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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/8/2009)

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Last night, Seton Hall and Providence cruised to double digits wins in non-conference action as we kick off a busy week of college hoops, especially within the Big East. Tonight is the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden and it features Georgetown vs. Butler in the first game and Pittsburgh vs. Indiana in the night cap. Marquette is also in action tonight hosting city rival Wisc.-Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.

On Wednesday the SEC/Big East Invitational tips off with two games at Madison Square Garden and this year’s edition concludes Thursday in St. Petersburg.

In other news, an article today updating the recruitment of Josh Selby and a story of the personal tragedies SU commit Dion Waiters has overcome already in his life.

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MONDAY NIGHT’S BIG EAST GAMES:

Seton Hall 86, UMass 68
–There is not much bite in the Seton Hall pre-conference schedule this year, so their Monday night match-up with UMass had some urgency to it as the Minutemen have a solid resume as a college basketball program. The Pirates played with the sense of urgency as well as Seton Hall Dominates UMass 86-68 in a Game Players Saw as a ‘Must Win’ (Star-Ledger). SHU, which improves to 7-0 on the season, raced out to a 44-19 halftime lead and cruised in the second half for the win.

Sophomore transfer Herb Pope led the charge with 22 points and 15 rebounds, with 16 and 10 coming before halftime as Pope Propels Seton Hall in a Laugher (NorthJersey.com) despite battling a stomach virus that left some doubt prior to the game of his availability.

Jeremy Hazell added 21 points and Robert Mitchell scored 13 and Jordan Theodore added 12 for the Pirates. The SHU defense held UMass to a sub 30% shooting percentage, 22-75, from the field and forced 16 turnovers, many in the first half that set the tone early.

Melvyn Oliver, who was recently ‘removed’ from the team to concentrate on academics, returned to the team this week and played 9 minutes Monday. Oliver scored three points and grabbed three rebounds.

Seton Hall is back in action at the Prudential Center this Saturday when they host VMI. After a week off the Pirates host Temple (12/19) in a game that will mark the debuts of transfer students Keon Lawrence (who has been suspended indefinitely from the team) and Jeff Robinson (sitting out NCAA mandated period as a transfer student) as Pirates in a regular season game.
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Providence 78, Brown 62
–After a tight first half, in which they led 37-33, Providence pulled away from Brown for a 78-62 win, getting past the painful memories of Saturday’s loss to Rhode Island.

PC Bottled Up Brown (Attleboro Sun) in the second half by extending their defense to defend the three-point threat. The Friars also used their advantages in size and athletic ability to clean up on the glass with a 56-38 reboiunding edge and also make 11 steals and block 11 shots as a team.

Jamine Peterson (22 points, nine rebounds), Kyle Wright (15 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Bilal Dixon (13 points, six rebounds) paced PC as they overcame their own shooting woes (39% from floor and 27% from three) to earn the win.

Providence is right back in action Wednesday night when they travel to DC to take on 6-1 George Washington.
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TUESDAY NIGHT’S BIG EAST GAMES:

Butler (6-2) vs Georgetown, 7:00 PM at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic
–This Week’s Games critical to Butler (Indianapolis Star)
–Butler’s Old School Ways (Washington Post)
–Georgetown’s Defense Carries Burden of Proof (Washington Times)

Indiana (3-4) vs Pittsburgh, 9:00 PM at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic
–Big Stage Beckons (Gary Post-Tribune)
–IU, Crean Expect Pro-Pitt Garden Crowd (Journal Gazette)
–Guard Dixon’s Return Should Boost Pitt’s Offense (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
–Pitt, Indiana Share Links (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
–Foul Play Expected for IU’s Pritchard (Louisville Courier-Journal)
–Scouting Pittsburgh (Journal Gazette)

The annual Jimmy V Classic in support of the V Foundation in the memory of Jim Valvano tips off tonight at Madison Square Garden and once again a very strong Big East presence will call the Garden home as the Panthers and Hoyas take the stage.

The first game, Georgetown and Butler, is a match-up between ranked teams with high hopes this season. The Hoyas will be undergoing their first ‘test’ of the season as they have navigated to a 6-0 start against a pretty light schedule this far. A win tonight will go a long way in proving that this season will be different for John Thompson III’s club after last year’s disappointment.

The night cap featues a pair of teams looking to rebuild, or reload, as Indiana, coached by former Marquette head coach Tom Crean takes on Pittsburgh. The Hoosiers also feature former Hoya point guard Jeremiah Rivers, who leads IU with 4.4 assists a game. The Panthers are 7-1 and drew much praise for their gritty performance for 30 minutes against powerful Texas. However, it seems as the Pitt offense has been shut off since the final 10 minutes of the loss to Texas and has yet to be turned back on, which includes their 15-point first half (although they still led 15-7) performance in a 47-32 win over New Hampshire in their last game. Pitt could get a lift if Jermaine Dixon, who we have been told is a ‘gametime’ decision, is cleared to make his season debut after suffering a broken foot over the summer.
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Wis.-Milwaukee (6-3) @ Marquette, 8:00 PM
–Battle of Milwaukee (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
–Panthers Looking for Respect (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Tom Crean’s former team is also in action tonight as the Golden Eagles look to take care of city rival UW-Milwaukee at the Bradley Center tonight. Buzz Williams’ club is coming off a pair of disappointing defeats, blowing double-digit leads, to Florida State and North Carolina State in their last two games. It will be interesting to see how the young Golden Eagles rebound and take on an opponent that will be gunning hard for the upset.
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MORE BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES:

Josh Selby looks to be narrowing down his recruiting process. The former Tennessee commitment is looking to visit Arizona after taking his first official visit to Kentucky on January 2nd. The unsigned 2010, 6-foot-2 point guard has already visited Kansas and Indiana unofficially and is also considering Syracuse.
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While Syracuse is hoping to get a signed LOI from Selby in the spring, one player they did receive one from in the fall is guard Dion Waiters. The Philly native is a super talent and he has had a tough life that he is working to make better. Tragedy Cant Define Dion Waiters (ESPN) as he works to keep the memory of lost friends and family alive by excelling on the court.
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