Louisville Ousts Syracuse / Big East Tournament 2010 Preview (Video)

2009 Big East Tournament (Let's hope we get another game like this in the 2010 tourney)




Louisville Ousts Syracuse (First Road loss for SU this year...wow!)



Big East Tournament Bracket 2010

FIBA 2010 Big East Conference Tournament Schedule


In Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

2010 Big East Conference first round of the tournament games

Tuesday 9 March

Game 1: No. 9 South Florida vs. No. 16 DePaul at noon

Game 2: No. 12 v. Connecticut, No. 13 San Juan, 2 pm

Game 3: No. 10 Seton Hall vs. No. 15 Rutgers 7 pm

Game 4: No. 11 Cincinnati vs. No. 14 Providence, 9 pm

2010 Big East Tournament First Round Games

Wednesday 10 March

Game 5: No. 8 Georgetown vs. Winner Game 1, Club World, noon

Game 6: No. 5 Marquette vs. Winner Game 2, ESPN, 2 pm

Game 7: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. Winner Game 3, ESPN, 7 pm

Game 8: No. 6 Louisville vs. Winner Game 4, ESPN, 9 pm

2010 Big East Tournament Quarterfinals

Thursday 11 March

Game 9: 1 Winner Game 5 vs. Syracuse, ESPN, noon

Match 10: 4th Winner Game 6 vs. Villanova, ESPN, 2 pm

Game 11: No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. Winner Game 7, ESPN, 7 pm

Match 12: 3rd West Virginia winner cons 8 Thu, ESPN 9 hours

2010 Big East Tournament semifinals

Friday 12 March

Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, ESPN, 7 pm

Thu 14: Fri 11 pm against the winner of Game 12 winner, ESPN, 9

2010 Big East Conference Tournament Championship Game

Saturday 13 March

Game 15: Game 13 Winner Game 14 Winner, ESPN, 9 pm


Picture of the 2010 Big East Regular Season Champs (Style Pic)

Syracuse Orange (28-3) Overall / (15-3) in Big East

Syracuse vs. Georgetown Video Blog

Sorry about the first image, but it gets better!



SYRACUSE ORANGE

STARTERS  PTS


Wesley Johnson, F  16  (4 fouls) (Played all 40 minutes, but didn't do much in 2nd half)


Arinze Onuaku, C  2   (Fouled Out) (Foul trouble took him out of the game, not a factor offensively)


Rick Jackson, F  12  (Fouled Out) (played well down low, hit some huge shots throughout)


Andy Rautins, G  26 (4 fouls)  (5 of 9 from three point land)


Brandon Triche, G  8 (played tentative, but hit some big shots)



BENCH PTS


Scoop Jardine, G  0
Kris Joseph, F  11 (once again played well off the bench, especially late)
DaShonte Riley, F  0


TOTAL: 75




GEORGETOWN HOYAS
STARTERS  PTS


Julian Vaughn, F  0


Greg Monroe, C 20 (Monster numbers late in the game)


Chris Wright, G  20 (proved me wrong, played well and took it to the Cuse, made Rautins work)


Austin Freeman, G  21 (Huge in the second half, nothing in the first half)


Jason Clark, G 8  (Big miss from 3 with under a minute left)



BENCH PTS


Hollis Thompson, F 0
Vee Sanford, G  0
Jerrelle Benimon, F  0
Henry Sims, C 2



TOTAL: 71





Technicals: 2 GTOWN ( C Wright 1 ) SYRACUSE ( A Rautins 1 )
Officials: James Breeding ,Jim Burr ,Jamie Luckey
Attendance: 19,976

Georgetown Takes Down No.2 Villanova in D.C.

      After a shocking home loss on Wednesday to the University of South Florida, the No.8 Georgetown Hoyas(17-5) defended their home court amidst a monster snow storm  outside to oust the No.2 Villanova Wildcats(20-2) 103 to 90.  This was the first Big East conference loss for the Wildcats so far this year and only their second loss of the season, however, many analysts have pointed out how the week schedule of Villanova had up until this game kept them at the top of the national rankings.  Nonetheless, that soft Wildcat schedule is about to heat up, as Villanova now moves on to play No.6 West Virginia on Monday to start Rivalry Week.  Georgetown improved to 7-4 in Big East play and a tie for 4th place with Pittsburgh in the conference standings, while Villanova fell into a tie for first place in the conference with the Syracuse Orange at 9-1.

         This game was the definition of a tough fought Big East battle between two power houses, as fouls played a huge role in the final turnout of the game.  Georgetown shot an incredible 39 of 50 from the charity strike, while Villanova made 17 of 23 from the line.  Overall, 73 free throws were attempted in the game, as the physicality of the Hoyas was simply too much for Villanova's undersized forwards and guards to handle.  Hoyas Guard Austin Freeman was dynamite, as he shot 8 of 12 from the floor, and made 7 of 10 free throws to lead the Hoyas with 25 points, while Sophomore star Center Greg Monroe added 19 points and made 11 of 14 free throws.  The complete lack of a bench didn't negatively influence the Hoyas offensive production today, as the Hoyas scored at ease and put up a season high 103 points against Villanova's undersized defense.  This was a statement game for both teams, as Villanova sought to put a huge conference road win on their tournament resume, while Georgetown sought to possibly move up in the ranks even though they had lost to South Florida earlier this week.  Overall, the home court crowd propelled the Hoyas past the Wildcats this day, however, it'll be up to the pollsters to see how far Nova will fall in the ranks and whether G-Town's victory over Nova was worthy of them moving up.

Star Watch:  Scottie Reynolds had 24 points on a lackluster 6 of 17 from the floor, however, he was 9 of 11 from the line.  He had 6 assists with 6 turnovers

Syracuse Barely Holds Off Depaul While Georgetown Dominates Duke

     It was a very stressful day for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and the rest of the Syracuse faithful, as the No.4 ranked Syracuse Orange (21-1) barely improved to 8-1 in the Big East by holding off the last place DePaul Blue Demons (8-13) 59 to 57 in Chicago, Illinois, Saturday afternoon.  The Blue Demons came out of the gates on fire, as they were shooting over 70% early on in the contest.  Clutch three point shooting and a barrage of dribble drives completely exposed the holes in the Orange two-three zone defense that had up to this point in the year completely confused the rest of the Syracuse opponents. 
        DePaul was led by Guard Will Walker who shot 5 of 12 from downtown and ended up with 21 points on the day.  Walker's sidekick, DePaul forward Mike Stovall also added 9 points to help bust out the DePaul lead to 18 points over the stunned Syracuse Orange that obviously had underestimated their opponent.  However, The Cuse shouldn't have overlooked the Blue Demons, even though their record is below .500, earlier this month they had beaten a tough Marquette Golden Eagles squad that just beat UConn and has played almost everyone tough so far this year.  Nonetheless, the Blue Demons 18 point lead in the first half was brought down to only 4 points at half time, as Kris Joseph came off the bench and once again played like a star, as he kept the crowd out of it for a while, as he dunked over Blue Demon defenders and had a number of layups that DePaul had no answer for on defense.  Iowa State transfer sensation Wesley Johnson also kept the Orange in it, as he put up 16 points on 7 of 15 from the field, and also dished off 7 assists to lead everyone. 

        Even though the SU scoring attack was somewhat balanced, the Orange only ended up with 59 points on the day, a drastic difference from their over 80 point average up until this game.  However, the most important factor in this game was that DePaul couldn't put away the struggling Orange, as SU scratched and clawed to stay within 9 points of the Blue Demons with under 7 minutes left to play.  At that point in the game, the Cuse went on their final run.  Trailing 52-43 with under seven minutes left, Joseph hit a 3-pointer to start the go-ahead run.  Andy Rautins then connected from the outside after DePaul's Michael Bizoukas threw the ball away and then a surprising shot in transition came, as Scoop Jardine buried another 3-pointer, and Johnson tied it at 54 with a one-handed fastbreak dunk over Stovall to completely silence the Chicago crowd.  Jardine then gave the Orange their first lead of the day with a layup that made it 56-54 with 3:37 left, and Joseph converted a layup and hit a free throw to make it 59-54.  The Cuse then played tough defense and continued to pressure the ball in order to squeak out a victory on the road, as Will Walker missed a contested three pointer at the buzzer that would have inevitably caused the stands to be cleared out onto the court.  Nonetheless, it wasn't meant to be, as DePaul hung their heads after a tough game they certainly should have won.

      In a much different manner than Syracuse had, the No.7 Georgetown Hoyas (16-4) used homecourt advantage and even United States President Barack Obama's support in order to completely dominate and embarrass the No.8 Duke Blue Devils that were never really in striking distance of the Hoyas.  The Hoyas won 89 to 77, as the size, strength, and length of the Hoyas was simply too much for the Blue Devils to handle.  This was evident on the offensive end, as the Dukies shot an unimpressive 37% from the field and only 31% from beyond the arc.  However, President Obama must have been overjoyed by the Georgetown effort, as the Hoyas shot an insane 71% from the floor and 46% from downtown to totally control the game and kept all the momentum throughout the entire showing. 

Greg Monroe, Chris Wright, and Austin Freemen were a three headed beast for Georgetown, as they each put up over 20 points and played monster minutes, as between the three players, they played all but 2 minutes on the game.  The lack of depth from the Hoyas played no part in influencing the Hoyas effectiveness, as Duke simply had no answer for Georgetown's Big East style of play.  Nevertheless, a surprising stat was the fact that Duke had 12 offensive rebounds to Georgtown's 1, but it made no difference, as Georgetown shot lights out and really didn't need the offensive rebounds anyway.  Duke also didn't do much with their extra opportunities, as the Duke trio of Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, and Jon Scheyer each put up 17 or more points, yet their field goal percentage was disappointing and not nearly enough to keep the Blue Devils in the game.  The Hoyas tough loss to the Syracuse Orange last week definitely played a role in this game, as the Hoyas came out with a sense of urgency and wanted to put a huge non-conference W on their tournament resume at home.  It's clear that the Big East has put itself at the top of the Power Conference rankings in Men's college basketball, as wins such as this one against highly touted opponents like Duke shows that the depth of the Big East is plentiful and getting stronger year after year.    

 It was a big thumbs up from President Obama and Vice President Biden to the Hoyas, as they proved they have what it takes to remain a top 10 team in the National Rankings.

 Big East Standings

      *Conference Record / Overall Record

1. 3 Villanova 8-0 / 19-1
2. 4 Syracuse 8-1 / 21-1
3. 9 West Virginia 6-2 / 17-3 
4. 17 Pittsburgh 6-2 / 16-4
5. 7 Georgetown 6-3 / 16-4
6. Cincinnati 5-4 / 14-7
7. Louisville 4-4 / 13-8  
8. Notre Dame 4-5 / 15-7
9. Marquette 4-5 / 13-8  
10. Providence 4-5 / 12-9
11. South Florida 3-5 / 13-7
12. Seton Hall 3-5 / 12-7  
13. 19 Connecticut 3-5 / 13-8
14. St. John's 2-6 / 12-8
15. Rutgers 1-8 / 10-11 
16. DePaul 1-8 / 8-13

The Orange Destroy the Hoyas at Home

   The now No.4 ranked Syracuse Orange improved to 7-1 in the Big East and 20-1 overall, as they picked up another solid victory by beating their arch rival No.7 Georgetown Hoyas(15-4) 73 to 56.  This was the tale of two games, as the Hoyas silenced the crowd immediately as they opened the game with a 14 to 0 lead over the hometown Orange.  The 26,508 in the seats must have been extremely surprised to see Georgetown open the game shooting 5 of 6 from the field, as Georgetown Guard Austin Freemen was putting on a show, as he drained 3 shots from beyond the arc in the first 3 minutes of play.  However, this game was just getting started, as The Orange then began to play and were led by their bench in order to fight their way back into the game.  Once again, The Cuse bench was led by Kris Joseph and Scooooop Jardine, as both players shot a combined 9 of 11 from the floor for the game, and put up 24 points.  Joseph and Jardine have continued to impress all year, however, Joseph has really shown how he's becoming a Big East threat in every game.  Joseph's nose for the bucket, strong ball handling, and driving ability is what helped SU cut into the 14 point early Hoyas lead.  Jardine went 4 of 4 from the field, most of which was on fast breaks, as he pushed the ball down the floor and put pressure on the slower Hoyas defense to get back on D and make plays.  The momentum rather quickly began to turn in the Orange's favor, as the fans got into the game and the Orange players were feeding off of the emotion built from the comeback.

          So what allowed for such a turnaround after the first 3 minutes of the game....DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE!  Fifth year Senior Guard and leader Andy Rautins was huge in this game for The Cuse, as he played incredible defense and even had 6 steals to help create fast break opportunities for SU.  Defense has been a staple for The Orange all year and has led them to where they are in the Big East and National standings.  How's this for some defense, Wesley Johnson had 4 blocks and 3 steals, Kris Joseph had a block and 3 steals, Rautins had 6 steals, and Rick Jackson had 3 blocks and even gobbled up a steal.  Another huge factor was the fact that SU completely took Georgetown Sophomore Forward Greg Monroe out of the game, as foul trouble wasn't an issue for the rest of the Hoyas, but Monroe continued to pick up the ticky tack fouls that always go unnoticed.  However, with much of the game left in the second half, Monroe fouled out with an unnecessary screen foul at the top of the arc on Andy Rautins.  It was a nice acting job by Rautins, but still a foul.  Rautins came up with big plays all game, and needed to, as they showed his Dad Leo Rautins in the stands almost as much as they showed Andy.  After not recording a point against Marquette, Rautins scored 15 against the Hoyas and shot 9 of 10 from the free throw line.  This was an incredibly balanced scoring attack from The Cuse tonight, and was no coincidence that SU pulled out a W because of it.  Georgetown simply had no bench and no spark after the first 3 minutes of play.  Georgetown's lack of balance and no clear leader never allowed them to truly scare The Orange, as once the tide started to turn, the Hoyas simply couldn't keep up.