Cincinnati News, Connecticut News, NIT, Seton Hall News, St. John's News, USF News

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (3/17/2010) – BOBBY GONZALEZ FIRED?

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The 2010 postseason got under way last night and it was not a great night for Big East teams. While Connecticut survived a challenge from Northeastern to win their opening NIT contest, South Florida fell at home to North Carolina State on a late Wolfpack bucket and Seton Hall was blown out of their own building. The loss by the Pirates has but a cap on a bizarre couple of days and last night might have truly been ‘Rock’ bottom at the Prudential Center.

In fact, the display, among other incidents over the last few years seems to have ended the Bobby Gonzalez era at the school as the NJO is reporting that Gonzalez Has Been Forced out at Seton Hall.

Tonight Cincinnati and St. John’s are in action while half the league is preparing for the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament that tips off on Thursday afternoon.

Read on for more from last night’s NIT action with the Big East and stay tuned to more on the SHU coaching situation. Also, a decision on the Rutgers position also will be coming in the very near future. Stay tuned…

Jerry Carino of Hoops Haven has some strong words in his morning post Seton Shame following Seton Hall‘s first round NIT loss to Texas Tech, 87-69, at the Prudential Center last night. According to Carino the lasting image of Seton Hall basketball in 2009-10: Herb Pope punches an opponent in the groin (twice) and gets ejected as his coach complains to the officials. That is right, Seton Hall’s Pope Punches Texas Tech’s Darko Cohadarevic in the Groin (Chicago Sun-Times with video) for the nation to see on ESPN2 in the game’s opening minutes. Pope, as Carino mentioned, was ejected and later in the game, with his team trailing by 16 with under 12 minutes left in the second half after his team managed a defensive stop and was in transition for a possible fast break, Pirate coach Bobb Gonzalez was hit with a technical foul.

According to Carino…

From a behavioral standpoint the program is an embarrassment right now. From the Keon Lawrence incident to Stix Mitchell’s exit to Pope going Andrew Golota in front of the whole country (the low blows were replayed about 200 times on ESPN2), it seems like there’s a brush fire a week and it’s tarnishing the school.

Don’t take my word for it; when the student section is chanting ”Fire Bobby” and “Robert Mitchell” during a postseason game in their own building, something is very, very wrong.

Ouch folks! On the heels of the recent NY Times article and now today with the Pope incident being played over and over again on ESPN and linked to nearly every sports columnist blog and website on the internet, its been a bizarre week for the Hall. In between, Seton Hall Forward Robert Mitchell Was Removed from the Team on Sunday (Star-Ledger), just days after the (now) former SHU Player Took a Shot at Coach (Bergen Record) Gonzalez following their Big East Tournament loss to Notre Dame in Madison Square Garden in the media by questioning his coaching decisions and style. By the way, Mitchell was one of the team captains.

Following last night’s disaster(s), Seton Hall Law Dean Patrick Hobbs Has ‘a number of concerns’ about Pirates’ Basketball Program (Star-Ledger). Hobbs is the person currently overseeing the athletics department and promises those concerns will be addressed.

In the actual game, Jeff Robinson led Seton Hall with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Theodore added 13, but the sophomore was just five of 19 from the field. Pirate seniors Eugene Harvey finished with 12 points and John Garcia added 7 points and 10 rebounds playing extended minutes in the wake of Pope’s ejection. Tough way to end their careers as they finish 19-13 on the year. One has to wonder if any other SHU career’s ended last night as Seton Hall Closes on a Poor Note (SNY.tv). One can only hope for their sake nothing else happens for a while…their fans could use a little rest!
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The South Florida season came to a sudden ending on Tuesday night as the Clock Runs Out on the Bulls in NIT Loss, 58-57 (Tampa Tribune) to North Carolina State in the Sun Dome. The Bulls’ Season Comes to an End (Bradenton.com) as NC State turns a broken in-bounds play with 11.3 seconds left (and 6 on the shot clock) into an uncontested, wide-open layup by Richard Howell with eight seconds left. The Bulls had a chance to win the game but Howell blocked an Augustus Gilchrist shot attempt at the other end and time expired on the USF season.

Stan Heath’s club finished with a 20-13 record after going 9-9 in the Big East. Jones led USF with 24 points, but he was just 8-15 from the free throw line, a rough state in a one-point loss. Jarrid Famous was the only other Bull finishing in double-figures as the junior scored 10 points.

With only two seniors seeing significant time for USF this season (Mike Mercer and Chris Howard), South Florida should return a solid nucleus for the 2010-2011 season. However it is a near certainty that Jones will at least test his NBA Draft stock and a Fanhouse game summary from last week’s Big East Tournament loss reported that Famous has told teammates he wont be back next season. Famous has denied that story, but where there is smoke…
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Jerome Dyson has been taking a beating in recent weeks as Connecticut has semi-imploded down the stretch and found their way into the NIT as a mid-seed. Last night in Surviving a Scare (TheDay.com) against Northeastern, Dyson Finally Shows Heart (Hartford Courant) leading UConn to a win in a Huskies vs. Huskies (Hartford Courant) clash, 59-57, in Gampel Pavilion.

Trailing Northeastern by five with 7:38 remaining, Jim Calhoun and the Huskies turned to a strategy that hasn’t been effective of late: Ride Jerome Dyson and get out of his way.

The senior guard scored 11 of the final 13 points for UConn and assisted on the other two, finishing with a team-high 18 points. He also denied Northeastern’s top player, Matt Janning, the ball in the last possession and shut him down in the game’s final minutes.

Stanley Robinson added 14 points. UConn now awaits the winner of the Quinnipiac/Virginia Tech contest for their second round opponent at a time and place to be determined.
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TONIGHT IN THE NIT:

Weber State vs. Cincinnati, 7 PM.

–Can NIT Lead to NCAA? (CNATI.com)
–Weber State to Face Cincinnati in NIT (Salt Lake Tribune)
–Cronin: NIT Not What Guys Envisioned (CNATI.com)
–Cincinnati Prepares for Weber State in NIT (Cincinnati Enquirer)
–Cronin on Decided on Status of Rashad Bishop (Cincinnati Enquirer)
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St. John’s at Memphis, 9 PM.

–Red Storm Hopes for Big Finish (NY Post)
–Tigers Respect Foe from Big East; Rebounding Will be Key (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
–Roberts’ Fate to be Determined at St. John’s (SNY.tv)
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