NCAA Big East Recap: Weeks Six and Seven

This edition of Big East Recap covers two weeks because of the holidays—next week will be back to the weekly edition. Sorry this is a little late into the week—a bunch of Firefox crashes has made me start this over a lot and really question my devotion...

If anyone doubted that the Big East was going to have a lot of tough conference play, they were surely quickly convinced otherwise after the first week. There are only five teams left with no conference play losses, a pretty impressive stat considering no one has played more than two conference games so far.

Standings
School Name, Conference Record (Overall Record)

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

Activity

Since this recap covers two weeks, I am going to include the rankings from both those weeks, as well as the new rankings. I apologize for the shorter team summaries, but as I said above Firefox crashed a bunch on me.

Cincinnati Bearcats
0-1 (10-4)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 20—W 85-77 OT—Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Dec. 22—W 79-49—Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions
Dec. 29—L 60-45—Memphis Tigers
Jan. 4—L 84-50—Marquette Golden Eagles

After a lot of talk about the potential of the Bearcats and how they had a very good chance against Memphis, the lack of a point guard finally caught up to them and they went on a two game slide to finish up weeks six and seven. They still have a very good chance of finishing in the middle of the Big East, but they are going to need someone to step up and handle the ball.

Connecticut Huskies
1-1 (12-1)
Week Six Ranking: No. 2 AP, No. 2 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: No. 2 AP, No. 2 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 5 AP, No. 5 Coaches

Dec. 26—W 75-55—Fairfield Stags
Dec. 29—L 74-63—Georgetown Hoyas
Jan. 3—W 80-49—Rutgers Scarlet Knights

The Huskies suffered their first loss of the season in the Big East opener against Georgetown, but it has yet to be determined if they just had a bad game or if the Hoyas really exposed some of their weaknesses. They came back and dominated Rutgers to kick off 2009 with a bang.

DePaul Blue Demons
0-2 (8-7)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 22—W 65-61—Saint Louis Billikens
Dec. 23—L 83-75—Creighton Bluejays
Dec. 28—W 90-67—Alcorn State Braves
Dec. 31—L 92-82—Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Jan. 3—L 62-54—Providence Friars

After preseason hopes of being a mid-tier Big East team, the Blue Demons continue to dash hopes, and it appears that they are going to finish towards the bottom. DePaul has gone 4-7 since starting the season 4-0. They are now two losses away from being the second Big East team with an overall losing record—good thing they face South Florida twice in their next four games.

Georgetown Hoyas
1-1 (10-2)
Week Six Ranking: No. 12 AP, No. 9 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: No. 11 AP, No. 8 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 9 AP, No. 10 Coaches

Dec. 23—W 76-38—Florida International Golden Panthers
Dec. 29—W 74-63—Connecticut Huskies
Jan. 3—L 70-54—Pittsburgh Panthers

Georgetown kicked off conference play by outplaying the Huskies and handing them their first loss of the season. Unfortunately, they followed that up with a loss to Pittsburgh where they were almost out-rebounded by DeJuan Blair.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Hoyas, and at times they look like that is exactly what they think of themselves while at others they look unstoppable. Over the course of the next three weeks, we will find out exactly what kind of year it will be for them.

Louisville Cardinals
0-0 (9-3)
Week Six Ranking: No. 19 AP, No. 19 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: No. 19 AP, No. 19 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 23 AP, No. 21 Coaches

Dec. 27—W 82-62—UAB Blazers
Dec. 31—L 56-55—UNLV Rebels
Jan. 4—W 74-71—Kentucky Wildcats

Louisville has not faced any of their Big East brethren yet, but they continue to disappoint, losing to UNLV and defeating Kentucky by hitting a three with 2.8 seconds left. They kick off conference play against South Florida, but then face Villanova, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh. Things could wind up getting ugly if they do not have a winning Big East record after that stretch, seeing as they might go from an NCAA lock to a NIT one.

Marquette Golden Eagles
2-0 (13-2)
Week Six Ranking: No. NR AP, No. 25 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, No. 25 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 18 AP, No. 15 Coaches

Dec. 22—W 68-65—North Carolina State Wolfpack
Dec. 28—W 84-45—Presbyterian Blue Hose
Jan. 1—W 79-72—Villanova Wildcats
Jan. 4—W 84-50—Cincinnati Bearcats

The Golden Eagles ended 2008 with a resounding win over Presbyterian, and kicked off 2009 with two conference wins. Not bad for a team that was knocked out of the Top 25 by a loss to Dayton earlier this season. They go on the road to face a struggling Rutgers teams and then host West Virginia to end the week.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
1-1 (10-3)
Week Six Ranking: No. 8 AP, No. 11 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: No. 7 AP, No. 10 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 13 AP, No. 13 Coaches

Dec. 22—W 81-49—Savannah State Tigers
Dec. 31—W 92-82—DePaul Blue Demons
Jan. 3—L 71-65—St. John's Red Storm

The Irish have looked very strong for most of this season, but there have been a few times when they have been outplayed. Unfortunately, St. John's was one of those teams who managed to slow down the Irish enough to pull off the upset. The Irish continue to look strong overall though, and are poised to have a good season.

Pittsburgh Panthers
2-0 (14-0)
Week Six Ranking: No. 3 AP, No. 3 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: No. 3 AP, No. 3 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 1 AP, No. 1 Coaches

Dec. 31—W 78-72—Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Jan. 3—W 70-54—Georgetown Hoyas

The Panthers are now the No. 1 ranked team in the nation after defeating Rutgers and then outplaying Georgetown. They are the only undefeated team left in the Big East and only face St. John's this week.

Providence Friars
2-0 (10-4)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 22—W 91-64—Bryant Bulldogs
Dec. 31—W 75-54—St. John's Red Storm
Jan. 3—W 62-54—DePaul Blue Demons

The Friars opened up conference play with two convincing wins over St. John's and DePaul. While neither team is a Big East powerhouse, a win is a win, especially in the Big East. This week they travel to Cincinnati and then to our nation's capital to take on Georgetown Saturday.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
0-2 (9-6)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 23—W 78-52—NJIT Highlanders
Dec. 28—L 97-75—North Carolina Tar Heels
Dec. 31—L 78-72—Pittsburgh Panthers
Jan. 3—L 80-49—Connecticut Huskies

The Scarlet Knights just came off the toughest three-game stretch in the country, facing the top ranked Tar Heels before taking on third ranked Pittsburgh and then second ranked Connecticut. It's not surprising, then, that they sit in an 0-2 hole to start out Big East play. The good news, though, is that they kicked off the two week stretch with a win over the winless NJIT Highlanders. The bad news is that this week they host Marquette and Syracuse, two very hot teams right now.

Seton Hall Pirates
0-2 (9-5)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 22—L 70-64—James Madison Dukes
Dec. 27—W 101-70—Fairleigh Dickinson Knights
Dec. 30—L 100-76—Syracuse Orange
Jan. 3—L 92-66—West Virginia Mountaineers

The Pirates started the season off with a bang by defeating ranked USC (but then subsequently losing to a ranked Memphis team). They then went on a five game win streak before going 1-4. The lack of depth on Seton Hall's roster is catching up to them as they lost to West Virginia and James Madison late in the game, and were never able to gain ground after Syracuse finished the first half with a 31-16 run.

Things are not looking great for the Pirates this week as they host Villanova before traveling to South Bend to take on the Irish.

South Florida Bulls
0-1 (5-8)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 22—L 86-63—Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Dec. 27—W 68-55—IONA Gaels
Jan. 2—L 59-54—Syracuse Orange

South Florida is still the only team in the Big East with an overall losing record, and things are not looking up as three of their next four games are against Louisville, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia. The good news for them, however, is that they face DePaul twice in the next three weeks, so they may have another team join them in the losing record category.

St. John's Red Storm
1-1 (10-4)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 27—L 70-56—Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Dec. 31—L 75-54—Providence Friars
Jan. 3—W 71-65—Notre Dame Fighting Irish

After a three game losing streak, the Red Storm came back and shut down the Irish for their first Big East win of the season. St. John's continues to show that they have the ability to give some of the tougher Big East teams a run for their money, but their inconsistent play is going to wind up hurting them this season.

Syracuse Orange
2-0 (14-1)
Week Six Ranking: No. 17 AP, No. 14 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: No. 13 AP, No. 11 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 11 AP, No. 9 Coaches

Dec. 22—W 82-71—Coppin State Eagles
Dec. 30—W 100-76—Seton Hall Pirates
Jan. 2—W 59-54—South Florida Bulls

Eric Devendorf is back and left all of his frustration on court as he grabbed 20 points and five assists against Seton Hall. He calmed it down against the Bulls, however, and only had eight points. The Orange continue to surprise everyone and show that they deserve to be at the top of everyone's Big East list. They should continue this through week eight as they take on DePaul and Rutgers.

Villanova Wildcats
0-1 (12-2)
Week Six Ranking: No. 18 AP, No. 16 Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: No. 15 AP, No. 13 Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 18 AP, No. 17 Coaches

Dec. 22—W 78-68—Navy Midshipmen
Dec. 29—W 62-45—Temple Owls
Jan. 1—L 79-72—Marquette Golden Eagles

Villanova's soft non-conference schedule might catch up with them as Big East play continues. They lost a close battle to Marquette in their conference opener, but they are now 0-2 against Top 25 teams. This week they travel to take on Seton Hall before hosting Louisville on Saturday, a game they need to be ready for as Louisville tries to prove that they deserve to be in everyone's Top 25.

West Virginia Mountaineers
1-0 (11-2)
Week Six Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Seven Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Eight Ranking: No. 25 AP, No. 22 Coaches

Dec. 23—W 89-54—Radford Highlanders
Dec. 27—W 76-48—Ohio State Buckeyes
Jan. 3—W 92-66—Seton Hall Pirates

After two convincing wins (one over Ohio State and then a second in their Big East opener over Seton Hall), the Mountaineers are finally ranked, making that nine Big East teams at once! The worthiness of West Virginia will be tested this week, though, as they host the fifth ranked Huskies before traveling Milwaukee to take on No. 15 Marquette.

Parting Thoughts

The Big East now has nine teams in the Top 25. They are all going to beat each other up, though, so who knows how many there will be at the end of the season. What we do know, however, is that they are spread evenly throughout the rankings and continue to impress much of the college hoops nation. As conference play continues, things are not going to get any easier.