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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (2/9/2009)

In Big East action on Sunday, Seton Hall surged past Rutgers in the closing minutes to sweep the two games form their in-state conference rival this season. It has been a deflating season, once again, for RU under Fred Hill.

Louisville got past a pesky St. John’s team on the road as the Cards overcame their offensive woes to pull away in the closing minutes. The Cards’ offense had a rough week, they will likely have the chance to open it back up this week against Notre Dame.

The Irish need to change something quick, or it could be one of th emost disappointing seasons for a team ranked among the top 10 so late in the year in a long time. Frustrations are starting to boil a bit within the program. Cincinnati is making a run, meaning every game has an added importance as they are working their way back into NCAA Tournament discussion. Jim Calhoun is focused on this season, but continues to work hard for the future in developing current players, watching incoming recruits and hosting future targets all this past weekend. Providence had a couple recruits show well this past weekend and Marquette is in the mix for an athletic forward in the class of 2009.

The Jersey grudge match that is Seton Hall and Rutgers took place for the second time in 10 days, this time at the RAC on the Rutgers campus, on Sunday afternoon. As expected, it was a tight and intense affair that came down to the final minutes.

The Pirates finished the game on a 7-0 run as Seton Hall Beats Rutgers, 65-60, to Sweep Season Series (Star-Ledger). After starting Big East play 0-6, SHU has now won four straight and have a date at DePaul next. The Rutgers season of improved expectations and momentum from some recruiting success is turning into another disaster as they fall to 1-10 in the Big East and 10-14 overall.

Jeremy Hazell had a game-high 19 points and John Garcia gutted out a 13-point, 8-rebound performance to lead the Pirates as Seton Hall Beats the Scarlet Knights for Second Time this Season (Asbury Park Press).

Rutgers did not help themselves down the stretch as they turned the ball over, missed free throws and shot after shot. The Loss to Seton Hall Shows Rutgers Coach Fred Hill, Jr. is Getting Outcoached (Star-Ledger) and his Big East head coaching record is 6-41 in his third season. The third season is the year where a coach is supposed to make his move and the direction of the program is established. With Rutgers scheduled to have a new athletic director in place in the near future, Hill better show some progress in the near future. As the losses continue to pile up, the recruiting momentum that was built last summer seems to dwindle rapidly.

Mike Rosario led RU with 15 points, but the tough defense of SHU senior Paul Gause made him work very hard for each of those points and forced him into 5 turnovers. Gause has Become the Senior Leader for Seton Hall (Gloucester Times) and he added 10 points and 4 steals in the win yesterday.

While RU’s struggles under Hill continue, maybe Bobby Gonzalez is point the Pirates in the right direction. While the four game win streak has not come against teams with a 9-35 (.205) combined Big East record, it looks like Gonzalez Rights Seton Hall (NY Daily News) after the 0-6 start and has positioned them above the other conference bottom-feeders, something many believed Fred Hill was going to start doing this year.
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St. John’s held visiting Louisville to only 19 points in the first half Sunday afternoon, looking to extend the misery the Cards have had in Madison Square Garden since joining the Big East conference. The Redstorm and UL battled back in forth for much of the second half before St. John’s Folds Against Louisville (NY Daily News) and losses 60-47.

The game was an ugly affair, with the teams combining to shoot 39-113 (34.5%) from the field, 5-29 (17%) from three-point range and just plain stink up the joint offensively in front of 6,128 fans in the Garden.

Jerry Smith, removed from the starting line-up for the game by head coach Rick Pitino, scored a game-high 21 points, making 11 of 11 free throw attempts, many in the last minutes to ice the game. On the Bench to Start, Smith Rules the Court (Louisville Courier-Journal) thereafter, scoring 19 of those 21 in the second half. The UL bench outscored their SJU counterparts 29-0 with Terrence Jennings and Andre McGee also added four points each in relief of the starters. Earl Clark was the lone other Card in double figures, adding 12 points and 8 rebounds.

St. John’s Losses to Louisville at MSG (Newsday), dropping the Redstorm to 3-8 in the Big East and 12-11 overall. Sean Evans had 12 points and 9 rebounds to lead SJU and Justin Burrell and DJ Kennedy each added 10. Paris Horne, who has been scoring well lately, was just 4-15 from the field, finishign with 9 points.

Louisville visits Notre Dame on Thursday while St. John’s returns to action on Wednesday when they visit Cincinnati.
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The Day.com has an interesting article on how Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun balances looking at the future with coaching his team for today, one that is 22-1 and starting to move into the favorite position to claim a national title this April. There is No Day of Rest for Calhoun (TheDay.com) as he travels to the University of Rhode Island on Sunday morning to watch 2009 commitments Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and Alex Oriakhi play for the Tilton School in the National Prep School Invitational. Calhoun also shares that practice time is also dedicated to working on future roles of the players that will be here next year, proving that thinking about next season is not only done by the USF’s, Rutgers’, etc of the Big East in February, but a legit national title contender is also keeping their eyes toward the future as well.

UConn also hosted a couple recruits during their 69-61 win over Michigan on Saturday evening. 6-foot-8 junior forward Tobias Harris and his 6-foot-4 younger brother Tyler Harris, a sophomore, took in the action. The Harris Brothers Visit UConn (ZagsBlog) and have a big game this week when their Long Island Lutheran squad meets St. Anthony’s in Jersey City.
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In a cruel piece of irony, I opened up the South Bend Tribune website this morning for a story on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish struggles, and an ad above the story is for obituary listings. The Irish season is not dead yet, but after seven sonsecutive losses, including Saturday’s 89-63 debacle at UCLA, Change is Needed as Hope Fades (South Bend Tribune) from a season expected to be special. At 3-7 in the Big East and 12-10 overall, ND is showing little in signs of being able to turn it around.

Frustrations are also mounting as Luke Harangody expressed his frustration following the game for being on the bench the final 10:34 of the contest. While his team was down by 27 when he exited and the junior has logged a lot of time this season, the Time on the Bench Does Not Sit Well (South Bend Tribune) with ‘gody and he made that pretty clear.
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While Notre Dame fades from the NCAA Tournament picture, Cincinnati is working hard to put themselves into the picture. While big wins are still needed, the Bearcats Up the Ante (Cincinnati Enquirer) by winning six of eight to put themselves in position that a few big wins, either home or away, could sway the committee on Selection Sunday in their favor.

FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman believes UC is among a handful Back in Tourney Discussion because of their recent play.
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Oak Hill once again flexed their powerful prep muscles with a 75-45 win over William Fleming at the Salem Civic Center in Virginia over the weekend. In the article, it is reported that 6’7 senior forward Glenn Bryant, who scored 10 points in the game, is likely to choose his college between UAB and Marquette. Fleming Falls Short (Roanoke Times) in this contest as Oak Hill remains undefeated on the season.
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Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal spent some time watching a couple future Friars as PC Recruits Johnnie Lacy of Notre Dame Prep and Vincent Council of the Patterson School played in the National Prep School Tournament on the University of Rhode Island campus. Both were impressive to the veteran Friar beat writer…
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