Big East Report (Jan. 15)

Big East standings through games of 1/14/07:

1. Pittsburgh 16-2 (4-0)
2. Notre Dame 15-2 (3-1)
3. Syracuse 14-4 (3-1)
4. Louisville 12-5 (2-1)
5. Providence 12-4 (2-1)
6. West Virginia 13-3 (3-2)
7. Marquette 15-4 (2-2)
8. Connecticut 13-3 (2-2)
9. Seton Hall 10-6 (2-2)
10. DePaul 11-7 (2-2)
11. Georgetown 11-5 (1-2)
12. Villanova 12-5 (1-3)
13. St. John's 10-7 (1-3)
14. South Florida 10-8 (1-3)
15. Rutgers 8-9 (1-3)
16. Cincinnati 9-7 (0-2)

My personal power rankings: (previous ranking in parenthesis)

1. Pittsburgh (1)
2. Syracuse (4)
3. Notre Dame (6)
4. Georgetown (2)
5. Marquette (8)
6. Providence (5)
7. West Virginia (3)
8. DePaul (7)
9. Connecticut (9)
10. Louisville (11)
11. Villanova (10)
12. Seton Hall (12)
13. South Florida (15)
14. St. John's (14)
15. Rutgers (13)
16. Cincinnati (16)

This week's games and predictions: (home team in CAPS)

Monday, January 15, 2007:

LOUISVILLE 83, Marquette 71

Tuesday, January 16, 2007:

PITTSBURGH 77, Connecticut 64
DEPAUL 72, St. John's 60

Wednesday, January 17, 2007:

SYRACUSE 85, Cincinnati 62
Notre Dame 76, VILLANOVA 69
WEST VIRGINIA 70, South Florida 64
Georgetown 71, RUTGERS 59
Providence 81, SETON HALL 79

Friday, January 19, 2007:

Georgetown 74, SETON HALL 72

Saturday, January 20, 2007:

Louisville 73, DEPAUL 70
West Virginia 67, CINCINNATI 61
Texas 84, VILLANOVA 72
Indiana 74, CONNECTICUT 69
PROVIDENCE 86, Rutgers 60

Sunday, January 21, 2007:

NOTRE DAME 88, South Florida 63
Syracuse 72, ST. JOHN'S 60
PITTSBURGH 81, Marquette 73

Big East weekly awards: (from the Big East website)

Big East Player of the Week:

Dominic James, Marquette: "James averaged 19.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals while leading Marquette to a pair of league wins over ranked opponents. In a 73-69 victory at No. 24/22 Connecticut, James had 17 points, four assists and three steals. The win ended UConn's 31-game home winning streak. James, a native of Richmond, Ind., followed that performance with 21 points, six assists and five steals in an 81-63 triumph over No. 21/21 West Virginia."

Big East Rookie of the Week:

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame: "Harangody averaged 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week for the Irish, while playing only 20.5 minutes per game. The native of Schererville, Ind. had 12 points in his first collegiate start, an 88-76 win over Seton Hall. In a 61-58 victory over No. 21/21 West Virginia, Harangody posted 11 points. He grabbed five rebounds in both contests and shot 50 percent from the floor. This season, he has reached double figures in 13 of 17 games."

Big East Weekly Honor Roll:

Terrence Williams, Louisville: "Averaged 20.0 pts., 10.5 rebs. and 4.0 assists in a 2-0 week." Russell Carter, Notre Dame: "Averaged 21.5 pts., 6.5 rebs. and shot 51.6 percent in a 2-0 week."
Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh: "Averaged 14.5 pts., 5.5 rebs. and shot 56.5 percent in a 2-0 week." Kentrell Gransberry, USF: "Averaged 20.0 pts., 11.5 rebs. and shot 64 percent in a 1-1 week." Demetris Nichols, Syracuse: "Averaged 17.5 pts., 5.0 rebs. and shot 60 percent in a 2-0 week."

Best win:

Marquette 73, Connecticut 69- This win got the Golden Eagles back on track. An 0-3 start to conference play would have been devastating. UConn still lacks a quality win.

Worst loss:

DePaul 60, Rutgers 37- Rutgers almost set the record for fewest points scored in a Big East game by itself, and the teams combined for under 100 points which has to come close to a record too. The 37 points was Rutgers' lowest point total in the shot clock era. It will be a rough battle to stay out of the Big East cellar between Cincinnati and Rutgers. Rutgers holds the tiebreaker, as they defeated Cincinnati last weekend.