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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (11/27/2008)

A very sincere Happy Thanksgiving to all the readers of the NBE Basketball Report. Hope you and your families have a great holiday!!

We take a quick run through the Big East early this Thanksgiving morning, so sip on your coffee as you fast until your big meal later today, maybe do some online shopping while your at it…

Anyway, the Big East actually had a losing night on Wednesday, dropping two of three on the night. Notre Dame fell to mighty UNC, despite a record performance from one of the Domers. However, the shocking loss came at the RAC where Rutgers dropped another. On the positive side, DePaul continues to avoid the early missteps that have plagued them in recent years.

Today, Georgetown and Providence open up some tournament action with some tough competition ahead.

Elsewhere in the Big East, some looks at Louisville and Cincinnati commitments. Pitt fans can breathe a sigh of relief for now as it looks like DeJuan Blair’s knee is fine. They can also cross their fingers as it looks/sounds like Dom Cheek had a positive visit to the ‘burgh the last couple days. Also, UConn was mighty impressive in Paradise, so much that Jim Calhoun gave them an extra day there. West Virginia’s slate is about to get tougher and Louisville likes their early start.

Just days after a disappointing home loss to St. Bonaventure, Rutgers is Stunned by Lehigh (mycentraljersey.com) in the RAC, 76-71, snapping the Scarlet Knight’s 18-game win streak over Lehigh.

Rutgers was bound to hit some growing pains this season as their young talent attempts to mesh with some of the veteran holdovers from the Gary Waters regime. However, the last two games may be indicative of potential season-long struggles ahead again for RU.

First of all, Rutgers managed just 5 assists on 24 made field goals. The offense seems to have settled on running through freshman Mike Rosario, who after this 4-20 shooting performance is now 10-37 over the last two games.

Corey Chandler led RU with 15 points, playing just 19 minutes.
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In other Wednesday night Big East action:
DePaul pulled away from a two-point halftime lead against Detroit behind a strong second stanza from sophomore Dar Tucker who scored 16 of his game-high 22 after intermission. Classmate Mac Koshwal added 18 points and 9 rebounds in the 71-62 win.

In one of the marquee early season match-ups, North Carolina left little doubt how good they are by blitzing through the Maui Classic field, including their 102-87 championship game win over Notre Dame as the Irish Take Second in Maui (Chicago Tribune). The anticipated match-up between Luke Harangody and Tyler Hansbrough was decidedly one-sided as Hansbrough scored 33 points in the contest. Notre Dame would have lost by more, MUCH more, if it weren’t for the unreal 39-point performance from senior Kyle McAlarney. The Staten Island native added to this three-point shooting record collection by nailing 10 (of 19) in the game from beyond the arc.
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The new-look Georgetown Hoyas have just two games under their belt, but the Hoyas Will Spend the Thanksgiving Holiday in Test Mode (Washington Post) competing in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando (FL). John Thompson III’s club opens play at 2:30 PM this afternoon against Wichita State. The other two teams in the Hoyas’ side of the bracket include Siena and Tennessee. The other bracket of the tournament has Gonzaga and Oklahoma State as well as Michigan State and Maryland.

Maryland and Georgetown might virtually be neighbors, but they have played just twice since 1981. Now they will be on the same court three times over three days, but do not expect to see the match-up mid-Atlantic area hoop fans want to see the most.
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In other Turkey Day action, Providence has headed out west and will take on Baylor in the Anaheim Classic.
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It was finally the turn of Pittsburgh to woo St. Anthony’s shooting guard Dominic Cheek. Cheek is on his official visit to Pittsburgh, which was originally scheduled for October 31st, pushed back a week, but then canceled after Cheek had a root canal a few days before the scheduled trip.

Pitt has Cheek’s former St. Anthony’s teammate Travon Woodall in their program and Woodall is Recruiting Cheek for Pitt (ZagsBlog.net) and Woodall believes Pitt has an excellent shot to land the 6-foot-5 Cheek. Of course, other finalists such as Villanova, Kansas, Memphis and Rutgers are feeling the same way, too.

Cheek will conclude his visit to Pittsburgh this morning and head home for Thanksgiving. His official visits are complete and a decision could come at any time with the plan to sign a letter of intent this April.
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Speaking of Pittsburgh, Cheek got to see them in action on Tuesday night when they got past Belmont 74-60 behind Sam Young’s 33 points. Young had an increased burden to score as DeJuan Blair was held out of the line-up due to sudden swelling in one of his surgically repaired knees. In Chris Dokish’s Blair Injury Update on our Pittsburgh Team Blog site, it is learned that Blair went through a full practice on Wednesday with no complications and should be more than ready Friday night in Newark for the Legends Classic contest with Texas Tech.

While bigger tests still await Rick Pitino’s club for 2008-2009, U of L is Enjoying strong Start to the Season (Courier-Journal). In the meantime, Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal makes some of the rounds of the 2009 Louisville recruiting class and see how they are coming along as the high school basketball season gets underway. Here are his stories:

Stephan Van Treese: Van Treese Out to Prove a Point.
Mike Marra: Marra Stars Out Strong.
Rakeem Buckles: Buckles Showing Leadership and Game.

Our Zach Smart also caught Marra in action recently at the National Prep Showcase and has this report on our Louisville Team Blog site: Louisville Signee Marra Lights up Rhode Island.
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Zach also has the 411 for readers on Cincinnati-commit Sean Kilpatrick who is ‘Prep’ aring for the Next Level this season at Notre Dame Prep. The White Plains native is playing against top-notch competition and shoring up his academic record before joining Mick Cronin’s Bearcats next season.
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The excitement in the Nutmeg state continues into the holiday over the Pradise Jam championship captured by Jim Calhoun’s Connecticut Huskies earlier this week.

UConn had an answer for everything that all three opponents threw at them in the Virgin Islands as La Salle tried to overpower the University of Connecticut basketball team Friday night. Miami tried to outrun UConn on Sunday night. Wisconsin tried to slow the Huskies down on Monday night. However, the Huskies Find Another Way (Journal Inquirer) each time to come out victorious, and impressively, especially against ranked Miami and Wisconsin. For UConn, it Was the Way they Won the Paradise Jame (Hartford Courant) that was so impressive.
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The schedule is about to get tougher for West Virginia as the Warm-up Games are Over for the Mountaineers (Register-Herald) as Bob Huggins’ crew heads to Las Vegas this weekend for games that include Iowa and either Kentucky or Kansas State, to be followed the next week by a trip to Mississippi, home against Cleveland State and then to Madison Square Garden to face Davidson.