NCAA Big East Recap: Week Eight

Well, that was exciting.

Week eight had some great games and showed that the outcome of the Big East is even more uncertain then we initially thought. This is one tough conference with some great teams.

Standings

School Name, Conference Record (Overall Record)

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

Activity

This was an active week for conference play—let's take a look.

Cincinnati Bearcats

0-3 (10-6)
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Jan. 7—L 87-79—Providence Friars
Jan. 10—L 81-72—Connecticut Huskies

After playing three ranked opponents in their last four games, the Bearcats are on a four-game slide. The good news, though, is that they have a relatively easy schedule for the next four games—Rutgers, DePaul, a chance for redemption against Providence, and St. John's. If they can't get their ship on course over these next four games, they will not be able to successfully navigate the Big East this season.

Connecticut Huskies

3-1 (14-1)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 5 AP, No. 5 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 4 AP, No. 4 Coaches

Jan. 6—W 61-55—West Virginia Mountaineers
Jan. 10—W 81-72—Cincinnati Bearcats

After losing the Big East opener to Georgetown, the Huskies have looked great and have won three in a row. West Virginia looked very respectable against them, but in the end the powerful UConn team was too much to handle.

This week they take on St. John's and Seton Hall—two teams that are fighting for their lives in the Big East. It's not going to be an easy week, but they should be able to walk away from the week with a 5-1 conference record.

DePaul Blue Demons

0-4 (8-9)
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Jan. 7—L 85-68—Syracuse Orange
Jan. 10—L 80-58—South Florida Bulls

And. It. Has. Happened. A second team in the Big East has an overall losing record, and it was handed to them by the only other team in the Big East with an overall losing record. The Blue Demons now have an active four-game losing streak and have gone 4-9 in their last 13 games. They take on a struggling Bearcats team before getting a second chance at South Florida—a game they need to win if they want any respect from the Big East.

Georgetown Hoyas

2-2 (11-3)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 9 AP, No. 10 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 13 AP, No. 12 Coaches

Jan. 5—L 73-67—Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Jan. 10—W 82-75—Providence Friars

Georgetown continues their challenging January schedule this week as they host Syracuse on Wednesday before traveling to Duke on Saturday. If they continue to play like they have recently, it's going to be a long week.

After losing a close game to Notre Dame, the Hoyas struggled against the Friars and trailed at the half. JT3 clearly threatened them with something, though, because they came out of the half on fire and led by 16 at one point.

Louisville Cardinals

2-0 (11-3)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 23 AP, No. 21 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 20 AP, No. 20 Coaches

Jan. 7—W 71-57—South Florida Bulls
Jan. 10—W 61-60—Villanova Wildcats

Louisville dominated South Florida before barely escaping Villanova on Saturday. They let Nova back into the game, and had it not been for the Wildcats' terrible free throw shooting and missed tips at the buzzer, Louisville would be sitting here with a 1-1 conference record. We will see just how competitive the Cardinals are this week as they host both Notre Dame and Pittsburgh.

Marquette Golden Eagles

4-0 (15-2)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 18 AP, No. 15 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 14 AP, No. 14 Coaches

Jan. 7—W 81-76—Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Jan. 10—W 75-53—West Virginia Mountaineers

After struggling against Rutgers, the Golden Eagles turned on the afterburners against West Virginia, defeating them by 22. Marquette currently sits atop the Big East, and their only opponent this week is Providence, a team they can easily defeat if they play like they did against the Mountaineers.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

3-1 (12-3)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 13 AP, No. 13 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 12 AP, No. 13 Coaches

Jan. 5—W 73-67—Georgetown Hoyas
Jan. 10—W 88-79—Seton Hall Pirates

The Irish looked strong this week as they took down the Hoyas and Pirates. Harangody and McAlarney continue to play lights out basketball. Notre Dame is in great position right now and is still poised to have a great season. This week they have two tough opponents in Louisville and Syracuse.

Pittsburgh Panthers

3-0 (15-0)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 1 AP, No. 1 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 1 AP, No. 1 Coaches

Jan. 11—W 90-67—St. John's Red Storm

The Panthers did not have an overly difficult week, only taking on St. John's. They still have a perfect season under their belts, though they have not had an overly challenging schedule to date. That is not about to change this week, though, as they host South Florida before traveling to Louisville.

Providence Friars

3-1 (11-5)
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Jan. 7—W 87-79—Cincinnati Bearcats
Jan. 10—L 82-75—Georgetown Hoyas

The Friars played two great games this week, defeating the Bearcats on the road before losing to Georgetown in D.C. Providence was up at the half against Georgetown and led by nine at one point in the first half before the Hoyas exploded coming out of the half. This week they host Marquette.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

0-4 (9-8)
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Jan. 7—L 81-76—Marquette Golden Eagles
Jan. 10—L 82-66—Syracuse Orange

The Scarlet Knights are now on a five-game slide and only two losses away from having an overall losing record (they would be the third in the Big East to be able to claim that title). After a hard-fought game against Marquette, the Orange proved to be too much to handle. This week they travel to Cincinnati.

Seton Hall Pirates

0-4 (9-7)
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Jan. 6—L 89-85 OT—Villanova Wildcats
Jan. 10—L 88-79—Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Pirates had a great game against Villanova before losing in OT, and played neck and neck for a majority of the game against Notre Dame. Unfortunately, Seton Hall has now gone 1-6 in their last seven games, and this week they travel to Connecticut.

South Florida Bulls

1-2 (6-9)
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Jan. 7—L 71-57—Louisville Cardinals
Jan. 10—W 80-58—DePaul Blue Demons

Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief—the Bulls have won a conference game. That's about as bright as it's going to get for South Florida right now, though, seeing as they are on the road for both games this week against Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

St. John's Red Storm

1-2 (10-5)
Week Eight Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Jan. 11—L 90-67—Pittsburgh Panthers

It shouldn't surprise anyone that St. John's lost to Pitt week eight. What should surprise people, though, is that after defeating Notre Dame and watching Rutgers figure out how to slow Pitt down, St. John's lost by the margin that they did (23 points? Really?). This week they have another chance at a top Big East team when they host Connecticut before traveling to Villanova.

Syracuse Orange

4-0 (16-1)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 11 AP, No. 9 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 8 AP, No. 8 Coaches

Jan. 7—W 85-68—DePaul Blue Demons
Jan. 10—W 82-66—Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Syracuse continues to surprise everyone with their stellar play. While they did not play any ranked Big East opponent this week, they did remain perfect in conference play. They have a tough week ahead of them, though, as they travel to Georgetown and then host Notre Dame.

Villanova Wildcats

1-2 (13-3)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 18 AP, No. 17 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: No. 23 AP, No. 22 Coaches

Jan. 6—W 89-85 OT—Seton Hall Pirates
Jan. 10—L 61-60—Louisville Cardinals

I am willing to bet that at least a few Wildcat fans went into cardiac arrest week eight. After going into overtime against Seton Hall, they lost by one point to Louisville. Had they hit their free throws at all down the stretch or made one of their three tap attempts at the end of the game, they would have walked away with the W. Unfortunately, that's the way the game goes, and the Wildcats now have a losing conference record.

They can get to .500 in conference play when they host St. John's this week.

West Virginia Mountaineers

1-2 (11-4)
Week Eight Ranking: No. 25 AP, No. 22 Coaches
Week Nine Ranking: NR AP, NR AP

Jan. 6—L 61-55—Connecticut Huskies
Jan. 10—L 75-53—Marquette Golden Eagles

Rough week for the Mountaineers. After playing a very strong game against the Huskies, the Mountaineers were blown out by Marquette. This, unfortunately, blew them out of the Top 25 as well. The Mountaineers have a very good chance of getting back on track this week as they host Marshall and South Florida.

Parting Thoughts

As the beasts of the Big East keep clashing, fans are going to keep witnessing fantastic games—even if they are not fans of either team. There are some great games this week, so keep your eyes open.