Big East Basketball Weekly Recap

Scores

Monday, January 16

Syracuse 71, Pittsburgh 63

Marquette 74, Louisville 63

Rutgers 65, Notre Dame 58

Tuesday, January 17

Georgetown 83, DePaul 75

Wednesday, January 18

Cincinnati 70, Connecticut 67

West Virginia 78, Marshall 62

Villanova 84, Seton Hall 76

Saturday, January 21

Georgetown 52, Rutgers 50

Villanova 79, St. John's 76 (OT)

West Virginia 77 Cincinnati 74 (OT)

Notre Dame 67, Syracuse 58

Louisville 73, Pittsburgh 62

Tennessee 60, Connecticut 57

Marquette 79, Providence 72

Sunday, January 22

South Florida 75, DePaul 59

There are plenty of stories to mention in the wide, wide world of Big East men's basketball, but the lead story this past week is a slam-dunk. The one unbeaten team in the league is unbeaten no more.

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While Syracuse is viewed as a national title contender, the Orange are going through one of those rough patches in the middle of a season, a stretch that can certainly make a team better for March… but not without short-term costs. Syracuse is fighting through its limitations right now. The Orange fell at Notre Dame this past Saturday, dropping a 67-58 decision without starting center Fab Melo, who was out with an injury. Melo is not a prolific scorer, but he doesn’t need to be a on a team loaded with them. Melo needs to be that rebounder-defender who anchors the Orange in the paint and provides just enough of an offensive threat to keep defenders honest. Melo was part of Syracuse’s winning mix, so the fact that Syracuse played so poorly without him is something of an alarm bell for SU and head coach Jim Boeheim. Maybe Melo will play in the Orange's upcoming games, and maybe he won’t; what’s important to point out is that he won’t be 100 percent, which – in and of itself – raises questions regarding Syracuse’s level of performance. Opposing big men could have a big night against Syracuse, which would make the Orange a less effective team at the defensive end of the court. If Melo is not appreciably fit – whether he plays or not – Syracuse’s wings will be smothered by perimeter defenders on teams with appreciably equal levels of athleticism, and the calculus will shift in favor of SU's opponents.

Elsewhere in the league, West Virginia powered past Cincinnati in a thrilling overtime game. Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin has masterfully turned around his team after the December brawl against Xavier; he had managed to win his last seven Big East road games, a remarkable feat in a conference this deep. However, Bob Huggins managed to defeat his former school in what was a fiercely-contested clash. West Virginia's Kevin Jones hit big shots down the stretch, while the Mountaineers' guards created turnovers and transition buckets to drive the stake into the Bearcats' hearts. Both teams are likely to make the NCAA Tournament, and they showed why on Saturday.

Georgetown avoided a big upset at home against a much-improved Rutgers squad. Connecticut did not avoid the big upset, falling at Tennessee a few days after losing at home to Cincinnati. South Florida is an NIT team, but that's a step up from past years; the Bulls are 5-2 against the soft part of the Big East after beating DePaul. Seton Hall suffered a bad loss against Villanova, moving downward on the bubble. Marquette is a team that is playing its way into a high NCAA seed after winning two league games this past week.

By: Matt Zemek
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer