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AROUND THE BIG EAST (11/29/2008)

With one game still in progress, the Big East is a solid 7-1 on Saturday, with the West Virginia-Kentucky game still in progress. Five more Big East teams hit the court on Sunday in a couple intriguing match-ups, especially a local rivalry that fans will have to travel several hundreds of miles to see. Notre Dame will be short-handed for an indefinite period of time as Luke Harangody has fallen ill, he will definitely miss Sunday’s home game with Furman.

Here is a quick rundown of Saturday’s action in the conference and a quick look at Sunday:

Seton Hall 75 Delaware 70
SHU immediately found themselves in a hole, 11-0, to start the game, but the Pirates rallied in the second half as Seton Hall Pulls Out Win Over Delaware (ZagsBlog.net), 75-70.

Jeremy Hazell again led the Pirates, this time with 17 points. Eugene Harvey added 15 and John Garcia and freshman Jordan Theodore each scored 13 in the win.
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Connecticut 88 Bryant 55
The Huskies Dump Bryant Despite Sluggish Start, 88-55, on Saturday afternoon at the XL Center in Hartford.

Hasheem Thabeet paced UConn with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. With the 7-foot-3 junior center being more of an offensive threat, UConn really could be The Team Tha-Beet in the Big East this season.

Seniors Craig Austrie, AJ Price and Jeff Adrien added 15, 14 and 14 points each as all five Connecticut starters reach double figures and the UConn Men Rout Bryant (Connecticut Post).
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DePaul 75 Indiana State 70
The Blue Demons dominated early, taking a 20-point lead into the locker room at intermission. The second half was not so easy as DePaul Holds Off Indiana State (Chicago Tribune) after seeing 90% of the halftime lead disappear.

Dar Tucker scored 26 points to lead DePaul. Freshman Jeremiah Kelly added 11, including a key steal and bucket in the last minute to push a three-point Blue Demon lead to five and virtually clinch the win as the Inspiring ISU Comeback Falls Short Against DePaul (Trib-Star).
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South Florida 55 Northeastern 37
Dominique Jones paced the Bulls with 20 points and the USF defense swarmed Northeastern, holding them to 24% shooting from the field. The 37 points allowed by South Florida was the fewest allowed in a game by USF since 1985 when St. Peters scored just 34.
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Pittsburgh 57 Washington State 43
Add another trophy to the Big East trophy case this November as Pittsburgh Secures Legends Classic Title With Overpowering Defense (NJ.com) in a 57-43 win over the Pac 10 team.

Classic MVP Sam Young led Pitt with 15 points and fellow senior Levance Fields added 14. Washington State came into the game with the defensive pedigree, but it was the Panthers that dominated the boards and forced an uncharacteristic amount of turnovers from Tony Bennett’s squad.

Pitt is Making a Home in New Jersey (ZagsBlog.net) with an increased recruiting interest in the area, which helped them pursue the chance to play two games in Newark (NJ) with this event. With assistant coach Brandin Knight’s strong New Jersey ties, you can expect Pitt to continue to recruit the state very hard. On Friday, players and coaches from St. Anthony’s, St. Benedict’s, Don Bosco Prep and Seton Hall Prep were in attendance. The Panthers also practiced at St. Anthony’s, the school of current Pitt target Dominic Cheek.
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Dayton 89 Marquette 75
Marquette fell in the Chicago Invitational as Dayton, who beat Pitt and Louisville last season, came up victorious again against a ranked Big East foe with an 89-75 win over the Golden Eagles.

Marquette got 63 points from the ‘Three Amigos’ trio of Wes Mathews (28 points), Jerel McNeal (16 points) and Dominic James (19) points, but little else from the rest of the team.
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Cincinnati 67 UNLV 65
Freshman Yancy Gates scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 19 minutes and Deonta Vaughn, over coming 7 turnovers from the point guard position, also scored 16 and handed out 6 assists and the Bearcats got past UNLV at the Thomas and Mack Center in Vegas. The game was a consolation match-up in the Global Sports Classic.
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Villanova 78 Rhode Island 65
The Wildcats claim the Philly Hoop Group Classic as Dante Cunningham led five ‘Nova players in double figures with 19 points. Cunningham also had 12 rebounds. Reggie Redding also registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
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Still in progress, West Virginia took a 26-16 lead at the half over Kentucky out in Vegas. The Wildcats have shaved a couple points off that lead early in half #2.

With 9:26, the WVU lead is just one at 36-35.

Kentucky takes a lead with 9:05 left and has extended it to 46-41 with 4:26 left. Unoffiical numbers have WVU at 33% from the field and just 3-15 from the arc. Alex Ruoff is 1-9 on three’s to this point.

A final look before signing off, WVU trails 48-42 with 1:35 remaining. UK has doubled up WVU in the second half, 32-16, to this point.
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A rivalry game that Mid-Atlantic hoops fans have hoped to see for years will finally take place on Sunday as the Hoyas and Terps Meet at Long Last (Washington Post) in the Old Spice Classic consolation game in Orlando (FL). Georgetown landed in the consolation game after a 90-78 loss to Tennessee on Friday.
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Notre Dame hosts Furman on Sunday, the first outing for the Irish since Maui. In that event, Luke Harangody was not feeling well in ND’s 102-87 loss to North Carolina and now the word is that Harangody is Out Indefinitely with Pneumonia. At this point, no timetable has been set for his return to the line-up.
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Providence will conclude their experience in the 76 Anaheim Classic on Sunday when they take on St. Mary’s (CA) at 5:30 (EST). Although the PC big men have struggled, Keno Davis has fought the urge to use freshman Bilal Dixon, thus preserving a redshirt for the 6-foot-8 Jersey native. So despite the interior struggles of the Friars, Dixon Remains in Limbo (Providence Journal) as Davis sees more long term benefit in developing Dixon for the future, rather than inconsistent minutes this season.
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Rutgers looks to snap their two-game losing streak Sunday when they host St. Peters at the RAC. Louisville is also in action hosting Western Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

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