The Big East at a Glance
27th Jan 2008
The Big East is one of the toughest conferences in College Basketball. There are currently four teams ranked in the Top 20 as of today, but this will change by the next poll. A big question this year is, how many teams are going to make the NCAA tournament out of the Big East? There are at least eight teams that have the talent to succeed in the NCAA tournament, but will they all get in? The upcoming Big East tournament should let everyone know which teams are for real. I hope to attend one of Notre Dame’s games at the Madison Square Garden in New York and watch the Irish defeat their opponent.
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Georgetown is on top of the Big East with only one conference loss to Pittsburgh. They barely managed to escape West Virginia last night on a questionable play that would’ve won the game for the Mountaineers. The final score was 58-57, but the referees missed a goaltend call as the buzzer went off in the second half. They have an impressive 16-2 record with their other loss coming from number one Memphis.
Louisville is one game behind the Hoyas with two Big East losses to Seton Hall and Cincinnati. The January 1st game against Cincinnati was very close and the Bearcats edged the Cardinals by one point, 58-57. Up next for the Cardinals is at Connecticut tomorrow night on ESPN.
Notre Dame stands in third place in the Big East with a 4-2 record. Both losses were completely lopsided to Georgetown and Marquette, who were both ranked in the Top 25 at the time of the games. Luke Harangody is leading the way as a Sophomore averaging a Big East best 19.3 points, and second in rebounds with 9.6 per game. Notre Dame’s two upcoming games against Providence and Depaul will be at home where they’ve won 31 contests in a row.
Pittsburgh, currently ranked 17th, have struggled recently losing at Cincinnati and at home to Rutgers. Junior Forward Sam Young has played exceptionally well all season averaging 18.3 points per game. The Panthers however have a tough couple games coming up, Villanova, Connecticut, and West Virginia. Pittsburgh will drop out of the rankings after the Rutgers upset.
Marquette is also two games behind Georgetown in the Big East with a 4-3 record and 14-4 overall. Marquette has lost to West Virginia, Louisville, and Connecticut in the Big East, and their other loss coming to Duke early in the season. The Golden Eagles will be playing South Florida and Cincinnati next.
West Virginia got ripped-off last night against ranked Georgetown, losing their third Big East match. Conference losses are to Notre Dame in South Bend, Louisville in Kentucky, and Georgetown at home. Up next for the Mountaineers are Cincinnati, Providence, and Pitt.
Connecticut pulled off a huge win last night against highly ranked Indiana. The final score was 68-63, and the Huskies played beautifully, similar to their past successful teams. Two of their three Big East losses were away from home to Notre Dame and Georgetown, but were upset at home against Providence. Lousiville, Pitt, and Syracuse will be put up against Connecticut next.
Seton Hall just moved up in the standings today with a home win over the Cincinnati Bearcats, 64-61. The Pirates losses are to Connecticut, Marquette, and Pittsburgh. But with red hot Rutgers and dominant Georgetown coming up, Seton Hall with have trouble staying up in the conference standings.
DePaul is also 4-3 in Big East play so far this season, but are below .500 overall, with a 9-10 record. They managed to beat Villanova the first time in early January, but the Wildcats came back and defeated the Blue Demons 13 days later. Other Big East losses for DePaul include Georgetown and yesterday to Marquette. Syracuse and Notre Dame will look to take on the Blue Demons in early February.
Cincinnati sits right behind DePaul with a 4-4 conference record and a loss to Seton Hall earlier today. This forms a two game losing streak for the Bearcats, the other against Connecticut. Notre Dame and St. John’s had beaten also Cincinnati earlier in January. I expect the Bearcats to extend this losing streak to four games, with West Virginia and Marquette up next.
Syracuse defeated Providence today, 74-61, improving to 4-4 in Big East play. Their four in-conference losses are to Cincinnati, West Virginia, Villanova, and Georgetown. The Orange will have a chance for revenge against Villanova February 2nd, but will take take on DePaul the 30th in Chicago.
Villanova, surprisingly is very far down in the Big East standings, resting at 3-4. Their most recent loss came yesterday afternoon to Notre Dame at home, 90-80. The Wildcats have now lost two games in a row, the other to Rutgers, and have Pittsburgh up next away from home. Sophomore Scottie Reynolds has led the team this far and is going to need some assistance if Villanova hopes to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
Providence played Syracuse today and couldn’t come away with a win. The Friars have lost to Marquette, DePaul, and Seton Hall as well thus far in conference games. Providence will now take on Notre Dame and West Virginia.
Rutgers started off slow but have pulled off two big upsets recently, over Villanova and Pittsburgh yesterday. Before the two victories, the Scarlet Knights had lost their first six Big East games. It will take a lot for Rutgers to catch up, but with their new-born confidence, anything is possible. Seton Hall, Louisville, and St. John’s will all look to quiet the Scarlet Knights in the coming weeks.
South Florida has struggled this season with only one conference win so far, however, they do have a 10-10 overall record. The Bulls are on a six game losing streak after their victory over Rutgers January 2nd. South Florida will have to face Marquette on Tuesday, but after that they have last place St. John’s.
St. John’s is currently in last place in the Big East with only one conference win as well. After their upset of Cincinnati, the Red Storm have lost five matches in a row. The streak will most likely extend to six considering Georgetown will be their next challenge. However, they will get to play South Florida on the second of February, which should be a close game considering both of their records.
Some interesting facts; Seton Hall scores the most points, averaging 82.6. Connecticut averages the most rebounds with 43.5 per game. Georgetown has the highest field goal percentage, 50.6%. Lastly, Notre Dame has the highest three-point shooting percentage, making 41.0%.
The Big East Conference will continue to heat up and competition will become even better. We are in store for a wild Big East tournament where I’m sure many upsets will occur. Don’t be surprised if Georgetown doesn’t win because anything can happen in conference games. As always, Go Irish!
