Cincinnati News, DePaul News, Louisville News, Marquette News, Notre Dame News, Pittsburgh News, Providence News, Syracuse News, West Virginia News

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (11/24/2009)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****

First, I must apologize for the lack of a Monday Big East Power Poll and missing the News & Notes since Friday. One of the office computers has passed away and everyone trying to cramp onto a laptop and a smaller desktop has made production a little slower the last several days. So, while yesterday was a tough day for NBE, it was a very good day, again, for the Big East. The conference has a cummulative record of 52-4 after last night’s 4-0 mark. Cincinnati knocked off a top 25 team in Maui, Pitt beat a quality mid-major program in a semi-hostile environment and DePaul picked up a solid win over a good A-10 program in the Paradise Jam. Louisville closed out their three wins in three games by running past Appalachian State.

Seven games are on the schedule tonight with Pitt and Cincinnati taking on ranked foes on neutral floors. Syracuse hosts Cornell, hoping to avoid a letdown from their blistering start to the season. Providence looks to defend the conference’s honor against Vermont, who won at Rutgers in their last game this past weekend. Marquette, Notre Dame and West Virginia should have easy games at home.

In other news, another season ending injury has bit Marquette as one of their big men goes down in practice Monday night. We will be back later today with more news & notes and some additional National Prep Showcase coverage of the most impressive players from the weekend. For now, here is a look at the news & notes from last night’s action and a preview of what is on tap to tip tonight.

——-

LAST NIGHT’S ACTION:

Cincinnati 67, Vanderbilt 58
–With star guard Deonta Vaughn saddled with foul trouble and limited to just 15 minutes of action, Cincinnati needed its supporting cast to step up against nationally ranked Vanderbilt in the Maui Invitational on Monday. Sophomores Yancy Gates and Dion Dixon answered the call as Cincinnati Defeats No. 24 Vanderbilt (Cincinnati Enquirer), 67-58.

Gates scored 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first half and added 10 rebounds. Gates set the tone with his physical style in the paint. With Vaughn limited throughout because of foul trouble, Dixon came off the bench to play 30 minutes and score 12 points and grab 10 rebounds.

The Bearcat defense limited the Commodores to 27.5% (14-51) shooting for the game and they outrebounded Vandy 53-32.

Cincinnati advances to meet Maryland in the second round this evening.
————

DePaul 58, St. Joseph’s (PA) 51
–Their trip to the Virgini Islands for the Paradise Jam should be considered a success for DePaul as Will Walker Leads DePaul to Third (Chicago Tribune) in the event with 25 points in Monday’s 58-51 win over St. Joseph’s.

The Blue Demons, who played Tennessee tough in the semifinals of the event, took care of St. Joe’s without big man Mac Koshwal who missed the game with a foot injury. Walker was the only Blue Demon to finish in double figures and he also grabbed 7 rebounds. In Koshwal’s absence, Krys Faber (seven points, eight rebounds) and Devin Hill (eight points, six rebounds) saw increased time and combined for 15 points and 14 rebounds.

DePaul’s defense limited St. Joe’s to their lowest offensive output in nearly a year as the Hawks Offense Fizzles in the Loss (Philly Inquirer).
———-

Louisville 80, Appalachian State 53
–Ten Cards played at least 12 minutes and eleven hit the scoring column as Louisville Uses its Depth to Rip Appalachian State (Louisville Courier-Journal), 80-53 before 19,027 fans at the Hall of Fame Showcase at Freedom Hall. It was the third win in three days for Louisville.

Samardo Samuels led the scoring parade with 16 points and Preston Knowles (11), Edgar Sosa (11) and Jared Swopshire (10) also registered double-figures. Freshman Rakeem Buckles added six points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes of action.
————-

Pittsburgh 68, Wichita State 55
–The young players for Jamie Dixon’s Pittsburgh club seem to be growing up quickly and it was hard to tell the Panthers had five new starters on the floor last night as Pitt Stops Wichita State (Kansas City Star), 68-55, in the Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Kansas City Monday night.

The Panthers took a 32-21 halftime lead and Pitt Holds off Wichita State (Tribune-Review) each time they made a run, looking like a veteran team in doing so.

After the shockers closed to within 43-40 and the partisan crowd was getting into it, Pitt answered with a 16-6 run and eventually stretched the lead to 66-49.

Redshirt freshman point guard Travon Woodall led Pitt with 19 points. Woodall also recorded six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Backcourt mate Ashton Gibbs added 18 points and junior center Gary McGhee scored 10 in the win.

Pitt will face Texas in tonight’s CBE final in Kansas City.
——————————————————————————–

TODAY’s BIG EAST GAMES:

Cornell @ Syracuse, 7:00 PM
–Syracuse Suddenly a Daunting Opponent for Cornell (Ithaca Journal)
–Scouting Syracuse (Ithaca Journal)
–Cornell is Next Test for SU Basketball Team (Syracuse Post-Standard)

The Orange, newly minted as a top 10 team following their Coaches vs. Cancer championship last week, host Cornell. The Big Red have road wins over UMass and Alabama to their credit already. In their last game, they fell at home to Seton Hall.
———–

Citadel @ West Virginia, 7:00 PM
–Long Road Ahead (Times West Virginian)
–WVU Tough, Even Without Ebanks (Charleston Post-Courier)
–The Citadel is Well Traveled (Daily Mail)
–Critical Stretch Awaits WVU Basketball team (Daily Mail)
–Busy Week for WVU Basketball Team (Charleston Gazette)
–Butler a Better Player than Most Realize (Times West Virginia)

The Mountaineers are just 1-0 on the season, but they get busy now with four games in six days. They will be doing so, again, without sophomore forward evin Ebanks.

“He’s not going to be here,” Bob Huggins told the Charleston Gazette. When pressed, the coach said, “I’d rather not discuss it.”

Tonight’s game is at the Charleston Civic Arena and following the game the Mountaineers will bus to Cincinnati for a flight to Anaheim (CA) where they will oppose Long Beach State at 2 p.m. Thursday and will play again Friday and Sunday in the 76 Classic.
————

Vermont @ Providence, 7:00 PM
–Friars Wary of Blakely, Catamounts (Providence Journal)
–Vermont @ PC Preview (Providence Journal)
–Vermont’s Road Trip Continues (Burlington Free Press)

Vermont looks for a second consecutive road win over the Big East after knocking off Rutgers, 77-71, over the weekend.
———–

Maryland vs. Cincinnati, 7:00 in the Maui Invitational
–See more Maui Invitational coverage above
————

Kennesaw State @ Notre Dame, 7:30 PM
–Backcourt Buoys Irish as Guard Play Solidifies (Journal Gazette)
–Brey Monitors Irish Focus (South Bend Tribune)

The Irish face Kennesaw State tonight before heading to the Chicago Invitational Challenge this weekend. The Irish have yet to be tested with their early season soft schedule and that is unlikely to change tonight.
————

South Dakota @ Marquette, 8:00 PM
–Showdown with Marquette? Nothing New for Coyotes (Sioux Falls Argus Leader)
–Game Four: South Dakota (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
–Broken Foot Shelves Otule Again (Journal Sentinel)

The injury bug continues for the Golden Eagles as sophomroe center Chris Otule broke his right foot during Monday’s practice. Otule missed the first 10 games last season because of a broken left foot. Otule, a 6-10 sophomore, had played just 25 minutes in the Golden Eagles’ first three games, averaging 3.7 points, 2.0 points and 1.7 blocked shots and is now likely gone for the season, joining freshman point guard Junior Cadougan with season ending injuries for Buzz Williams’ club.
————

Pittsburgh vs. Texas, 10:00 PM in the CBE Classic
–See more CBE coverage above…