USF News

BIG EAST 11 READY FOR NCAA TOURNAMENT ACTION

The opening (oops, 2nd round) match-ups for the Big East teams in the 2011 NCAA Tournament are almost set after March Madness kicked off last night with the first half of the new ‘First Four’ at Dayton Arena. The ‘First Four’ is now being called Round One and the action this Thursday and Friday will be Round Two in the new format. Georgetown will play the winner of the USC/VCU match-up tonight on Friday in Chicago. The other 10 match-ups are set.

BIG EAST Postseason Notes:

BIG EAST RECEIVES 11 INVITATIONS:
The BIG EAST Conference received a record 11 bids to the NCAA Championship. The BIG EAST had held the previous record of eight in 2006, ‘08 and ‘10. Pittsburgh, the league regular-season champion, received a No. 1 seed in the Southeast Region. Nine of the 11 teams received a No. 6 seed or higher.

20 WINS REMAINS A GOOD YARDSTICK:
When a BIG EAST team reaches 20 wins by the end of conference tournament play, it has an excellent chance of receiving an NCAA invitation. Since the BIG EAST began in 1979-80, 147 of 152 (96.7%) teams with 20 wins received NCAA bids. This year, all 11 BIG EAST teams in the NCAA Championship have at least 20 wins. Last season, the BIG EAST had nine 20-win squads, with South Florida missing out on the NCAA Tournament following a 20-win regular season.

ST. JOHN’S, CINCINNATI RETURN TO THE BIG DANCE:
The St. John’s Red Storm and the Cincinnati Bearcats, two programs steeped in NCAA tradition, are back in the NCAA Championship after absences of several years. St. John’s, which is 21-11 and the No. 6 seed in the Southeast Region under first-year coach Steve Lavin, is in the NCAAs for the first time since 2002. Cincinnati’s last NCAA appearance was in 2005. This season, the Bearcats are 25-8 under coach Mick Cronin.

PITTSBURGH HAS THE LONGEST NCAA STREAK:
The longest current streak of NCAA tourney bids among BIG EAST teams belongs to Pittsburgh. The Panthers have been to the last 10 NCAA Championships, including eight in a row under Jamie Dixon. The Panthers are 14-9 (61%) in NCAA Tournament games the last nine seasons, making it to at least the Sweet 16 in five of those appearances. Pitt is also the only BIG EAST team to win at least 10 conference regular-season games over the last nine seasons.

BIG EAST 12-9 AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS:
BIG EAST teams compiled a 12-9 record against ranked opponents during the regular season. They were 6-1 against top 10 squads.

NON-CONFERENCE RECORD BEST SINCE 1988-89:
BIG EAST teams amassed a 159-41 (.795) record against non-conference competition in the regular season. That is the league’s best mark since 1988-89.

BIG EAST LEADS IN SWEET 16 APPEARANCES:
With two NCAA Sweet 16 teams last season (West Virginia and Syracuse) and with an NCAA record five Sweet 16 teams in 2009 (Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Villanova) the BIG EAST has had the most teams reach the regional semifinal round over the last eight seasons.

REGIONAL SEMIFINALISTS (2003-10)

BIG EAST – 25
Big 12 – 18
ACC – 15

ALL-TIME NCAA RECORDS:
Since the league began play in 1979-80, BIG EAST teams own a 263-160 (.622) record going into the 2011 NCAA Championship. The BIG EAST has had only one season when its teams had a combined losing record in the NCAAs. In 1992-93, the league was 2-3.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
Second Round • March 17:
–East Region; Tampa, Fla.
-No. 5 West Virginia vs. Clemson winner (CBS)………… 12:15

–Southwest Region; Denver, Colo.
-No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 Morehead State (TBS)……………… 1:40

–Southeast Region; Washington, D.C.
-No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. UNC-Asheville (TRU)…….. 3:10

–Southeast Region; Denver, Colo.
-No. 6 St. John’s vs. No. 11 Gonzaga (CBS)……………………….. 9:45

–West Region; Washington, D.C.
-No. 3 Connecticut vs. No. 14 Bucknell (TNT)……………………. 7:20
-No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Missouri (TNT)………………………. 9:50

Second Round • March 18:
–Southwest Region; Chicago, Ill.
-No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Akron (TBS)……………………….. 1:40

–East Region; Cleveland, Ohio
-No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova (TNT)…………………. 2:10
-No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 11 Marquette (TRU)………………………… 7:27
-No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State (TRU)…………………. 9:57

–Southwest Region; Chicago, Ill.
-No. 6 Georgetown vs. USC/VCU winner (TNT)………… 9:40

NBE will also like to take a moment to introduce our new ticket solution for sports fans. TiqIq.com is BY FAR the most intelligent, sophisticated and convenient ticketing solution we have come across on the internet and we had to have this set up for our fans in time for the NCAA Tournament. It is a ticket aggregator which searches for the BEST prices on the internet from all the ticket providers used by fans. We are talking StubHub, EBay, TicketsNow, Razorgator and more. The best prices are shown with links to get your tickets. Additional features fans will find VERY useful include:

1. Aggregated Listings: They aggregate all major sellers in the market so you can find the best deal.
2. TiqZone Categorization: They break each venue up into TiqZones, which are groupings of sections that we’ve determined are comparable in value.
3. TiqIQ Statistics: They provide ticket-level buying intelligence through their IQ rating and TiqIQ Statistics.
4. E-Ticket Filter: Want tickets last minute? You can find all the available e-tickets so you can print your tickets from home or the office.
5. All-in Pricing Option: Before you complete your sale you’ll be able to tell exactly how much your tickets will cost including all service and shipping fees.

Here it is in action:

2010-2011 BIG EAST AWARD WINNERS:

-BIG EAST Player of the Year: Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame, Sr., G

-Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year: Mike Brey, Notre Dame

-BIG EAST Rookie of the Year: Cleveland Melvin, DePaul, Fr., F

-BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year: Rick Jackson, Syracuse, Sr., C

-BIG EAST Most Improved Player: Dwight Hardy, St. John’s, Sr., G

-BIG EAST Sixth Man Award: Justin Burrell, St. John’s, Sr., F

-BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award: Brad Wanamaker, Pittsburgh, Sr., G

-BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, Sr., F

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM:
Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, Jr., 6-1, 172, Bronx, N.Y.
Austin Freeman, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-3.5, 227, Mitchellville, Md.
*Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame, G, Sr., 6-3, 206, Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., 6-2, 190, Scotch Plains, N.J.
Marshon Brooks, Providence, G-F, Sr., 6-5, 200, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Dwight Hardy, St. John’s, G, Sr., 6-2, 195, Bronx, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM:
Preston Knowles, Louisville, G, 6-1, 190, Winchester, Ky.
Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette, G, Jr., 6-2, 215, Raleigh, N.C.
Brad Wanamaker, Pittsburgh, G, Sr., 6-4, 210, Philadelphia, Pa.
Rick Jackson, Syracuse, F, Sr., 6-9, 240, Philadelphia, Pa.
Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-1, 200, Bronx, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM:
Chris Wright, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-1, 208, Washington, D.C.
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6-8, 235, Unionville, Ct.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, Sr., 6-5, 188, Bronx, N.Y.
Kris Joseph, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6-7, 207, Montreal, Quebec
Corey Stokes, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-5, 220, Bayonne, N.J.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION:
Peyton Siva, Louisville, G, So., 5-11, 180, Seattle, Wash.
Jimmy Butler, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-7, 220, Tomball, Texas
Scoop Jardine, Syracuse, G, So., 6-2, 190, Philadelphia, Pa.
Kevin Jones, West Virginia, F, Jr., 6-8, 255, Mount Vernon, N.Y.

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM:
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati, G, Fr., 6-4, 215, White Plains, N.Y.
Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut, G-F, 6-5, 185, Norcross, Ga.
Shabazz Napier, Connecticut, G, Fr., 6-0, 170, Randolph, Mass.
*Cleveland Melvin, DePaul, F, Fr., 6-8, 210, Baltimore, Md.
Brandon Young, DePaul, G, Fr., 6-3, 175, Washington, D.C.
Gilvydas Biruta, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6-8, 230, Jonava, Lithuania

* unanimous selection
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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PRIMER – - QUARTERFINALS

As if the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament did not need any more attention…the events of Wednesday transpires. The officiating meltdown of the last minute in the St. John’s/Rutgers game will take away from the excellent college basketball competition that we saw in that game, as well as the day’s nightcap with West Virginia/Marquette. No doubt the controvoersy will continue to overshadow the event today, which features a tremendous pair of double-headers in both the afternoon and evening sessions. Eight NCAA Tournament teams will compete on the Madison Square Garden court today and expect the Garden to be full from start to finish for these four games:

QUARTERFINALS: THURSDAY MARCH 10th:

–No. 9 Connecticut vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh, 12 noon.
–No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 4 Syracuse, 2 PM.

Season Series: The Panthers and Huskies opened the 2010-2011 BIG EAST conference schedule with a December 27th date at the Peterson Events Center on the Pitt campus. Jamie Dixon’s club welcomed the young pops of UConn to the BIG EAST with a 78-63 thumping. Kemba Walker was the lone Husky in double figures, scoring 31, but he needed 27 shots to do so. The rest of the team was just 9-33 (27%) from the field. On the other hand, Pitt got 21 points from Ashton Gibbs, 14 from Brad Wanamaker and double-doubles from Gary McGhee (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Nasir Robinson (11 points, 10 rebounds). The Panthers also assisted on 19 of their 24 made field goals while UConn was credited with just 6 assists as a team. The Huskies have matured a lot since that game as the five freshmen have now been through 20 games of BIG EAST competition, including their two wins at MSG already in the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament.

While the talk all week has been how good the Red Storm have been in Madison Square Garden this season, SJU has not forgotten the 76-59 shellacking they took at the hands of the Orange on this very floor back on January 12th. SU came into the Garden and shot 57% from the floor and 45% from beyond the arc as they blew Steve Lavin’s crew out. Kris Joseph led four Syracuse players in double figures with 18 points. SU also held a 40-32 edge on the boards, with Rick Jackson posting a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Red Storm was able to force 20 turnovers and that pressure defense will have to be turned up another notch this afternoon. Expect SU to sit in their patented 2-3 zone and see if SJU can make them pay from beyond the arc.

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–No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 7 PM.
–No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 3 Louisville, 9 PM.

Season Series: The Irish got past UC 66-58 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend (IN) back on January 19th. ND used a balanced attack with five players in double figures to come away with the victory. That contest saw Carleton Scott return from injury, snapping a two-game losing streak for the Irish and would kickstart a seven game winning streak and Mike Brey’s club has won 11 of 12 since. Redshirt freshman Sean Kilpatrick had a team-high 16 for UC in the loss. The Bearcats are playing well, winning six of their last seven, and look poised for their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Mick Cronin.

The day’s nightcap features the Golden Eagles and Cardinals, two former Conference USA rivals. The two teams played a classic at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville back on January 15th as UL came out on top 71-70. Fans will remember the story as Rick Pitino’s club finished the game on a 24-5 run in the final 5:44 to erase a 65-47 deficit for the win. Preston Knowles buried four three-pointers in the run and his ability to find Kyle Kuric open for the winning layup with four seconds left completed the remarkable comeback. Knowles finished with a game-high 17 in the win. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 16 for MU in the first meeting.
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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. Even with the games starting in less than three hours today it is not too late and still GREAT prices and GREAT seats available! The quarterfinals are only the warm-up to great action ahead for Friday and Saturday in this historic event!

Need a place to stay in NYC for the weekend, click here to Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament

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

WEDNESDAY EVENING NOTES FROM BIG EAST BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

by RAY FLORIANI

NEW YORK CITY – Notes and thoughts from day two, the evening session, at the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament.

Entering the press room for the evening doubleheader the big news concerned the ending of the Rutgers-St. John’s game. And that ’buzz’ and debate seemed to last through the games, and I’m sure into the night.

As a veteran of years of officiating I will not comment on the crew’s performance. Suffice to say they weren’t looking forward to getting to the locker room with the prospect of Art Hyland, the Big East Supervisor, in all likelihood there to ask a few tough questions.

Is there another 25 win team with less respect than Cincinnati? All the Bearcats do is win, and fail to get respect by the pollsters. Bearcat coach Mick Cronin is not pleased with the constant oversights and lack of mention. The Cincy mentor did sum it all up saying, “I tell my team you want respect, win tomorrow and you will get it.”

‘Tomorrow’ is a quart final date with a powerful Notre Dame team in the quarterfinals.

Cincy very impressive in their 87-61 win over South Florida. They limited the Bulls to 37% two point range shooting while hitting 67% on their end.
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The numbers from the two evening contests:

Team……………………Possessions……………………..Offensive Efficiency
South Florida………………..65……………………………………..94
Cincinnati…………………….67……………………………………130

In the last game of the evening Marquette defeated West Virginia 67-61 guaranteeing a new Big East champion this year.

Team…………………………………Possessions……………………….Offensive Efficiency
Marquette………………………………….61……………………………………..110
West Virginia……………………………….61…………………………………….100

Thought Bob Huggins going to a 1-3-1 late was a good move. Show something different. One problem, Darius Johnson-Odom found an opening in the zone and buried two crucial treys. Right after the second trey, Huggins went back man to man.

Steve Masiello was a press row neighbor. A Louisville assistant, Masiello advanced scouted both games for Rick Pitino’s staff. Reminded Steve of the story he told me about holding Mike Bibby scoreless in the NCAA finals back in ‘97. Masiello was a Kentucky reserve and saw about 30 seconds of action. During that time Bibby did not score. But his Arizona club did win the national championship.

Met the Mountaineer as he was polishing his rifle in the cheerleader holding area on the way to the interview room. He assured me he does not carry the rifle on the New York streets, opting for a musical instrument case instead. Very judicious move.

Junior guard Anthony Crater only played 19 minutes for South Florida. Crater was injured the latter part of the first half. Bulls trailed by only 8 at the half and coach Stan Heath felt they did not play that well. Minus Crater, South Florida struggled.

Heath is encouraged as for he second straight year, his club won a first round game before being eliminated.

During time outs is there anyone in the stands NOT texting or checking messages?

Yancy Gates of Cincinnati probably had the best all around game of the evening doubleheader. The 6-9 junior had 25 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Gates shot 10 of 11 from the floor.

St. Peter’s coach John Dunne was at the evening session receiving congratulations from a number of well wishers. NicK Mariniello, doing a great job at Hudson Catholic(NJ) High School was also on hand. Mariniello coached St. Peter’s’ Wesley Jenkins while at Bloomfield Tech.

West Virginia scored only two field goals the final eight minutes of the game. Both were by senior forward John Flowers. Score was tied at 53 with eight minutes to go.

Quarterfinals naturally feature four solid matchups. Definitely feel St. John’s-Syracuse will be a lot closer than their January meeting won easily by the Orange at MSG. Steve Lavin’s club has defeated a number of high profile opponents since then and will be a tough out.

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. Even with the games starting in less than three hours it is not too late and still GREAT prices and GREAT seats available!

Need a place to stay in NYC for the tournament, click here to Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament

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

MERNAGH: CRATER HAS HIS MOMENT

Anthony Crater had a big reputation as a young high school point guard in Flint, Michigan.

By big I mean huge. And with that huge rep came the hoisted-upon pressure that too many people put on young kids when they show a certain skill at a very early age. In Crater’s case his skill was speed. The kid they used to call ‘Noopy’ had a burst off the bounce that still is very rare even at the Big East level he currently plays at.

But that pressure, that fall we almost anticipate and expect kids to have when we rank them in single digits as prospects, can often be a really tough road.

After giving a commitment to Ohio State, Crater moved away from Flint — and all the much-discussed distractions for young folks in that city — and went to Brewster Academy (in New Hampshire) to play for Jason Smith. He arrived at Ohio State and was getting decent minutes for a first-year point guard, but he wasn’t getting huge minutes and that made the folks who had his ear unhappy.

He was the man they told him.

He was being disrespected.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

So Crater, like a young kid who doesn’t know better, bolted after what could charitably be called a half-season and ended up at South Florida.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PRIMER – - DAY TWO

* Day One Notes Below provided by Ray Floriani

Today’s Schedule (and tickets):

ROUND TWO: WEDNESDAY MARCH 9th:

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

Season Series: In their lone meeting on February 16, UConn scored a 78-70 win at the Hartford Civic Center. Kemba Walker pored in 31 points and also added 10 assists and 7 rebounds and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel added 23. The Hoyas got a team-high 19 points from point guard Chris Wright as the senior guard connected on five shots from three-point range. Wright will miss today’s game with a broken left (non-shooting) hand. Wright was injured early in the 2nd half of their Feb. 23 58-46 loss to Cincinnati which began a three-game losing streak for the Hoyas entering the 2011 BIG EAST Basketball Tournament.

In their lone battle this season, the Red Storm snuck past Rutgers at Carnesecca Arena, 58-56, back on Feb. 2. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 23 times in the contest. Dwight Hardy led the winners with 15 points while Jonathan Mitchell scored 21 for RU in the loss.
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–No. 15 South Florida vs. No. 7 Cincinnati, 7 PM.
–No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 6 West Virginia, 9 PM.

Season Series: The Bearcats defeated USF 74-66 at Fifth Third Arena back on January 12th. Sean Kilpatrick led four Bearcats in double-figures with a game-high 18 points. UC turned the Bulls over 18 times in that contest. Ron Anderson Jr. led USF with 13 points in that contest.

The Golden Eagles and Mountaineers met on New Year’s Day in Milwaukee with Marquette coming out on top, 79-74. Jae Crowder had 29 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in that contest with Darius Johnson-Odom adding 21. In a losing cause, ‘Truck’ Bryant scored 25 for WVU. Buzz Williams’ crew won the battle of the boards 36-24 in the first meeting.
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Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville and Syracuse await Wednesday’s winners in the quarterfinal round Thursday at MSG. Teams with double-byes are just 3-5 in the quarterfinals the last two seasons since the 16-team format was introduced.

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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
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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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PITT CLINCHES SHARE OF BIG EAST TITLE WITH DOMINATING 2ND HALF AT SOUTH FLORIDA

The recent trend of starting slow in the first half continued last night for Pittsburgh as the Panthers found themselves trailing South Florida 27-24 at halftime. The Sun Dome crowd of 4,640 were beginning to think an upset of epic proportions was possible on the Bulls’ senior night and Notre Dame, trailing the Panthers by a half game in the BIG EAST standings, was looking to have a chance to control their own destiny for the No. 1 seed in next week’s 2011 BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden if USF could hold on.

However, there was still another 20 minutes to play and in those 20 minutes Pitt looked like the team that entered the game 25-4 and fighting for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

After Nasir Robinson and Augustus Gilchrist traded baskets to begin the second half, Jamie Dixon’s club took over. The Panthers hit their next 10 shots from the field over a 7:27 span during a 23-5 run that turned a 29-26 deficit into a 49-34 lead with 11:10 left and South Florida would never be within 13 points again.

“Once they got the momentum going, we just didn’t seem to be able to slow them down,” USF coach Stan Heath said afterwards.

The run started with 6 lay-ups and a dunk and was punctuated by three consecutive three-pointers from Ashton Gibbs, all wide-open looks as it was the Panther team most were used to seeing.

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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 – - 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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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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Need BIG EAST Tournament tickets? See below for a great selection at great prices:

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.

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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 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.
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MERNAGH: ANOTHER CRAZY NIGHT

Rutgers got that win.

The one I’ve been saying they would get.

Against a team most would expect them to lose to.

Rutgers plays too hard for Mike Rice, and has been too close, not to have some of these games fall their way. Last night everything fell their way, especially in the last seven seconds (RU scored a staggering 7 points in that time). It was probably the NCAA Tournament loss to Jay Wright and Villanova, when Rice was on the sidelines for Robert Morris last spring, that made it possible for Rice to make the up-to-that-point unheard of move from an NEC seat straight to a Big East chair. In that game Rice coached his butt off, his players played their’s off, and RMU was denied an upset primarily due to horrible officiating.

Last night, the opponent was again Villanova and Rutgers found itself trailing by 13 points with 4:07 left and 9 with under 2:00 remaining… and somehow found a way to win 77-76.

Or, to be more specific, Wright gave them a chance to win by not fouling up 3 with just a few seconds left. Johnathan Mitchell (25 points on the night) raised up with .8 seconds left on the clock for a tying three-pointer, was fouled on the shot, and hit the free throw to give the Scarlet Knights their 13th win on the year (4th in the Big East).

Coaching 101. There were plenty of chances for Villanova to foul on the last possession, all of them before Corey Fisher fouled Mitchell on his three-point attempt, but Wright said afterwards they were not going to foul. They were just going to try and get a stop. He also admitted after the game that it was a mistake not to foul.

“Talk about poor decisions — I made one there,” Wright said. “We talk about it all the time. That’s one of those times you say, ‘We should have fouled.’”

He’s right — they should have.

Marquette 59 USF 58

Similar situation in this game last night as Marquette had to come back to beat South Florida in Tampa…but not before they tried to give it away by missing eight straight free throws down the stretch. There was one possession late in the game where Stan Heath should have called a timeout and didn’t with about 20 seconds or so on the clock. The Bulls ended up turning the ball over.

After Marquette missed at the line, USF rushed the ball up, found Anthony Crater in the corner following a bit of a scrum, and just as he was launching a made three-pointer — that would’ve tied the game — Heath called a timeout. Basket denied, 8.1 on the clock.

More free throw misses followed. But the last one, with only a few seconds left and the margin still three points, was immediately followed by a Marquette player fouling the USF rebounder. USF made both (the second one banked in when the shooter tried to miss it) and Marquette escaped Tampa with a much-needed win.

All because Buzz Williams had his guys foul with a three point lead and a few seconds left. Marquette is now 15-9 (6-5) while USF is 8-17 (2-10).

Notre Dame 89 Louisville 79 (OT)

Kyle Kuric had, so far, the dunk of the year in the first half when he posterized the hapless Scott Martin on the break. Kuric was hit with a technical foul for taunting after he came down and posed for a split second (posed might even be too strong for what he did). It was a rubbish call and a part of me thinks Kuric should sue on reverse racism grounds — I’m not sure the referees were prepared to see a caucasian kid get that nasty with a throwdown! And all he did was land in a crouch while he was standing over Martin (poor guy) but it wan’t like he lingered, he was already walking to the line when the whistle was blown for the T. I’ve seen much worse go unpunished in every game I’ve watched this year. Kuric didn’t say anything and he damn sure didn’t deserve a T! Kuric finished with a career-high 28 and a siiiick dunk.

Ben Hansbrough managed to put 25 up again even though he played much of the game with 3 and 4 fouls. Louisville had their chances. I think they should’ve went inside more to Terrence Jennings and also got Peyton Siva the ball more. Preston Knowles makes some big shots but he also takes an awful lot of bad ones (at least he did last night). ND moved to 20-4 (9-3) while Louisville fell to 18-6 (7-4). Carleton Scott scored 9 of his 16 in the extra session while Tim Abromaitis had 23

Georgetown beat Syracuse 64-56 for JT3′s first-ever win in the Carrier Dome. Four Hoyas were in double figures led by Austin Freeman’s 14. Syracuse did not play like a smart team at all. The win was Georgetown’s seventh straight and the Hoyas are now 19-5 (8-4) while the Cuse fall to 20-5 (7-5).

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