BIG EAST PATH TO 2010 NCAA FINAL FOUR: GEORGETOWN
The lone Big East representative in the Midwest Region of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is the Georgetown Hoyas coached by John Thompson III. Fresh off a run to the 2010 Big East Tournamanet championship game the Hoyas grab the No. 3 seed in the Midwest and will take on the MAC conference tournament champion Ohio Bobcats Thursday night in the Dunkin’ Donuts center in Providence (RI). It was an up and down regular season for Georgetown as they finished 10-8 in the Big East. In recent years Providence (2009) and Syracuse (2007) won 10 Big East conference games and did not... [Read more.]
BREAKING DOWN BIG EAST DANCE OPPONENTS: OLD DOMINION
by RAY MERNAGH #11 vs. #6 Notre Dame, (New Orleans, LA), 12:25 PM. The Monarchs, an #11 seed with a 26-8 record, are very good. Notre Dame is no doubt concerned because of all the matchups they could’ve gotten, ODU is quite possibly the worst for the Irish’s new ball control style in the entire tournament. ODU averages 67.5 points a game and holds opponents to 57.1. The CAA is a league that rivals the A-10 a lot of years. So Notre Dame’s style is kind of ODU’s style, except ODU has been doing it a lot longer I can feel your skepticism — “who have they beaten... [Read more.]
NEW HEIGHTS AAU RECRUITING NOTEBOOK
Jermaine Sanders, Corey Edwards could keep New Heights AAU to Big East/D-1 pipeline flowing by JEFF BORZELLO Branden Frazier was the just the latest in a long line of New Heights prospects to commit to Division-I schools, joining Jayvaughn Pinkston (Villanova), Devon Collier (Oregon State), Ashton Pankey (Maryland) and Malik Thomas (Boston University) as committed seniors. Naturally, the trend will continue in the next couple of years, as there are plenty of talented players in the New Heights program. Frazier picked Hofstra recently and Tom Pecora may have gotten his next under-the-radar future... [Read more.]
BIG EAST PATH TO 2010 FINAL FOUR: PITTSBURGH
At the beginning of the season if someone said that one of the three No. 1 seeds out of the Big East from 2009 would not make the Big Dance in 2010 the guess would have probably been unanimous that Pittsburgh would be on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday. The guess probably would have remaining the same right into early January…but, it would have been wrong. Jamie Dixon and the Panthers completed the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament in the strength of a 13-5 conference mark and their 24-8 record was good enough to earn a No. 3 seed in the West Region... [Read more.]
BREAKING DOWN BIG EAST DANCE OPPONENTS: OHIO UNIVERSITY
by RAY MERNAGH #14 Ohio vs #3 Georgetown (Providence, RI), 7:25 PM. The Bobcats have been playing very strong when it counts. I called John Groce’s hiring a home run when it happened and he’s proven it a year earlier than most expected. With Ohio you have to start in the back court because that’s where they can kill you. Armon Bassett, yes the one-time Indiana guard who had a brief stopover at UAB, can put up major points in a hurry. Bassett was one of those high risk/high reward additions for Groce (who’s known the kid since he was very young). The reward has paid huge... [Read more.]
FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR JEREMIAH DAVIS
State of Indiana has a deep pool of talented prospects in the class of 2011, Jeremiah Davis is one to watch The season ended for Muncie (IN) Central High School in the Class 4A Marion Regional championship on Saturday night but for junior guard Jeremiah Davis the future is just beginning. Capable of playing both guard spots, the 6-foot-3 Davis will hit the spring and summer circuit with the Indiana Elite program and will certainly be one college coaches will be keeping an eye on. Already armed with plenty of high-major scholarship offers, Davis remains open and is just taking the recruiting game... [Read more.]
BIG EAST PATH TO 2010 FINAL FOUR: SYRACUSE
In 2009 the Big East conference set a NCAA Tournament record with three No. 1 seeds as Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Louisville garnered top seeds in last year’s March Madness brackets. While only one Big East team was honred with a No. 1 seed in 2010 the conference is still expected to play a major role in determining this year’s national champion as the conference has a total of five teams seeded as a No. 3 or better. The leader of the bunch is Syracuse, the No. 1 seed in the West. The Orange were the 2009-2010 Big East regular season champions, finishing with a conference record... [Read more.]
MERNAGH: BIG EAST TOURNAMENT WAS BUTLER’S TIME
by RAY MERNAGH “Da’Sean Butler is the best basketball player in the Big East.” Those words were uttered by an NBA scout, a guy I respect, back in January of this year. And while I didn’t scoff at him, I also wasn’t completely buying it. Butler was definitely one of the top five players in the Big East, maybe even in the top three, but the best? Really? “He does whatever they need him to do Raymond,” the scout scolded me — no doubt seeing the doubt in my face. “That’s what this Butler kid does, his will to win is off the charts.”... [Read more.]
NATIONAL PREP CHAMPIONSHIP RECRUITING NOTES
Lost in the shuffle of last week’s excitement with the Big East Tournament was the National Prep Championships that were held at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven (CT). Eight of the top prep schools in the country came together to battle it out over the course of two days last week and the action culminated with Brewster Academy taking the title with an overtime victory of Northfield Mount Hermon. Big East coaching staffs were represented throughout as Villanova assistant Jason Donnelly was on hand Tuesday and Wednesday saw Rutgers’ Fred Hill and Darren Savino make the trip along with... [Read more.]
NCAA TOURNAMENT AT A GLANCE FOR BIG EAST
NCAA Tournament pairings information and ticket resources for Big East teams The tournament selection committee has set the field of 65 and now the action of March Madness truly gets underway beginning on Tuesday with the play-in game and Thursday and Friday with the first round of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Once again the Big East led all conferences with eight teams selected including the No. 1 seed in the West Region, Syracuse. The Orange open their quest for Jim Boeheim’s fourth Final Four appearance in Buffalo on Friday against 16th seed Vermont. Of course there... [Read more.]
2010 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP WAS DA’SEAN’S TOURNAMENT
By Anthony Jaskulski Heroic efforts and exemplary moments are not scarce in the Big East tournament. In 2006, Gerry McNamara rocked the tournament for four days, hitting buzzer-beaters and shocking every opponent his Syracuse Orange played to reach the title. In 2009, Syracuse and Connecticut went to an epic six overtime periods to decide a 127-117 Orange victory. The game lasted for 3 hours and 46 minutes. But this year, Da’Sean Butler’s story could be added to the classics played in the past. Butler played three games in three days that made everybody who watched ask exactly how... [Read more.]
WEST VIRGINIA TAKES BIG EAST TITLE
Mountaineers win on the heels of Da’Sean Butler By Anthony Jaskulski He did it again. Arguably the most clutch shooter in the history of West Virginia basketball, Da’Sean Butler showed exactly why he is the go-to man. And while he’s hit six game-winning shots for the Mountaineers this year, none was as big as Saturday night’s. With just four seconds left, the senior did what he does best, and drove from the top of the key to the paint, where he then fired up an acrobatic floater that dropped giving West Virginia (27-6) the 60-58 advantage and eventual win over Georgetown... [Read more.]
2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: CHAMPIONSHIP PRIMER
*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports***** The 2010 Big East Tournament has reached it’s end-point as Georgetown and West Virginia will meet at 9 PM tonight under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden for the conference tournament championship. If you can get to NYC, there are still tickets available to be purchased and the links below (or at our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page) provide the resources to find seats with Stub Hub’s guarantee for fans to have their tickets in hand prior to the game, even at this last minute… The remaining... [Read more.]
BUTLER LEADS WEST VIRGINIA OVER NOTRE DAME
Mountaineers face Georgetown in pursuit of first-ever Big East Tournament crown By Anthony Jaskulski NewYork, NY–They wouldn’t be a contender without him. The 6-foot-7, do-it-all talent that is Da’Sean Butler—a stones throw native of New York, growing up in Newark, NJ—dominated for 40 minutes, scoring a game-high 24 points and ripping down seven rebounds, leading his West Virginia Mountaineers (26-6, 15-5) to a closer-than-comfort-53-51 Big East semifinal win over Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden Friday night. The Mountaineers advance to the 2010 Big East Tournament... [Read more.]
MIDWEST RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: DEJUAN MARRERO RISES UP 2012 LISTS
Marrero has top programs tracking him; also update on Jacob Williams of St. Patrick’s – Chicago by DOUG FERGUSON With the Big East expanding to the West in recent years the conference’s recruiting reach has began to tap into the fertile grounds of the nation’s Midwest basketball hotbeds. With programs residing in Indiana (Notre Dame), Wisconsin (Marquette) and Chicago (DePaul), as well as the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio tri-state area (Cincinnati and Louisville), covering Big East recruiting efforts takes you to gyms in the nation’s heartland and largest Midwestern cities. Gary... [Read more.]
CLEVELAND MELVIN UPDATE: DUKE, OTHERS MAKE INQUIRY
After backing off verbal commitment to UConn, Notre Dame Prep forward expanding recruiting list Baltimore native and current Notre Dame Prep forward Cleveland Melvin recently re-opened his recruitment, backing off a verbal commitment he made to Connecticut in mid-November of 2009. The Huskies had recruited the 6-foot-8, 210-pound Melvin as a power forward and that was their long range vision for him. With the additional verbal commitment of 6-foot-7 small forward Roscoe Smith of Oak Hill Academy in the class of 2010, Melvin had second thoughts about his decision as he has been working on expanding... [Read more.]
2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PRIMER: FRIDAY PRIMER
*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports***** The 2010 Big East Tournament lived up to the hype with an exciting and nail-biting quartet of games on Thursday afternoon and evening. Now, one of the best night’s of every year in college sports is upon us, the Friday night semifinal doubleheader from Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament. With the four remaining teams (Georgetown – Marquette and West Virginia – Notre Dame) we have a 75% chance of a first time champion as only the Hoyas have hoisted the trophy on the Madison Square Garden floor... [Read more.]
2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: DAY THREE RECAP
by RAY FLORIANI and MATT WHITFIELD NEW YORK CITY – The quaterfinals of the 2010 Big East Tournament served as reminder, as if we needed one, as how tough and unforgiving this conference is. Also, how interesting and exciting for those of us watching and/or analyzing. The Scores: Georgetown 91, Syracuse 84 Marquette 80, Villanova 76 Notre Dame 50, Pittsburgh 45 West Virginia 54, Cincinnati 51 Ray’s ten points of emphasis from Thursday… 1. Syracuse exited the tournament one and done. For Orange faithful, the weekend to quote Steeley Dan, “didn’t turn out as you planned”.... [Read more.]
PANTHERS FALL TO NOTRE DAME, 50-45 IN BIG EAST QUARTERS
By Anthony Jaskulski New York, NY–Simple basketball is all it took. Simple basketball is what changed the momentum. And simple basketball is what separated Pittsburgh from a Thursday night win. In the third Big East quarterfinal game of the day, the Pitt Panthers (24-7, 13-5) were dominated on easy cutters to the basket, give-and-go plays and inside buckets. A simple style offense that helped push Notre Dame (22-10, 11-7) to a 50-45 win at Madison Square Garden. [Read more.] Read More →
DOUBLE-BYE A CURSE IN BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
‘Nova and Pitt join Syracuse out the MSG door heading into final quarterfinal game In the unique, 16-team tournament format in the Big East conference the top four regular season finishers breeze into the quarterfinals with a double-bye. The reward for finishing at the top of the grueling and competitive 18 game conference schedule would seem to be a significant one and an advantage in the conference tournament played annually at Madison Square Garden. Not so fast. This year in the 2010 Big East Tournament the double-bye has acted more of a curse as Syracuse. Villanova and Pittsburgh all... [Read more.]
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