Post by elp525 on Feb 12, 2011 0:06:21 GMT -5
February 11, 2011
Big East basketball notebook
By Mitch Vingle
The Charleston Gazette
All 16 Big East teams will be in action over the next two days, and if the games of this past week proved anything, league fans might as well assume positions at the ends of their seats.
On Wednesday, two games - Rutgers over Villanova and Marquette over South Florida - were decided by one point. Notre Dame's showdown of ranked teams with Louisville went into overtime before the Fighting Irish emerged victorious. And then, in front of 26,904 fans at the Carrier Dome, Georgetown defeated Syracuse 64-56. The final score of that game was the largest lead held by either team.
On Thursday, St. John's (14-9) won its fourth game over a team ranked among the top 13 when it drubbed No. 10 Connecticut 89-72 at Madison Square Garden.
The Hoyas (19-5) enter the weekend as the league's hottest team with seven straight wins. Notre Dame is close behind with six in a row.
Pittsburgh remains atop the Big East with a 10-1 league record and 22-2 overall mark, followed by Notre Dame (9-3, 20-4) and Georgetown (8-4, 19-5).
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How tough has it been within Big East play? Well, with the exception of Pitt and Louisville, every conference team has lost at least two in a row.
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Heading into the weekend, West Virginia ranks 10th of the 16 league teams in scoring offense (70.8 points per game) and field goal percentage (43.5). WVU is 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (31.7), 14th in steals (4.9 average) and second in offensive rebound percentage (45).
The Mountaineers are fifth in scoring defense, allowing an average of 64.2 points. They remain first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.6).
League leader Pittsburgh is third in scoring offense (78.5), second in scoring defense (57.9) and first in scoring margin (plus 15.5), 3-point field goal percentage (39.3), rebounding offense (42), rebounding defense (29.4) and rebounding margin (plus 12.5).
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WVU's 4 p.m. home game against DePaul is one of five league matchups set for today.
The ESPN GameDay crew will hit Villanova. Pitt will try to snap Villanova's 46-game winning streak at The Pavilion in the 9 p.m. game.
ESPN will also air Syracuse at Louisville at noon. Seton Hall visits Rutgers for a 7 p.m. game on ESPNU. The other game is Notre Dame at USF (noon, Big East Game of the Week).
On Sunday, St. John's is at Cincinnati, Marquette is at Georgetown and Providence is at Connecticut.
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Connecticut's Kemba Walker hasn't only likely fallen behind BYU's Jimmer Fredette in national player of the year consideration, he's fallen to second in Big East scoring.
Providence's Marshon Brooks is averaging 24.1 points while Walker is now at 22.9. WVU's Casey Mitchell is 10th, averaging 15.3 points.
Syracuse's Rick Jackson is 21st in Big East scoring (12.8 average) but is first in rebounding (11.4), field goal percentage (57.3), offensive rebounds (3.8), defensive rebounds (7.6) and has the most blocked shots (58). WVU's John Flowers leads in blocked shots per game (2.4). Jackson is second, along with Louisville's Gorgui Dieng and Connecticut's Alex Oriakhi, all averaging 2.3.
Big East basketball notebook
By Mitch Vingle
The Charleston Gazette
All 16 Big East teams will be in action over the next two days, and if the games of this past week proved anything, league fans might as well assume positions at the ends of their seats.
On Wednesday, two games - Rutgers over Villanova and Marquette over South Florida - were decided by one point. Notre Dame's showdown of ranked teams with Louisville went into overtime before the Fighting Irish emerged victorious. And then, in front of 26,904 fans at the Carrier Dome, Georgetown defeated Syracuse 64-56. The final score of that game was the largest lead held by either team.
On Thursday, St. John's (14-9) won its fourth game over a team ranked among the top 13 when it drubbed No. 10 Connecticut 89-72 at Madison Square Garden.
The Hoyas (19-5) enter the weekend as the league's hottest team with seven straight wins. Notre Dame is close behind with six in a row.
Pittsburgh remains atop the Big East with a 10-1 league record and 22-2 overall mark, followed by Notre Dame (9-3, 20-4) and Georgetown (8-4, 19-5).
nn
How tough has it been within Big East play? Well, with the exception of Pitt and Louisville, every conference team has lost at least two in a row.
nn
Heading into the weekend, West Virginia ranks 10th of the 16 league teams in scoring offense (70.8 points per game) and field goal percentage (43.5). WVU is 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (31.7), 14th in steals (4.9 average) and second in offensive rebound percentage (45).
The Mountaineers are fifth in scoring defense, allowing an average of 64.2 points. They remain first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.6).
League leader Pittsburgh is third in scoring offense (78.5), second in scoring defense (57.9) and first in scoring margin (plus 15.5), 3-point field goal percentage (39.3), rebounding offense (42), rebounding defense (29.4) and rebounding margin (plus 12.5).
nn
WVU's 4 p.m. home game against DePaul is one of five league matchups set for today.
The ESPN GameDay crew will hit Villanova. Pitt will try to snap Villanova's 46-game winning streak at The Pavilion in the 9 p.m. game.
ESPN will also air Syracuse at Louisville at noon. Seton Hall visits Rutgers for a 7 p.m. game on ESPNU. The other game is Notre Dame at USF (noon, Big East Game of the Week).
On Sunday, St. John's is at Cincinnati, Marquette is at Georgetown and Providence is at Connecticut.
nn
Connecticut's Kemba Walker hasn't only likely fallen behind BYU's Jimmer Fredette in national player of the year consideration, he's fallen to second in Big East scoring.
Providence's Marshon Brooks is averaging 24.1 points while Walker is now at 22.9. WVU's Casey Mitchell is 10th, averaging 15.3 points.
Syracuse's Rick Jackson is 21st in Big East scoring (12.8 average) but is first in rebounding (11.4), field goal percentage (57.3), offensive rebounds (3.8), defensive rebounds (7.6) and has the most blocked shots (58). WVU's John Flowers leads in blocked shots per game (2.4). Jackson is second, along with Louisville's Gorgui Dieng and Connecticut's Alex Oriakhi, all averaging 2.3.
