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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/14/2008)

A little bit for everyone today as we briefly recap the 10 games of Saturday and look at the four games of Sunday. Also, Providence is having trouble adjusting to the new 3-pt distance and Stanley Robinson’s return to UConn is here.

It was an 8-2 day for the Big East as DePaul fell out west and Cincinnati fell to Xavier in their rivalry battle. Although that was a game the A-10 was probably supposed to win, it capped off a nice day for the Atlantic 10 conference which also earned wins over Tennessee and Kansas…but, alas, read on for the rest of the news on the Big East…

Syracuse was able to put the Eric Devendorf distraction behind them and used a big second half to defeat Long Beach State, 79-55, at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.

The Orange was too big inside for LBSU as Arinze Onuaku led SU with 17 points, shooting seven of seven from the floor, in 16 minutes and his back-up, Rick Jackson added 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in 19 minutes of action.

Syracuse led 37-30 at the half and was a little ‘out of sorts’ early in the contest. The second half was a different story as the Orange Overwhelms LBSU (Post-Standard) in all facets of the game.

Devendorf added 13 points and a team-high 5 assists. The redshirt junior saw a university judicial review board recommend Wednesday that he be suspended for the remainder of the academic year after allegedly hitting a female student in the face. He is appealing the decision.

The suspension does not sit well with his coach as Devendorf’s Ban Irks Jim Boeheim (AP Story) as it, in his eyes, it too severe.
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Speaking of a second half surge, Louisville went into the locker room at halftime with a slim 41-39 lead over Austin Peay.

The Cards came out much more focused and outscored the visitors 53-36 in the second half, pulling away for a 94-75 victory.

Samardo Samuels (12 rebounds) and Preston Knowles each scored 21 points and Terrence Williams added 20 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds to the cause.
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After Memphis big man Shawn Tagert scored on a tip-in to force overtime, Georgetown re-grouped and put the visiting Tigers away in the extra session.

DaJuan Summers scored 21 and Austin Freeman added 18 in the win.
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Marquette got a big game from Lazar Hayward in their 69-50 home win over IFPW.

hayward Grabbed a Lot of Attention (Journal-Sentinel) for his 19-point, 18-rebound performance, which is more impressive, according to Buzz Williams, because of the fact he is 6-foot-4 1/2.

Jerel McNeal scored 16 and Wesley Mathews added 13 points and 9 rebounds in the win.
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Seton Hall went on the road for their first true road game of the year and responded by shooting just 37%, making one of 16 three-point attempts and being out-rebounded by St. Peters by a margin of 42-33 and…oh by the way, the Pirates won…by 14 (60-46)!

St. Peters made just 14 of 48 field goal attempts and turned the ball over 18 times as the SHU defense shined in this contest.

Jeremy Hazell led SHU with 14 points and Seton Hall is Surprising the Pundits with their strong start to the season.
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No doubt that Notre Dame expected a tough test from a pretty impressive Boston University club, but the Irish nearly got more than they bargained for as they rallied for a 74-67 win, preserving their home court win streak.

As usual, Luke Harangody was the story for the Irish as the junior big man scored 23 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and blocked 5 shots in the game.

Kyle McAlarney added 16 and Zach Hillesland (11) and Ryan Ayers also reached double figures as the Fighting Irish Outbattle OU (Daily Herald) in the end. With Notre Dame’s Need for one More Scorer (Chicago Tribune), hopefully the late three by Ayers will get him back on track and possibly stepping into that role of third scoring option.

ND also showed improvement from the charity stripe, connecting on 14 of 19 (74%) as the Irish Work to Shore up Free Throw Shooting (Journal Gazette) looked successful.
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The beat goes on for DePaul as the Blue Demons drop their fourth straight game, losing to UCLA 72-54 in the John R. Wooden Classic in Anaheim Saturday evening.

DePaul trailed 35-19 at the break and never posed as a serious threat to the Bruins.

Maybe Jerry Wainwright should consider suiting up his Director of Basketball Operations to see if anyone notices. Either way, Dave Corzine is Thrilled to be Back at DePaul and Helping the BBall Progam (chicago tribune).
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Pittsburgh outscored UMBC by 17 points and in the 1st half and 18 in the second half as they cruised to a 91-56 win over the Terriers as Pitt Was Prepared for Unusual Opponent (Tribune Review).

Sam Young led Pitt with 19 points in a team-high 25 minutes of action in the rout. Reserves Gilbert Brown and Ashton Gibbs each scored 13. DeJuan Blair (12 points) and Levance Fields (11 points) also reached double figures as Pitt shot 55% from the field and a sizzling 52% (14-27) from three-point land in the contest.
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West Virginia continues to be hamstrung by injuries as Alex Ruoff and Joe Mazzulla did not play in tonight’s road contest against Duquesne.

The Dukes held an eight point lead at the break, but WVU was able to rally for a 68-63 win at the Palumbo Center on the Duquesne campus.

The injuries to the veteran guard duo has allowed for the WVU frosh to step up, and they delivered again tonight as Darryl Bryant had a team-high 18 points, Devin Ebanks recorded another double-double (15 pts, 10 rebounds) and Kevin Jones added 9 points as the Freshmen Lead the Way for WVU at Duquense (wvmetronews.com).
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A chilly start for Cincinnati had the Bearcats playing catch-up all night against rival Xavier in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout.

UC trailed 39-25 at the break, but cut the lead to five points several times, but often shot themselves in the foot, Plaxico style, to prevent themselves from getting any closer.

Deonta Vaughn did his best trying to shoot the Bearcats into the game, scoring 27, but an all-too-familiar problem for UC showed itself tonight as nobody else was there to support Vaughn offensively.

JUCO transfer Stephen Toyloy did add 11 points, but outside he and Vaughn, the rest of the Bearcats were just nine of 31 from the field in the game.
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Four more games on Sunday to close a busy weekend of Big East hoops:

South Florida will host Niagara. It is a much anticipated game for USF as the Bulls Look to Get a Boost from Two Additions to Team (Tampabay.com) as Georgia transfer Mike Mercer and Marland transfer Augustus Gilchrist are eligible to play now that the first semester is over.

For Mercer, it has been nearly two years since he has played in a game and Mercer is Eager for his Long Awaited Return (Tampa Tribune).

Following Sunday’s game with Niagara, USF will participate in the SEC/Big East challenge Tuesday night when they play Vanderbilt.

In other USF basketball-related news, in an effort to ramp up their commitment to building a successful college basketball program in the Big East, USF Considers Building a New Basketball Arena (Tampabay.com).

Rutgers welcomes Delaware State into the RAC on Sunday.

St. John’s returns to action when Bethune-Cookman visits Carnesecca Arena.

No rest for the weary as Villanova completes a grueling week with a trip to the campus of LaSalle for a Big 5 match-up. The Wildcats faced Texas in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday, returned home for a thrilling victory as ‘Nova Squeaked by St. Joe’s in the Holy War (Philly Daily News) on Thursday and are back at it Sunday night against LaSalle.

The time is nearly here for Stanley Robinson. The, once again, Connecticut Husky will be on the practice floor Sunday as Robinson’s Return to Basketball Court (Norwich Bulletin) is scheduled for Monday when UConn hosts Stony Brook.

Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel committed together to UConn in the summer before their sophomore seasons, the earliest ever for UConn coach Jim Calhoun. Since then, the Tilton Prep School teammates have made themselves part of the Connecticut program with many trips to the campus and thus, six or seven months prior to officially becoming UConn students, Oriakhi and Commbs-McDaniel are already Feeling Right at Home in Storrs (TheDay.com).
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While the effect of the three-point line moving back a foot has been negligible from a shooting percentage impact between this season and last to this point, it seems that Providence is having some difficulty dialing in from the new distance. Three-Point Baskets Have Been Elusive for PC (Providence Journal) this season and it is a large part of Keno Davis’ system.

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