NCAA Big East Recap: Week Four

At the end of Week Three there were four Big East teams still striving for a perfect season. That dream abruptly ended for Villanova during the Jimmy V Classic when they faced Texas.

Now there are still three teams with hopes of going undefeated, although all of that will surely end once conference play begins and everyone gets to take a shot at each other.

During Week Four, five of the fifteen games to watch before conference play begins occurred. Four of them were great games, one was a bust because the list was created preseason. Aside from these games, though, Week Four was not overly active for the Big East—two teams did not play and six teams faced only one opponent.

Standings

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

Activity

Cincinnati Bearcats
6-2
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 13—L 76-66—Xavier

Aside from the opening bucket, the Bearcats were never ahead of Musketeers, although they were close at times and it was a great rivalry game. This was one of the fifteen games to watch, and you should be sorry if you didn't.

Connecticut Huskies
8-0
Week Four Ranking: No. 2 AP, No. 2 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 2 AP, No. 2 Coaches

No Activity. That's some good detective work there, Lou.

DePaul Blue Demons
4-4
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 10—L 79-75—Morgan State Bears
Dec. 13—L 72-54—UCLA Bruins

This season has gone from bad to worse for DePaul. They started out 4-0 and have since gone 0-4. After a favorable preseason review of the team, I believe it is time to face reality and realize that it is going to be a long season for the Blue Demons. DePaul/UCLA was one of the fifteen games to watch, and this is the one that you hopefully didn't.

Georgetown Hoyas
7-1
Week Four Ranking: No. 19 AP, No. 19 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 15 AP, No. 13 Coaches

Dec. 8—W 100-38—Savannah State Tigers
Dec. 13—W 79-70 OT—Memphis Tigers

The Hoyas did two things this week. They had their largest margin of victory since John Thompson III took over as head coach and they defeated their first ranked opponent of the season. Not bad for a week that didn't have too much Big East action elsewhere.

If you missed the Memphis game, you missed a great non-conference battle. You do have the chance to see the Big East take on Memphis again, though, as Syracuse visits the Tigers on Saturday.

Louisville Cardinals
6-1
Week Four Ranking: No. 9 AP, No. 10 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 9 AP, No. 9 Coaches

Dec. 8—W 78-56—Lamar Cardinals
Dec. 13—W 94-75—Austin Peay Governors

Louisville climbed back onto the top ten after their loss to Western Kentucky knocked them out of it. During Week Four, the Cardinals won the Marques Maybin Classic with three impressive wins in as many days, and then took on Austin Peay.

Despite the one blip on their report card, the Cardinals continue to look strong.

Marquette Golden Eagles
8-1
Week Four Ranking: No. 24 AP, No. 24 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 24 AP, No. 23 Coaches

Dec. 13—W 69-50—IPFW Mastodons

The Golden Eagles never trailed as they extended their non-conference home streak to 19 games. They have been teetering on the edge of the rankings after suffering a defeat to Dayton, but they are proving that they deserve to be on everyone's radar screens.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7-2
Week Four Ranking: No. 12 AP, No. 13 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 12 AP, No. 14 Coaches

Dec. 13—W 74-67—Boston University Terriers

In no surprise to anyone, the Irish defeated BU and continued to show why they are one of the best teams in the Big East. Harangody has come back strong from pneumonia, and the Irish should easily win the rest of their non-conference games (and their Big East opener against DePaul).

Pittsburgh Panthers
10-0
Week Four Ranking: No. 3 AP, No. 3 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 3 AP, No. 3 Coaches

Dec. 13—91-56—UMBC Retrievers

The Panthers continue to put up very impressive numbers as they show their non-conference opponents why they are in everyone's top five (they have won their games by an average of 23 points so far). Their Week Four win over UMBC kept their perfect season alive and made them the first Big East team to reach 10-0 this season.

Providence Friars
6-3
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

No Activity. That's some good detective work there, Lou.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights
7-3
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 10—W 49-44—Princeton Tigers
Dec. 14—W 60-55—Delaware State Hornets

The Scarlet Knights are going to have a tough season ahead of them. This week they defeated both of their opponents by five points, but these are not the powerhouse teams that they are going to face in conference play. Hopefully they can get their act together.

Seton Hall Pirates
8-1
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 9—W 92-80—Cal Baptist Lancers
Dec. 13—W 60-46—St. Peter's Peacocks

After upsetting UNC, the Pirates have fallen off of everyone's radar thanks to the loss Memphis handed them. They continue to put up good numbers and should finish non-conference play strong before they take on Syracuse in their conference opener.

South Florida Bulls
3-4
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 14—L 70-55—Niagara Purple Eagles

The Bulls continue to slide as they finished Week Four with a 3-4 record. They still have five games to go before they begin conference play, so hopefully they can get some good things going there, but things are not looking good for South Florida.

St. John's Red Storm
8-1
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 8—W 82-54—NJIT Highlanders
Dec. 14—W 77-59—Bethune-Cookman Wildcats

St. John's handed NJIT another loss, crushing their hopes of finally winning a game this season. Don't worry, though, NJIT has another chance at the Big East when they face Rutgers on Dec. 23. The Red Storm's turnaround season is looking like it might actually happen as they sit 8-1 and chance starting conference play with double-digit wins.

Syracuse Orange
9-0
Week Four Ranking: No. 13 AP, No. 16 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 11 AP, No. 11 Coaches

Dec. 13—W 79-55—Long Beach State 49ers

The Orange trumped Long Beach in Week Four with a dominant second half performance. They face three teams in Week Five, the final of which is at Memphis. Syracuse is undefeated on the season and they deserve to be ranked where they are, but it will be interesting to see how they will play without Eric Devendorf.

Villanova Wildcats
10-1
Week Four Ranking: No. 15 AP, No. 12 Coaches
Week Five Ranking: No. 18 AP, No. 15 Coaches

Dec. 9—L 67-58—Texas Longhorns
Dec. 11—W 59-56—St. Joseph's Hawks
Dec. 14—W 70-59—La Salle Explorers

Villanova has jammed eleven games into their schedule so far, but against their first real competition they looked more like kittens then Wildcats. They also struggled against St. Joseph's, but then crushed La Salle. Guard U is still going strong and has two games before tipping off conference play against Marquette on Jan. 1.

West Virginia Mountaineers
7-2
Week Four Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches
Week Five Ranking: NR AP, NR Coaches

Dec. 9—L 68-65—Davidson Wildcats
Dec. 13—W 68-63—Duquesne Dukes

The Mountaineers ran into a late-game machine referred to many as "Stephen Curry" in the Jimmy V Classic, which unfortunately handed them their second loss of the season. It looked like the Dukes were going to hand them their third when they were down by eight at the half, but a second half surge gave them the five point win. West Virginia still has the ability to make a run in the Big East and they should see themselves ranked before the season is over.

Parting Thoughts

Four more of the fifteen games to watch before conference play begins are occurring Week Five, so it should be another exciting week for Big East basketball! Hopefully the UConn, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse can keep their perfect seasons alive!