Big East Notebook
February 17, 2003 11:22 AM | General
February 17, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The questions are mounting as Big East teams begin positioning themselves for the stretch run in the race for the conference championship.
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| If Coach John Beilein can get his West Virginia basketball team to the 15-win level will that be enough for him to be named Big East coach of the year? (AP photo) |
Can Connecticut overcome the distractions of Coach Jim Calhoun being sidelined with prostate surgery and star guard Ben Gordon being charged with slapping a female student?
Is Villanova ready to become an NCAA tournament-caliber team after beating Connecticut by nine in Philadelphia?
Has Pitt reached a plateau after beating West Virginia by 36 points last Wednesday?
Did Georgetown’s 12-point win at Virginia Tech pump life into a dead team, or was it just a matter of good timing with Tech’s top player Carlos Dixon sidelined with a broken foot?
After Saturday’s emotional win against Notre Dame, is Syracuse’s young “Not-Ready-For-Primetime-Players” ready for primetime?
After sweeping Rutgers Saturday, does West Virginia have enough gas left in its tank to finish off one of the more surprising seasons in recent Big East history?
First things first: The cracks in the Connecticut team were beginning to show even before Jim Calhoun announced he had prostate cancer.
The Huskies were dismantled 95-71 at home by Boston College, and followed that egg with a bigger one at Virginia Tech. UConn lost by 21 in Blacksburg against a Tech team struggling to accumulate enough wins to save Coach Ricky Stokes’ job.
Since the Calhoun announcement Connecticut is just 2-2 under associate coach George Blaney. At Villanova Saturday, Connecticut proved that you can lose despite making more field goals, grabbing more rebounds and having more assists than its opponent.
Gordon scored 22 of his team-high 25 points in the second half, but many observers were wondering if he should be playing at all after being arrested Friday on charges of slapping a female student, who was also arrested for allegedly hitting him.
Husky center Omeka Okafor said Gordon’s arrest had no impact whatsoever on Saturday’s game. “No, that wasn’t it,” he said.
Even if Gordon is exonerated, one has to wonder where his focus is as his team prepares for the stretch run.
Villanova is a full game up on Connecticut in the East standings, but has four of its remaining six league games on the road at Seton Hall, Providence, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
Will Villanova, 14-9 entering play this week, go from being an NCAA tournament bubble team to a legitimate contender? The Wildcats will have to hop on an airplane to find out.
What happened to Pitt Saturday at Seton Hall?
After completely dominating West Virginia Wednesday, the Panthers lost convincingly at Seton Hall. The beginning of the game was a bad omen for the Panthers when Seton Hall scored on two easy fast-break layups to take a four-point lead.
“That set a bad tone for us,” said Panther coach Ben Howland.
Perhaps Pitt was still in the clouds after soundly beating its rival West Virginia by 36 points three days earlier. Or maybe Pitt is reaching the point where all of the nagging injuries are starting to catch up. Point guard Brandin Knight’s numbers are off considerably from last year when he was named Big East player of the year.
Before the season started Knight had minor knee surgery and has battled various ailments since. Julius Page was slowed with an ankle sprain against Syracuse and Pitt’s lack of depth has forced Howland to exclusively use just eight players.
Another factor in Pitt’s loss to Seton Hall was the officiating. Some Big East coaches have complained that Pitt is getting away with a lot of incidental contact on defense that is not being called. Saturday the Panthers were whistled for 27 personal fouls that resulted in 42 Seton Hall foul shots.
Chevy Troutman, Ontario Lett and Donatas Zavackas all fouled out. Pitt is now a full game behind Syracuse in the Big East standings, but has winnable games remaining at Georgetown, at home against Rutgers, at Virginia Tech, at home against Connecticut and Seton Hall, and on the road at Villanova.
The loss at Seton Hall wasn’t a catastrophe for Pitt, but the Panthers have to turn it around against a desperate Georgetown team in Washington, D.C. – a place Pitt has traditionally not fared well at.
Georgetown is one of the biggest disappointments in the Big East this year. Despite having arguably the league’s most talented player in Mike Sweetney, the Hoyas have slipped to the bottom of the West standings with Rutgers.
Georgetown’s three conference wins this year have come against West Virginia, Rutgers and Virginia Tech – which so far have combined for a 10-20 record in Big East play.
Gerald Riley pumped oxygen into Georgetown’s lifeless body with 31 points to help the Hoyas bag their first conference road win of the year.
"Rewarding doesn't come close to describing what I'm feeling," Coach Craig Esherick told the Washington Post on Sunday. "I didn't think we'd ever win a road game again the way we were playing. And when you start to lose a couple of home games, you start to wonder what the heck is going on."
The win pushed Georgetown back over the .500 mark at 11-10 but it may not stay there long. The Hoyas play host to Pitt on Tuesday and also have remaining games against Syracuse and Notre Dame, as well as road games at Miami and West Virginia.
Last year Georgetown turned down a bid to go to the NIT. This year they might reconsider.
Syracuse may have taken a giant step Saturday after its emotional 82-80 victory over No. 10 Notre Dame. The Orangemen are probably the most athletically gifted team in the Big East, and the growing pains from starting two freshmen may finally be paying its dividends.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has privately conceded that his team has enough talent to make a run at the Final Four next year if forward Carmelo Anthony chooses to return to school. After the way Syracuse rebounded from its loss to Connecticut to beat a battle-tested Notre Dame club that has already beaten four top 10 teams, he may be off target by a year.
The Orangemen are now 17-4 and have three home games remaining against St. John’s, West Virginia and Rutgers. With Syracuse unbeaten at the Carrier Dome, the odds look good that the Orangemen will remain that way. Key tests remain at Michigan State, at Georgetown and at Notre Dame, though.
West Virginia took a big step toward making the Big East tournament with its win at Rutgers Saturday. The Mountaineers, now 4-6 in league play, own the tie breaker over the Knights if the two teams should finish with identical records at the end of the year.
The Mountaineers also have the benefit of playing four of its last six games at home, starting Tuesday night against Notre Dame.
West Virginia’s startling turnaround from last year’s 8-20 season is certainly one of the top stories in the Big East this year. Right now West Virginia’s plus-five difference in victories is remarkable, but it pales in comparison to some recent Big East turnarounds.
Two years ago Boston College had the biggest turnaround in conference history when it went from 11-19 in 2000 to 27-5 in 2001 – a plus-16 difference in wins. BC also went from 3-13 in league play to 13-3 the next year.
Seton Hall made up a difference of 13 games in 1991 with its 25-9 record after going 12-17 in 1990. And Villanova went from 8-19 in 1993 to 20-12 in 1994.
West Virginia is easily the youngest team in the conference starting three freshmen and two sophomores. With a 13-9 record heading into play this week, two more victories may be enough to earn West Virginia a bid to the NIT.
That would be a remarkable accomplishment considering the dire predictions leveled against the Mountaineers before the season. One preseason magazine predicted a last-place finish for West Virginia in the West “a sure thing.”
Some have suggested that John Beilein deserves to be named Big East coach of the year. And although his team will probably finish this season somewhere in the 15-win range, will that be enough wins to warrant consideration?
The answer is yes.
In 1997 Notre Dame’s John MacLeod won the award after leading the Domers to a 16-14 record and Leonard Hamilton was named Big East coach of the year in 1995 with a 15-13 record.
John Beilein could join that group if his team can collect a few more wins before tournament time.
Stay tuned.
