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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (3/3/2010)

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Four games were on last night’s Big East schedule and Marquette made quite a statement, and it was loud and clear. The Golden Eagles are GOOD! MU ran Louisville out of the Bradley Center and the loss puts the Cards back onto the bubble, at least according to Rick Pitino who believes they need a win this weekend to give them enough breathing room before NYC. In other action, South Florida kept their postseason dreams alive while Cincinnati’s looks to be just about shattered. In the process, DePaul gets closer to commencing their job search full steam ahead, but one of their top candidates looks to be off the board. Villanova held on to, at least temporarily, right their ship while Syracuse had a laugher in the Carrier Dome over St. John’s allowing the Orange to celebrate their outright regular season Big East championship.

Tonight is a big game as Notre Dame and UConn put their NCAA Tournament hopes on the line in South Bend. No Luke Harangody again for the Irish…

In other news, Dane Miller is drawing comparisons to another former Big East star from his home area and Jermaine Dixon looks to reach a milestone of his own in his Pitt career. Also, more talk on the Big 10 expansion heats up after the initial report comissions by the conference says it is a feasible plan to move ahead…

Also, it is now less than a week away, so be sure to visit our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. The Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden is an event Big East fans must experience when they have the opportunity and here is your chance to get your tickets early before they become harder, and more expensive, to find. 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

Now, onto today’s News & Notes around the Big East…

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TUESDAY’S BIG EAST GAMES:

Marquette 69, Louisville 48

If there was any doubt heading into last night about the chances of Marquette earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament they were likely put to rest as the Golden Eagles Take a Big Step Toward the Dance (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) as MU Outclasses the Cardinals (Journal Sentinel) in a 69-48 dismantling of Louisville.

Buzz Williams’ club returned home to the Bradley Center after a 3-0 road trip where they won each game in overtime. Despite a thin rotation and playing without key contributor Dwight Buycks once again, Marquette showed no signs of being weary on either side of the court as Marquette Crushed Louisville (Louisville Courier-Journal) before a crowd of 16,281.

Darius Johnson-Odom got the Golden Eagles off to a hot start lighting up the Cards in the opening minutes on his way to a game-high 22 points. Senior Maurice Acker added 15 points and reserve Joseph Fulce added a spark off the bench with 11 points and Jimmy Butler and Lazar Hayward had off nights against UL.

Nobody was able to step up for Rick Pitino’s club as Edgar Sosa led their offense with just nine points. UL shot just 37% from the floor and turned the ball over 16 times. Their aggressive offense was non-existent as they attempted just two foul shots all game.

Marquette improves to 11-6 in the Big East and will close their regular season on Saturday when they host Notre Dame as the Bradley Center crowd will get a final chance to say ‘thank you’ to the senior trio of Lazar Hayward, Maurice Acker and David Cubillan for a memorable season.

Louisville failed in their first attempt of two to reach 11 regular season Big East wins before the 2010 Big East Tournament begins next week in Madison Square Garden. Pitino has said he believes the Cards need 11 conference wins to counter some tough early season losses in their effort to impress the Tournament Selection Committee. The cards will get another crack at win #1 this weekend as Freedom hall Will Close its Doors by Hosting the Nation’s No. 1 Team (USA Today) Syracuse on Saturday. It will be senior day and the last UL regular season game at Freedom Hall which began hosting Cardinal basketball games in 1956.
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Villanova 77, Cincinnati 73

Despite a 16-point lead with just over 6 minutes left in the game things did not go smoothly for Villanova in their win over Cincinnati last night. A Much-Needed Win for ‘Nova Nearly Gets Away at Cincinnati (Philly Daily News) as Villanova Fights Off Cincinnati, 77-73 (Philly Inquirer) to stop their slide of three losses in their last four games.

A Rashad Bishop follow-up basket with 2:47 left cut the ‘Nova lead to 66-65. However Jay Wright’s senior backcourt duo of Reggie Redding and Scottie Reynolds came through in the clutch with Redding scoring six points in the final 2:32, including a friendly bounce on a three-pointer that pushed the lead to 71-65 with 1:31 reamining. Two free throws by Reynolds, who scored all 17 of his team-high total in the second half.

Bishop had a game-high 19 off the bench for the Bearcats and senior Deonta Vaughn played the entire 40 minutes and scored 18, but the Bearcats’ Comeback Falls Short Against No. 9 Villanova (Cincinnati Enquirer) leaving the Bearcats Almost Out of Chances (Cincy Enquirer) for inclusion in the NCAA Tournament Field of 65. The loss left Cincinnati 7-10 in league play with a game at Georgetown Saturday to close the regular season. UC has lost seven of 10 down the stretch meaning they would likely have to win the 2010 Big East Tournament to play in the Big Dance this season, which was the realistic goal when the season started.

Villanova places six players in double figures Tuesday night with Reynolds’ 17 leading the way. Corey Stokes added 14, Redding 11 and Corey Fisher, Antonio Pena and Mouphtau Yarou each adding 10. ‘Nova closes the regular season in what will be a very emotional final home game for Reynolds and Redding against West Virginia on Saturday. The game was expected to be for the Big East regular season championship when the schedule makers put the conference slate together. With the Wildcats’ late-season lull, the game will likely decide the second seed in the conference tournament. It is ‘Nova’s with a win.
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South Florida 63, DePaul 59

There are many surprises in the Big East this season and South Florida heading into their final game of the season with a chance to finish conference play at 9-9 certainly ranks among them. Last night USF Holds on for a 63-59 Win at DePaul (St. Pete Times).

DePaul made things interesting with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 56-all with 2:32 remaining. But, as he has done so often this season, Dominique Jones Pulls the Bulls Through Against DePaul (Tampa Tribune) as his shot clock beating three-pointer put USF ahead for good, 59-56 and his two free throws sealed the game and provided the final score.

Jones was 10 of 12 from the line and scored 20 points despite just being four of 17 from the field. Chris Howard added 13 and Augustus Gilchrist scored 11 in the win. South Florida will host UConn in saturday’s regular season finale. With an 18-11 overall record and 8-9 in the Big East, a win could put the Bulls back in the bubble talk for the NCAA Tournament heading into next week.

DePaul falls to 1-16 in Big East play and 8-21 overall. The Blue Demons close up their 2009-2010 season Friday night hosting St. John’s. Afterwards all attention will turn to their head coaching search with current interim head coach Tracy Webster among the candidates. One name that has been getting a lot of attention for the position is Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, a native of Chicago and brother-in-law of US President Barack Obama. However, Robinson is Out of the Running for DePaul (ESPN) as he agreed in principle to a two-year contract extension with Oregon State on Tuesday extending his deal through the 2015-2016 season.

Mack Koshwal led DePaul Tuesday with 24 points and 11 rebounds while senior Will Walker added 16.
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Syracuse 85, St. John’s 66

Syracuse seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins have the distinction of Going Out as Champions (Watertown Daily Times) as the Orange clinched their first outright Big East regular season title since 1991 with an 85-66 win over St. John’s before 26,000+ fans at the Carrier Dome.

Its been a Long Road to the Top for Rautins and Onuaku (Auburn Citizen), both 5th year seniors and unheralded recruits when they stepped on the SU campus. Last night, playing as the No. 1 team in the nation, the Orange faithful howled their thank yous as Onuaku scored a season-high 21 points and Rautins added 14 points and 7 assists as the Dome rocked during the blowout win. Wesley Johnson and Kris Joseph added 13 points each with highlight reel dunks included as it was a party in the Dome last night.

Syracuse, a likely #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will close their regular season at Louisville Saturday in the last UL regular season game scheduled for Freedom Hall.

St. John’s falls to 5-12 in another disappointing season which will conclude Friday at DePaul. While the coaching position of the Blue Demons will be under watch after the game, so could the position with the Red Storm…
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WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S BIG EAST GAME:

Connecticut (7-9) at Notre Dame (8-8), 7 PM.

–UConn Needs One More Peak (Journal Inquirer)
–Loss to Irish, Abromaitis Would Smart (Hartford Courant)
–UConn in Virtual Must-Win Situation at Notre Dame (Hartford Courant)
–Plenty at Stake for Huskies at Notre Dame (TheDay.com)
–Final Games Key to Irish Tourney Fate (Journal Gazette)
–Boards Should tell the Tale (South Bend Tribune)
–Jackson Still the Glue for Irish (South Bend Tribune)
–UConn, Notre Dame Meet Both Desperately Needing a Win (Stamford Advocate)

Shame on the NCAA for thinking about messing with the set-up of the NCAA Tournament to expand well past the current number of 65! If they did, would the drama surrounding much of the final two weeks of action be as great? Tonight the Huskies and Irish meet in South Bend playing for their NCAA Tournament lives! ND will again be withouth Luke Harangody because of a knee injury. However, Mike Brey’s squad has banded together and won back-to-back games against ranked opponents to climb back to .500 in the Big East.

UConn suffered a stinging loss in the final moments to Louisville at home last Sunday and are now forced to go 2-0 on this season-ending road trip from the outermost point in the Midwest of the Big East and then to the southern-most on Saturday (USF) in order to get back to .500 themselves in Big East play.
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MORE BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES:

Last season Pitt had program stalwarts Sam Young, Levance Fields and Tyrell Biggs to send off on Senior Day, this season there will be two seniors clsoing their college careers, but Chase Adams and Jermaine Dixon have only been Panthers for three years combined. Still, Pitt Guard Dixon is Chasing a Team Milestone (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) he is determined to accomlish over his final two games.
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Rutgers freshman Dane Miller is having an outstanding rookie campaign for the Scarlet Knights in the Big East. The Rochester (NY) product is raising comparisons to another Rochester product, John Wallace, who starred in the Big East. In fact, even the former Orange star agrees that Dane Miller is Looking Like the Next John Wallace (NewJerseyNewsroom) and Mr. Wallace does not make that comparison lightly.
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Rutgers and Big 10 Look Like a Match according to the Chicago Tribune. The initial report commissioned by the Big 10 conference investigating conference expansion has come back with the Big 10 Being Told it is Safe to Expand it’s Horizons (Chicago Tribune), the fin of speculating who and how many can begin again. The The five analyzed in the study were Missouri, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers…

Could the Big 10 Scoop Up Several Big East Teams (Providence Journal)?
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