Post by elp525 on Feb 19, 2011 2:12:26 GMT -5
February 18, 2011
By Mitch Vingle
The Charleston Gazette
Much talk within college basketball circles this week centered on whether the strong Big East will snag as many as 11 of the 68 berths in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
That seems unlikely. West Virginia, St. John's, Cincinnati and Marquette are situated on the proverbial bubble. At least one is likely to slip off. But today will go a long way toward getting a clearer picture.
Aside from the two teams - Connecticut and Louisville - that played Friday night, all Big East teams will hit the court today in intra-league matchups.
WVU, of course, will play host to Notre Dame in a big 1 p.m. conference showdown before an expected sellout at the Coliseum. A win would certainly bolster the 16-9 Mountaineers' resume.
But the others on the bubble could help themselves as well. The sometimes red-hot St. John's team, likewise 16-9, could provide itself a very nice bump with a win at Madison Square Garden over No. 4 Pittsburgh. The teams play at noon on ESPN. The bad news for the Red Storm is Panther team leader Ashton Gibbs is expected back from a knee injury. He's averaging 16.3 points and 3.1 assists.
Cincinnati is at Providence in the conference's other nationally televised game (ESPNU) at 7 p.m. Marquette, which needs a strong finish at 15-11 overall, is home to face Seton Hall.
nn
Could the Big East land that record of 11 teams in the Big Dance? Well, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who co-chairs the 10-person tournament selection committee, told USA Today this week that it's not out of the question.
"We don't look at a conference," Smith said. "We don't concern ourselves that way. We look at [teams] as individual, independent institutions and try to be fair to create a national tournament."
The committee has already started preliminary discussions, but won't begin selecting until reporting to Indianapolis on March 8 for five days of sequestered work.
Briefly
WVU's season has been marred with suspensions, injuries and players kicked off the team. Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins said one of those off his team, center Dan Jennings, remains in school, but will not be returning to the program.
When DePaul went on the road and defeated Providence 79-76 Thursday, it snapped a 25-game Big East losing streak for the Blue Demons, now 7-18 overall and 1-12 in league play.
If Marquette doesn't make the tournament, the team can't say it's for lack of support. The Golden Eagles are third within the Big East in terms of home attendance, averaging 15,320. That's third to Louisville (21,678 before Friday night's game) and Syracuse (21,582).
West Virginia is drawing an average of 10,909 with three sellouts and another expected today. That ranks sixth within the 16-team Big East, behind the aforementioned as well as Georgetown (11,994) and Connecticut (11,459).
Before Friday's game, Providence's Marshon Brooks led the Big East in scoring with a 24.3 average, ahead of Connecticut's Kemba Walker (23.2). WVU's Casey Mitchell was 10th (15.4).
The Mountaineers' John Flowers trails Syracuse's Rick Jackson in blocks (61-60), but Jackson has played two more games. Flowers is No. 1 in blocked shots per game at 2.4.
The Mountaineers remained No. 1 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.3 percent).
By Mitch Vingle
The Charleston Gazette
Much talk within college basketball circles this week centered on whether the strong Big East will snag as many as 11 of the 68 berths in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
That seems unlikely. West Virginia, St. John's, Cincinnati and Marquette are situated on the proverbial bubble. At least one is likely to slip off. But today will go a long way toward getting a clearer picture.
Aside from the two teams - Connecticut and Louisville - that played Friday night, all Big East teams will hit the court today in intra-league matchups.
WVU, of course, will play host to Notre Dame in a big 1 p.m. conference showdown before an expected sellout at the Coliseum. A win would certainly bolster the 16-9 Mountaineers' resume.
But the others on the bubble could help themselves as well. The sometimes red-hot St. John's team, likewise 16-9, could provide itself a very nice bump with a win at Madison Square Garden over No. 4 Pittsburgh. The teams play at noon on ESPN. The bad news for the Red Storm is Panther team leader Ashton Gibbs is expected back from a knee injury. He's averaging 16.3 points and 3.1 assists.
Cincinnati is at Providence in the conference's other nationally televised game (ESPNU) at 7 p.m. Marquette, which needs a strong finish at 15-11 overall, is home to face Seton Hall.
nn
Could the Big East land that record of 11 teams in the Big Dance? Well, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who co-chairs the 10-person tournament selection committee, told USA Today this week that it's not out of the question.
"We don't look at a conference," Smith said. "We don't concern ourselves that way. We look at [teams] as individual, independent institutions and try to be fair to create a national tournament."
The committee has already started preliminary discussions, but won't begin selecting until reporting to Indianapolis on March 8 for five days of sequestered work.
Briefly
WVU's season has been marred with suspensions, injuries and players kicked off the team. Mountaineer coach Bob Huggins said one of those off his team, center Dan Jennings, remains in school, but will not be returning to the program.
When DePaul went on the road and defeated Providence 79-76 Thursday, it snapped a 25-game Big East losing streak for the Blue Demons, now 7-18 overall and 1-12 in league play.
If Marquette doesn't make the tournament, the team can't say it's for lack of support. The Golden Eagles are third within the Big East in terms of home attendance, averaging 15,320. That's third to Louisville (21,678 before Friday night's game) and Syracuse (21,582).
West Virginia is drawing an average of 10,909 with three sellouts and another expected today. That ranks sixth within the 16-team Big East, behind the aforementioned as well as Georgetown (11,994) and Connecticut (11,459).
Before Friday's game, Providence's Marshon Brooks led the Big East in scoring with a 24.3 average, ahead of Connecticut's Kemba Walker (23.2). WVU's Casey Mitchell was 10th (15.4).
The Mountaineers' John Flowers trails Syracuse's Rick Jackson in blocks (61-60), but Jackson has played two more games. Flowers is No. 1 in blocked shots per game at 2.4.
The Mountaineers remained No. 1 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (28.3 percent).
