2011 Big East Basketball: Big East Basketball Weekly Recap

Scores

Monday, December 19

LSU 67, Marquette 59

South Florida 70, Cleveland State 55

West Virginia 72, Tennessee Tech 53

Notre Dame 106, Sacred Heart 65

Tuesday, December 20

Providence 67, New Hampshire 52

Pittsburgh 71, St. Francis (PA) 47

Syracuse 80, Bucknell 61

Louisville 69, Charleston 62

Wednesday, December 21

Seton Hall 69, Dayton 64

Cincinnati 101, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 53

St. John's 66, Texas-Pan American 61

DePaul 63, Cal Poly 58

Thursday, December 22

Syracuse 80, Tulane 61

Connecticut 79, Fairfield 71

Marquette 64, Milwaukee 50

Georgetown 70, Memphis 59

Rutgers 77, NJIT 53

Villanova 73, American 52

West Virginia 70, Missouri State 68 (OT)

Southern Mississippi 53, South Florida 51

Friday, December 23

Baylor 83, West Virginia 81 (OT)

Louisville 70, Western Kentucky 60

Wagner 59, Pittsburgh 54

Providence 80, Rhode Island 61

Cincinnati 95, Chicago State 60

Seton Hall 87, Longwood 61

It’s hard to reach narrow, finite verdicts on the Big East, given the sprawling nature of the 16-team conference. A mixture of positive and negative stories is likely to define just about any night in which at least four or more league games are played. There are multiple sections of the Big East on display every night, various "neighborhoods" in which different amounts of rent are paid.

In the low-rent section of the Big East, good news emerged as South Florida - consistently a doormat - shed its loser label by springing a 15-point upset against heralded Cleveland State in the Horizon League. The Bulls aren't about to become a top tier team, as shown by their loss to Southern Mississippi later in the week. However, they're showing a level of competitiveness which hasn't always existed on the hardwood in Tampa. Providence thumped Rhode Island, winning an in-state battle with a somewhat surprising level of ease. Rhode Island has been a bubble team in recent seasons, so the ability of Providence to hand out a beatdown is a definite source of encouragement for the Friars.

In the upper-middle class section of the Big East, the news was mostly bad. Georgetown did score a win over Memphis - its second of the year against the Tigers - but the value of that win was overshadowed by two shocking losses. Marquette, one of the league's 11 tournament teams last season and a Sweet 16 party crasher, was shocked on the road by LSU, a downmarket team in the Southeastern Conference. The Golden Eagles usually do live on the edge, but even they figured to win against a program known for its football, not its basketball. Yet, as bad as that loss was for the Big East as a whole, Pittsburgh suffered an even greater embarrassment on Friday. The Panthers, playing at home against a small-conference foe, figured to notch an easy win against the Wagner Seahawks of the Northeast Conference. Instead, Pitt - a number one seed last year and a nationally-ranked club when it took the floor on Dec. 23 - fell to coach Danny Hurley's club, committing 18 turnovers and failing to maintain any sense of composure in its halfcourt offense. Pittsburgh became discombobulated against Wagner's defensive pressure and could never get on the beam as the 40-minute nightmare unfolded.

In the posh high-rent district, everything remained harmonious. Louisville and Syracuse, holding down two of the top four spots in the national rankings, continued their winning ways to remain unbeaten for the season. Now that Big East play is beginning, some losses are certainly likely, but the Cardinals and Orange are still in position to lock down high seeds for the 2012 NCAA Tournament.