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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/7/2009)

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It was a busy weekend in the Big East, but Saturday put a large dent in the conference’s gaudy non-conference record. Providence and Marquette lost big leads while DePaul and St. John’s lost games they were expected to lose. The shocker game in Louisville as the Cards were run out of their own gym. Overall, the conference was just 2-5 on Saturday (not counting West Virginia’s exhibition victory). Pittsburgh won a record-setting (for lack of offense) affair on Friday night while Rutgers, Notre Dame, UConn and Villanova picked up wins on Sunday to salvage the weekend for the conference. After a 7-5 mark this weekend, the Big East is still sitting pretty with an overall mark of 98-17.

In other news, Deniz Kilicli made the most of his opportunity to play in WVU’s Saturday exhibition win over Charleston. Recruiting updates on Maurice Harkless and Doron Lamb are also available as well as brief looks at Providence and Seton Hall’s games tonight on the schedule.

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SUNDAY’S BIG EAST GAMES:

Notre Dame 90, Central Florida 72
–Notre Dame found themselves in quite a tussle with Central Florida for 20 minutes. The Irish went into halftime tied at 41 with the visitors after a Tim Abromaitis bucket at the buzzer tied the score. It was just a small contribution as the Irish Junior Shined in First Start (Journal Gazette), scoring 31 points for the game and helping the Irish break things open in the second half on their way to a 90-72 win at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend. Abromaitis and Luke Harangody Help Irish Improve to 8-1 (NWI Times) as Harangody added 29 points and 7 rebounds in the win.

The Irish got a slight scare late in the game when Buena Vista’s Tory Jackson Twisted an Ankle Late in ND’s Win (MLive.com) and did not return to the game. Irish Coach Mike Brey told the press after the game that Jackson could have returned, but with the game in hand they took the conservative approach to prevent the chance of additional injury. Jackson had an excellent floor game running the Irish offense with 9 assists and zero turnovers in 27 minutes.

Abromaitis’ Big Day Powered the Irish (South Bend Tribune) early as he tied his career high of 17 points before intermission and picked up the slack for Harangody who missed the final 5:40 of the first half with three personal fouls.

The Irish return to action on Wednesday inside Purcell Pavilion when they host IUPUI.

With his father, Michael Jordan, watching from the upper press box, freshman Marcus Jordan was 4-of-4 shooting for nine points in 20 minutes for UCF.
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Connecticut 79, Harvard 73
–Jerome Dyson filled the stat sheet on Sunday afternoon and Connecticut needed just about every ounce of his big day as the Huskies Get Away With Another Inconsistent Performance (TheDay.com), edging Tommy Amakers’ Harvard club 79-73 in Storrs.

Dyson finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks as Inconsistent UConn Holds off Harvard (Hartford Courant) and Crimson senior guard Jeremy Lin, who torched UConn for 30 points.

The Huskies saw a 16-point lead whittled to four as Lin (22 of his 30 in the second half) led the charge. However, the experienced players for UConn stepped up and secured the victory. Kemba Walker added 10 points, Stanley Robinson provided 18 points and 12 rebounds with Gavin Edwards scored 12 and blocking 6 shots as the quartet, with Dyson, scored 74 of the 79 points scored by Jom Calhoun’s club.

Coming up this week for UConn is a date with Kentucky on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in the SEC/Big East Invitational.
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Rutgers 76, Colgate 67
–Colgate entered Sunday’s contest at the RAC with Rutgers at 0-7 on the season. For 20 minutes, they did not look like a winless club as they took a 35-30 lead into the half against the Scarlet Knights.

Saving (Some) Face (Hoops Haven) was the theme of the second half for RU as Rutgers Escapes Winless Colgate, 76-67 (Star-Ledger) behind 19 points (on just six field goal attemps) and 8 rebounds from sophomore Greg Echenique and 15 points and 8 rebounds from freshman Dane Miller.

Despite their tallest starter being just 6′6, Colgate outscored RU 14-4 in the paint in the first 20 minutes. The fans voiced their displeasure with the opening 20 minute effort from the Knights by serenading the home team with boos at the half.

After a stern halftime speech from the coaching staff, RU took control in the second half with a 13-3 run after Colgate scored the first bucket after intermission. Sophomore Mike Rosario added 14 points, but did not start the game because of a bruised shin.

Ru is now 5-2 on the season and will host Monmouth on Wednesday.
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Villanova 95, Maryland 86
–Villanova flexed their perimeter muscle playing at the Verizon Center on Sunday night against Maryland in the BB&T Classic. Deep-Shooting ‘Nova Outlasts Maryland (Philadelphia Inquirer) by making 16 of 39 three-pointers in a 95-86 win over the Terps.

The Wildcats also were able to outrebound Maryland 45-33 and forced 19 turnovers. Senior Scottie Reynolds paced the offense scoring 25 points as Nova’s Reynolds is Right at Home (DelCo Times) as Reynolds grew up roughly 25 miles from Washington in Herndon (VA).

Sophomore backcourt mate Corey Fisher contributed 20 points and four assists, was 4-for-6 beyond the arc and ignited an 8-0 run late in the game after Maryland (5-3) cut the deficit to 61-58 with 13 minutes, 33 seconds to go in the game.

Villanova Makes Quick Work of Maryland (Philly Daily News) racing out to a 49-38 halftime lead by making 11 three’s in the game’s first 20 minutes. Corey Stokes added 18 and Taylor King scored 13 in the win.

The Wildcats are back in action Wednesday against city rival St. Joe’s.
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SATURDAY’S BIG EAST GAMES:

Duke 80, St. John’s 71
–The Chance to play Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium was definitely a measuring stick opportunity for the St. John’s basketball team on Saturday. Entering the game 6-0 and receiving some votes in the latest top 25 polls, the Red Storm was eager to see how they stacked up against an elite team in the country. Duke Snaps St. John’s Winning Streak in 80-71 Win (NY Daily News) as they ride a big early lead to victory.

Duke took a 40-24 lead at the half and SJU, already without 5th year senior Anthony Mason Jr, lost junior Justin Burrell to a sprained ankle in the game’s opening minutes as Duke Was Too Much for Gritty St. John’s (NY Post) who accounted well for themselves despite the cirumstances.

DJ Kennedy led SJU with 18 points and Sean Evans scored 17.

A 17-0 first half Duke run took control of the contest, but SJU closed the gap to 58-52 in the second half. Duke, which held a solid rebounding edge, ran off 10 more consecutive points to push the lead back to 16. St. John’s would push back, but never get within six again.

The Redstorm are back in action on Wednesday night playing the first game of the SEC/Big East Invitational at Madison Square Garden against Georgia.
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Georgetown 73, American 46
–The tasks get tougher this week for Georgetown as the Hoyas tune-up with a 73-46 victory over American on Saturday at the Verizon Center. Henry Sims and Chris Wright led the balanced Hoya attack with 12 points each as six Hoyas scored at least 9 points and 10 players played 10 minutes or more as In Win, Georgetown Preps for Tough Stretch (Washington Times) ahead.

Georgetown takes on Butler Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic and then travels cross country to take on Washington this Saturday.
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UNC-Charlotte 87, Louisville 65
–The score certainly caught many people by surprise as Louisville suffered an 87-65 home loss to UNC-Charlotte. It was a tough night for the Cards as Charlotte Catches Cards With their Guards Down (Louisville Courier-Journal) in front of more than 19,000 fans in Freedom Hall.

Jerry Smith joined the UL wounded Thursday with a strained Achilles’ tendon. Preston Knowles (thumb) and Peyton Siva (wrist) already were hurting and out of action once again, too. However, with their frontcourt intact and being outrebounded significantly by the 49ers on Saturday, Injuries Aren’t All that Ails Louisville Basketball Team (Louisville Courier-Journal). Samardo Samuels played just 19 minutes, scoring 14 points and grabbing just four rebounds, watching Charlotte frosh Chris Braswell have his way inside scoring 21 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as UNC-C dominated the glass with a 49-35 rebounding advantage.

UL has now lost two of three and will host Western Carolina this coming Saturday. The Cards expect Knowles to return to the line-up, it is unclear when Smith or Siva will be ready to play.
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NC State 77, Marquette 73
–For the second consecutive time, Marquette blows a double-digit second half lead and falls to an ACC team. The first time came in the the Old Spice Classic finale in a 57-56 loss to Florida State. On Saturday a similar scenario unfolded as the Golden Eagles could not hold a big second half lead in a 77-73 home loss to NC State.

Marquette led 36-25 at the half, but a 17-2 NC State run turned the game around and put the Wolfpack ahead 63-49 with over 5 minutes left.

The Golden Eagles Suffer Defensive Letdown in Loss (Appleton Post-Crescent) as the Defense Collapses (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) allowing the Pack to shoot 71% in the second half in front of a displeased crowd of 15,803.

Junior forward Jimmy Butler had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead four players in double figures. Freshman Jeronne Maymon missed the contest, taking a bite out of Buzz Williams’ bench strength, with a hip-pointer and is day to day.

MU is left searching for answers just days before its annual intra-city showdown with UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday.
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Rhode Island 86, Providence 82
–The Golden Eagles weren’t the only Big East team that watched a double digit second half lead slip away. In their annual in-state rivalry game, Providence blew a 16-point lead in an 86-82 loss to Rhode Island. The Rams Have a Finishing Kick (Providence Journal) that allowed them to overcome the deficit and hang on to win on their home floor.

PC-URI Lives up to the Hype (Providence Journal), but the loss will sting the Friars and could set their young squad back in the confidence department. PC will have to bounce back quickly with three games with week. The friars host Brown tonight (see below) and Iona on Saturday with a road game against George Washington on Wednesday. Following Saturday’s game, PC is not in action again until 12/21.

Redshirt soph Jamine Peterson led the Friars with 20 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday. Sharaud Curry added 17 and freshman Vincent Council scored 16.
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Syracuse 101, Maine 55
–Syracuse is definitely playing the role of a top 10 team, not a team that was unranked just a few weeks ago, they are beating good teams and destroying bad teams. The latest victim was the Maine Black Bears and this was a no-contest from the start as the Orange led 60-12 at the half. Yes, 60-12!

SU cruised to victory, 101-55, as six players reached double figures and no SU player played more than 24 minutes. Freshman Brandon Triche scored 16 points to lead the effort and the SU Defense Had its Way with Maine Watertown Daily Times) as the Orange are ‘zoned’ in and working in-synch in the 2-3 zone.

Next up for the Orange is a Thursday night date in the SEC/Big East Invitational against ranked Florida in St. Petersburg (FL) as Syracuse will put their 8-0 record on the line against the Gators.
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Vanderbilt 67, DePaul 54
–DePaul battled hard on the road, but the short-handed Blue Demons could not keep up as Vanderbilt pulled away after halftime for a 67-54 win. Will Walker DePaul with 17 points.
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FRIDAY’S BIG EAST GAME:

Pittsburgh 47, New Hampshire 32
–In a contest that seemed to set the game back decades, Pittsburgh defeated New Hampshire 47-32. The shocking aspect of this game was the first 20 minutes as Pitt led 15-7 at the half.

Sophomore Ashton Gibbs (23 points) and junior Brad Wanamaker (19) points combined for 42 of Pitt’s 47 points. The rest of the Panthers combined to make just one field goal (by Dante Taylor) and three free-throws (Chase Adams 2 and Dwight Miller 1).

Pitt takes on Indiana in the nightcap of Tuesday’s Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
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MONDAY’S BIG EAST SCHEDULE:

UMASS (4-4) @ Seton Hall, 7:00 PM.
–http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2009/12/umass_basketball_takes_a_two-g.html”>UMASS Takes Two-Game Winning Streak to Seton Hall for Monday Clash (MassLive.com)

The Pirates put their 6-0 mark on the line tonight at the Prudential Center in a non-league contest with UMass of the Atlantic 10.
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Brown (4-6) @ Providence, 7:30 PM.
–Friars Search for Consistency in Meeting with Brown (Providence Journal)
–Capsule Preview: Brown @ PC (Providence Journal)

The Friars look to quickly put the memory of Saturday’s tough loss at Rhode Island (see above) behind them when they tip off tonight against Brown. PC has three games this week.

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MORE BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES:

Over the weekend West Virginia stayed in game shape with an exhibition contest against Charleston. The Mountaineers, who recently won the 76 Classic in Anaheim, won the contest 81-48 amd it gave Bob Huggins the chance to get freshman Deniz Kilicli on the floor in game situations. Kilicli Makes the Most of Rare Chance to Play (Charleston Gazette) Saturday, scoring a game-high 18 points and adding four rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot in 28 minutes of playing time.

Kilicli still must sit out the next 15 regular season games of his 20-game NCAA mandated suspension because because he played on an overseas team with a pro.

Usual starter Casey Mitchell sat out with a swollen knee.

WVU (5-0) next plays host to Duquesne at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
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-originally posted at ZagsBlog

Maurice Harkless, a 6-foot-7 junior wing from Forest Hills (N.Y.) High, has trimmed his college list from 12 to five.

Harkless told GothamHoops.com that his final five schools are St. John’s, Fordham, Seton Hall, Kentucky and Connecticut.

“I want to get it over with,” Harkless told the New York Post after scoring 21 points in Forest Hills’ 60-57 loss to Wings Academy on Sunday. “There’s a lot of weight on my shoulders. I want to be able to just play and win games.”

Harkless is due to make his college announcement Wednesday afternoon on SNY.tv.
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The recruitment of Doron Lamb continues and could be expanding before it is finished. UConn and West Virginia are the Big East teams currently involved as Arizona and WVU are Pursuing Lamb (ZagsBlog.com) of late. He has also visited Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas and Connecticut officially, leaving one last official visit for the Oak Hill Academy shooting guard.