Big East Report (Jan. 8)

Big East standings through games of 1/7/07:

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

My personal power rankings: (previous ranking in parenthesis)

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

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

Monday, January 8, 2007:

GEORGETOWN 71, Villanova 62

Tuesday, January 9, 2007:

West Virginia 84, NOTRE DAME 82

Wednesday, January 10, 2007:

CONNECTICUT 75, Marquette 64
Louisville 78, SOUTH FLORIDA 73
Pittsburgh 76, DEPAUL 69
Syracuse 73, RUTGERS 61

Thursday, January 11, 2007:

SETON HALL 75, St. John's 67

Saturday, January 13, 2007:

Providence 83, LOUISVILLE 75
West Virginia 79, MARQUETTE 71
SYRACUSE 76, Villanova 68
RUTGERS 67, DePaul 64
PITTSBURGH 72, Georgetown 69
Connecticut 77, ST. JOHN'S 65

Sunday, January 14, 2007:

SOUTH FLORIDA 68, Cincinnati 65
NOTRE DAME 82, Seton Hall 76

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

Big East Player of the Week:

Herbert Hill, Providence: "Hill averaged 21.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game in a 3-0 week for Providence. He shot 61.9 percent (26-of-42) from the field during the three-game stretch. The PC senior began the week with 17 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks in a 107-69 non-conference win on Jan. 2 versus Longwood. On Jan. 4, he registered 23 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in a 74-59 win over No. 15 Marquette. Hill wound down the week with 25 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in the Friars' 91-69 win over Seton Hall on Jan. 6."

Big East Rookie of the Week:

Eugene Harvey, Seton Hall: "Harvey claims Rookie of the Week honors for the third time this season. The Seton Hall freshman averaged 18.5 points, 2.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field (13-of-26) in two games this past week. In a 77-72 win over Rutgers in the Pirates' league opener on Jan. 3, Harvey had 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. He added 16 points and two assists against Providence on Jan. 6."

Big East Weekly Honor Roll:

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown: "18 pts. (8-of-9 FG), 6 rebs. in 66-48 win over Notre Dame."

Levance Fields, Pittsburgh: "Averaged 17.5 pts., 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebs. in a 2-0 week. Scored a career-high 24 points in win over Syracuse on Jan. 4."

Brian Laing, Seton Hall: "Averaged 22.5 pts., 4.5 rebs. and 2.0 assists in a 1-1 week."

Darryl Watkins, Syracuse: "Averaged 12.5 pts., 9.0 rebs. and 3.5 blocks in a 1-1 week."

Frank Young, West Virginia: "Averaged 18.5 pts. and 5.5 rebs. in a 2-0 week. Scored 25 pts. (8-of-13 on 3-point attempts) in win over Villanova on Jan. 3."

Best win:

Providence 74, Marquette 59- Providence is really playing well and seems to have recovered from a 30 point loss to Florida State. Herbert Hill, Geoff McDermott, and Weyinmi Efejuku are playing tremendous. Providence will get Sharaud Curry back for its next game against Louisville on Saturday. This team is a real sleeper and has a great shot to make the NCAA Tournament now.

Worst loss:

Rutgers 54, Cincinnati 42- Rutgers hardly ever wins on the road in conference play, but they got it done here. Cincinnati was coming off a blowout loss to Memphis and showed no heart or enthusiasm. Mick Cronin really has his work cut out for him in the near future. Cincinnati just might be the worst team in the league right now.