DePaul News

MERNAGH: WALKER LEADS UCONN PAST DEPAUL

Coming into his third Big East Tournament Kemba Walker was definitely looking for some better results, both for his team and himself.

In his two Big East tournament apppearances so far (which consists of two games) Walker averaged 10 points a game and 6 assists while shooting a dismal .229 from the field. Obviously UConn went 0 for 2 in those games.

So coming into today’s contest against a game but overmatched DePaul squad, Walker was ready to erase all memories of those Garden struggles from his psyche.

Walker did just that with a 26 point, 7 rebound and 5 assist performance in a harder than the final score suggests 97-71 win over DePaul. The Blue Demons pressure turned UConn over 20 times and they cut a once 20-plus point lead to 8 midway through the second half.

Walker calmed Calhoun’s troops — and any idea of an upset — with a pullup jumper along the baseline at the 7:09 mark that put his team up 76-63.

From there, UConn cruised to the 26-point victory.

Jeremy Lamb had a great first half with 17 points and finished the game with 19. Alex Oriakhi had a monster line with 13 points and 19 rebounds for UConn (who had 46-22 board advantage). The Huskies will take on No. 8 seed Georgetown on Wednesday in Round Two.

DePaul was led by their freshmen duo of Brandon young (20) and Moses Morgan (14) while also getting a good shooting day from Jeremiah Kelly (5-10 on 3′s) for his 15 points.

ROUND TWO: WEDNESDAY MARCH 9th:

–No. 9 Connecticut vs. No. 8 Georgetown, 12 noon.
–13/12 Winner vs. No. 5 St. John’s, 2 PM.

2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PRIMER – - DAY ONE

Intro by Ray Floriani

LYNDHURST, NJ – The Big East Tournament will tip off in a few hours at Madison Square Garden. Five days of new stories to be written, a mix of the surprising, disappointing. The ’what happened to’ and a Cinderella usually added for good measure.

Game two in this afternoon’s session will be the ’rubber’ match of the battle between New Jersey’s two Big East schools. When Rutgers faces Seton Hall in the tournament’s second game of the schedule, approximately 2:30, a former officiating partner will be there. Not on the floor, the bench.

About six years ago a call came on a Summer morning asking if I could get to College of New Jersey. The Eastern Camp needed more officials. Instantly accepted but reminded the caller, the trip would be about an hour. No problem.

Arrived at TCNJ late morning and was told by the coordinator, “you will work with a camp counselor. Do you know Mike Rice?” Of course I did having covered his games as a Fordham point guard and following his coaching career. Mike knew me, more from the journalistic end. We were scheduled and worked three games. Told him to forget the signals, coaches just want the calls and don’t worry about positioning as much, I could work and adjust off his court location. Most important, I told Mike he played at a high level in college so officiating wouldn’t be impossible for him. In other words, he knew the game.

It was a high school team camp. We had some competitive clubs as one from Virginia as well as Neptune and CBA, two strong New Jersey programs. The games went well. Mike put his intensity seen these days on the Rutgers sideline, and conscientiousness into the effort. He was good with the coaches who may have questioned a call or no call. Showed a lot of patience in working the games and was impressive with his judgment. As noted, playing at the high level of DI, gave him the ability to decide on a call or pass on a ‘no call’. It was just a thrill and pleasure to work with him.

Not long after I mentioned the experience in my Eastern Basketball Magazine column, Mike was starting on Phil Martelli’s staff at St. Joseph’s. Mike told me later he copied the column to send to recruits. Why? To show prospects that coaches at St. Joseph’s will do anything and go the extra mile to help the kids in their program.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The 2011 BIG EAST Tournament is upon us, tipping off at high noon Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. All 16 teams from the conference converge on New York City for a five day basketball festival that promises to capture the attention of college basketball fans across the country.

In a season unlike any other seen before in the BIG EAST, Jamie Dixon and his Pittsburgh club led the regular season wire-to-wire after being pegged as the favorites by the league’s coaches last fall. The Panthers tied their school-record with 15 league wins, the same number the Sam Young, DeJuan Blair-led Pitt squad of 2008-2009. That club went on to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament, this team is looking for more.

“We really want to make this special for the seniors, especially with the team we have,” said senior Gilbert Brown following the regular season finale against Villanova. “We have a special group of individuals. I think we’re capable of doing a lot of great things. This is just the first step. I feel really confident going into the postseason.”

Brown was a key contributor off the bench for the 2008-2009 team as a sophomore and played a key role in Pitt’s BIG EAST Tournament championship win in 2008 against Georgetown, scoring 12 points as a redshirt freshman in that game.

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MERNAGH’S FIRST DAY BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

by RAY MERNAGH

Below is my first day preview/breakdown/analysis of the 2011 Big East Tournament. I’m writing this at midnight Sunday, five or six hours before I hit the road for the trip to NYC.

We kick things off Tuesday with No. 16 DePaul vs. No. 9 Connecticut at 12 Noon. Syracuse scored something like 195 points against DePaul on Saturday. UConn should be able to score at least 85 and win easily. If they don’t, Jim Calhoun’s post-game presser will be legendary and Oliver Purnell might go into shock.

The second game features #13 Rutgers against #12 Seton Hall. Neighborhood battle here. The Hall is on a run having beaten St. John’s and Marquette in back-to-back home games. Jeremy Hazell could go for 30, Jordan Theodore has looked very good and Jeff Robinson and the (Herb) Pope are always dangerous. Mike Rice will have a plan to limit Hazell’s touches and to make him hit tough shots.

The Scarlet Knights will be ready and each team won on the others floor in the regular season in two closely contested games. I expect the same thing here. Look for this to be a one possession game with five minutes left to play. Whoever makes more plays in that five minutes will get the win and move on to face St. John’s in Wednesday’s 2pm game. Rutgers needs Dane Miller to have an efficient game offensively and rebound the ball while also needing Gil Biruta to stay out of foul trouble to win. Seton Hall needs to limit turnovers and share the ball. They would also be helped by getting out in transition.

You can STILL get your tickets, see link below…

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Session 2 on Tuesday starts with #15 South Florida against #10 Villanova in a 7pm tip. The Bulls have a skilled frontcourt that’s got a world of talent. It baffles me that they’re so bad. I watched them get whatever they wanted offensively against Pitt last month only to fade in the last 10 minutes because they started getting out of their offense (and likely because the Panthers turned things up defensively). Still, this team, if focused and taking care of the ball while playing through Gilchrist, Famous and Fitzpatrick, could give the banged up Wildcats a game. Of course they haven’t been able to do that since the first few weeks of the season so…’Nova probably finds a way to get through and face a hot Cincinnati club at 7pm on Wednesday.

The nightcap of the first day has a batch of offensive fireworks ready to explode all ove the Garden floor as #14 Providence battles #11 Marquette. I was wrong regarding the Golden Eagles by the way. I thought there was no way this group finished 8th and they finished three spots below that and find themselves fighting for their tournament life. DJO, Jimmy F. Butler and Jae Crowder have to rise up in this one. PC will counter with Marshon “Fitty2″ Brooks who admittedly hasn’t been the same since he almost put the entire Notre Dame staff on Psyche Leave that memorable night (the Irish won, saving any potential commitments). Buzz Williams and crew needs this one bad. IMHO the Warriors (as I will always know them as) show up ready, while PC packs it in…unless of course Brooks goes all Chris Jackson circa ’88 on them. In that case, anything’s possible. Something tells me this has the chance, along with the Jersey Game, to be the most entertaining contest of Day 1.

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Somebody’s honking their horn. I think it’s my ride. I’ll most likely be doing daily guest spots with Joe Bendel on ESPN 970 during the week. Joe’s on from 4-7 each afternoon and you can listen live at this link. For updates all week, including what times I’ll be going live with Joe, follow me on twitter @raymern or follow NBE Sports on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/NBESports) and the NBE facebook page.

Don’t forget, you can join us this week in NYC, too. For travel deals and arrangements, click here: Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and 2011 BIG EAST Tournament
.

Back at you soon!

As a side note…the potential (I stress potential as teams like SHU/RU and Georgetown hope to have something to say about this) Thursday afternoon match-ups for the Quarterfinals has become one of the hottest MSG tickets I can remember for a mid-week afternoon BIG EAST Tournament ever. Everyone knows how well Syracuse and Connecticut (if they get past DePaul AND Georgetown) draw at MSG, throw in a revitalized St. John’s and #1 seed Pittsburgh and you have a tremendous matinee of basketball that will have the attention of the nation. Don’t miss your chance to be there live…but the prices are going up by the minute each time I check…so, buy now…

ALL-BIG EAST TEAMS ANNOUNCED; HANSBROUGH UNANIMOUS 1ST TEAM SELECTION

BIG EAST press release

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame senior Ben Hansbrough is the only unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players. The league announced the All-BIG EAST First, Second and Third Teams in addition to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.

DePaul forward Cleveland Melvin was the lone unanimous pick on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.

Six players were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from that group. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday, March 8. The announcement will be made between sessions of the first day of The BIG EAST Championship Presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madison Square Garden. The press conference will begin after the postgame interviews of the afternoon doubleheader have been completed. The other individual awards will be announced Monday, March 7.

The six first-team players are also the top six scorers in the BIG EAST. The other first-team selections are: Kemba Walker of Connecticut, Austin Freeman of Georgetown, Ashton Gibbs of Pittsburgh, Marshon Brooks of Providence and Dwight Hardy of St. John’s.

Hansbrough, a 6-3 guard, led Notre Dame to a second-place finish in the BIG EAST regular season with a 14-4 record. He led the Irish in scoring with an 18.5 average, which was third in the league. He also was third in the BIG EAST in 3-point shooting, making 45.1 percent.

Walker was the unquestioned leader for Connecticut, The junior guard finished the regular season second in the BIG EAST in scoring at 23.1 ppg. He has scored at least 24 points in a game 13 times this season. Walker was an All-BIG EAST Third Team selection last year.

Freeman, the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, is fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.8 points while helping the Hoyas to a 21-9 record. The senior guard was an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick last season.

Gibbs, who also was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection in 2009-10, helped lead Pittsburgh to the BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 15-3 record. The league’s top 3-pointer shooter at 46.6 percent, he finished sixth in scoring with a 16.4 average.

Brooks was the BIG EAST scoring champion with a 26.0 scoring mark in league games. In all games, he also was first, averaging 24.8 ppg. The 6-5 senior improved his scoring mark from 14.2 ppg last season.

Hardy provided the critical offensive punch to help fuel the resurgence at St. John’s. The senior guard averaged 17.9 ppg which ranked fourth for the regular season. The Red Storm’s 12-6 mark was their best since a 12-4 record in 1999-2000.

Melvin, a 6-8 forward, was DePaul’s top scorer and the leading freshman scorer in the BIG EAST with a 14.2 average. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (& TICKETS)

The 2010-2011 BIG EAST regular season concluded with eight games on the schedule Saturday. With their 60-50 win over Villanova earlier in the day, Pittsburgh claimed the conference’s outright regular season crown with a 15-3 record in the regular season. Notre Dame checked in at 14-4 in second place.

The Panthers will enter The BIG EAST Championship as the No. 1 overall seed for the third time and look to win their third BIG EAST tournament title. It was the 6th regular season title for Pitt.

Louisville and Syracuse round out the top four seeds in The BIG EAST Championship, which begins Tuesday, March 8, at noon Eastern at Madison Square Garden in New York. The top four schools receive byes through two rounds of the tournament and won’t play until Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The tournament begins Tuesday with four first-round matchups. Connecticut and DePaul kick things off with a battle between the Nos. 9 and 16 seeds at noon, while No. 12 Seton Hall takes on No. 13 Rutgers at 2 p.m. to complete the afternoon session. Those games will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN 3D.

The Tuesday evening session begins with No. 10 Villanova and No. 15 USF at 7 p.m., followed by No. 11 Marquette against No. 14 Providence at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and ESPN 3D.

No. 8-seed Georgetown will await the Connecticut/DePaul winner Wednesday at noon in the first of four second-round games. No. 5 St. John’s has the Seton Hall/Rutgers winner at 2 p.m., while No. 7 Cincinnati takes on the Villanova /USF winner at 7 p.m. No. 6 West Virginia – the 2010 BIG EAST champion – closes Wednesday’s action against the Marquette/Providence winner.

Friday’s semifinals are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m., while the championship game tips at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Wednesday’s second-round games, Thursday’s quarterfinals, Friday’s semifinals and the championship game Saturday will be televised on ESPN.

Georgetown has won a conference-record seven BIG EAST Championships. Connecticut has won six tournament titles, while Syracuse has won five.

For the sixth consecutive year, all tickets to the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship have been sold in advance. All ticket packages for the 2011 Championship have been purchased by the 16 member institutions, negating the need for a public sale at Madison Square Garden, also possibly making it the toughest ticket in town.

Still need your BIG EAST Tournament tickets? We have YOUR seat below! Follow the links below to the individual sessions you desire or buy for the entire event. It is not too late and still GREAT prices and GREAT seats available!

For travel deals and arrangements, click here: Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and 2011 BIG EAST Tournament

2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (with ticket purchase links):

ROUND ONE: TUESDAY, MARCH 8th:
– No. 16 DePaul vs. No. 9 Connecticut, 12 Noon.
– No. 13 Rutgers vs. No. 12 Seton Hall, 2 PM.


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–No. 15 South Florida vs. No. 10, Villanova 7 PM.
–No. 14 Providence vs. No. 11 Marquette, 9 PM.


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ROUND TWO: WEDNESDAY MARCH 9th:

–16/9 Winner vs. No. 8 Georgetown, 12 noon.
–13/12 Winner vs. No. 5 St. John’s, 2 PM.


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–15/10 Winner vs. No. 7 Cincinnati, 7 PM.
–14/11 Winner vs. No. 6 West Virginia, 9 PM.


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QUARTERFINALS: THURSDAY MARCH 10th:

–16/9/8 vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh, 12 noon.
–13/12/5 vs. No. 4 Syracuse, 2 PM.


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–15/10/7 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 7 PM.
–14/11/6 vs. No. 3 Louisville, 9 PM.


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SEMIFINALS: FRIDAY MARCH 11th:


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CHAMPIONSHIP: SATURDAY, MARCH 12th:

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Do not miss any of the action of the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament, buy an all-session strip:


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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – ST. JOHN’S LOSS MEANS SU IN POSITION FOR BIG EAST TOURNAMENT DOUBLE-BYE

In the lone game on the BIG EAST schedule Thursday night, Seton Hall used a late 11-0 run to pull away from St. John’s for an 84-70 before a crowd of 9,470 at the Prudential Center in Newark (NJ).

Playing in his second-to-last last regular season home game, SHU senior Jeremy Hazell had a game-high 31 points on 9-14 shooting from the field and freshman Fuquan Edwin scored a career-high 19 points leading the Pirates to the win, snapping their three-game losing streak. In Kevin Willard’s first year at the helm, Seton Hall is 6-11 in the BIG EAST and 12-17 overall, but none of that mattered in the aftermath of an emotional win.

“We had to come out and make statement. It’s a rivalry game,” said Hazell. “We had to put it to them. These are my last two home games so I want to go out with bang.”

The game certainly ended with a bang. With the Pirates clinging to a two-point lead, 70-68, with 3:51, SHU went on an 11-0 tear that pushed their lead to 81-68 with only 1:22 remaining. Edwin began the run with a three-pointer and then Jordan Theodore and Edwin scored on back-to-back lay-ups and the lead was 77-68, forcing Steve Lavin to call a timeout. Lavin then was issued a pair of technical fouls and ejected from the game for his protest of an earlier call. Hazell would make two of the four free throws as a result and Theodore would add two more shortly after to complete the run.

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BIG EAST TOURNAMENT AT A GLANCE (PART II)

Just nine regular season games remain on the BIG EAST schedule for the 2010-2011 campaign with one tonight and the final eight set for Saturday. Still much is to be determined for seeding in regards to next week’s 2011 BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

First, let’s take a look at the few things we DO know in regards to seeds and match-ups…

The 32nd edition of the BIG EAST Tournament will tip off at noon next Tuesday (March 8th) at Madison Square Garden. This is the 29th straight year that the “World’s Most Famous Arena” has hosted the tournament, making it the longest-running Division I men’s basketball championship at one venue.

Three of the four teams taking the floor for Tuesday afternoon’s first session have been determined, and here is that opening schedule:

ROUND ONE: TUESDAY, MARCH 8th:
– (16) DePaul vs. No. 9, 12 Noon.
– Seton Hall vs. Rutgers, 2 PM.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – MADNESS BEGINS ($5 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT TICKETS?)

Welcome to MARCH!

It seems like just last week we were discussing the November tournaments and the season was just getting under way. Now we are locked and loaded as the exciting month of March begins now!

I really can not say enough how much fun the season has been. The BIG EAST has been a lot of fun to cover night in and night out. The games are super competitive and one loss seems to put a different team on the brink of a losing streak every night. The schedules are brutal and it is only fitting that the fun concludes with a party at Madison Square Garden tipping off in exactly one week. The 2011 BIG EAST Tournament promises to be unlike any other. As we evaluated yesterday in our 2011 BIG EAST Tournament at a Glance (Part 1) the possibilities are endless with just a five days left in the regular season of where teams will finish. However, there are likely three NCAA Tournament-bound teams that will be playing on Tuesday in Round One. As I was looking through ticket options with TicketNetwork.com, the official NBE Basketball ticket source, I noticed many tickets available for as low as $5 for the first session on Tuesday and even more under $10 for the second session that night. How can one go wrong?

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT AT A GLANCE (PART I)

One week is left in the 2010-2011 BIG EAST regular season and the seeding picture for the 2011 Big East Tournament is very unclear. There is plenty to play for this final week as 11 BIG EAST teams are also in the mix for NCAA Tournament invitations as well as 11 of the 16 teams in the league are currently 9-7 or better in the mega conference.

The current magic number for Pittsburgh to claim the outright conference title is 2 with two games remaining. The Panthers have lost two of their last three games, falling to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden by one on a last second score by Dwight Hardy and at Louisville yesterday in overtime. Pitt finished the regular season this week at South Florida on Wednesday night and then hosting Villanova on Saturday at 6 PM. Any combination of two wins by the Panthers or losses by Notre Dame will give Jamie Dixon’s club the outright regular season title, quite an accomplishment this year in college basketball, which many believe will result in a No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Pitt has clinched a double-bye in the 2011 Big East Tournament, meaning their first acton will come on Thursday (March 10) at Madison Square Garden.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/24/2011 (BROOKS’ RECORD NIGHT, INJURY ISSUE FOR HOYAS)

Wednesday night in the BIG EAST featured three contests on a night that will leave an impact on the conference record books, the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s view of one BIG EAST team and another could be facing a tough road ahead with an injured point guard.

We will start in Providence where senior guard Marshon Brooks set a BIG EAST single game scoring record by pouring in 52 points against Notre Dame. The Irish won the game, as they try and keep pace with Pittsburgh in the race for the regular season conference crown, 94-93 to improve to 11-4 in conference play.

Brooks connected on 20 of 28 field goal attempts, six of 10 from three-point range and the foul line while playing all 40 minutes and leading a frantic rally that fell a point short when Brooks’ 75-foot desperation heave at the final buzzer was off the mark.

“That was staggering,” said Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey on Brooks’ performance, “and I’m glad we escaped.”

Brooks scored 11 of his 52 points in the final 50 seconds, but the Irish made 7 of 8 free throws to keep PC at arms length. After freshman Eric Atkins made the final two free throws in that stretch with 7 seconds left, it was a 94-90 lead for the Irish. Brooks scored points 50, 51 and 52 on a three-pointer with two seconds left to draw within one and the Friars sent Tim Abromaitis to the line for two free throws. Abromaitis missed both and Brooks tried to cap a fairy tale evening with his desperation heave, but it was not to be.

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DWIGHT HARDY HONORED AS BIG EAST’S BEST FOR 2ND CONSECUTIVE WEEK

BIG EAST Player of the Week:
DWIGHT HARDY, St. John’s, G, Sr: Hardy wins Player of the Week honors for the second straight week. He averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 steals and 3.5 rebounds while leading the Red Storm to an 80-68 win at Marquette and a 60-59 victory over No. 4/4 Pittsburgh.

Hardy scored 28 points in the win over Marquette and netted 19 against the Panthers, including the winning basket with 1.2 seconds left.

“To see that shot beat the No.4 team in the country was surreal,” said SJU head coach Steve Lavin following the game.

Hardy leads St. John’s (17-9 overall, 9-5 BIG EAST) with 17.2 points a game on the season.
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BIG EAST Rookie of the Week:
CLEVELAND MELVIN, DePaul, F, Fr: Melvin earns rookie honors for the fourth time this season after averaging 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Blue Demons. In a 79-76 win at Providence, he posted 20 points and six rebounds. Melvin followed that effort with 16 points and four boards in a 77-75 overtime loss to Villanova. He is the BIG EAST’s top freshman scorer, averaging 14.2 ppg.
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BIG EAST Honor Roll:

– Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, Jr: Had 31 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in a 78-70 victory over Georgetown. He averaged 23.5 ppg in a 1-1 week.

- Jeremiah Kelly, DePaul, G, Jr: Posted consecutive career scoring highs in a 1-1 week. He scored 23 points in a 79-76 win at Providence and 25 points in a 77-75 overtime loss to Villanova. Shot 55 percent from 3-point range.

- Chris Wright, Georgetown, G, Sr: Averaged 22.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week. He shot 51.7 percent from the floor, 58.3 percent from 3-point range and made all eight free throw attempts.

- Kris Joseph, Syracuse, F, Jr: Averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a 2-0 week. Had 21 points and eight rebounds in an 84-80 overtime win
over Rutgers.

- Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Sr: Averaged 23.0 points in a 2-0 week. Scored a career-high 34 points in a 77-75 overtime win at DePaul. His 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation forced the extra period.

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Need BIG EAST Tournament tickets? We have YOUR seat below! Buy now before prices go up, up, up…

For travel deals and arrangements, click here: Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and 2011 BIG EAST Tournament

BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - BIG EAST TOURNAMENT JUST GOT TOUGHER (2/21/2011)

The 2011 BIG EAST Tournament promises to be a great event with the first game tipping off in just 15 days! Not only has the regular season shown to be very unpredictable with tough games night in and night out, but St. John’s will be playing on their home floor which has been a house of horrors for visitors this season, unlike any other in recent memory.

Steve Lavin’s team already owns sins at Madison Square Garden over the conference’s top three teams in the current standings: Georgetown, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The have also beaten Connecticut and Duke in the past month at MSG when both were ranked in the Top 10.

The Johnnies’ current four-game win streak is the longest active win streak in the conference and Saturday’s win over No. 4 Pitt has put an exclamation point on the resurgence of the Red Storm. Dwight Hardy’s tightrope dance of the sideline and twisting lay-up with 1.2 seconds left gave SJU a 60-59 win over thr tough-minded Panthers whom had just taken the lead moments earlier on a Travon Woodall three-pointer. Hardy finished with 19 points in the game and is deserving of BIG EAST Player of the Year consideration with his role in the recent ‘Storm surge.

“To see that shot beat the No.4 team in the country was surreal,” said Steve Lavin following the game.

Hardy is averaging over 24 points a game in that span while shooting 51% (55-108) from the floor and 50% (18-36) from beyond the arc in the stretch. In the last two games, which included a road win at Marquette, the 6-foot-2 senior guard originally from the Bronx has also made 27 trips to the free throw line, making 22, and his ability to break down the defense for scoring opportunities has been a key element to the St. John’s half court offense that allows them to set the tempo and make teams pay late in a shot clock.

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DEPAUL ENDS BIG EAST LOSING STREAK AT THE EXPENSE OF PROVIDENCE

The 1,000-lb piano is off the back of the DePaul Blue Demons, finally. After losing 29 consecutive games on the road and 25 consecutive BIG EAST contests overall, Oliver Purnell’s club finally came out on top with a 79-76 win at Providence Thursday night. It was Oliver Purnell’s first BIG EAST win as the Blue Demons head coach.

“It’s good for our guys,” said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell in the Providence Journal Game Recap. “We’ve been playing better and better so it’s nice to have an affirming event like a win to show them that they are actually playing better. I thought out guys did a really good job in the face of adversity..our guys kept believing and stayed aggressive. We played to win.”

DePaul led 39-29 at the half and increased the lead to 13 at the 14:10 mark, leading 52-39. The Friars showed some life, responding with a 14-2 run that was highlighted by two three-pointers by Duke Mondy. The game remained tight until the final minutes and Jeremiah Kelly hit a huge corner three to push DePaul up 75-71 with just under a minute left. Kelly finished with a team-high 23 points, including four of seven from beyond the arc.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/17/2011

Connecticut rode the strong play of Kemba Walker and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel to earn a 78-70 win over Georgetown Wednesday night at the Civic Center in downtown Hartford. The loss snapped the Hoyas eight-game winning streak.

Walker scored 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting and added 10 assists and 7 rebounds while sophomore guard Coombs-McDaniel added 23 points, his second consecituve impressive outing.

“I’ve just been real confident,” said Coombs-McDaniel following the game. “I’ve been playing a lot more as well. The guys have a lot of confidence in me. And I’ve just been knocking down shots.”

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/14/2011

Georgetown continues to roll along, winning their eighth straight game on Sunday afternoon with a 69-60 win over visiting Marquette at the Verizon Center in D.C. Senior Chris Wright led the Hoyas with 20 points and Austin Freeman added 17. The win improved John Thompson III’s club to 9-4 in BIG EAST plan and 20-5 overall heading into a Wednesday night showdown at Connecticut. After starting 1-4 in the league, the Hoyas’ coach is happy with the improved defensive effort as well as the consistency in which Wright, Freeman and junior Jason Clark have been scoring the basketball.

“We’re defending better and also during that stretch we had a couple of guys that we needed to score that had a bad stretch,” said Thompson. “We can go OK if one of Chris, Austin or Jason is having a bad day…Those guys have to score for us, they had a bad ten day stretch, but that stretch is over and they’ve back to being themselves.”

Marquette fell to 6-6 in the BIG EAST and 15-10 overall. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 20 points in the loss for the Golden Eagles who had a 35-31 lead at halftime and led throughout most of the game until Georgetown took control with an 9-0 run just before the midway point of the second half. An 11-2 run late pushed the Hoyas’ lead to 10 and the Golden Eagles could not rally again.

Marquette shot just 31.8% from the floor in the second half and did not help themselves too much with a 10-17 effort from the line in the game’s final 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles will return to action Tuesday when St. John’s comes to the Bradley Center.
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Jamal Coombs-McDaniel had a career night with 25 points and Kemba Walker had his most efficient outing in several weeks, scoring 22 points on 7-10 shooting from the field along with 7 assists against just one turnover as Connecticut used two back-breaking second half runs to defeat Providence 75-57 Sunday evening.

Coombs-McDaniel hit 10 of 17 shots from the floor and added 8 rebounds in 31 minutes of action to pace the Huskies.

“I just found myself in all the right spots tonight. My teammates found me,” said Coombs-McDaniel after the game. “It’s definitely a boost for my confidence like it would do with anyone else’s. I’ve just got to keep working. Hopefully it will just keep happening like this.”

Coombs-McDaniel and his coach, Jim Calhoun have had an ‘interesting’ relationship, according to the Hall of Fame coach, who was happy to see the sophomore break out with a big game, along with excellent efforts by Charles Okwandu (6 pts, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Donnell Beverly (5 assists in 18 minutes), a trip Calhoun had plenty to say about after the game and their ‘experience’ at UConn.

“Charles – I don’t know if he has quite all my wrath, but he’s got enough of it….Donnell Beverly, who always gets blamed if someone else drops the ball, even if he has nothing to do with the play. And then Jamal Coombs…I was trying to think about how I would describe our relationship. ‘Stormy?’ You think ‘stormy’ would be a good way?…I couldn’t be happier for Charles and Donnell and, particularly, for Jamal Coombs. Jamal Coombs’ ride here, when we expected so much of him last year, coming off the bench…We’ve had a lot of talks, and push, and shove, and a whole bunch of different things.”

Providence, as usual, was led by Marshon Brooks who poured in 25 points.

The Friars rallied from a 33-30 halftime deficit to take a brief lead early in the second half. A 9-0 UConn run broke a 41-all tie and give the Huskies a lead they would never relinquish. PC would find themselves still within striking distance at 60-53 with 6:25 left, but the Huskies rolled off a 15-2 run with Coombs-McDaniel scoring 7, to slam the door shut.

UConn is now 7-5 in the BIG EAST and 19-5 overall. They will host Georgetown Wednesday night. Providence dropped to 3-9 in the conference, 14-11 overall, and will host DePaul on Thursday.
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In Sunday’s other BIG EAST contest, St. John’s watched a 12-point second half lead disappear, but rallied in the game’s final 76 seconds to pull out a 59-57 win on the road at Cincinnati. The ongoing saga with UC big man Yancy Gates continued on Sunday as the junior power forward spent all but one minute of the second half on the bench.

You can read our full coverage from the game HERE.

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The BIG EAST conference season has just moved past the halfway mark and the 2011 Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden is quickly approaching. 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 MONDAY:

Today’s ESPN Big Monday matchup between West Virginia and Syracuse at the Carrier Dome (7 p.m. ET) will be the 100th game of the BIG EAST season as teams begin the stretch run toward the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament (presented this year by American Eagle Outfitters).

Syracuse leads the all-time series against West Virginia 32-16 and has won eight straight at the Carrier Dome against the Mountaineers. West Virginia’s last win in Syracuse was Dec. 4, 1996.

The Orange have lost 6 of their last 8 games after beginning the season 18-0. Their latest loss came on Saturday at Louisville. The Orange cut a 20-point deficit in the second half to three points, but could not make it all the way back. Brandon Triche had a team-high 21 points and Scoop Jardine added 20.

John Flowers led five players in double figures with 15 points in the 82-71 win over DePaul for the Mountaineers on Saturday. The win improved WVU to 7-5 in the BIG EAST.
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BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS:

BIG EAST Player of the Week:
DWIGHT HARDY, St. John’s, G, Sr: Hardy averaged a BIG EAST-leading 25.5 points and shot 53.1 percent from the field (17-of-32), 60.0 percent from 3-point range (9-of-15) and 100 percent from the free throw line (8-of-8) in a 2-0 week. He scored a career-high 33 points with four rebounds and three assists in an 89-72 win against No. 10/9 Connecticut and had a game-high 18 points in a 59-57 win at Cincinnati.

BIG EAST Rookie of the Week:
SEAN KILPATRICK, Cincinnati, G, Fr: Kilpatrick takes rookie honors for the second time this season after leading the Bearcats in scoring in both games of a 1-1 week. He scored 19 points and had five assists and four rebounds in a 71-68 victory at DePaul. In a 59-57 loss to St. John’s, Kilpatrick had 15 points. For the season, the freshman from White Plains, N.Y. is averaging 10.1 ppg in a sixth-man role for the Bearcats.

BIG EAST Honor Roll:
- Chris Wright, Georgetown, G, Sr: Averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds in a 2-0 week, helping the Hoyas extend their winning streak to eight games.

- Kyle Kuric, Louisville, G, Jr: Averaged 25.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a 1-1 week. Had 28 points and six rebounds in an 89-79 overtime loss at Notre Dame.

- Carleton Scott, Notre Dame, F, Jr: Averaged 14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in a 2-0 week, leading the Irish to their sixth and seventh straight wins.

- Brad Wanamaker, Pittsburgh, G, Sr: Averaged 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in two road wins against top-25 teams. Had 21 points in a 57-54 win at Villanova.

- Jonathan Mitchell, Rutgers, F, Sr: Averaged 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week. Had 25 points in a 77-76 win against Villanova, including a four-point play in the final second.
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WEEKLY BIG EAST SCHEDULE:

Monday, February 14:
WEST VIRGINIA at SYRACUSE – ESPN…………………….7:00

Tuesday, February 15:
VILLANOVA at SETON HALL…………………………………8:00
ST. JOHN’S at MARQUETTE – ESPNU……………………..9:00

Wednesday, February 16:
LOUISVILLE at CINCINNATI – ESPN………………………..7:00
GEORGETOWN at CONNECTICUT XL………………………7:00
USF at PITTSBURGH……………………………………………7:00

Thursday, February 17:
DEPAUL at PROVIDENCE – ESPN2…………………………9:00

Friday, February 18:
CONNECTICUT at LOUISVILLE – ESPN…………………….9:00

Saturday, February 19:
VILLANOVA at DEPAUL – BEN…………………………….Noon
PITTSBURGH at ST. JOHN’S – ESPN………………………Noon
NOTRE DAME at WEST VIRGINIA – CBS………………….1:00
RUTGERS at SYRACUSE……………………………………….4:00
CINCINNATI at PROVIDENCE – ESPNU……………………7:00
GEORGETOWN at USF………………………………………..7:00
SETON HALL at MARQUETTE……………………………….9:00

Sunday, February 20:
- No games scheduled

- All times Eastern
- BEN – BIG EAST Network Game of the Week
- XL = XL Center, Hartford, Conn.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/12/2011 PREVIEW

Five games are on the BIG EAST slate on Saturday including three on the ESPN family of networks.

The day begins when Louisville welcomes Syracuse for a noon Eastern tip at the KFC Yum! Center. ESPN will have the broadcast. Last year, in the final game at Freedom Hall, the Cardinals beat then-No. 1 ranked Syracuse 78-68. Louisville holds a 12-4 advantage over SU in the all-time series and has won five of the six regular season meetings.

Louisville is expected to get a shot in the arm as forward Rakeem Buckles and center Gorgui Dieng are expected to return to action after missing significant time with injuries. Buckles has not played since late December because of a knee injury while Dieng has been held out of action since suffering a concussion on Jan. 26th against West Virginia.

Slowly Louisville is Returning to Health for the Stretch Run of the season after an unprecendented run of injuries that coach Rick Pitino has never seen before.

“Its been a very different year in terms of managing this basketball team because of the amount of the injuries we have had,” said Pitino during Thursday’s media conference call. “I have had probably more missed time from nine differet individuals that I have had in three or four years combined.”

Syracuse is coming off a loss to Georgetown at the Carrier Dome Wednesday night and coach Jim Boeheim was not very pleased with his team’s offense. The Hall of Fame coach knows the offensive effort will need to be improved if they are to beat the Cardinals on the road.

“Looking…to Louisville, they are very good offensively and we will have to play better on the offensive end,” said Boeheim.

The game is an important one in the BIG EAST standings as Louisville currently sits a half game ahead of the Orange (7-5) with a 7-4 record, three-games behind conference leader Pitt.
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Also at noon, Notre Dame visits South Florida in the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week. The Irish are 6-1 against the Bulls in BIG EAST play and USF coach Stan Heath knows full well what the Bulls are up against on Saturday in Irish guard Ben Hansbrough.

“I don’t know how everyone else looks at it, but for me personally I think Ben [Hansbrough] is the straw that stirs the drink,” said Heath Thursday. “I clearly think he is the emotional leader. He’s the guy when things are tough that will make plays and step-up. He helps a guy like Tim Abromaitis, he helps a guy like Carleton Scott or Tyrone Nash. I do think those guys are terrific players. I just think that Ben has that extra ingredient that every coach likes to have in a leader and a point guard that can make Notre Dame that much better.”

The Irish have won six iin a row and moved into solo possession of 2nd place in the BIG EAST, 1 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh. During the stretch Hansbrough has established himself as a strong candidate for BIG EAST Player of the Year and in the last five games the senior guard is averaging over 24 points a game while running the Irish offense and being the team’s leader, a role coach Mike Brey feels has given Hansbrough the confidence to take his game up to a new level this season.

“Being the voice, being the leader and carrying that over into ‘what does my team need to do’. I think that has given him the confidence to play at a high level,” said Brey.” We’ve figured out where to put him in spots to take full advantage of him.”

South Florida has lost three in a row and fell to 2-10 in BIG EAST play Wednesday night when they blew a 16-point second-half lead in a loss to Marquette at the Sun Dome. In that game Toarlyn Fitzpatrick posted career highs of 16 points and 13 rebounds but it was not enough in a 59-58 setback.
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Seton Hall looks for a split against in-state rival Rutgers at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. The Scarlet Knights beat the Pirates 66-60 in the first meeting this season at the Prudential Center on Jan. 22 when Dane Miller led RU with 17 points. The Scarlet Knights’ victory snapped a four-game series win streak by SHU.

Rutgers is coming off the extreme emotional high of their thrilling 77-76 win over Villanova Wednesday night where Jonathan Mitchell capped a frantic comeback with a dramatic four-point play with 0.8 seconds left. RU trailed by 13 points with just 4:28 left.

“It was a crazy two minutes, but it was more than that, it was a culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of great practices,” said RU coach Mike Rice about the comeback victory Wednesday.

The New Jersey rivals are both 4-8 in the BIG EAST and Rice expects an intense battle.

“Always a very heated, passionate rivalry with a lot of energy,” said Rice.
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DePaul visits West Virginia at 4 p.m. The Blue Demons are 0-5 against WVU in BIG EAST play, including a 67-65 loss at Allstate Arena on Jan. 4. Casey Mitchell had a
team-high 18 points for WVU in that game while Deniz Kilicli added 14.
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The ESPN GameDay crew invades Villanova for a battle between the Wildcats and Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. on ESPN. Pittsburgh will try to break Villanova’s 46-game winning streak at The Pavilion. The Panthers are 22-19 against the Wildcats in BIG EAST regular-season games, including a 70-65 win last year at the Petersen Events Center.

**********************************************************************************************
The BIG EAST conference season has just moved past the halfway mark and the 2011 Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden is quickly approaching less than a month away. 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.
**********************************************************************************************

BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/9/2011

ESPN’s Rivalry Week rolls on Wednesday Night and the ESPN family of networks will feature three prime choices for BIG EAST action at 7 PM: Georgetown at Syracuse on ESPN, Louisville at Notre Dame on ESPNU and Marquette at USF on ESPN2. Also, Villanova plays at Rutgers at 8 p.m.

The Georgetown-Syracuse rivalry is one of the most storied in the BIG EAST’s history and currently shows the Orange ahead 29-25 in BIG EAST regular-season play. The two teams have met 13 times in the BIG EAST Championship with the Hoyas holding a 7-6 edge.

Tonight’s game is key in the BIG EAST standings with each team currently 7-4 in the BIG EAST. The Hoyas have won six in a row following a 1-4 start in conference play while SU has won two straight following their four-game losing streak.

In the last meeting, Georgetown beat the Orange 91-84 in the quarterfinal round of last year’s BIG EAST Championship, however, Syracuse has won the last six encounters in the Carrier Dome.
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Louisville and Notre Dame played a classic last season with the Cardinals prevailing 91-89 in double overtime at Freedom Hall. The Cardinals enjoy a 4-2 series advantage in BIG EAST contests between the two programs.

The Irish, currently in second place all alone in the BIG EAST at 8-3, will put their 14-0 home mark on the season on the line. Louisville (7-3) is one of four teams right behind Notre Dame in the conference with seven league wins and will get a lift with the return of leading scorer Preston Knowles. UL beat DePaul, 61-57, over the weekend in a game Knowles missed because of a hamstring injury.
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Marquette holds a 3-1 edge over South Florida in BIG EAST play, but the Bulls won the last meeting at the Sun Dome 57-56 on Feb. 6, 2009. Overall the Golden Eagles are 15-3 all-time against their former Conference USA foe.
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Villanova aims for for its seventh straight 20-win season Wednesday at Rutgers. The Wildcats beat the Scarlet Knights 81-65 at home on Jan. 2 with senior Corey Stokes scoring a team-high 23 points. VU has beaten RU in seven of the last eight meetings and has a 26-7 advantage all-time in the series.

Read more

BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/8/2011 (PITT EARNS MILESTONE WIN; GATES TRAVELS WITH UC)

Pittsburgh defeated West Virginia 71-66 on Monday night in Morgantown without the services of leading scorer Ashton Gibbs. The win pushed the panthers to 10-1 in the BIG EAST and 22-2 overall, giving the program their 10th straight season with at least 20 overall wins and 10 conference wins. Pitt is the only BIG EAST program to achieve that distinction 10 consecutive seasons in the conference’s history.

“Ashton wasn’t playing and I think we really got the message across to our guys in the last 24 hours since we found out he wasn’t playing,” said coach Jamie Dixon, now 210-56 in his eight seasons as Pitt’s head coach. “Everybody else was asking who was going to step up – we didn’t have to have anyone step up. We just had to play the way we have to play and execute.”

The Panthers out-rebounded WVU 40-28 and outscored the Mountaineers in the paint, 42-24.

“They out-manned us is what happened,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins to MSNsportsNET.com. “They beat us to death on the offensive glass and drove it where they wanted to drive it. They just out-manned us.”

Nasir Robinson led the way for the Panthers with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Gary McGhee added 13 points, Travon Woodall, starting in place of Gibbs, added 12 points and Brad Wanamaker contributed 11 points, 9 rebounds and several key assists down the stretch as Pitt held off every WVU rally down the stretch.

After trailing 25-23 at halftime, Pitt scored 48 points, shooting 61% from the field in the second half against a WVU defense that allowed just 46 and 44 points for the entire game in their last two games at the Coliseum.

Deniz Kilicli had a game-high 19 points for the Mountaineers in a losing effort. West Virginia entered the game ranked No. 25 in this week’s AP Poll, but now finds themselves 6-5 in the BIG EAST and 15-8 overall. With 11 teams at .500 or better in conference play, WVU is in 8th place in the BIG EAST by themselves this morning.

The Mountaineers host DePaul on Saturday. West Virginia beat the Blue Demons 67-65 on Jan. 4 at Allstate Arena and are 5-0 all-time against DePaul in BIG EAST play.

Pittsburgh will return to action on Saturday night for a highly anticipated 9 pm game against Villanova at the Pavilion. The Panthers are 22-19 against the Wildcats
in BIG EAST regular-season games, including a 70-65 win last year at the Petersen Events Center.

Read more

BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/7/2011

Rivalry Week on ESPN kicks off with the most-played rivalry among BIG EAST members as Pittsburgh visits West Virginia at 7 p.m. Eastern. Monday’s game will be the 181st meeting between the schools, with West Virginia holding a 95-85 series lead.

Pittsburgh has won 15 of the 25 BIG EAST regular-season meetings, while the teams have split a pair of games in the BIG EAST Championship.

Pitt will try to secure its 10th straight season with at least 10 BIG EAST wins and will do so with their next conference victory. The Panthers are the only league member to win 20 games overall and 10 league contests in the last nine seasons.

Their 9-1 conference start is their best since joining the BIG EAST.

The Panthers will likely be short-handed for the BIG MONDAY match-up as leading scorer Ashton Gibbs is likely to be sidelined with a mild MCL sprain in his knee. Gibbs could miss up to two weeks, but sources indicate the severety of the injury is minor and he should be back sooner. Sophomore forward Dante Taylor has sore knees and will be a game-time decision for Pitt.

Gibbs tied a career scoring high with 25 points in the win over Cincinnati this weekend. Gilbert Brown added 11 points and Gary McGhee contributed six points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots in the 71-59 victory.

For West Virginia, Kevin Jones and John Flowers scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, but they received little offensive support in the loss at Villanova Saturday. Leading scorer Casey Mitchell returned from a team suspension, but did not score in 13 minutes.

The Mountaineers are 44-8 at the WVU Coliseum under Bob Huggins, including a 24-8 mark in BIG EAST games.

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