Big East basketball starting to heat up

The big news out of the Big East this week springs from Pitt being voted to its first-ever No. 1… The big news out of the Big East this week springs from Pitt being voted to its first-ever No. 1 ranking in school history. And overall, the Big East presence in the AP Top 25 grew to nine teams after the polls were released on Monday. Connecticut fell to the No. 5 spot in both polls after losing to Georgetown early last week. Huskies’ coach Jim Calhoun had his team ready against Rutgers, and his team tattooed the Scarlet Knights 80-49 on Saturday. Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet returned to form with 15 points and eight rebounds against Rutgers after being locked down by Georgetown center Greg Monroe. Georgetown, meanwhile, continued its slide with a 73-67 loss to Notre Dame Monday night. The Hoyas could not stop the reigning Big East Player of the Year in Irish forward Luke Harangody. Harangody scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to outduel Hoyas forward Monroe, who scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds. The Irish bounced back from a disappointing 71-65 loss at Madison Square Garden to St. John’s on Saturday. The tenacious Red Storm defense held the Irish’s leading 3-point man Kyle McAlarney to just one 3-pointer in the game. St. John’s ended a three-game losing streak in the process. Syracuse had another kind of streak going, beating South Florida for its fifth straight win. The Orange held off a late surge from the Bulls to remain undefeated in Big East play and keep their No. 11 ranking. Continuing down the Top 25 list, Marquette holds the No. 18 ranking after blasting Cincinnati 84-50 at home. The Golden Eagles’ Jerel McNeal scored a game-high 26 points and added six assists. Tied with Marquette at No. 18, Villanova lost its Big East opener to the Golden Eagles 79-72 last Thursday. The Wildcats traveled to Seton Hall last night, avoiding an 0-2 start in Big East play. Rounding out the Big East’s Top 25 teams are the two Jekyll and Hyde teams of the conference. When a team plays either Louisville or West Virginia, it can’t be sure which one is going to show up. Louisville, predicted by many experts to be the preseason conference champion, dropped a much-publicized game to UNLV by the score of 56-55, only to win an even further publicized game over Kentucky 74-71. The marginal loss, coupled with its escape against Kentucky, has many experts thinking twice about how good this Louisville team really is. West Virginia sneaked into the No. 25 ranking after it opened Big East play with a 92-66 thumping of Seton Hall. The Mountaineers squared off against Connecticut last night. Here are some awards for the week: Big East Hammer on the Hardwood: Honoring the Big East’s Player of the Week, this award goes to Pitt center DeJuan Blair. It’s a bit repetitive, but no one can ignore the monstrous double-double Blair posted against Georgetown, scoring 20 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Blair set the tone for a Pitt team that exploited the Hoyas in the paint. Big East Cupcake: The award for the egg, goat or otherwise most disappointing Big East Player of the Week goes to the Huskies’ Thabeet. Thabeet took just four shots against Georgetown in Connecticut’s home loss. Thabeet clearly backed down from the challenge of Georgetown’s Monroe to score just four points in the entire game. Big East Matchups to Watch: There will be a full slate of action this Saturday with seven Big East games on the map, and two feature ranked opponents. West Virginia travels to Marquette to maintain its Top 25 ranking. The same goes for Louisville, which visits Villanova on Saturday in what should be a run-and-gun type of affair featuring stellar guard play from both teams. Upset Alert Matchup of the Week: Watch out, Syracuse: This year’s Rutgers squad is sneaky dangerous. Look for Rutgers to at least give the Orange a run for its money on Saturday when the two match up in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers will rely on its school’s first-ever McDonalds All-American recruit Mike Rosario, who leads the team in scoring, to penetrate Syracuse’s stout 2-3 zone.