The B. East Report: Drums in the deep

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“Drums. Drums in the deep.”

The beast of the east eats up complacency. It welcomes the winning streak, for when the best teams least expect it, an unranked unknown can knock them down.

Such is the Big East.

This week, Notre Dame brought down both Connecticut and No. 15 Marquette. Pitt extended its winning streak to 4 games after eight straight losses.

Who will be the team to win a tournament seed based on upsets alone? We’ll see next week when I make my bracketology predictions.

The Irish: Rankings? We don’t need no stinkin’ rankings!

Wait. What?!

Notre Dame (15-8, 7-3 Big East) defeated defending national champion Connecticut (15-7, 5-5) 50-48 in Hartford, Conn. on Jan. 29 for the third of their 4-game winning streak. This win knocked ‘Cuse out of the top 25 rankings. That streak began (yes, began) with No. 2 Syracuse.

I’m so glad to see Notre Dame knocking off ranked opponents. In my opinion, they’ve always lagged a bit in the Big East.

The Irish actually shot at a worse rate from the field than their Husky opponents (17-47 vs. 19-47), but these players do love the rain, shooting 7 of 22 from the three-point arc. Guard Jerian Grant, who must have three arms judging by his 11 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block, shot three hoops from the line to end the game in the final minute.

Fun fact: Grant shot 6 of 8 from the charity stripe, including the three final free throws to seal the game. Sometimes slaps on the team assists leader decide the game.

Notre Dame sophomore Eric Atkins swished 13 points with three assists, while senior Scott Martin picked up 10 points and grabbed seven.

Connecticut center Andre Drummond scored 15 while recovering eleven in a desperate attempt to cover for guard Shabazz Napier. Napier went 0 for 7, quite unremarkable for a man who scores 13.6 points per game,  plaguing the Huskies until the final minute, and  missing two 3-point shots that could have been the four-leaf clover to these leprechauns. Alas, they are a tricky bunch.

Connecticut guard Jeremy Lamb contributed 16 points.

As for the famed return of Connecticut freshman Ryan Boatright (6 points, 3 rebounds), I refer you to an Martin Luther King Jr. quote: “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

The Panthers Are Coming!

Hear that? No? Exactly. The Panthers have been silent, but here they come, leaping from Pennsylvania to West Virginia for larger prey. This is was third of their current 4-game winning streak, the fourth with a defeat of the Wildcats on Feb. 5.

The Panthers (15-9, 4-7) blasted the West Virginia Mountaineers (16-8, 6-5) 72-66 in their own house on Jan. 30.

Several of Pitt’s starters have rallied to win these past three games, with a different hero emerging in each game. Against Providence? Senior Ashton Gibbs with 22 points and four assists. Against Georgetown? Forward Nasir Robinson with 23 points and eight rebounds.

And this time? Junior Tray Woodall with 24 points, four rebounds and three assists. One thing that you always want to see in a college team is a constant rotation of excellence. A carousel of skill that will present players who can score, pass, and recover in times of difficulty. I feel that Pitt has found that midway through the season.

Gibbs shot 4 of 8 on the night, giving the Panthers 15 points and helping to set them at a 46 percent shooting rate.

This victory isn’t cheap; four of West Virginia’s starters shot in the double digits. Forward Kevin Jones led the pack with his sixteenth double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds). Guard Darryl Bryant provided a steady 14 points and five recoveries, with junior Deniz Kilicli putting up 12 points and grabbing nine.

In fact, based on the numbers, Pitt could have lost this game: the Mountaineers out-blocked them 5-1 and even seized more offensive rebounds (14-10).

The carousel is rotating. Tray Woodall delivered 29 points, six rebounds and five assists yesterday against the Wildcats. Who will they circle next? Oh, the notorious intrigues of the Big East.

The Basketball Darwinians

The No. 15 Marquette Golden Eagles (19-5, 8-3) adapt to each half as a chameleon does to jungle surfaces. That certainly became evident on Jan. 31 when they defeated the Seton Hall Pirates (15-8, 4-7) 66-59 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Mind you, Davante Gardner is injured. That makes two of Marquette’s key forwards (Chris Otule is out for the season). While senior Jae Crowder (20 points, 12 rebounds) requires no help in scoring, he needs somebody to man the paint as he takes the jumpers. Against the Pirates, however, that wasn’t even a factor.

Guard Vander Blue rallied to score 16 points while boarding eight, assisting guard Darius Johnson-Odom with his 14 points and seven assists, despite Gardner missing the game.

Marquette is a team that can adapt, even when facing double-digit deficits. They showed that against Villanova, recovering from an 18-point deficit to win. And the Pirates certainly saw that vengeful wrath despite an 11-point distance and a 4-point halftime lead.

In fact, the Golden Eagles held Seton Hall lead scorer Herb Pope (16 points, 7 rebounds) to only six points in the second half. Never, ever doubt the energy of Marquette. The only other Pirate shooter with double digits was bench guard-forward Fuguan Edwin with 13 points. That defense is horrifying.

The reality lies in the fouls; the Pirates racked up nineteen, as opposed to Marquette’s thirteen. Crowder went 8 of 9 from the line while guard Junior Cadougan rained down five of six from the charity stripe. Fundamental basketball rules line the skin of Marquette’s players.

Despite their loss at Notre Dame on Saturday, I’ll make a prediction right here: Marquette will make the championship round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden this year.

 Purcell Pavilion: The Cradle of Empires?

Yes, I realize that in my last section I explain why Marquette is the evolutionary marvel of the Big East. Yes, I wrote that before their loss against the Fighting Irish. But let’s remember that No. 2 Syracuse also lost to Notre Dame at the Purcell Pavilion on Jan. 21. That was the Orange’s first loss.

Just in case the blind excitement of a Super Bowl rematch has distracted you, Notre Dame defeated No. 15 Marquette 76-59 on Saturday. Mind you, sophomore big man Davante Gardner did not play because of a knee injury, which rocked the scoring towers of Darius Johnson-Odom (18.3 ppg) and Jae Crowder (16.6 ppg).

Both were held to 12 points in South Bend. As for the Irish, freshman Pat Connaughton led an onslaught of 50 percent field-goal shooting with 23 points and eleven rebounds himself. You can read about it through the provided link.

Truly, the Purcell Pavilion is a den of heat, pressure, and noise. This year, it has posed challenges to the best in the Big East. As for Notre Dame’s team, it just extended its winning streak to four, notching its fifth defeated ranked opponent on their green belts.

Those ranked opponents include No. 2 Syracuse, No. 19 Connecticut, and No. 25 Louisville. ‘Course, they also lost to No. 4 Missouri and No. 20 Indiana.

On paper, they don’t have the best stats: 67.7 points per game (182 overall) and 34.6 rebounds per game (178^th). Yet, the stat that means the most, especially when you watch them, is their 14.4 assists per game (63^rd). Against Marquette, Notre Dame maneuvered the basketball all along the perimeter, completely confusing the Eagles.

In one play, around 5:33 in the second half (check the ESPN highlights), Eric Atkins dribbles the ball towards the arc on the left-hand side of the hoop. He’s wide open. His man is on the other side, double-teaming the wrong guy. Then, the Marquette defender looks around, completely dazed. Don’t blink.

Atkins to Connaughton, left corner, baseline. Swish. 3-points.

That play embodies the fast-paced action of the Purcell Pavilion and the fact that Notre Dame can confuse a No. 15 defense. If they continue this play into February, possibly with an upset of No. 14 Georgetown, they may be able to secure a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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