The B. east Report: Jan. 15-22

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Amongst all the conference realignments, the Big East still looms as one of the deepest basketball conferences in the nation. Even though Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia are leaving to chase football dollars, the conference still offers the most stifling defenses, ringing offenses, and the enticing fierce play that attracts so many to college ball. Indeed, it is a beastly conference.

The Big East is currently the largest major college sports conference in the United States, offering determined, gritty basketball to American students and fans everywhere. Amongst the warriors of the top 25, five Big East schools hold coveted spots (Syracuse, Georgetown, Connecticut, Louisville, and Marquette).

In every one of these conference games, great skill and prowess present themselves to the learned eye. Defenses switch, offenses flow, and our minds click. Even the worst teams of this behemoth offer tips and lessons about college basketball that lie hidden from busy students. Thankfully, I am here to find these pearls and to clean the sand off their lustrous exterior.

Herein, I shall present to you the B. East report.

 

Leave it to the Irish to defeat a king

The king Syracuse Orange (20-1, 7-1 Big East), one of the former final teams still with an undefeated record, has lost its throne! The scrappy leprechauns of the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish (12-8, 4-3), quiet in their South Bend fields, rose up against the fierce Orange in the Purcell Pavilion to depose them 67-58 on Jan. 21. Granted, giant sophomore forward Fab Melo (7.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg) did not play, allowing Notre Dame’s junior forward Jack Cooley to disintegrate ‘Cuse’s zone defense and driving ability.

Cooley left the court with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks, leaving Syracuse with the harsh reminder that the Purcell Pavilion belong to the Irish. Senior Irish guard Scott Martin scored 13 with six rebounds, while sophomore Jerian Grant accounted for 11 points. Notre Dame completely out-rebounded the un-Melo No. 1 team in the country, while also making eight 3-pointers on 50 percent field goal shooting.

‘Cuse bench men forward James Southerland and guard Dion Waters netted 15 and 11, while forward Kris Joseph struggled to score 12 points and grab five rebounds.

Truly, the Irish defended their home honorably to slay the giant.

 

 

The Wall Around DC

The No. 12 Georgetown Hoyas (15-3, 5-2) continue to dominate opponents defensively, maintaining the strength and integrity of the wall around DC. While losing only one game at home so far—against Cincinnati on Jan. 9—the Hoyas brought the long arms of junior starting forward Hollis Thompson (20 points, 4 steals, 5 rebounds) and freshman forward Otto Porter (13 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block) to batter St. John’s (8-11, 2-6) 69-49  in Madison Square Garden on Jan. 15.

Indeed, the Georgetown wall fell upon those saints, keeping them to 31 percent from the field, including a glaring goose egg of zero three-point shots out of ten. St. John’s, Georgetown invaded your very state and left no man alive.

In every Big East win prior to this one, including against No. 4 Louisville and No. 20 Marquette, Georgetown kept the opposing team shooting from the field at a lower rate than itself. Indeed, when they defeated No. 22 Marquette 73-70, the Hoyas kept them to 44 percent, whilst shooting 62 percent themselves.

 

The Golden Eagles: Masters of the Fall

On the 16^th, the No. 22 Marquette Golden Eagles (16-4, 5-2) flew with the No. 21 Louisville Cardinals (15-5, 3-4) at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. For Louisville, crossing the Mason-Dixon seemed easier than making free throws that night, after the screeching Eagles ripped through them 74-63. While both teams shot a respectable at 41 percent and rebounded relatively equally (32-37), the game balanced upon the charity stripe.

 

 

Indeed, the Eagles only fouled twelve times, compared to the Cardinals’ twenty. Yet, even with 10 opportunities from the line, Louisville only scored 4 points. Marquette, however, being the penetrators and crash-takers they are, went 16 for 18 from the free throw line, adding to sophomore forward Davante Gardner’s perfect 7-7 (17 points, 6 rebounds). Senior guard Darius Johnson-Odom scored his normally excellent 19 points, along with snagging fourr rebounds.

Next time, Louisville, take your points when you can get them.

 

Charity Ball

The Villanova Wildcats (9-10, 2-5) finally won its second conference game with a skewering of the Seton Hall Pirates 84-76.  And no moment too soon: the Wildcats used their Jan. 18 game against the Pirates (15-4, 4-3) “to shine a light on the Sudanese people who remain at risk of violence, hunger, displacement and human suffering,” as the Villanova athletics website described.

The school worked with Catholic Relief Services to provide ribbons with the words “Playing for Peace” printed on them, while Villanova players wore training shirts with the same message. While an excellent cause, how does one spread awareness through a team that nobody watches?

The Wildcats have become so abysmal that they have simply decided to play for charity; the NCAA won’t be so charitable come March.

Yet they showed signs of renewal on Wednesday, especially after freshman JayVaughn Pinkston scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, supplementing sophomore James Bell’s tolling performance with 18 points, 12 of which came from the 3-point arc. 

Perhaps this is the beginning of Villanova’s great 2012 revival.

 

Four Guard Vanguard

The Cincinnati Bearcats (15-5, 5-2) are advancing through teams faster than senior Yancy Gates can sucker punch with a 70-67 win at No. 11 Connecticut (14-5, 4-3) on the 18^th. Five players, including Gates, scored in the double digits; the other four were all dominant guards. Sophomore Sean Kilpatrick faced no hesitation in his race to Connecticut’s arc with 5 seconds remaining, sealing the victory with 16 points. The team shot a steady 41.9 percent from the field, and a daunting 42 percent from the three-point line.

With only one loss to St. John’s by two points, I would definitely keep Cincinnati in consideration this season. They progressed to 10-1 after the infamous Xavier (13-6, 4-2 Atlantic 10) brawl at the Crosstown Shootout, even with Gates’ six-game suspension. Kilpatrick’s young talent (16.2 ppg), combined with Gates’ able and active experience (12.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg) will certainly see this team advance its vanguard through the Big East tournament brackets, and probably turn it into an NCAA berth.

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