By Hoya Hoops
- Tom Crean has left Marquette and accepted the head coaching position at the Indiana University. After leading the Golden Eagles to the Final Four in 2003 with Dwayne Wade, Crean has helped Marquette earn 10 conference wins in each of their three seasons in the Big East.
- George Mason coach Jim Larranaga turned down an offer from his alma mater Providence this week, opting to stay at George Mason. The Friars are still looking for a new head coach after firing Tim Welsh last month.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup, Marquette, Providence
April 3rd, 2008, 9:08 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- The Pittsburgh Panthers won the Big East Championship on Saturday, beating the Georgetown Hoyas 74-65 in Madison Square Garden. It was the seventh time in eight years that Pittsburgh had reached the Championship game and the second time they have won it in those years.
- Eight teams from the Big East made the NCAA Tournament, tying a record the conference set in 2006. Each of the four regions have two Big East teams who could meet in the Elite Eight.
- The Providence Friars have fired head coach Tim Welsh after having only two winning conference records in his ten years at the helm.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup, Big East Tournament, NCAA Tournament
March 17th, 2008, 10:11 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- After suffering an upset loss to Providence, the Connecticut Huskies took out their frustration on the Cincinnati Bearcats, demolishing them 96-51. The Huskies, who had already been locked into fourth place, used a 30-0 run to blow out Cincinnati, who now sit in tenth place in the Big East. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, but a bad snowstorm prevented the Bearcats from traveling to Connecticut, and the game was rescheduled for Sunday.
- The Syracuse Orange will face the Villanova Wildcats in a game with serious post-season implications. Both teams are fighting for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, and it is unlikely that both will get in. As a result, the game is of utmost importance to the two sides in order to keep their tournament hopes alive. That game is scheduled for 12:00 PM on Wednesday, with the winner taking on Georgetown on Thursday at the same time.
- Four teams failed to qualify for the Big East Tournament. Only the top 12 teams make it into the conference tournament, meaning that Rutgers, South Florida, DePaul, and St. John’s will all be at home watching the rest of the Big East battle for the tournament title. However, the system has changed for the next season, to ensure that all 16 teams will compete for the Big East title in 2009.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
March 10th, 2008, 10:32 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- The Louisville Cardinals stayed on pace with Georgetown by defeating Villanova 68-54. The win means that the winner of this Saturday’s matchup between the Hoyas and the Cardinals will be the 2008 Big East regular season champion.
- Pittsburgh literally stole a win from Syracuse on Saturday, stunning the Orange with an 82-77 win. Syracuse was winning by one with possession and under 20 seconds left when Paul Harris had then ball taken away by Sam Young, who passed to Keith Benjamin for the go-ahead basket with under 10 seconds. Scoop Jardine’s miss on the ensuing possession along with a technical foul on Coach Jim Boeheim sealed the Orange’s fate.
- It was a wild finish in New York, as the St. John’s Red Storm eked out a victory over Seton Hall to keep their Big East tournament hopes alive. After Jamar Nutter made a three to tie the game, Anthony Mason Jr. responded with a three of his own with 1.7 seconds left to play. A half-court shot by Jeremy Hazell banked in to apparently tie the game, but Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzales had already called a timeout to nullify his player’s heroics. The stunt could not be repeated, and the Pirates fell to the Red Storm 65-62.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
March 3rd, 2008, 10:32 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- Villanova defeated Connecticut on Saturday, 67-65, snapping UCONN’s 10-game winning streak and handing them their fourth league loss.
- Louisville eked out a close one against Pitt on Sunday, beating the Panthers 75-73 in Pittsburgh. It was another solid performance by the Cardinals, as they shot 57% from the field and held Pittsburgh to 6 of 21 shooting from behind the arc.
- Notre Dame also won on Sunday, making them the third team with only three losses in the Big East behind Louisville and Georgetown. The Fighting Irish beat the Syracuse Orange 94-87 in South Bend, marking Notre Dame’s 17th straight Big East home victory.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
February 25th, 2008, 10:22 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- The Connecticut Huskies won a thriller, beating South Florida 74-73 in overtime. With the Bulls trailing by one, Dominique Jones converted his own miss to put his side up with six seconds left. UCONN chose not to call a timeout and inbounded to Craig Austie, who dribbled the length of the court and hit a 12-footer with 0.2 seconds left to seal the ninth straight victory for the Huskies.
- Notre Dame beat Rutgers 71-68 to keep pace in the hunt for the Big East regular season title. Tory Jackson was two rebounds shy of a triple-double, scoring 17 points and dishing out 10 assists. The loss drops Rutgers to 2-12 in conference play.
- Villanova defeated St. John’s 60-42 in a battle for the twelfth and final spot for the Big East tournament. The win, coupled with Providence’s loss to Louisville, means the Friars are now on the verge of missing out on the conference tournament for the second time in three years.
- It is crowded near the top of the Big East, as there are now four teams with just three losses. Georgetown and Louisville are tied at 10-3, and Notre Dame and Connecticut are half a game back at 9-3. It sets up a dramatic last few weeks of the season, where every game is of utmost importance.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
February 18th, 2008, 10:05 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- Notre Dame eked out another close one, holding off Marquette 86-83. The Irish almost blew a 10 point lead with under two and a half minutes to play, as the Golden Eagles briefly had the ball down one, but a costly turnover allowed Notre Dame the opportunity to ice the game from the free throw line. Dominique James’ potential game-tying three pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
- St. John’s won their third game in a row to move into Big East Tournament contention. They beat Providence 64-62 to tie them in the standings in 13th place. Both teams are now half a game behind Villanova, who sits in the 12th and final Big East Tournament slot.
- Villanova ended its five-game losing streak, squeaking past Seton Hall 72-70. The win helps the Wildcats stay ahead of the competion to make it into the Big East Tournament. Seton Hall, on the other hand, dropped their third in a row, and now they are also in danger of becoming one of the bottom four teams, with a mere one game edge over St. John’s, who they still must face.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
February 11th, 2008, 11:04 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- Connecticut gave Pitt their second loss in three games, defeating the Panthers 60-53. AJ Price led the Huskies with 21 points, as UCONN moved to 6-3 in the conference. Pittsburgh fell to 5-4 in the Big East.
- Notre Dame won its third game in a row, beating DePaul 89-80 at home to remain perfect at the Joyce Center this season. Luke Harangody had 29 points and 14 rebound as the Fighting Irish remain in second place in the Big East by half a game. Their next contest is at Seton Hall on Wednesday.
- The St. John’s Red Storm rebounded from their worst conference loss in history to beat the struggling South Florida Bulls 72-58. St. John’s broke a six game conference losing streak, and got out of the cellar in the Big East. South Florida, who dropped to 1-8 in conference play, face the Hoyas this Tuesday, as the top and the bottom of the Big East square off Tuesday at Verizon Center.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
February 4th, 2008, 10:38 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- Notre Dame earned its first conference road win on Saturday, defeating Villanova 90-80. Kyle McAlarney led the Irish with 30 points; Freshman Antonio Pena led the Wildcats with 18 points and nine rebounds, but he couldn’t keep Villanova from falling to 3-4 in conference play.
- Rutgers stunned Pittsburgh, using a 45 point second half to beat the Panthers 77-63. Corey Chandler had 18 points as the Knights won only their second conference game and first on the road.
- Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun suspended two players before his team’s game against #8 Indiana. Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins were suspended indefinitely, but the Huskies were still able to pull off the improbable upset, beating the Hoosiers 68-63. Craig Austrie picked up the slack for his suspended teammates, scoring 15 points, including six critical free throws down the stretch.
- Providence lost its second straight conference game, falling to a short-handed Syracuse side 71-64. Scoop Jardine was suspended indefinitely by Jim Boeheim, but the Orange were still able to defeat the Friars, who drop to 3-4 in conference action.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
January 28th, 2008, 11:24 am 0 Comments
By Hoya Hoops
- Syracuse fell to 3-3 in conference play on Saturday, losing at home to the Villanova Wildcats. A 23-point effort by Cuse freshman Jonny Flynn was not enough to propel his side to victory, as the Orange fall to .500 in the conference.
- Marquette dropped another conference game on Sunday, as the Golden Eagles were blown out again, this time at the hands of the Connecticut Huskies. Earlier in the week, Louisville put the hurt on Marquette, beating them 71-51.
- Louisville could not ride the momentum of their mid-week win over Marquette, as Seton Hall pulled off a surprising upset. In a questionable coaching decision, Coach Pitino’s side elected to rely on three-pointers instead of the easy two as they attempted to catch up in the final throes. But, as the Hall went a paltry 4-12 from the stripe in the final two minutes of the game, Louisville may have been better served to take the twos, especially since they missed all five of their three-point attempts in that same two minutes.
- That Louisville loss meant that, for the second week in a row, the Georgetown Hoyas will sit alone atop the Big East standings. With a win in tonight’s Syracuse matchup, the Hoyas can move a full game ahead of the rest of the conference.
Topics: Big East, Big East Roundup
January 21st, 2008, 11:44 am 0 Comments
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