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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (11/29/2008)

Finally, the turkey induced sleep coma is over and time to dive into the big buffet that is college hoops this weekend. The Big East is all over the map playing games this weekend and the action was plentiful last night and already today.

Through last night’s games, the Big East owned a 65-10 record in non-conference games to this point. According to the Pomeroy Ratings four Big East teams score out in his top 10 in the early going, with one of those facing another top 10 team on a neutral court this evening.

Below is the recap of the action from yesterday and some news and notes around the conference on today’s games and some recruiting notes in there as well.

Enjoy…

Catch all the action Big East action Thanksgiving weekend at the Black Bear Saloon!!

The action Saturday is already underway with Seton Hall playing their first game since their highly successful trip to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Tip-off Classic. The Hens Look to Get Back on Track against SHU (Delawareonline.com) and earn their first ever win against a Big East program since the inception of the conference in 1979. Including an earlier loss to Rutgers this season, Delaware is 0-5 against Big East foes.

Checking the scoreboard, the Hens, like they did against RU earlier, are off to a fast start, leading the Pirates 11-0 right out of the gate. SHU is chipping away at the lead, cutting it to 16-11 now with about 12 to go in the 1st half.

Delaware has former Georgetown Hoya Marc Edgerson playing a key role as well as Alphonso Dawson, the CAA’s 5th leading scorer this season with just over 20 points a game.

Score update: Delaware leads at the half, 38-31.

Finally, the big Seton Hall run, a quick 9-0 spurt gives SHU a lead, 52-49, with just under 12 minutes left. You knew it would come…

Delaware hangs tough…we are going down to the wire, tied at 67 with 3:15 left.

SHU goes 2-4 from the line…Delaware answers going 1-2, but a Eugene Harvey bucket puts SHU up by three in the last minute, 71-68…another 1-2 at the line by SHU…72-68.

Delaware gets a second chance hoop…72-70 with 10 seconds left.

The Pirates hang on…75-70..for the win as SHU Dodged the Bullet (mycentraljersey.com)
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The SHU/Delawre game is part of a triple-header of basketball at the Prudential Center in Newark today as the venue also plays host to the Legends Classic, run by the pre-season tournament conglomerate the Gazelle Group. Tipping off at 5:30 will be the consolation game between Mississippi State and Texas Tech. The nightcap will match #4 Pittsburgh (6-0) vs Washington State (5-0) (Sports Netwok) for the classic championship.

Last night Pitt Beat Texas Tech 80-67 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) as Pittsburgh got 24 points and 8 rebounds from senior Sam Young. Sophomore DeJuan Blair, showing no ill-affects from a swollen knee that kept him out of the game against Belmont on Tuesday, had another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds and sophomore Gilbert Brown, making his presence felt for the first time this season after missing the first four games with a leg injury, scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 25 minutes, helping the Panthers to dominate the boards, 49-31, just days after Belmont out-rebounded them. DeJuan Blair seems to be VERY important to Pitt.

The trip to Newark is a homecoming of sorts for several Panthers as Pitt Reaps a Recruiting Harvest in the Garden State (NJ.com) with current players such as Travon Woodall (St. Anthony’s), Tyrell Biggs (Don Bosco Prep) and Ashton Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep) all playing their high school ball in the area. In addition, Pitt received a signed letter of intent in the early signing period from Lamar Patterson who is playing this season at St. Benedict’s in Newark (NJ) and is one of the finalists for current St. Anthony’s shooting guard Dominic Cheek, who visited Pitt officially earlier in the week. Cheek Enjoyed the Pitt Visit (ZagsBlog.net) and will sit down with his coaches later next week to look closer at his options, which also includes Big East schools such as Villanova and Rutgers as well as 2008 national title game participants Kansas and Memphis.
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Looking over the schedule of games for last night, the Syracuse-Virginia match-up definitely caught my eye. As UConn returns from the Virgin Islands, they host Bryant, as SHU comes home from Puerto Rico, they host Delaware, for Syracuse, after defeating Florida and Kansas in back-to-back games earlier this week, Jim Boeheim and his crew welcome in the ACC’s Virginia Cavaliers.

The Hall-of-Fame Orange coach has been a critical speaker at times to the Big East scheduling making, however, this time, he has only one person to blame as Boeheim Rips His Own Schedule Making (ZagsBlog.net) logic and thanked his players, who rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit, to beat Virginia, for bailing him out.

The UVA Cant Hold On (Daily Press) as the Orange, for the second game in a row, rally from 13 points down for victory.

Jonny Flynn and Andy Rautins scored 15 points each in the Orange win.
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Vacation is Over for the Huskies as Connecticut returns home with the Paradise Jam trophy and takes on Bryant College at 1 PM on Saturday at the XL Center in Hartford.

You can be assured Jim Calhoun will not allow UConn too much time to read their press clipping following the tournament in the Virgin Islands. The Huskies Will Look to Build on their Success, Not rest on It (Bristol Press) as it is back to the grind of the season.

After a slow start, which say Bryant leading for much of the first 10 minutes, UConn has taken complete control and own a 71-48 lead with 12 minutes to go, already with six players scoring seven points or more.

In other news, the NCAA has come back to UConn with an initial set of questions regarding the paperwork of Ater Majok in his hopes to be cleared by the NCAA to join the Huskies on or about December 15th. UConn is still optimistic it will be taken care of.

A new recruiting target for the Huskies has become Luke Marquez Cothron, a 6-8 forward from Flora MacDonald Academy in North Carolina, originally from Alabama. According to the Hartfod Courant Blog Update, Cothron’s father lives in Brocton, Mass., and he is expected to attend UConn’s game against Fairfield Dec. 26 when he is home for the holidays.

As for 2010 recruiting targets, Brandon Knight, a point guard from Coral Gables, Fla., is high on their list as are Gerard Coleman (a 6-3 guard and teammate of 2009 early signing period UConn recruits Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel at the Tilton School) and Phil Pressey (a 5-8 point guard now attending the Episcopal School of Dallas who is teammates with Oriakhi and Coombs with the BABC).
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So It’s Maryland-Georgetown (Washington Times), the local rivalry that is not played out on the court very often. In fact, the two schools had to go all the way to Florida just to play each other in the Old Spice Tournament.

Georgetown landed in this match-up after a 90-78 loss to Tennessee yesterday.

Our preseason questions on the Hoyas seemed to come to the forefront in this loss as they turned it over 20 times against the Vols pressure and their lack of experience beyond their four returning players of meaningful minutes of last season showed.

Point guard Chris Wright led the Hoyas with 18 points and DaJuan Summers added 17 in the loss.
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Marquette continued to roll early this season with a 73-43 win over Northern Iowa in the Sears Center as part of the Chicago Invitational last night. Wes Mathews led the Golden Eagles with 17 points and Lazar Hayward added 15 and a team-high 8 rebounds as Marquette Routs Northern Iowa (LaCrosse Tribune).

With their early season schedule, Marquette is able to overwhelm opponents with their speed and quickness. However, with games against Wisconsin, Tennessee, North Carolina State and tonight’s tilt against Dayton, let alone the powerful bigs in the Big East, truth tests await a Golden Eagles Team Caught Short at Center (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

Marquette and Dayton Headline the Hoffman Tourney (Daily Herald), also known as the Chicago Invitational Challenge and they meet tonight to conclude the event.
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West Virginia hit Vegas and laid down a big beating on Iowa with an 87-6 victory. Joey Mazzulla had a strong game with 13 points and 6 assists as Mazzulla Lightens Up then Lights Up Iowa (Daily Mail) as WVU and Huggins are Winners in Vegas (Topeka Capital Journal). The Mountaineers will face Kentucky tonight, who brings a large rooting contingent to Sin City and it will look as if UK Has Home court Advantage in Vegas (Charleston Gazette) tonight.

WVU will hope that Blowouts are Still in Order for Mountaineers tonight. In their win over Iowa, John Flowers scored 14 points, but was 0-7 from the line and Devin Ebanks was 1-5 from the line, numbers that could hurt in a close game.

Fans can Fans Can Watch WVU on TV a lot this Year (Daily Mail) as the Daily Mail takes a look at the Big East television contract for this year and where it has come from the beginning.

Providence College is the Big East rep this season in the Anaheim 76 Classic. Next year, West Virginia isto Play in 2009 76 Classic (Daily Mail) in Anaheim with UCLA (Pac-10), Texas A&M (Big 12), Long Beach State (Big West), Clemson (ACC), Butler (Horizon), Minnesota (Big 10), and Portland (West Coast).
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Providence avoided losing two straight in Anaheim as a 10-0 Run in Closing Moments Lifts PC Past Charlotte, 67-62, in the 76 Anaheim Classic. The Friars rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and a 62-57 hole in the last 3:15 to steal the win.

Geoff McDermott, Weyinmi Efejuku and Jonathan Kale each scored 12 points for PC, who will take on St. Mary’s College (CA) late this afternoon to finish off their trip west.

Despite opening the 76 Anaheim Classic with a loss to Baylor and barely escaping a similar fate against UNC-C in their second outing out West, Keno Davis Says His Friars Show they Can Hang Tough (Providence Journal). However, it is going to be difficult more and more as the Big East season nears because the Providence Big Men Do Not Measure Up Against Big Time Hoop Foes (Providence Journal).
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The Philly Hoop Group Challenge features the top local team in Villanova, who pulled away from a tight game against Towson for a victory last night. Defense Was the Difference in the ‘Nova Win (Philly Inquirer) as Towson is held to less than 33% shooting.

Scottie Reynolds led the Wildcats with 13 points and Antonio Pena and Dante Cunningham each added 12 in the win. Villanova meets a dangerous Rhode Island squad tonight in the Palestra.
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Cincinnati faced their first semblance of a test on Friday night out in Vegas in the Global Sports Classic, and according to their coach Mick Cronin after the game, they failed that test as UC Loses to Florida State (Cincinnati.com), 58-47.

It was a dismal offensive display for the Bearcats as they shot 33% from the field (18-54), 16% from beyond the arc (3-19), 47% from the free throw line (8-17) and turned the ball over 19 times.

UC will meet UNLV tonight in the consolation game of the event on the Runnin’ Rebels home court.
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DePaul is in action today and are off to a 17-7 lead in the first 10 minutes over Indiana State. The Demons Moved to a Perfect 3-0 (Sun Times) Wednesday night with a 71-62 win over Detroit.
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The final Big East game tonight has South Florida, 2-1, hosting Northeastern (3-2) tonight. Northeastern already owns a Big East win over PC this season.
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Louisville senior Terrence Williams traveled from the Great Northwest to the state of Kentucky to play his college basketball for Rick Pitino. The Seattle (WA) native Williams Has Found His Niche at UL (Seattlepi.com) and has become of the most versatile and best two-way players in the college game today.
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