Games to watch in the Big East this week

Villanova @ Georgetown – Monday, Feb. 11th @ 7 p.m.
It’ll be a fast turnaround after both teams played, in two difficult games on Saturday and it’ll be interesting to see which team, if either, has enough left in the tank on Big Monday as Rivalry Week concludes. The Hoyas were dealt only their third loss of the year (2 nd in the Big East) by Louisville, 59-51, ending Georgetown’s six-game winning streak. Despite the loss, Georgetown remains atop the Big East Conference at 9-2. Villanova ended a five-game slide by knocking off Seton Hall 72-70 on Saturday. Dwayne Anderson’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left lifted the Wildcats to victory. The win for Villanova was their first home win since Jan.16. While Villanova is just 1-4 on the road in Big East games, Georgetown is 5-0 at home against Big East teams and 12-0 overall. Villanova is 6-0 all-time at the Verizon Center and the Hoyas will be aiming for payback from last year’s home defeat to Villanova, 56-52 on Jan.8.

Louisville @ DePaul – Tuesday, Feb. 12th @ 9 p.m.
This game will be the first game for the ranked Louisville Cardinals, who have been out of the Top 25 since December. Louisville is coming of a huge win over Big East leading Georgetown on Saturday and on paper, this has mismatch written all over it. Louisville and DePaul are two teams heading in the opposite direction, and while the Cardinals have Big East title aspirations, the Blue Demons will be in a fight to be one of the 12 teams invited Madison Square Garden for the Big East tournament. DePaul started out 4-2 in the Big East, but dropped their next four games before ending the skid on Saturday by beating South Florida. Louisville, on the other hand, has won three straight and nine of their last 11. The Cardinals have won their last three meetings with the Blue Demons. Will Louisville avoid the upset, or can DePaul pull off a stunner?

Notre Dame @ UConn – Wednesday, Feb. 13th @ 7 p.m.
The Irish come calling into Storrs to square off against the Huskies in what is the biggest and best match up this week in the Big East. The Irish sit 8-2, just a half game behind Georgetown for the lead in the Big East, with Notre Dame riding a five-game wining streak. Forward Luke Harangody has been an animal this season. As a sophomore, Harangody is averaging 20 and 10, boasting double-doubles in eight of the last 10 games the Irish have played. As good as the Irish have been, no one has been better than UConn lately. The Huskies have rallied around one anther, running off seven straight wins without one of their best players, Jerome Dyson, who’s serving a mandatory 30-day suspension from the university for a failed drug test. A.J. Price has been the leader at the point on offense and he’s blossomed into a difference maker. The X factor, however, has been Hasheem Thabeet in the middle. There’s not much defensively he can’t do. He can rebound at both ends and he’s a tremendous shot blocker, blocking four shots a game. Thabeet turned in his most impressive performance of the year on Saturday against Georgia Tech, finishing with 24 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. Whoever wins the Harangody/Thabeet match up could propel his team to victory.

Pittsburgh @ Marquette – Friday, Feb. 15th @ 9 p.m.
Nobody has been better in the closing minutes of a game this year than Pittsburgh. Add West Virginia to the likes of Duke, Georgetown and Villanova that the Panthers have pulled out close wins. Ronald Ramon canned a 3-pointer at the buzzer last Thursday to lift Pittsburgh past West Virginia 55-54. The Panthers, however, cannot look past Providence on Tuesday night. It was a hard week for Marquette, losing to Louisville and Notre Dame, but there are numerous teams that would suffer two losses if they played the Cardinals and the Irish in the same week. The Golden Eagles are 3-4 since their white hot 13-2 start. Marquette is 5-1 at home in the Big East and this is a huge game for both clubs. Pittsburgh and Marquette sit five and six respectively in the standings in the Big East. With Pittsburgh sitting at 6-4 and Marquette at 6-5, a win for the Golden Eagles and they’ll leapfrog Pitt into the top five of the Big East.

Georgetown @ Syracuse – Saturday, Feb. 16th @ 12 p.m.
We’ll find out a lot this week about the Hoyas and where they’re headed. Two rivalry games this week for Georgetown, the first on Big Monday against Villanova and the second against arch rival Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. It took 45 minutes for the Hoyas to defeat the Orange 64-62 in overtime on Jan.21 st. Due to injuries and suspensions, the Orange have been down to six players, seven at the most, and despite being short-handed, Syracuse has won three of their last four. Syracuse currently sits in a three-way tie with Cincinnati and Marquette for sixth place in the Big East at 6-5. It’s a rivalry game. Both teams, fan and coaches don’t like each other. Throw out records and stats. All bets are off between when these two teams get together.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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