Things got tighter at the top of the league as Villanova lost to Georgetown, and WVU rallied to defeat St. John's. Syracuse and the Wildcats now hold just a one-game lead over the Mountaineers in the league standings. The reace for the fourth spot and its double-bye bonus int he Big East tournament is also a hot one. Seven teams are separated by just one game in the loss column in the battle for that position.
Coming in to this season, USF had never won back-to-back Big East games. The Bulls ran their streak to four with their win over Georgetown on Wednesday. The last two of those wins have come over ranked teams (Pitt, Georgetown) and put the Bulls into contention for an at-large NCAA berth.
With four league teams in the top eight, another in the top 25 and two other teams receiving votes, the Big East continues its dominance as the best league in the country. Eleven league teams still have legitimate shots at an NCAA berth.
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Reserve guard Larry Davis was the team’s top scorer
with 12 points in the loss at Notre Dame. The 18-point
defeat was UC’s largest of the season. The Bearcats, who were seventh nationally in rebound
margin, were beaten on the boards 41-32.
Guard Deonta Vaughn, who made a pair of 3-pointers
against the Irish, has 162 for his career in Big East
games. That total places him ninth on the league’s alltime
3-point list. Boston College’s Troy Bell (1999-03) is
eighth with 165. Villanova’s Kerry Kittles (1992-96) and Seton Hall’s Terry
Dehere (1989-93) are tied for sixth with 166.
Cincinnati hosts Syracuse on Sunday. SU holds a 4-2 edge over the Bearcats
in Big East play, including an 87-63 win last season at the Carrier Dome. Two seasons ago at Fifth Third Arena, UC won 74-66.
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Guard Jerome Dyson scored a team-high 20 points in
the win over DePaul which ended a three-game losing
streak. He collected 10 of his points from the foul line
in 11 attempts. UConn was 25-of-35 from the foul line while the Blue
Demons were 1-of-6.
Dyson is averaging 19.0 points per game to rank fourth
in the Big East. Guard Kemba Walker is first in assists
with a 5.9 average. Forward Alex Oriakhi is the team’s
top rebounder with a 7.7 mark. He is the only freshman in the Big East
to lead his team in rebounding.
UConn plays at Syracuse on Wednesday. The Huskies have won seven of
the last eight regular-season meetings, but the Orange have taken the last
four Big East Championship matchups which have occurred over the last five years.
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The Blue Demons had a 52-51 lead with less than six
minutes to go at Connecticut, but could not come away
with a victory. Guard Will Walker scored a game-high 24 points. He
was 6-of-9 from 3-point range. With his 24-point effort,
he passed three players and moved into 23rd place
on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,239 points.
Walker played all 40 minutes for the sixth time in his
last seven games. He has missed only 11 minutes in
the last 10 games.
Walker leads the team in scoring with a 16.5 average. He is first in the
Big East in minutes played (37.2). The Blue Demons are off until a Feb. 14 date at Seton Hall. DePaul is 1-2
against the Pirates in Big East play. Last year, the Hall won 72-49 at Allstate Arena.
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The Hoyas used a 21-5 run midway through the first half
to build a 50-31 halftime lead in its win over Villanova.
GU maintained an edge of at least 10 points for the
remainder of the contest.
Guard Austin Freeman scored a game-high 25 points
and guard Jason Clark tallied a career-high 24 points.
Freeman has scored at least 20 points in his last
four games and reached double figures in his last 16
contests.
Freeman is the team’s top scorer with a 16.8 average.
Center Greg Monroe follows at 15.5 and leads in rebounding at 9.6.
The Hoyas play at Providence on Tuesday. The two teams have split
their last 12 contests.
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Guard Jerry Smith lead a balanced scoring attack with
16 points and forward Samardo Samuels contributed
14 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Rutgers.
Smith was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Reserve forward
Jared Swopshire added 13 points, eight rebounds and
five assists. The Cardinals outshot the Scarlet Knights from the fl oor
54.3 percent to 38.3 percent. Samuels leads the team in scoring (15.7) and rebounding
(7.5).
The Cardinals play St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
Louisville has won the last four meetings between the two teams,
including a 75-68 decision last month at Freedom Hall. Smith led UofL
with 16 points. After St. John’s, Louisville visits Syracuse on Sunday.
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Forward Lazar Hayward posted 28 points, nine rebounds,
four assists and four steals in the win at Providence. He
moved into ninth place on the school’s all-time scoring
list with 1,671 points. Former teammate Wesley Matthews
is eighth with 1,673 points.
Forward Jimmy Butler added 19 points and seven rebounds.
MU outshot PC from the fl oor, 51.7 percent to
47.1 percent. The Golden Eagles are 29-0 under coach
Buzz Williams when outshooting their opponent.
Hayward is the team’s top scorer (18.6) and rebounder (7.8).
After losing its first four Big East road games by a total of nine points,
MU has won the last two road contests by a total of five points.
Marquette is off until Saturday when it hosts USF.
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Forward Luke Harangody produced 37 points and 14
rebounds in the victory over Cincinnati which avenged
a 60-58 loss to the Bearcats on Jan. 16. Forward Tim Abromaitis scored 22 points. Guard Ben
Hansbrough added 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Harangody leads the Big East in scoring with a 24.8
average in all games. For his Big East career, Harangody vaulted from seventh to fourth place
on the league’s all-time scoring list with 1,292 points. Seton Hall’s Terry
Dehere (1989-93) is third with 1,320 points. Harangody is second on the all-time rebounding list with 639. Syracuse’s Derrick Coleman
(1986-90) is first at 701.
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Forward Gilbert Brown, who was scoreless in Wednesday’s
loss at West Virginia, scored a game-high 23 points
in the win over visiting Seton Hall.
The Panthers held Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell to two
points on 1-of-7 shooting. Hazell entered the game
with a 23.0 scoring average.
Guard Jermaine Dixon led four other players in double
figures with 15 points. The Panthers outshot the Pirates
from the fl oor 51.7 percent to 35.7 percent.
Pitt hosts Robert Morris on Monday. In last year’s meeting, the
Panthers won 92-72.
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Forward Jamine Peterson scored 28 points and grabbed
11 rebounds in the loss to Marquette. It was his leagueleading
13th double-double of the season. Center Bilal Dixon added 13 points and a game-high 14
rebounds. The Friars held a 39-29 rebounding edge
over the Golden Eagles. Guard Sharaud Curry scored 23 points and moved into
13th place on the school’s all-time scoring list with
1,481 career points. Freshman guard Vincent Council had nine points and seven assists.
With 101 assists for the season, he is the first PC freshman to reach
100 assists since Donnie McGrath in 2002-03.
The Friars host Georgetown Tuesday. PC’s next four foes are ranked in the top 10.
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Forwards Jonathan Mitchell and Dane Miller paced the
Scarlet Knights with 17 points and seven rebounds
apiece in the loss at Louisville. Mitchell also had seven
assists and did not committ a turnover in 40 minutes.
Guard Mike Rosario scored 13 points, but the Louisville
defense held him to 5-of-16 shooting from the fl oor,
including 1-of-8 from 3-point range.
Center Hamady Ndiaye finished with 10 points and
seven rebounds but did not have a blocked shot. In
Wednesday’s win over St. John’s, he had nine rejections, the most by
Rutgers player in a Big East game.
Ndiaye still leads the Big East in blocked shots with a 4.7 average.
Rutgers steps out of league play with a game against Caldwell on Tuesday.
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Guard Jeremy Hazell, who scored 32 points in Tuesday’s
loss at Villanova, was held to two points in Saturday’s
defeat at Pittsburgh. He was 1-of-7 from the field.
Guard Eugene Harvey had 12 points while forward Robert
Mitchell and guard Jamel Jackson each added 11.
Forward Herb Pope finished with nine ponts and six
rebounds while fouling out in 20 minutes. He still leads
the Big East in rebounding with a 10.9 average.
Hazell has made 142 career 3-pointers in Big East games, second
among active players. The Hall hosts Notre Dame on Thursday. The Irish have taken the last six
meetings. The Pirates’ last win was 78-72 at home on Feb. 5, 2003.
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The Red Storm had a 33-22 lead at haltime against
visiting West Virginia, but were outscored 57-27 in the
second half of Saturday’s loss.
Swingman D.J. Kennedy, who scored a career-high 27
points at Rutgers last Wednesday, was limited to four
points on 2-of-11 shooting. Guard Paris Horne was the
only starter to reach double figures, scoring 12 points.
Forward Justin Burrell came off the bench to supply 12
points and eight rebounds. The Red Storm starters managed only 27 points while WVU’s scored 72.
The Red Storm host Louisville on Thursday. St. John’s won the first Big
East meeting between the two teams 68-56 at Madison Square Garden on
Jan. 17, 2006. Louisville has taken the last four meetings, including a 75-68 decision
at Freedom Hall last month. Kennedy led STJ with 20 points.
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A victory over Providence gave the Orange their best
start in school history. Reserve foward Kris Joseph came off the bench to
score a career-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Center Arinze Onuaku contributed 20 points on 10-
of-12 shooting. He also had seven rebounds and four
blocked shots.
Forward Wes Johnson was injured in a fall in the first half
and played only 22 minutes, scoring eight points.
SU held Providence to 43.1 percent shooting from the field. In all 21
victories this season, SU has outshot its opponent.
The Orange play at Cincinnati on Sunday. SU holds a 4-2 edge in the series over the
Bearcats. All of the games have been played since UC joined the Big East.
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Guard Dominique Jones scored 22 of his 29 points in the
second half when the Bulls rallied from a 35-26 halftime
deficit to win at Georgetown. The Bulls extended their record Big East winning streak
to four games and have beaten a ranked opponent in
each of the past two contests (Pitt last Sunday). The
win over Georgetown was the highest ranked opponent
USF has beaten in school history. The Bulls have five
Big East wins for the first time since joining the league
in 2005-06.
Jones leads the Big East in scoring in league games at 27.0 ppg and is
averaging 35.0 ppg in the last four games.
USF plays at Notre Dame on Sunday. The Bulls lost to the Irish 74-73 at home on Jan.
5. Jones had 26 points.
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Saturday’s loss at Georgetown ended an 11-game winning
streak. The Wildcats trailed 50-31 at halftime. Guards Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher each scored
24 points. Forward Antonio Pena was limited by foul
trouble. He fouled out in 11 minutes and finished with
only seven points and three rebounds.
The Wildcats’ 9-0 Big East start was tied for the fifth
best in league history. VU has won 20 of its last 23 Big East regular-season games.
The Wildcats travel to West Virginia on Monday in the first of two regularseason
meetings between the two teams. In Big East regular-season
play, the teams have split 16 meetings. They will play again in the
regular-season finale March 6 at the Wachovia Center.
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The Mountaineers overcame an 11-point halftime deficit
to beat St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
WVU has a six-game winning streak. West Virginia used an effective 1-3-1 zone defense in the
second half and outscored the Red Storm 57-27. Forward Da’Sean Butler scored a season-high 33 points
and was 7-of-7 from 3-point range, which tied a Big East record set by Marquette’s Jerel McNeal last season
against Cincinnati on Jan. 4, 2009.
In league play, WVU is first in scoring defense, yielding only 62.3 ppg.
The Mountaineers host Villanova on Monday. WVU beat the Wildcats
93-72 at home last season.
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