January 2011

MERNAGH: BELLY OF THE BE-AST/CRAZY WEEK EDITION

This league is something huh?

I’m not sure another league could have so many of their “top” teams lose and still have there be no question about its strength.

Allow me to attempt a recap of the week that just passed while including some special anecdotes you won’t get anywhere else.

Irish Monday

It all started Monday night, seven days ago, with Pitt hosting Notre Dame on Big Monday. The Irish are not simply the Irish this season — they are officially the Fighting Irish. Some questioned Notre Dame’s credibility when they went through a bit of a slide on the road with losses at Marquette and St. John’s (like those are anything to sneeze at) without considering both their quality wins — Georgia, Wisconsin, Indiana State, Gonzaga, Georgetown and St. John’s — and the fact that the away losses in league were all suffered without a key member of the squad in Carleton Scott.

How key?

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 1/31/2011 (SIVA, LAMB HONORED)

As we brace for another week of heavy snow and brutally cold weather, it is just another reason to stay indoors, build a fire and watch the college basketball action on your television. Another week tips off tonight as we close the book on January 2011 with a BIG EAST BIG MONDAY match-up between Louisville and Georgetown at the Verizon Center in D.C.

Both teams notched close road victories against ranked opponents on Saturday. The Hoyas won 69-66 at Villanova while the Cardinals edged Connecticut 79-78 in double overtime at Gampel Pavilion.

Austin Freeman scored 12 of his game-high 30 points in the final 6:36 in the win at Villanova. It was his third 30-point game of the season. The Hoyas have won four straight games, the longest current winning streak in the league, after starting conference play 1-4.

Peyton Siva scored a team-high 19 points in the double-overtime win over Connecticut. Forward Terrence Jennings added 16 points. It was the Cardinals’ third one-point win in their last four victories.

In the series between the two teams, the road team has won the last two meetings and split the last four encounters. Last season, the Hoyas prevailed 70-60 at Freedom Hall.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS:

BIG EAST Player of the Week:
PEYTON SIVA, Louisville, G, So: Averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals while leading the Cardinals to two one-point wins. He scored the winning basket with 4.5 seconds remaining in a 55-54 win over West Virginia. In a 79-78 victory at Connecticut he had 19 points, including game-tying shots in both regulation and the first overtime.

BIG EAST Rookie of the Week:
JEREMY LAMB, Connecticut, G, Fr: Lamb averaged 22.5 ppg in a 1-1 week for the Huskies. The 6-5 freshman from Norcross, Ga., scored a career-high 24 points in a 76-68 victory at Marquette. In a 79-78 loss in double overtime against Louisville, Lamb registered 21 points, six rebounds and three assists. For the season, Lamb is averaging 9.5 ppg. Last week, Lamb was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll.

BIG EAST Honor Roll:
- Austin Freeman, Georgetown, G, Sr: Averaged 22.0 ppg in a 2-0 week. In a 69-66 win at Villanova, he scored 30 points, including 12 points in the final 6:36. Earlier in the week, he had 14 points in a 77-52 victory over St. John’s.

- Jimmy Butler, Marquette, F, Sr: Averaged 20.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor in a 1-1 week. Had 19 points and eight
boards in a 76-70 win over Syracuse.

- Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame, G, Sr: Scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half of a 56-51 win at Pittsburgh. He also had seven assists and four rebounds. It was Notre Dame’s only game of the week.

- Dwight Hardy, St. John’s, G, Sr: Recorded 26 points in a 93-78 win over No. 3/3 Duke. He shot 9-of-13 from the floor. Had 10 points in a loss at Georgetown.

- Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, Sr: Posted 28 points, nine rebounds and four steals in a 90-68 win at Syracuse. Had 10 points in an 81-71 win against Providence.

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BIG EAST WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

Monday, January 31:
LOUISVILLE at GEORGETOWN – ESPN……………………7:00

Tuesday, February 1:
- No games scheduled.

Wednesday, February 2:
SYRACUSE at CONNECTICUT — ESPN…………………….7:00
MARQUETTE at VILLANOVA – ESPNU…………………….7:00
South Florida at PROVIDENCE…………………………….7:00
SETON HALL at WEST VIRGINIA……………………………7:00
RUTGERS at ST. JOHN’S (CA)………………………………..9:00

Thursday, February 3:
NOTRE DAME at DE PAUL – ESPN………………………….9:00

Friday, February 4:
- No games scheduled

Saturday, February 5:
WEST VIRGINIA at VILLANOVA (WF) – ESPN…………..Noon
PROVIDENCE at GEORGETOWN – BEN…………………Noon
St. John’s at UCLA – CBS………………………………..1:00
SYRACUSE at South Florida – BEN……………………………..2:00
CINCINNATI at PITTSBURGH………………………………..6:00
CONNECTICUT at SETON HALL – ESPNU…………………7:00
DE PAUL at LOUISVILLE……………………………………….8:00

Sunday, February 6:
RUTGERS at NOTRE DAME…………………………………Noon

- All times Eastern
- CA = Carnesecca Arena
- WF = Wells Fargo Center
- non-conference games in italics
- BEN – BIG EAST Network Game of the Week

ST. JOHN’S FLEXES BIG EAST’S MUSCLES IN WIN OVER DUKE

St. John’s game into their Sunday afternoon showdown with No. 3 Duke as losers of five of their last six BIG EAST contests. The Red Storm haven’t even been close in most of those losses with an average margin of defeat of 16.8 points in the five defeats. All of that was erased as St. John’s blitzed the Blue Devils 93-78 in a game that was not even as close as the lopsided final score indicated.

“In order to beat them today, we would have had to shown up and be ready to compete at the level we normally compete at,” Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski said of the game. “As a program today, we did not show up to compete. … We may not have beat them anyway because they played really well.”

Duke, the defending national champion, trailed 46-25 at the half in early in the second half the Red Storm lead hit 25 points, 50-25. The closest Duke would get was within 11 points, 87-76 with 1:48 left on a Nolan Smith three-pointer, but St. John’s was never seriously threatened.

Steve Lavin’s club shot 58% in the game and the 93 points were just 10 fewer than their combined total in their last two games, losses to Cincinnati and at Georgetown.

“They had a great game plan. They have had outstanding games this season and this was one of them,” said Krzyzewski.

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SETON HALL PICKS UP BIG EAST WIN OVER PROVIDENCE

By Ray Floriani

NEWARK, NJ- Coming off a surprising and impressive win at Syracuse on Tuesday, Seton Hall made it two straight. The Pirates defeated Providence 81-71 at the Prudential Center on Sunday. Three factors of note:

1. Confidence and defense. Maybe it was an enthusiastic crowd of 9,880. Seton Hall just came out strong and played with a great deal of energy. Actually the Hall was just building on the momentum from that win at Syracuse. They defended very well the opening half. The Pirates built a 39-23 lead at intermission and forced Providence into 11 first half turnovers. “Those turnovers were our downfall,” Providence coach Keno Davis said. “And that is a credit to Seton Hall’s defense. We could not run as much continuity (on offense) thanks to their defense.”

2. Pope and Robinson. The pair of Pirate upperclassmen have taken more of a leadership role in recent weeks. On the floor they posed a multitude of problems. Pope was especially tough in the paint. The junior forward scored a game high 23 points and added 10 rebounds in an impressive 31 minute outing. Jeff Robinson was effective inside, on the perimeter and in transition. Robinson finished with 20 points and six rebounds. Defensively he did a solid job on Marshon Brooks, one of the nation’s top scorers. Brooks had 20 points but was a subpar 8 of 17 from the field.

3. Sustaining. On a number of occasions this season the Pirates put together an impressive first 20 minutes only to come unglued after halftime and ultimately drop a potentially winnable game. Against Providence there was no trace of faltering the last half. Late in the game the Friars utilized pressure to get the margin to single digits. The Hall regrouped and calmly closed it out.

A main reason for putting two halves together of late is the healing process. As coach Kevin Willard said, “yesterday was the first practice with more than eight scholarship guys in two and a half months. We actually had a full eleven guys in practice.”

Final buzzer. Providence falls 13-9 (2-7 in the Big East). Seton Hall improves to 10-12 (4-6). Willard was pleased with Jeremy Hazell’s 10 point 6 assist effort. “He (Hazell) is about 80% of full strength,” Willard said. Sophomore center Bilal Dixon, a Jersey City native, had a creditable 17 point 10 rebound effort for Providence. Both teams were icy beyond the arc. Providence shot 4 of 19 (21%) while Seton Hall was 3 OF 18 (17%). The tempo-free numbers:

…………………. Pace…………..Offensive Eff.

Providence……….79………………….90

Seton Hall………..81…………………..100

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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BIG EAST HOMECOMINGS: ASHTON GIBBS RAC’S ‘EM UP; BOB HUGGINS KNOCKS ‘EM DOWN

Born and raised in New Jersey, Pittsburgh junior guard Ashton Gibbs returned home to the Garden State on Saturday and disappointed a raucous RAC on the Rutgers’ campus with a career-high 24 points as the Panthers escaped with a 65-62 win over the Scarlet Knights. Over 8,000 fans jammed the venerable venue creating a tremendous environment for a college basketball game.

“It was a great atmosphere, a great place to play,” said Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon. “The student section did a great job and I give them a hand for the energy and atmosphere they brought to the place.”

Much of that crowd was silenced by Gibbs who nearly single-handily kept the Panthers in the game throughout. Rutgers led 28-27 at the half as Gibbs scored 15 points in the opening half as his teammates struggled, shooting 2-15 from the floor.

Pitt seemed to begin to exert their power and strength in the second half, getting the ball inside to Gary McGhee, but the Scarlet Knights kept coming back. The Panthers would ease out to a six-point lead and several times would lead by 5, but Rutgers kept answering and closed within 58-57 with a Mike Coburn free throw.

However it was Gibbs who would hit the night’s biggest shot. With the shot clock winding down he connected on a three-pointer to push Pitt up by four with 55 seconds left.

“They find ways to win games,” said RU senior forward Jonathan Mitchell. “They got it to their best player and he made a big shot.”

Gibbs added a pair of foul shots to push the lead to 5, 63-58, but Coburn would add a pair of foul shots of his own and after forcing a travelling violation on an inbounds, Robert Lumpkins scored on a lay-up with 21 seconds left and once again RU cut the Pitt lead to one, 63-62. Pitt got the ball inbounds to senior Brad Wanamaker who calmly made a pair from the stripe to push the Pitt lead back to three.

The Panthers were 28-35 (80%) from the line in the game and made all eight of their attempts in the last 4:00.

Rutgers had one last chance to tie, but Pitt’s defense limited the Scarlet Knights to an off balance three from Dane Miller and Travon Woodall grabbed the rebound with 6 seconds left and Pitt was able to run out the clock.

“I wanted JB (James Beatty) to come around and shoot a three….They were face-guarding our main three point shooter, that’s very good scouting by them,” RU coach Mike Rice said. “That’s the small winning plays that sometimes people don’t recognize.”

Gibbs’ late three-pointer was Pitt’s only field goal in the game’s last seven minutes, although the Panthers were 12 of 14 from the line in that stretch.

“In a game like this pretty much every shot we make is going to be big for us. It was big and we showed some patience,” Dixon said of Gibbs’ three.

Besides Gibbs’ career-high matching 24, Gary McGhee also matched his career-high of 13 points and added 8 rebounds. Pitt outrebounded RU 39-30 in the game.

The Panthers finish their first half of the BIG EAST schedule at 8-1 and are the only conference team with one league loss. They are off until next Saturday when they host Cincinnati at the Peterson Events Center.

Rutgers fell to 3-5 in the BIG EAST and will have to recover and prepare for a Wednesday night date against St. John’s. This one might take a little longer to get over as the Scarlet Knights came very close to their first-even regular season win over a top-5 team.

“It hurts,” said Jonathan Mitchell of the loss. “This just goes to show you that we can play with anyone in the country when we come out and have the right attitude and the right mindset. This one hurts because we let this one slip away.”

Mitchell, Robert Lumpkins and Dane Miller each scored 12 points to lead Rutgers in scoring.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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A capacity crowd of 13,176 showed up at Fifth Third Arena Saturday night to see Bob Huggins return to Cincinnati. The former Bearcat head coach who guided UC to 399 wins and a Final Four in 16 seasons sent most of them home disappointed as West Virginia snapped the Bearcats 13-game home win streak with a 66-55 decision.

Joe Mazzulla scored 16 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 8 assists to lead WVU to the win as they once again travelled with just eight scholarship players.

“We played seven. We’ve got great kids,” said Huggins. “I kept telling them when we were going thru what we were that I just need 7 or 8 guys that will come in every day and play hard. These guys have done that. They have played awfully hard.”

The Mountaineers closed the first half on a 16-4 run to grab a 33-27 halftime lead. WVU overcame 10 1st half turnovers by holding a 21-8 edge on the boards in the opening 20 minutes, leading to a 9-3 advantage in second chance points.

“We have a hard time scoring. We have to rebound and give ourselves second chances,” Huggins said.

Back-to-back three-pointers early in the second half by Cashmere Wright put UC in front, 38-37, just after the first media timeout of the half. Mazzulla answered by getting into the lane and to the foul line by hitting three of four from the stripe to put WVU back in the lead. His ability to break down the defense was a key all game long.

“Joe Mazzulla single handedly won the game for them,” UC coach Mick Cronin said. “They have other guys that played well. Great leadership and dribble penetration killed us. We didn’t do a good job of containing him.”

Sean Kilpatrick hit a three-pointer to pull Cincinnati within one, 42-41 with 11:24 left, but the Mountaineers gained separation with a 15-2 run and UC would go more than 7 minutes without a field goal. Wright finally connected from the field with 4:11 remaining, but by the West Virginia had built a 57-46 lead heading into the stretch and the Bearcats would never get within nine points again.

“We got down, and we struggled at forcing shots,” said UC guard Cashmere Wright. “We let the missed shots effect how we got on defense and how we play.”

John Flowers added 16 points and 8 rebounds to Mazzulla’s effort, giving Bob Huggins his first win in Cincinnati since being forced out of the head coaching position in the summer of 2005 by former UC president Nancy Zimpher. Huggins appreciated seeing many former players who helped him reach 14 straight NCAA Tournaments to close his time at UC and the great seasons marked by banners on the wall at Fifth Third Arena.

“You look up there and you see what a bunch of guys accomplished. It’s great seeing those guys. A bunch of those guys were here. There were probably 10 or 12 of them here,” said Huggins. “It’s great to see those guys. We are one big family. We still spend time together.”

Thw win improved West Virginia to 5-3 in the BIG EAST and 14-6 on the season. The Mountaineers will close the first half of their BIG EAST schedule at home on Wednesday night against Seton Hall before embarking on a grueling second-half schedule. Of WVU’s last nine conference games, seven are against teams ranked in this week’s AP Top-25, including five games against Top-10 teams. So, setting his return to Cincinnati aside, Huggins knew the importance of getting out of there with a win.

“We needed to win,” he said. “We gave one away in Louisville, and we needed a win.”

Cincinnati fell to 5-4 in the BIG EAST and 18-4 overall on the season. They will probably spend time on rebounding this week in practice after getting manhandled on the boards by a 42-30 count and their next game is next Saturday, at Pittsburgh, the No. 1 rebounding team in the country.

“Welcome to the BIG EAST,” said Mick Cronin. “You have to be great at rebounding, and we weren’t great at rebounding. Not enough to make up for our lack of rebounding.”

Yep…rebounding is certainly on his mind…

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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2012 ZACH AUGUSTE RISING UP RECRUITING LISTS

It did not take long at the National Prep Showcase in November to see that New Hampton Prep junior big man Zach Auguste was a player to watch closely in the Class of 2012. While his name was not well known among fans and recruitniks, college coaches had the long and lean lefty on their minds. Auguste used his length and athleticism to get blocks and rebounds at both ends of the floor and he also has fairly good vision and passing ability for a player his size. One play in particular, a nasty baseline dunk, showed the immense potential Auguste has.

Already with five scholarship offers from BIG EAST, Big 10 and ACC programs, along with plenty of serious interest from others in those conferences as well as the Big 12, SEC and Atalntic 10, it is easy to see that Zach Auguste is a player quickly moving up the ranks in the Class of 2012.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual membership to read more about Auguste as he discusses his development, recruitment and more with NBE. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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MORGANTOWN LATE NIGHT FOOD DRIVING COURSE

NBE contributor Matt Whitfield is participating in Volvo’s “Biggest Fan of the BIG EAST” contest as they promote their new Naughty Volvo S60. Matt will be heading to Morgantown in a couple weeks to take in a BIG EAST contest between West Virginia and Notre Dame on February 19th. He will be driving a new Volvo S60 and today Matt takes a look back at his favorite late-night eateries from his college days in Morgantown…

By Matt Whitfield

First off I truly believe Morgantown is one of the best – if not the best – college town in the Big East. Morgantown has plenty of late night places for people with the ‘munchies’ both before and after sporting events and bar hoping.

On High Street, where you’ll find the majority of the bars and clubs students frequent, there is a plethora of places to eat at from BW3’s to Subway to Casa D’ Amici.

Pita Pit is personally my favorite. It is a staple in many major college towns. There you can get a pita filled with your choice of meats and or veggies along with other toppings. It is open late too. When I was a student there I remember it being open past the time the club’s and bar’s closed.

Jimmy John’s is also another great spot. WVU coach Bob ‘Huggy Bear’ Huggins eats their sandwiches himself. Jimmy John’s is more traditional, but there you’ll find a nice sandwich on great tasting bread with your choice meats and condiments.

When I have the Volvos60 in a little less than three weeks I know where I’ll be at night already, so I won’t even have to drive to get to any of these sports, rather walk two or three blocks as the car will be already parked.

Thank you again to Volvo for providing me with such an awesome opportunity. I hope to shoot a cool video while I’m down there so I can remember this trip and share it with others.

Be sure to vote for Matt as your favorite BIG EAST fan at: myBIGEASTvolvo.

GEORGETOWN BACK IN THE MIX WITH WIN AT VILLANOVA

If Georgetown served notice today that they are not going away quietly, then consider Austin Freeman the waiter.

The BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, as voted by the league’s coaches, scored 30 points in the Hoyas’ 69-66 win at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia over Villanova.

“Austin Freeman is unflappable in most situations,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “What he did in the last 4 minutes is indicative of what he’s done for the last four years.”

Leading by as many as 10 points in the second hald and still up by 8, 61-53, with 2:59 left after a pair of free throws from Freeman, Georgetown held off a late rally by the Wildcats as Freeman made the big plays.

Freeman scored eight of the Hoyas’ final 10 points and assisted on the other basket. After a 7-0 run by ‘Nova cut the lead to one, Freeman answered with 1:39 left to make the score 63-60. Freeman then answered a pair of Corey Fisher free throws with a tough jumper with the shot clock winding down to make it 65-62 with 43 second left. Then after two free throws from Maalik Wayns it was Freeman finding Nate Lubick all alone for a slam dunk and a 67-64 lead. Again, however, Villanova kept the pressue on with Wayns scoring on a layup, but Freeman iced the victory with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left and after ‘Nova missed a pair of desperation three-pointers to tie, Georgetown was able to celebrate their hard-fough 69-66 road win, their fourth win in a row.

“[The winning streak] builds our confidence but we know we still have to get better,” said Freeman. “We’ll learn from this game.”

They might want to learn to put the ball in Freeman’s hands and see where the senior guard will take them. He certainly has a fan in Villanova coach Jay Wright.

“He made every play down the stretch. He made shots. He made free throws. And he made that pass,” Wright said of Freeman. “We had him trapped. He was strong enough to get it to Lubick who made a good catch. He’s great. I love that kid.”

Besides Freeman’s 30, Jason Clark added 10 and the Hoyas were able to overcome a quiet game offensively by Chris Wright. Freeman’s senior backcourt partner was held scoreless, but did manage 6 assists. Wright came into the contest averaging 12.8 points a game.

“We wanted to concentrate on getting the ball to Austin,” Wright said. “It’s stupid not to give him the ball.”

The win was the fourth in a row for Georgetown after starting BIG EAST play 1-4. A road win over a top-10 team like Villanova will certainly serve notice with the rest of the league the Hoyas intend to challenge this season and they will head home and suit up again for a BIG MONDAY showdown with Louisville, another big winner on Saturday. The Cardinals won at UConn, seting up Monday’s meeting as a key game in the conference standings.

Villanova has now lost three of their last four after starting conference play with four consecutive wins. Today’s game was the beginning of three in a row at home that will also include Marquette at the Pavilion on Wednesday night and West Virginia back to the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats got a team-high 15 points each from Wayns and Fisher while senior wing Corey Stokes added 13.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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ORANGE BLUE AS LOSING STREAK HITS FOUR AT MARQUETTE

After squandering several double-digit leads in the last couple weeks, Marquette made their 11-point healftime lead stand up as the Golden Eagles handed Syracuse their fourth straight loss, 76-70, at the Bradley Center Saturday afternoon.

“We definitely needed this game,” Marquette junior guard Darius Johnson-Odom said. “Losing close games hurts the most, but you have to keep strong.”

But it was not easy.

Even though Buzz Williams’ team never trailed, Syracuse erased all of the 11 point halftime deficit to tie the game on a Scoop Jardine layup with 8:18 left at 56-all. MU would not give in as Jae Crowder answered at the other end to put Marquette back up by two and when the Orange would draw evem again at 64 with just over three minutes left on a C.J. Fair basket, it was Crowder again to take the lead right back. After Kris Joseph tied the game again at 66-all with 2:29 left, Jimmy Butler struck from beyond the arc in the corner late in the shot clock to give the Golden Eagles a 69-66 lead with 1:56 left.

“You can’t get a better look,” said Williams. “You just hope it goes in.”

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LOUISVILLE GETS PAST UCONN IN DOUBLE OT

For nationally ranked teams and two tremendous late-January basketball games. That was what college basketball fans were treated to on this chilly, snowy Saturday afternoon.

In Storrs (CT), Louisville held their breath as Kemba Walker rose and fired a three-pointer that rimmed out as the final horn sounded, giving Louisville a 79-78 double overtime victory over Connecticut the No. 5 team in the country.

“This is one of the gutsiest teams I’ve ever coached,” UL coach Rick Pitino said afterwards. “I’m really lucky to coach this team. This was not an easy victory in double overtime on the road shorthanded.”

Peyton Siva, the hero in Louisville’s win over West Virginia on Wednesday night, scored a team-high 19 points and scored the game-tying baskets at the end of regulation and the first overtime to keep the Cards’ hopes of a big road win alive.

“He did a great job,” said Pitino of Siva. “He was exhausted and I was on him like a new suit to try and play defense because he couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t go with the other guys, so he had to gut it out.”

Playing without Gorgui Dieng, who suffered a concussion in the game Wednesday night, and already without Rakeem Buckles due to injury, Louisville went small. Despite being outrebounded 51-36 in the game, includuing 21-7 on the offensive boards, Louisville turned up the defensive pressure and held UConn to 37.7% shooting from the field (29-77) and 26.7% from three-point range (8-30). UConn star guard Kemba Walker scored 20 points, but was held to a 7-23 effort from the floor.

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SELLOUT IN CINCINNATI FOR HUGGINS’ RETURN SATURDAY NIGHT

By now you would think that a match-up between West Virginia and Cincinnati would be just another game on the grueling 18-game BIG EAST conference schedule. However that is not the case, especially in Cincinnati when Bob Huggins is coaching the Mountaineers.

For 16 seasons Huggins manned the sidelines for Cincinnati and became a legendary figure in the Queen City, leading the Bearcats to the 1992 Final Four and 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Cincinnati has not been in the ‘Big Dance’ since Huggins was forced out of his position by former UC president Nancy Zimpher in the summer following the 2004-2005 season.

There were 399 total wins for UC under Huggins in those 16 seasons and Fifth Third Arena was sold out routinely. Current Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin knows all too well the impact that Huggins had on the program and saw first-hand as an assistant under Huggins at UC from 1997-2001.

“We would not be in the Big East,” Cronin told Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer this week when discussing Huggins’ legacy at UC. “Our football team would have never had the wins they had because they would have never been able to recruit to a BCS conference.

“We would have never gotten into a BCS conference if it wasn’t for our men’s basketball program and their national status. And that’s due to Bob Huggins. That’s a fact.”

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HIGH NOON SHOWDOWNS HIGHLIGHT SATURDAY ACTION IN BIG EAST

Four of the seven nationally ranked teams in the BIG EAST square off at noon on Saturday afternoon. No. 5 Connecticut will welcome No. 23 Louisville to Gampel Pavilion in Storrs (CT) in a Big East Network Game of the Week while No. 8 Villanova hosts No. 21 Georgetown in an ESPN televised match-up at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia (PA).

Just another Saturday in the loaded BIG EAST.

“What you have to do in this league is just look at it one game at a time,” Villanova coach jay Wright said during Thursday’s conference call with media members. “It’s really a challenge. You can’t separate the Providence game from the Georgetown game. Meaning one can’t be more important than the other. You have to get wins wherever you can get them in this league.”

Villanova is coming off an 83-68 drubbing on the road to Providence, a team near the bottom of the league standings, and now must prepare for a nationally ranked Georgetown club that has won three in a row after starting BIG EAST play with four losses in five games.

“The other thing about this league is you always have an opportunity to redeem yourself,” said Wright. “Meaning if you had a couple bad games you’re going to play a nationally ranked team so if you play a good game you have a chance to beat a nationally ranked team. You’re going to get those games at home. You always have an opportunity to get big wins and that’s a positive [of the BIG EAST].”

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USF EARNS 2ND BIG EAST WIN, EXTENDS DEPAUL’S CONFERENCE MISERY

20 straight games. 43 of the last 44. Those are the current losing numbers for DePaul in regular season BIG EAST games. Loss number 20 in a row (21 if you count last season’s BIG EAST Tournament loss to USF) came Thursday night when South Florida handled the Blue Demons, 71-60 at the Sun Dome, behind a balanced team effort.

Eight Bulls scored at least six points and the USF bench outscored the Blue Demon reserves 26-9 to give Stan Heath’s club their second BIG EAST win of the season.

In beating their former Conference USA rival for the fifth straight time, the South Florida has some momentum heading into Wednesday’s road game at Providence. The Bulls defeated the Friars 79-72 on Jan. 16 at the Sun Dome for their only other conference victory and own three straight wins over PC.

“We needed this win,” USF coach Stan Heath said after the game. “If you’re going to have a week off, you want to feel good about yourself. And having a win does that.”

Hugh Robertson led the Bulls with 16 points and Jawanza Poland and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick each added 11. Augustus Gilchrist added 9 points and 10 rebounds and point guard Anthony Crater helped South Florida handle the DePaul pressure by dishing out 7 assists compared to 3 turnovers.

“We finally won that (turnover battle),” Heath said. “That was a big difference for us.”

Heath was concerned about the DePaul defensive pressure going into the game as turnovers have been ‘an Achilles heel’ for his team this season.

“It’s really important tonight that we do a god job handling that pressure and being aggressive against it,” Heath said during Thursday’s media conference call.

Jawanza Poland headed his coach’s wishes with two crowd-pleasing slam dunks just as the press seemed to be rattling USF and preventing DePaul from gaining any momentum in making it a tight game down the stretch.

The Blue Demons were led by freshman Cleveland Melvin who had a game-high 17 points and Krys Faber added 16. DePaul also has some time off as they are not in action until next Thursday when they host Notre Dame and then travel to Louisville in hopes of ending their losing streak, but first year coach Oliver Purnell knows the challenges ahead for his team.

“The BIG EAST may be the strongest conference I’ve ever been a part of in terms of a given year,” Purnell said during Thursday’s league conference call with media members. “Maybe the strongest ever.”

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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FRIARS CONTINUE WEEK OF UPSETS; UL HOLDS OFF WVU

Providence went almost a year between BIG EAST wins, now they have scored a pair of victories over ranked oppenents in less than a week. Following up on their weekend upset over Louisville, the Friars upended Villanova on Wednesday night, 83-68, before 7.927 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

“We proved that we can compete against the best in the country when we play our hardest,” Friars coach Keno Davis said.

Marshon Brooks scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while Vincent Council added 16 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds for Keno Davis’ club.

Providence never trailed, led 34-25 at halftime and never saw the Wildcats pull within seven the rest of the way.

The Friars also made a commitment to defense on Wednesday night and it paid off as Villanova shot a season-low 32.5% (25-77) from the field and their senior backcourt duo of Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher were a combined 4-26 from the floor and 1-13 from three-point range.

“Almost every shot we took was contested,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “We got behind and couldn’t create any good shots for ourselves.”

After losing 17 consecutive BIG EAST regular season conference games, PC will look for a third straight win on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Newark (NJ) to take on Seton Hall at the Prudential Center. PC is now 2-6 in the conference and 13-8 overall.

Maalik Wayns scored 18 points for Villanova and Antonio Pena added 17 points and 15 rebounds in the contest. After winning their first four BIG EAST contests the Wildcats have dropped two of their last three to fall to 5-2 in the league and 17-3 overall. ‘Nova is back in action this Saturday when they host Georgetown at the Wells Fargo Center at noon for a BIG EAST showdown of ranked teams.
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Louisville found themselves down by 11 points at halftime against a short-handed West Virginia club, but rallied to lead by as many as six points late in the game before having to rally once more in the closing seconds.

Down 54-53 with 14 seconds left, Rick Pitino called a play for senior Preston Knowles, but when the play was broken sophomore point guard Peyton Siva improvised and it paid off as Siva’s difficult lay-up in traffic had enough english to find the basket and give the Cards a 55-54 lead with 4.5 seconds left. A Dalton Pepper desperation three from near midcourt was off the mark and UL escaped with a win.

“We were going to set a screen for Preston [Knowles] coming off, and George [Goode] forgot to set the screen,” said Pitino. “The second option, if he wasn’t open, was throw it back to Peyton [Siva] and set the pick and roll on Peyton. Peyton made a great play”

Said WVU coach Bob Huggins: “We were supposed to push him left and he made a hard shot.”

The Mountaineers came to Louisville with just 8 scholarship players as Danny Jennings left the team and leading scorer Casey Mitchell has been suspended indefinitely since their win over South Florida on Sunday. Still, despite being short-handed and asking other players to play more minutes and in different roles, Huggins had his team in position to win late.

“We knew that, I’ve got great respect for him (Huggins),” said Pitino of the tough game against a short-handed club. “I’ve known him in 35 years of coaching. He’s a great coach. Even though they’re undermanned, they played terrific.”

It took a little time for West Virginia to settle in with their new line-up, trailing by seven and getting off to a slow start in the first half.

“I thought we came out early and played like we were supposed to lose,” said Huggins. “And that is why I called the early timeout. We weren’t very assertive and I thought we got pretty assertive. We got a layup off the press and that got us going a little bit.”

A 17-2 run by the Mountaineers over a 6:26 period put the visitors in control with a 24-16 lead with 7:45 left in the half. Senior Joe Mazzulla was the first-half spark scoring nine points in the run and all 18 of his career-high points in the first 20 minutes as WVU led 37-26 at intermission.

The second half was a different story as the Louisville press looked to wear down the thin Mountaineers as they shot 4-22 in the second half.

“We missed two layups. We missed all kinds of shots around the rim,” said Huggins.

Freshman Russ Smith ignited the second half run that put the Cards back in the game with a three-pointer and Chris Smith and Preston Knowles each followed with three’s of their own in a 13-0 run that put Louisville up 44-42 with 9:16 left in the game. A couple Peyton Siva three’s had the elad pushed to 51-45 and it looked like Cards were in the clear. However, the Mountaineers rallied again and a Dalton Pepper three-pointer with 1:30 left cut the lead to one and Kevin Jones following up on a Mazzulla miss with 41 seconds left game WVU the lead.

After a UL miss, West Virginia had a chance to extend their lead with 26 second left but Daryl Bryant missed a pair of foul shots.

“No, he wasn’t tired,” siad Huggins when asked afterward if fatigue played a factor in the missed free throws. “You have to get it over the rim. A hundred percent of the shots that don’t go over the [rim are] shots [that] don’t go in. It is kind of like golf – a hundred percent of the putts that don’t get to the hole, don’t go in.”

Peyton Siva made the Mountaineers pay for the missed free throws with his circus-like lay-up.

“I was hoping,” said Siva, who finished with 14 points. “I looked up and I fell down and I just saw it fall through.”

Said Knowles: “That shot was ridiculous. It was crazy.”

Chris Smith led Louisville with 15 points and Siva added 14, going a perfect 5-5 from the field. Knowles added 10.

Mazzulla’s career-high 18 was the leading scoring output for West Virginia will Dalton Pepper added 10.

WVU fell to 4-3 in BIG EAST play and now will head to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats this weekend. Louisville improves to 5-2 and hits the road for a crucial tw-game, Saturday/Monday road trip to play at UConn on Saturday and then at Georgetown on Monday.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 1/26/2011

It has not been ‘Home Sweet Home’ this week in the BIG EAST so far. Road teams have won all three games this week beginnin on Monday night when Notre Dame won at Pittsburgh and continuing last night as Seton Hall stunned Syracuse and Connecticut rallied to defeat Marquette.

Wednesday’s schedule includes four contests as the home teams desperately hope to hold serve as the BIG EAST standings continue to tighten.

West Virginia visits Louisville on ESPNU in a battle of teams with 4-2 BIG EAST records. The Cardinals are 4-2 against WVU in BIG EAST play and the Mountaineers are expected to travel with just eight scholarship players after leading scorer Casey Mitchell was suspended earlier this week for violating team rules. The game begins a stretch of three road dates in four games for Bob Huggins’ club. Last season they edged the Cards 77-74 in Morgantown.

Providence, which defeated Louisville last Saturday for its first conference victory, hosts another nationally ranked foe, Villanova. The Wildcats are 5-1 on away courts this season and are coming off a win at Syracuse. VU has won the last eight games in the series and has lit up the scoreboard recently against the Friars by scoring at least 92 points in the last three outings.

Georgetown will try to even the score with St. John’s tonight at the Verizon Center. The Red Storm beat the Hoyas 61-58 on Jan. 3. St. John’s leads Georgetown 28-23 in BIG EAST regular-season play and has taken three of the last four overall meetings.

Cincinnati, which won at St. John’s last Saturday, hosts Rutgers. The Bearcats are 12-0 at home this season. The Scarlet Knights have a modest two-game winning streak. UC has won five of the seven meetings as a BIG EAST member, including the last four. Last season, Cincinnati won 65-58 at the RAC and 69-68 in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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Tuesday night in the BIG EAST was a case of ‘Jeremy has Spoken’ as Jeremy Lamb scored a career-high 24 points in UConn’s 76-68 win at Marquette and Jeremy Hazell poured in 28 points to go with his 9 rebounds in a shocking Seton Hall blowout of Syracuse, 90-68, at the Carrier Dome. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Pirates as they handed the Orange their third straight loss following their 18-game win streak to start the season.

Lamb has averaged just under 17 points a game in the last four outings for Jim Calhoun’s club and his offensive outburst was much needed with Kemba Walker, the BIG EAST’s leading scorer, limited to 14 points on just 6-15 shooting from the field.

SILENCED BY (JEREMY) LAMB; FRESHMAN LEADS UCONN PAST MARQUETTE

Jim Calhoun’s young Husky pups are coming off age. With star Kemba Walker seeing increased defensive attention and struggling with a 5-16 shooting night from the floor, his freshmen teammates picked up the slack leading Connecticut to a 76-68 road win over Marquette at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee (WI).

The biggest hand came from Jeremy Lamb who scored a career-high 24 points. Lamb connected on nine fo 14 field goal attempts, including all three of this three-pointers. After hitting a rough patch offensively earlier this season as conference play began, Lamb has stepped up his game in recent weeks. Tuesday night was his fourth consecutive game scoring in double figures as the 6-foot-5 native of Norcross (GA) is averaging 16.8 points a game in that stretch. Lamb is shooting 60% (27-45) from the field and averaging 5.5 rebounds a game in the span.

Lamb’s jumper with 7:19 left in the game started a 15-1 run that turned a 60-55 Marquette lead into a 70-61 advantage for UConn with just 1:56 left. Lamb scored six points in the run and fellow frosh Shabazz Napier added five points, including the game-tying three-pointer and go-ahead floater in the lane.

Marquette rallied from a 38-31 halftime deficit to grab a 56-51 lead on a Jimmy Butler three-point play with 11:25 left. However, the Golden Eagles would go the next 9:35 without a field goal before a Darius Johnson-Odom transition lay-up ended the Husky run. By then the score was 70-63 and UConn would go 6-6 from the foul line in the closing minutes to put away the impressive road victory, 76-68.

Supporting Lamb’s 24 points was Kemba Walker, who scored 14 and added 9 assists. The 14 point night was a season-low for Walker who came into the contest leading the BIG EAST in scoring and second in the nation at 25.0 points a game. Freshmen Shabazz Napier and Roscoe Smith also finished in double figures, scoring 11 each. Napier scored nine of his 11 in the game’s closing seven minutes.

Jimmy Butler had 21 for Marquette and Johnson-Odom added 18.

The win pushes UConn to 5-2 in BIG EAST play and 17-2 on the season. The Huskies will return home for a Saturday showdown with Louisville and also has Syracuse coming into the Nutmeg State next Wednesday (Feb. 2).

Marquette faces a tough stretch with Syracuse coming to the Bradley Center on Saturday before embarking on a three-game road swing that will take the Golden Eagles to Villanova, South Florida and Georgetown. Tuesday’s loss knocked the Golden Eagles back to .500 in BIG EAST play at 4-4 and to 13-8 overall on the season.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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SETON HALL SHOCKS DOME CROWD, ROMPS PAST SYRACUSE

Seton Hall snapped their three-game losing streak with authority, blowing out Syracuse on their own Carrier Dome floor, 90-68 on Tuesday night. The loss was the third in a row for the Orange which had begun the season 18-0.

The Pirates made their first seven shots from the field and never looked back, shooting a sizzling 54% from the field in the game, including 58.8% (10-17) from three-point range. Senior Jeremy Hazell scored 28 points and added 9 rebounds.

“We know (Jeremy) Hazell can shoot and he made a couple easy shots, but a couple shots he made were extremely difficult, very contested,” said SU coach Jim Boehiem following the game.

SU entered the game as the #1 team in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage defense at .379 and third in three-point percentage defense at .293, but the Pirates found a comfort zone against the 2/3 zone and stayed hot all game long.

Seton Hall, coming off a home loss to rival Rutgers over the weekend, jumped out of the gates with a 10-2 lead and a Jordan Theodore jumper with 12:54 left in the first half gave SHU their first double-digit lead at 23-13. Kevin Willard’s squad pushed the lead to 43-30 at the half and a 7-0 spurt immediately following intermission had the Orange in a 50-30 hole and they were never able to mount any sort of a challenge thereafter. Although their defense was being tormented by the hot shooting Pirates, coach Boeheim thought the offense got off on the wrong foot and dug a hole they could not climb out of.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 1/25/2011

Notre Dame brought back their ‘burn’ offense last night and in doing so registered a 56-51 upset victory over No. 2 Pittsburgh on the road. It was the first win for the Irish on the road against a team ranked as high as No. 2 since Jan. 5, 2000 when Notre Dame won 75-70 at Connecticut. The loss for Pittsburgh snapped a 20-game home winning streak. The Panthers had won 51 of their last 52 games at the Petersen Events Center entering last night.

Ben Hansbrough scored a game-high 19 points, with 13 of them coming in the second-half to lead Notre Dame. Hansbrough added 7 assists and Carelton Scott scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. The win improved the Irish to 6-3 in the BIG EAST and 17-4 overall on the season.

The Irish are off until a road game at DePaul on Feb. 3. The Irish have won the last five games in the series.

Notre Dame outscored Pitt 33-23 in the second half.

It was Pitt’s first loss in conference play after winning their first seven BIG EAST contests. The Panthers shot just 9-16 from the foul line and that was costly in the shortened game played at the pace dictated by the Irish.

Gilbert Brown scored 13 and Brad Wanamaker added 12 for the Panthers. Pitt will look to bounce back Saturday night at 8 PM at Rutgers in a game shown by ESPN2. Pitt has won 10 if the last 11 meetings, including an 83-54 decision last season at home against the Scarlet Knights.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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Tuesday’s schedule shows two games. Seton Hall will try to end a three-game losing streak when it plays against Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. The Orange are looking
to bounce back from a home loss Saturday against Villanova, which was their second loss in a row after opening the season winning 18 straight games.

The Orange beat the PIrates 61-56 on the road on Jan. 8 at the Prudential Center in Newark (NJ). Syracuse has won 11 of the last 13 meetings in the series and holds a 40-11 edge in BIG EAST regular-season play in the traditionally one-sided series.

Connecticut, which moved to No. 5 in both national polls, visits Marquette. The Huskies are riding a five-game winning streak, which includes their 72-61 win over Tennessee on Saturday afternoon. Kemba Walker, the BIG EAST leading scorer at 25 points per game, scored a season-low 16 points, but he was aided by Jeremy Lamb scoring 16 of his own and Roscoe Smith and Alex Oriakhi added 12 each in the win.

The Golden Eagles are 11-1 this season at the Bradley Center. The are coming off a tough loss at Notre Dame where they let a 45-36 halftime lead slip away in an 80-75 loss. Darius Johnson-Odom had 25 in the losing effort.

MU beat the Huskies 70-68 in Hartford last season and hold a 3-2 edge in the series.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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WVU’S MITCHELL SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY

by MATT WHITFIELD

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins announced Monday that senior Casey Mitchell has been suspended indefinitely from the team for a violation of team rules.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-4 guard from Savannah, Ga., has played in 18 games, averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in Sunday’s 56-46 win over South Florida at the Coliseum.

“He violated a team policy where there aren’t any exceptions,” said Huggins according to the Daily Mail on his radio show. “He’s going to have to live with the ramifications. I talked to him for a good while Monday. You think you can get away with things, but the reality is most times you really don’t.”

Mitchell was previously suspended from the team back in October, but did not miss any games. Coach Huggins left the possibility open that Mitchell could return to the team this season.

The news comes just a day after sophomore forward Dan Jennings left the team bench during the game against the Bulls on Sunday. Jennings is “never to be seen again,” according to Huggins and adds to the player attrition this season. Freshmen Darrious Curry was medically disqualified and is no longer at the school. Kevin Noreen was lost to a season-ending knee injury recently and another pair of freshmen, center David Nyarsuk and Noah Cottrill, either never made it into school or left before ever playing a minute. This leaves WVU with just 8 scholarship players heading into a stretch of three road games in their next four contests, beginning with a trip to Louisville Wednesday night.

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The BIG EAST conference season might be just getting underway, but it is not too early to begin thinking about tickets for the 2011 Big East Tournament this coming March in Madison Square Garden. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season.
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NOTRE DAME ‘BURNS’ PITT AT THE PETE

by RAY MERNAGH

Rebound and control tempo.

That was the plan of the Notre Dame staff to come into the Pete and do the unthinkable — win against a team looking more and more like a national championship contender. It’s the same plan that carries the Fighting Irish to two wins over the Panthers last season, although neither of those wins was accomplished at the Peterson Events Center, where Pittsburgh had won 51 of their last 52 games.

Rebounding and controlling tempo would be the key, while easier said than done was the thought rolling around my brain.

And then a href=”http://www.nbebasketball.com/w3/big-east-team-pages/notre-dame/”>Notre Dame went out and did it, dusting off their ‘Burn’ offense from a year ago and handing Jamie Dixon and his club their first conference loss of the season.

Scott Martin handled the first shift, hitting three three-pointers late in the shot clock in the first half, two of which came on the first two offensive possessions of the game for the Irish.

Carleton Scott took the second and third shifts, making big shots all night long. Scott, an Irish captain who’s absence over the recent road trip by the Irish coincided with their difficulties getting any wins, is back and better than ever. Scott’s three at the 7:12 mark was punctuated by the fact that he was fouled on the make by Pitt’s Brad Wanamaker.

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