NCAA Big East Recap: Week Three

For the ranked teams in the Big East, Week Three was not as exciting as Week Two was. Sure, Notre Dame lost to Ohio State, but aside from that, there were no big surprises.

The unranked teams, though, proved that they will have their work cut out for them this year against their dominant Big East brethren. At a time when non-conference schedules are not typically challenging, the unranked Big East teams went 8-5.

But overall the conference looks very strong and should still be considered the toughest conference in college basketball.

Standings

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

Activity

Cincinnati Bearcats
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 6—W 87-80 UAB Blazers

The Bearcats took on the UAB Blazers this week, a team that many thought was the second-best team in Conference USA (behind Memphis), and handed them their third loss of the season.

The Blazers made a run at the end of the game, cutting the lead down from 15 to seven, but the Bearcats held on and hit their foul shots when it counted, connecting on 17 of 20 from the free throw line in the last two minutes of the game.

Connecticut Huskies
Week Three Ranking: No. 2 AP, No. 2 Coaches

Dec. 1—W 79-49 Delaware State Hornets
Dec. 4—W 68-64 Buffalo Bulls

Week Three provided mixed emotions for the Huskies. They dominated the Hornets on Monday but struggled against the Bulls on Thursday, and neither team was expected to give UConn much of a challenge.

The credit should go to Buffalo for Thursday's game—this was not a late-game surge that the Huskies let happen due to missed free throws but rather a game that was neck and neck the whole way. It is promising, though, that the Huskies survived their first speed bump of the season and showed that they can play the whole game when called upon.

DePaul Blue Demons
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 3—L 77-67 California Golden Bears
Dec. 6—L 63-36 Northwestern Wildcats

The Blue Demons are a relatively young team, so the only positive that can come out of Week Three is that they can learn from this experience. But it is hard to shine any light on this week and think that they will stand a fighting chance in the Big East.

Any time that you score 36 points in a game, even if you do not have your leading rebounder and second-highest scorer playing, it is not a good thing. The Blue Demons are going to have a long season ahead of them if they can only muster up 15 points in a half.

Georgetown Hoyas
Week Three Ranking: No. 20 AP, No. 18 Coaches

Dec. 6—W 73-49 American University Eagles

In the Hoyas' lone game of Week Three, they routed their fellow D.C. school 73-49 and held the Eagles to only 12 points in the first half. The result of the game was very similar to last year's 78-51 win for the Hoyas, and Georgetown managed to have 10 players with double-digit minutes on the court and three players with double-digit points.

The Hoyas are not about offense, though, and their stifling defense worked as they held the Eagles to 5-25 from the floor in the first half. While the Eagles are hardly the caliber of opponent that the Hoyas will face in Big East conference play, the win did highlight the strengths of the team.

Louisville Cardinals
Week Three Ranking: No. 11 AP, No. 11 Coaches

Dec. 6—W 83-43 Indiana State Sycamores
Dec. 7—W 91-56 Ohio Bobcats

Remember when the Cardinals were embarrassed by Western Kentucky at the end of Week Two? Neither do they. Louisville kicked off the Marques Maybin Classic with a resounding win over Indiana State on Saturday and never slowed down as they took on Ohio on Sunday.

A tough week of practice clearly put the Cardinals in the right mindset, and they take on their final opponent of the Maybin Classic Monday night. It does not seem unreasonable to assume the result will be eerily similar.

Marquette Golden Eagles
Week Three Ranking: No. 25 AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 2—W 81-67 Central Michigan Chippewas
Dec. 6—W 61-58 Wisconsin Badgers

The Golden Eagles were handed a 14-point upset to end Week Two, and they promptly went from being the 15th-ranked team in the country to being unranked. Their goal for Week Three: prove that they deserve to be in the Top 25. Marquette achieved that goal with a three-point come from behind upset of Wisconsin in a heated rivalry game.

The fast-paced, guard-heavy team will have a lot of interesting matchups this season against some of the best big men in the country. Until then, though, they will have to continue to prove themselves in every game they play.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Week Three Ranking: No. 7 AP, No. 7 Coaches

Dec. 2—W 102-76 South Dakota Coyotes
Dec. 6—L 67-62 Ohio State Buckeyes

The lone Week Three Big East upset occurred when Ohio State knocked out the Fighting Irish 67-62 on Saturday. Harangody returned from his bout with pneumonia, but even his presence on the court did not slow down the Buckeyes as they upset their second ranked team of the week. Despite losing 12 pounds while sick, Harangody looked strong, grabbing 16 boards, 25 points, and playing 36 minutes.

The Irish have a relatively easy December schedule, playing three games against unranked opponents before starting conference play against DePaul on Dec. 31.

Pittsburgh Panthers
Week Three Ranking: No. 3 AP, No. 3 Coaches

Dec. 3—W 78-51 Duquesne Dukes
Dec. 6—W 80-51 Vermont Catamounts

The Panthers sit alone atop the Big East after destroying both of their opponents in Week Three. Duquesne kept it close in the first half, but Pitt exploded and outscored the Dukes by 19 in the second half, while Vermont never stood a chance after trailing by 21 at the half.

Pittsburgh continues to show the nation why they are ranked in the top five, and this should continue Week Four as they host the UMBC Retrievers.

Providence Friars
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 3—W 86-62 Brown Bears
Dec. 6—W 66-65 Rhode Island Rams

The Friars escaped the Rams by one point, handing Rhode Island their third loss of the season (the first two came from a very close game against Duke and a 13-point loss to Villanova).

The Friars are in the midst of their first season with coach Keno Davis (last year's coach of the year), who is looking to turn the program around. While they will have a very tough Big East schedule, they finish December with three games against Jackson State, Boston College, and Bryant University and stand a very good chance of heading into conference play 9-3.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 3—W 66-62 Rider Broncos
Dec. 6—L 66-56 Binghamton Bearcats

The Scarlet Knights have tripped and accidentally stabbed themselves in the leg, and it does not look like they will be able to recover. They have now lost three games this season, all to unranked teams that do not compare to some of the Big East teams they will have to play, and have North Carolina scheduled for their last non-conference game.

In fact, they kick off conference play against Pitt and UConn, so in the span of one week they will play the current top three ranked teams.

Seton Hall Pirates
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 2—W 101-78 Monmouth Hawks

The Pirates have had ups and downs so far this season, upsetting USC (No. 19 AP, No. 20 Coaches at the time) but then losing to Memphis (No. 13 AP, No. 12 Coaches), but their Week Three game against the Monmouth Hawks should definitely be considered an up. Seton Hall outscored the Hawks by 24 in the first half and played a very solid game the whole night.

While they may at times struggle this year against some of the Big East teams, they are showing that they will not go down quietly and will most likely have a few more upsets up their sleeves.

South Florida Bulls
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 3—L 78-77 OT UAB Blazers
Dec. 6—L 71-63 UCF Knights

Ouch, part deux. Week Three provided insight into the holes of South Florida's game, as they lost in overtime to UAB and then let the Knights pull away late in the second half to defeat the Bulls and snap a nine-game losing streak.

The Bulls now sit alone at the bottom of the Big East and have six games in December before they begin conference play in January against Syracuse. While it was known that the Bulls would face an uphill battle this season, this is hardly the start that Coach Heath expected.

St. John's Red Storm
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 1—W 69-61 St. Francis (NY) Terriers

The Red Storm continue to reshape their program, and so far this season, it shows. After seven games last season, St. John's had a 4-3 record with not a lot of upside. This season, though, they are 6-1 and have a realistic chance of starting off conference play with double-digit wins. Their Week Three game against the Terriers was their closest since losing to BC in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.

Syracuse Orange
Week Three Ranking: No. 16 AP, No. 20 Coaches

Dec. 1—W 86-51 Colgate Raiders
Dec. 3—W 88-78 Cornell Big Red

The Orange continued their quest for a perfect season Week Three by defeating Colgate and Cornell—not exactly basketball powerhouses, but wins nonetheless. Sophomore Jonny Flynn continues to dominate, while junior Paul Harris has steadily increased his stats as the season has progressed. Week Four should not provide the Orange with a lot of trouble as they take on Long Beach State on Saturday.

Villanova Wildcats
Week Three Ranking: No. 17 AP, No. 16 Coaches

Dec. 2—W 69-47 Pennsylvania Quakers
Dec. 4—W 93-57—Houston Baptist Huskies

Guard U's dreams of a perfect season are still alive as well, as they crushed their Week Three opponents by an average of 29 points. While neither of these teams were supposed to be challenging for the Wildcats, their ability to work as a team has shown through as they had five players score in double digits against the Huskies (only three did against the Quakers).

The Wildcats' first test of the season will occur Week Four as they take on Texas in the Jimmy V Classic.

West Virginia Mountaineers
Week Three Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 3—W 80-78—Mississippi Rebels
Dec. 6—W 53-43—Cleveland State Vikings

The Mountaineers struggled against the Rebels, scoring 40 in both halves and escaping by two free throws, and had a very sloppy first half against the Vikings. But they came back from the break and held Cleveland State to 18 points and forced 13 turnovers in the second half.

The Mountaineers will travel to New York to take on Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic.

Parting Thoughts

A total of four of the 15 games to watch before Big East conference play begins have occurred, two in Week Three. Those games were Ohio State at Notre Dame and Wisconsin at Marquette, both of which were very close, high energy games. There are five more happening Week Four, so be on the lookout for an exciting week!