by Doug Potter
Does anyone know what takes place less than six weeks from now in the world of the Big East conference? Anyone? Bueller… Bueller… The Big East Tournament! On Tuesday March 10th, 2009, sixteen, yes sixteen teams will begin their journey towards earning an automatic bid into “The Dance,” the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Teams finishing 9-16 will play in the first round while teams 5-8 get a bye to the second round. Teams 1-4?… They already have their tickets punched for the quarterfinals.
Now coming back to the present, anyone who foresaw the Georgetown Hoyas and Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish having the 10 and 11 spots locked up in the conference respectively at the near end of January speak now (Chirp… Chirp). These highly disappointing teams, believe it or not, still possess the potential to do some damage come March. To many athletes (myself included), that word makes them cringe, makes their hair stand up on their backs because all it really means that they are an underachieving team who has yet to peak, yet to gain the respect from those who matter, and yet to play like expected; potential.
Speaking of team performances and surprises in the Big East, can anyone guess who is currently 6-2 and has the fourth best record in the conference? Meet the Providence Friars: Record (14-6, 6,2), Seven (7) players are averaging 9 PPG or better. Seven. Their leading scorer can be listed in the dictionary under “Tongue Twister”; Weyinmi Efejuku, and no, I did not misspell his name. Yes, they have not had the toughest schedule thus far, but a solid win tonight in a 100-94 shootout with Syracuse shows the Friars are for real. Don’t forget, they also had Marquette on the ropes (tied with 2 min left) in an earlier meeting with the first place Golden Eagles on January 17th. Are they here to stay? We shall find out as they make trips to Hartford, CT and Morgantown, WV while hosting the hot Villanova Wildcats within the next week and a half.
This year the Big East has seen its share of head-scratching performances, but let’s take a look at Wednesday alone:
#21 Villanova 67 – #3 Pittsburgh 57 : The wildcats are only 4-3 in conference play, but this big win over the Panthers prove that going into ‘Nova will be a tough chore for anyone. If the guards continue to play well, paired with one of the most improved players in the nation in Dante Cunningham, look for the Wildcats to make a run at the Big East Title.
Providence 100 – #15 Syracuse 94 : A classic shootout saw Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn score a career-high 35 and the troublesome Eric Devendorf drop 27… In a LOSING cause! An even more disturbing set of statistics is that Syracuse shot 80% from the FT line, made 12 three’s (48%) and shot 53% from the field, but it wasn’t enough. The 21 turnovers didn’t help much (Devendorf, who in my opinion is the most selfish player in college basketball, had nine of them). The Orange found out first hand what team basketball can do for you: Friars had a 2:1 Assist: TO ratio and assisted on 22 of their 36 FG’s.
Cincinnati 65 – #23 Georgetown 57 : The seemingly invincible Hoyas earlier in the year (who were once ranked as high as #8) have lost four in a row and six of their last eight, they’re sittin at 12-7 on the season. This young team better pick it up if they wish to play deep into March. They will certainly have numerous opportunities to do so because after all, this is the Big East.
Providence is the “sleeper” I knew was out there when I posted this comment:
# crossword peteJanuary 8th, 2009 – 4:16 pm
10 teams in the dance? It’s possible! 9 teams in is amazing enough! Hope it happens. I always thought of the Big East as a college CYO league, what with all those Catholic schools. Always was partial to CYO ball.
Doug, you are so right re the “potential” issue. It’s embarrassing. As Wally noted in so many words earlier, Brey-led ND has spent years showing “potential”, but never any results. After an early run bolstered by a win over Texas, ND has done little to even evoke a sense of “potential”. It would be nice if they re-ignited in March. GO IRISH!
That’s right, Pete. As much as I wish I were wrong, teams like ND that a) don’t play very good defense, b) don’t have much athleticism or muscle, and c) rely almost exclusively on sharp-shooting from the perimeter will not make much noise in the Big Dance, let alone their own conference.
Even Harangody, their “muscle”, takes a ton of outside jumpers. Sure, they can get hot for a stretch from 3 pt land and win a few games, but it’s painfully obvious that this type of team make-up is not sustainable for consistent success. They need better athletes, more size (Height!!!!), and a lot more grit and scrap. Can Mike Brey provide any of this??? I don’t think so.
Nonetheless … GO IRISH! May you shoot 60% from trey-land for the rest of the season!!! Cuz that’s what it’s gonna take for you to make any noise at all.
How in the world does Syracuse lose that game, even with 22 TOs? Unbelievable.
Love that fellow Philly Big 5 member, Villanova, finally beat a ranked Big East team. I like Jay Wright’s style and what he can do with guards, but with no one contributing over 6’8″, I just don’t foresee too much in their future when it comes to tournaments.
What is the deal with Georgetown? Were they overachieving and somehow tricked the basketball world early on that they were contenders? I think they’re that good, but Thompson III has sounded like this team has some serious issues. Or is it that they’re young and and have hit their physical threshold?
It’s going to be awfully difficult for me to keep Jerel McNeal off of the Benchmarks All-America team. Marquette is loads of fun to watch, especially when they’re running circles around Mike Brey-bred guards and I can get on google earth and see the steam from Alaska and Rochester coming off of Wally and Pete’s heads.
I did not see the SU game, but if I had to guess as to why the Orange gave up the century mark and lost, it would have something to do with Flynn. He scores a boat load of points, but does he get his teammates involved? When the Orange run offense, they play better defense. When the Orange watch, as Flynn does a lot of shooting, they become flat-footed on the other end. A bad shot on one end usually equals a lay up on the other end.
Flynn was 55% (12-22) from the field, so it’s not like he was jacking shots left and right, Devendorf took 18 shots and had 9 turnovers! I don’t know how a player can foul out, have nine turnovers, and miss nine shots, but still play in all 40 minutes of the game. Come on Jimmy B!
Flynn led everyone (SU and Prov) in shots taken. He took as many shots as three SU starters combined.
Speaking of SU starters – Onuaku and harris came off the bench. Boeheim getting a little impatient with their lack of intensity on the defnsive end? Onuaku did not get a shot.
SU was also without the services of their resident china doll – Andy Rautins.