P. (before Pittsburgh).  You can’t say enough about the preparation Stewart put into this game, and you could clearly tell West Virginia had something to prove, something to play for: pride, respect, and Bill Stewart.