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BIG EAST WEEKEND ROUND-UP (12/8/2008)

Big East takes some hits on a busy Saturday of basketball. Rutgers continues to struggle, losing in the RAC for a third time already this season, all to squads with no business beating a Big East team anywhere, especially on the home floor of a Big East school. Now, they have a player leaving the program…tough times for RU.

South Florida had a tough week and rival UCF got their first win over the Bulls in quite some time. DePaul was pasted by Northwestern and Ohio State made it two for the Big 10 on Saturday with a win over Notre Dame.

There was a few good games for the conference as Marquette beat Wisconsin and schools like Providence and Cincinnati earned solid wins on their home floors. Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Georgetown cruised to victory. Louisville bounced back from their loss to win a pair.

Stop in Before, During and After the game for ALL the Big East Action!!

You keep waiting for a low point to the Rutgers season, but each passing week, they seem to find another way to dig themselves a little bit more of a deeper hole prior to Big East play. The latest? A 66-56 loss to Binghampton at the RAC as Binghampton Stuns Rutgers (Asbury Park Press) for the program’s first win over a Big East team.

While the Knights did play without senior forward JR Inman who missed the contest with a sprained ankle, the real problem is their continued problem of turning the ball over. In last week’s win over St. Peter’s, the Scarlet Knights turned it over 29 times. Against BU, 23 more times!

What a Mess (NJ Hoops Haven) with a frustrated Mike Rosario, who was the only RU played in double figures Saturday with 14, and now word that RU’s Christian Morris will Transfer (Hoops Haven) after the semester, is it going to get worse before it gets better for Fred Hill’s squad?

Morris was behind fellow freshman Greg Echenique and the prospects for more playing time in the next year and half was probably limited as Echenique Has been Rutgers’ Rock (APP.com) and will likely continue to be.
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Providence gave head coach Keno Davis a win in his first meeting with in-state rival Rhode Island as head coach of the Friars. PC, despite continued troubles from beyond the arc (4-21), got past the Rams, 66-65, as the Friars Beat URI with Toughness Down the Stretch (Providence Journal) on Saturday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence.

Down 61-56, PC finished the game on a 10-4 run, making the foul shots and the plays they needed to in finding a way to win. The two biggest foul shots came from Geoff McDermott, who made two with 17 seconds left after securing an offensive rebound to provide the final score as McDermott Delivers for PC (Westerly Sun) in the clutch.

Weyinmi Efejuku led PC with a game-high 21 points. Sophomore Marshon Brooks continued his strong early season with 14 and Jonathan Kale added 10.

In last year’s 77-60 loss to URI, Brooks did not get off the bench and Efejuku was 1-10 from the floor. Kale had a solid game (11 points, 9 boards), but he and Efejuku seemed to fall out of favor with former coach Tim Welsh as the season wore on…so, Saturday had to feel pretty good for that trio and the Close Win Gives Entire Providence Team a Chance to Exhale (Providence Journal).
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Marquette also won the bragging rights to their state with a tough 61-58 win over Wisconsin on Saturday night as the Golden Eagles Make Initial Statement (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) of the Buzz Williams’ era.

The Golden Eagles Take a Page from the Badgers Playbook (OnMilwaukee.com) by scoring more points in the paint, doubling up the opposition on offensive rebounds and making more free throws than the other team attempts, all accomplished by the under-sized Marquette squad over Wisky.

Jerel McNeal, who at one point scored 16 straight second half points for the Golden Eagles, had a game-high 26 points and carried MU to the win in his final in-state battle with the Badgers.
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Tough week for South Florida as they let one slip away against UAB and then had to meet rival Central Florida on the road Saturday.

USF Falls at UCF (Tampa Tribune) despite 31 points by sophomore Dominique Jones.

The Bulls once again came up empty in the clutch, scoring just three points in the game’s final 4 and a half minutes. USF led by as many as nine in the 1st half, but 21 turnovers were too much to overcome.

Help is on the way for South Florida as Georgia transfer Mike Mercer and 6-foot-10 freshman newcomer Gus Gilchrist are expected to play in the team’s next game, at home against Niagara, after completing the NCAA moratorium on transfers.
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West Virginia had a tricky match-up on Saturday afternoon with a solid Cleveland State team. The Mountaineers were coming off the emotional road win at Ole Miss that came down to the wire and have a Madison Square Garden trip coming this Tuesday when they meet Stephen Curry and Davidson.

So, a ‘sandwich’ game with Cleveland State was up and WVU had to face it without starting point guard Joe Mazzulla who missed the game with a shoulder injury.

So, digging deeper on his bench, Bob Huggins saw Jonnie West Deliver a Clutch Basket (Charleston Gazette) and Devin Ebanks Saves the Day for WVU (Charleston Gazette) with 10 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals as a Strong Second-Half Lifts WVU past Cleveland State (Herald-Register), 53-43.

Da’Sean Butler had a game-high 18 for the Mountaineers, who trailed 25-21 at halftime.
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College coaches can be a difficult group to read. Even though Georgetown had a 40-12 lead at halftime against American, head coach John Thompson was not all that impressed with his team. Then, after the Hoyas were outscored in the second half, although still winning by a score of 73-49, he was not feeling any better.

Despite Easy Win, Thompson Peeved (Washington Times) with the Hoyas’ lack of ‘flow.’ With things coming easy, he felt his team abandoned many of the fundamentals that makes their offensive system work so well.

In any event, it was a win, a relatively easy one at that. After a date with 1-A bunching bag Savannah State on Monday, the Hoyas host Memphis next weekend.

On Saturday, Chris Wright (3-4 on three’s, 22 points), Jesse Sapp (4-5 on three’s, 14 points) and DaJuan Summers (2-3 on three’s, 14 points) combined to shoot 9-12 from beyond the arc and score 50 of the 73 points the Hoyas produced.
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As the weather gets colder in Chicago, the seat of Jerry Wainwright begins to get warmer and warmer as DePaul gets pummeled by rival Northwestern, 63-36.

The Blue Demons shoot just 14-58 (24%) from the field and 3-15 from the arc and just 5-11 from the foul line in what was truly an offensive display of offensive basketball.

Northwestern Stomps DePaul (Chicago Tribune) leaving little doubt in this game.

Dar Tucker led DePaul with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but was just 6-20 from the field.
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Louisville has eased their way into the 2008-2009 season, playing just three games entering this weekend. However, their loss to Western Kentucky definitely caught the attention of college basketball followers. Finally back in action after the WKU debacle, Louisville Routs Indiana State, 83-43 (Kentucky.com) on Saturday in opening the Marquis Maybin Classic at Freedom Hall.

The Cardinals Get Over the Chills from WKU (Louisville Courier-Journal) to blow out Indiana State by 40, but the UL team still seemed to be in a little bit of shock following their earlier defeat.

Earl Clark paced the Cards with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while Terrence Williams did a bit of everything in his 12-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist and 5-steal performance.

On Sunday, the Cards showed they could build on their win over Indiana State by putting together a very good effort in their 91-56 win over Ohio as the Maybin Classic continued on.

The Cards outrebounded the Bobcats 50-28 with Earl Clark getting another double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds and he also had a team-high 8 assists. Samardo Sanuels led UL with 19 points.

Louisville closes out the event on Monday with a meeting with Lamar.
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Notre Dame got Luke Harangody back for their anticipated match-up with Ohio State at Lucas Oil Field on Saturday. The NBE preseason Big East Player of the Year had a pretty normal stat line for the junior with 25 points and 16 rebounds, although the 10-25 shooting performance could have been attributed to the time missed as he battled a bout of pneumonia. But where was his supporting cast?

Several Irish Weaknesses Were Exposed by Ohio State (Post Tribune) as the Buckeyes size, athleticism and ability to control the tempo frustrated the Mike Brey’s squad.

Tory Jackson added 13, although he was just 2-7 from the foul line, a place only he and Harangody reached in the contest for ND. Kyle McAlarney was 0-6 from three-point range and finished with just 6 points.

So, one game removed from McAlarney and Ryan Ayers combining for 62 points, highlighted by going 16-27 from beyond the arc, the duo managed just 15 points with three of 13 from three-land. The Irish hope this This Loss Will Linger (Chicago Tribune) only as a reminder of what they need to do better and not one where they allow doubt to creep into their minds.
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Cincinnati picked up a solid win on Saturday, beating former Conference USA rival UAB by the score of 87-80.

The Chilly Blazers Can’t Get Going (Birmingham News) and the Bearcats keep spreading the scoring around, with seven players scoring 8 or more points.

Mike Williams led the UC scoring with 17, going 11-14 from the foul line where the Bearcats outscored UAB 28-14. Deonta Vaughn added 16 and Yancy Gates scored 11 in the win.
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It was business as usual for Pittsburgh on Saturday evening as the Panthers Improve to 9-0 (Post-Gazette) with an 80-51 plastering of Vermont.

The Catamounts entered the game 4-2 with a one-point loss at George Mason and an OT loss at Maryland with big hopes. Vermont Hoped to Slay Giant (Burlington Free press), but Sam Young had other ideas.

Young, Pitt Throttle Vermont (Tribune Review) as the Panther senior scored 28 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and had three assists, three steals and two blocks in the game. DeJuan Blair had another double-double, his sixth in eight outings this year, with 13 points and 16 rebounds in 23 minutes. Ashton Gibbs (11) and Tyrell Biggs (10) also reached double digits for Pitt.

Here is a good article on Pitt freshman guard Travon Woodall who played last season at St. Anthony’s in Jersey City. The Brooklyn Guard is Making a Rough Transition to Pitt (NY Post) and learned very quickly the rough and tumble ways of the Big East in practice.

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Ray Mernagh is the Basketball Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report and writes for Basketball Times as well as his own blog, Hoop Wise. Ray’s first book, 1 Chance 2 Dance: A Season Inside Mid-Major Hoops in Mid-America, focuses on 18 months of MAC basketball.
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