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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (12/23/2009)

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It is a busy couple days on the court in the Big East with eight teams in action (going 7-1) on Tuesday night and five more games today, including an off noon tip-off in the Georgetown/Harvard match-up (Harvard Leads 14-13 with 13:32 left in 1st half).

On the court, DePaul continues to struggle with another bad loss. Off the court, Georgetown is losing a player due to transfer and Louisville will be without an expected starter for at least one game because of suspension. Pitt got another piece to their puzzle back Tuesday night and, just a reminder, Big East Conference action gets underway this Sataurday!

Also, it might be three months away, but our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page has the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. With all the excitement recently at Madison Square Garden, Big East Tournament tickets could make a great holiday gift for any Big East fan on your shopping list. Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and you can get tickets to any Big East conference or non-league game by following this link: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online

Read on below for all of today’s News & Notes…

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Notre Dame 101, Bucknell 69
–Notre Dame got 20 points and 11 rebounds from Luke Harangody and senior guard Tory Jackson Hits Milestone as Irish Overwhelm Bucknell (South Bend Tribune) during a 101-69 victory Tuesday over Bucknell at Purcell Pavilion.

Jackson needed six points to reach 1,000 for his career and he did exactly that with a step-back three-pointer that put ND up 23-9 just over eight minutes into the game.

The Irish offense sizzled all game while shooting at a 61% clip overall from the field and connecting on 11-21 attempts from beyond the three-point arc. The Rout of the Bison Leaves Irish Coach in a Holiday Mood (Chicago Tribune) as Mike Brey was especially proud of his team’s giving mood as they registered 15 assists on 17 made baskets in the first half and overall on the game his troops were credited with 28 assists.

Ben Hansbrough added 16 points and Tim Abromaitis scored 15 in the win. The Irish also held a 46-30 rebounding edge.

The Irish now break for the holiday and it will be Big East conference time when play resumes December 30th with ND hosting Providence in the Big East opener for both schools.
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Connecticut 71, Maine 54
–Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun is likely thankful for a healthy Jerome Dyson this holiday season as Dyson Leads a Rescue Party (TheDay.com) helping the Huskies Wake Up in the Second Half (Hartford Courant) to defeat Maine 71-54.

Dyson helped bail out his team, scoring 22 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, helping UConn pull away after a 26-all first half score. Senior Stanley Robinson had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Remember, this was a Maine team that trailed Syracuse 60-12 at the half of a 101-55 loss earlier this month.

Even some of the 11,366 fans were heard Booing the Huskies (TheDay.com) as the walked off the court at the half.

“I’m always disappointed because I don’t think you should boo college kids,” Calhoun said of the booing in TheDay.com. “The way we played, I was probably doing a little of that under my breath myself. … I don’t like it. But, once again, if you want to get the claps, everything is a double-edge sword.”

Alex Oriakhi finished with just six points, but his 14 rebounds and four blocks helped set the tone as –UConn used a 25-7 run in the second half to take control of the game.

The Huskies (8-2) host Iona on Sunday in Hartford before beginning Big East play December 30th at Cincinnati.
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Pittsburgh 74, Ohio 49
–Pitsburgh played with a full deck on Tuesday for the first time all season and the results were more typical of a Jamie Dixon coached team as Pitt Beat Ohio U 74-49 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) at the Peterson Events Center Tuesday night.

The Panthers held the Bobcats to 24% shooting, outrebounding them 48-38 and had 26 assists on their 29 made baskets, led by junior Brad Wanamaker’s double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.

The scoring star was sophomore Ashton Gibbs, who finished with a game-high 15 points, but giving the Panther faithful more hope for conference play was Jermaine Dixon scoring 14 and Gilbert Brown, playing in his first game since returning from a semester-long suspension for violating University Academic Policy, added 11 points. Brown’s Return Sparks Pitt Victory (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) as the junior scored 11 points going four of four from the field and one-for-one at the line.

“Obviously, Jermaine and Gilbert make us a better team,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said afterwards in the Tribune-Review. “Our two most experienced players being added in December, if you find another team in that situation, let me know.”

The Panthers return to action December 28th when they open conference play by hosting DePaul and then encounter a daunting January conference schedule.
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Seton Hall 94, Navy 56
–Seton Hall used a big second half to rebound from their first loss of the season Saturday to Temple to defeat Navy, 94-56.

The first half was not so pretty as the hangover from Temple loss seemed to loom and the possibility that the Pirates were looking ahead to the upcoming showdown with West Virginia looming for this Saturday. Seton Hall Sinks Navy and Prepares for Big East Battles (NorthJersey.com) with a 64-point explosion in the second half, led by sophomore Jordan Theodore who had a game-high 18 points and added six rebounds and six assists without a turnover.

Theodore and Jamel Jackson, who looked to be phased out of the rotation in the loss to Temple with Keon Lawrence and Jeff Robinson being added to the team, provided the spark off the bench SHU needed. Jackson scored 11 on Tuesday night.

Jeremy Hazell added 17 in the win and now Bobby Gonzalez’s team can shift their focus to their nationally televised encounter with the Mountaineers set for this Saturday.
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Syracuse 92, Oakland 60
–Brandon Triche is certainly making his case early this year as one of the top freshmen in the country. On Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome, Triche gets the Orange to an Even Dozen (Watertown Daily Times) with a dazzling performance in helping Syracuse get to 12-0 with a 92-60 win over Oakland.

Triche turned in a career high 27 points in front of nearly 19,000 fans with a full arsenal of offensive talents. The local standout and nephew of former Orange forward Howard Triche was nine of 11 from the field and connected on all six of his three-point attempts in his 20 minutes of action. Triche added four assists and four rebounds to his stat line. Johnny who????

The unselfishness of this Orange team is striking as Syracuse Shares the Scoring Wealth (Syracuse Post-Standard) as they racked up another 24 assists as a team. Senior Andy Rautins led SU with nine assists and his unselfish play has rubbed off on others throughout this season.

Wes Johnson added 19 points and 11 rebounds and Rick Jackson added 14 points. Redshirt frosh Mookie Jones came off the bench and scoring 13 for the Orange who played most of the way without starting center Arinze Onuaku who is nursing a bruised quad and played just five minutes off the bench.

Syracuse is in action next December 29th when they travel to take on Seton Hall. It will be the big East opener for the Orange.
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Fla. Gulf Coast 64, DePaul 61
–The beat continues for DePaul and Jerry Wainwright. Even the return of Mac Koshwal can not prevent the Blue Demons from another embarrassing loss and that is exactly what last night’s 64-61 defeat at the hands of Florida Gulf Coast is.

DePaul’s Loss to Fla. Gulf Coast is Inexplicable (Chicago Tribune) on many levels, giving the Blue Demons two losses to sub-200 RPI programs already (the other 15 Big East teams have one combined). DePaul shot 12-27 from the foul line and one game after getting a combined 38 points and 16 rebounds in 80 minutes from Devin Hill and Mike Stovall the duo provides five points and five rebounds in 36 minutes.

Koshwal returned to provide 16 points and 13 rebounds and Will Walker added 11, but was just 4-18 from the field.

DePaul will open Big East play next Monday at Pitsburgh.
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Cincinnati 74, Winthrop 57
–It was a much needed sight for Cincinnati coaches and staff as their Stars Return Just in Time (CNati.com) with conference play around the corner. Sophomore Yancy Gates had a game-high 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds while senior Deonta Vaughn scored 11, including a pair of late three’s to clinch victory, as the Bearcats beat Winthrop 74-57 at Fifth Third Arena Tuesday night.

After watching an early second half lead of 19 points shrink to as little as nine due to what coach Mick Cronin referred to as a lack of focus, Cincinnati Recovers to Hold off Winthrop (Cincinnati Enquirer) with Vaughn slamming the door with back-to-back three-pointers pushing a 10-point lead back to 16 with 4:16 left.

“We went on vacation in the second half,” Cronin said afterwards in the Enquirer. “We just got sloppy with the basketball. We lacked a little bit of maturity. We didn’t finish the game.”

The coach hopes the inconsistency issues are rectified soon as Connecticut comes to town December 30th to open Big East play.
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Rutgers 66, St. Peter’s 42
–Hamady N’Diaye posted 15 points and 10 blocked shots and Mike Rosario scored 28 points as Rutgers cruised to a 66-42 win over St. Peter’s before a crowd of about 2,000 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, more commonly known as the RAC.

Freshman forward Dane Miller had 15 rebounds and four blockes in his 27 minutes of action. The 28 points by Rosario was a new career high.

As a team the Scarlet Knights tallied a school record 18 blocked shots and quietly, although it has not always been pretty or impressive, Rutgers is Coasting on a Six-Game Win Streak (mycentraljersey.com). Fred Hill’s team still has some pre-conference work to do as they travel to North Carolina to take on the Tar Heels next Monday before conference play begins for RU.
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Harvard (7-2) @ Georgetown, 12 Noon.
–Hoyas Preparing for Harvard’s Do-Everything Lin (Washington Times)

What to watch for: Hoyas are coming off Saturday’s loss to Old Dominson and the announcement that Junior Nikita Mescheriakov Will Transfer and face Harvard a pretty good Harvard team for a noon Wednesday game. Harvard has already beaten Boston College in their last outing, but they have not played in two weeks. They also fell to UConn by the score of 79-73.
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Louisiana-Lafayette (4-6) @ Louisville, 7:00 PM.
–Cardinals Suspend Jennings, Pitino Says He Might Return After One Game (Louisville Courier-Journal)
–Louisville’s Press Keying Recent Surge (SI.com)

What to watch for: Wednesday evening’s game was supposed to mark the beginning of Terrence Jennings and Samardo Samuels in the starting line-up together, instead it will mark the beginning of Jennings’ suspension. The suspension is not expected to last long (one game), but the Cards are already thin upfront with an injury to George Goode. UL-Lafayette’s top player is 6-foot-8 forward Tyren Johnson.
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Delaware (3-7) @ Villanova, 7:00 PM.
–Hens Head to Villanova for Tough Top 10 Test (News Journal)

What to watch for: Not expecting much drama here except for how much ‘Nova will score.
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Bryant (0-11) @ St. John’s, 7:00 PM.
–Bulldogs face SJU Wednesday Night (ByrantBulldogs.com)

What to watch for: The Red Storm should look to put the hammer down early and bounce back from disappointing loss to Corner in Holiday Festival Final Monday night.
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No. 15 Mississippi (10-1) @ West Virginia, 7:30 PM.
–WVU Hosts No. 15 Ole Miss (Times West Virginian)
–UM Takes Aim at Polished WVU (Clarion Ledger)
–WVU coach says team lacking focus and intensity (Daily Mail)
–WVU Ready for Ole Miss Pressure (Charleston Gazette)

What to watch for: WVU was nearly upset at Cleveland State when they couldn’t handle the pressing defense and Ole Miss will test them in that regard tonight. It is their biggest test before starting conference play Saturday at SHU.
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