The Big East is now 41-2 and counting on the season.
Sure, it’s early but that’s certainly a good start for a league that was supposed to be “down” this year.
“It’s early,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Friday night after his team throttled defending NCAA champion North Carolina, 87-71, to win the Coaches vs. Cancer event at Madison Square Garden. “It’s better than losing games but its too early to think about that stuff.”
Providence (to Alabama) and South Florida (to South Carolina) both lost Friday, otherwise the conference could have been a perfect 43-0.
Syracuse, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova and DePaul — yes, DePaul — all won their tilts.
Some were more impressive than others.
Seton Hall guard Jeremy Hazell, the conference’s No. 2 scorer a year ago, gave Cornell 33 in an 89-79 win in Ithaca, N.Y.
Ironically, the next team to face Cornell will be soon-to-be-ranked Syracuse Tuesday night.
“I told them one thing, Tuesday night [at Cornell] is going to be the toughest game they have all year so hopefully they are ready for that the next three days,” Boeheim said.
Villanova, the preseason favorite to win the conference, held off a quality Dayton team, 71-65, behind Corey Fisher’s 18 points in the second round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan.
Rutgers and St. John’s both won close games.
Rutgers sophomore forward Greg Echenique hit a layup as time expired to give the Knights a 58-56 victory over Drexel. The Knights missed 15 of 20 shots in the game’s lsat 13 minutes.
St. John’s fended off Brown, 79-76, behind Dwight Hardy’s 16 points.
But the biggest win for the conference so far was Syracuse’s statement game over the defending champs.
One NBA executive told me Carolina had six future potential first-round picks, while the Orange likely only have one in Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson, whom I featured in today’s story on SNY.tv.
The Orange outscored the Heels 50-32 in the second half and rattled off a 22-1 run to start the second half.
“They beat the dickens out of us,” Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “It’s been a while since somebody’s beaten our team that badly.”
Said Boeheim: “It is always good to get wins. When you can beat good teams early it’s a great thing.”
pastaboy / November 21, 2009
Yes the Big East will have a few strong teams this year ……Syracuse , Villanova , and W.Va look good. But touting stats the 1st week of the season about beating the likes of Prarie View …..William & Mary ……Savannah St…….St. Francis and the other 30 something cupcakes seems a bit ridiculous . Robert Morris? Lets call them Bobby and combine that with the victory over Mercer …hahahaha……or how about sticking a Saint’s peter into someone’s Monmouth? Your post is so SEC footballish …..
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