2008/2009 Big East Thread

[superjames1992]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Meh, WVU was in an intense battle for the first 25 minutes, then Pitt ran away with it. Oh well, at least WVU beat one of the top 25 teams they faced this week at Georgetown!

[J0nnD0ugh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Meh, WVU was in an intense battle for the first 25 minutes, then Pitt ran away with it. Oh well, at least WVU beat one of the top 25 teams they faced this week at Georgetown!

Hoyas won't be ranked for very long.

[crques]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Meh, WVU was in an intense battle for the first 25 minutes, then Pitt ran away with it. Oh well, at least WVU beat one of the top 25 teams they faced this week at Georgetown!

At halftime I kept saying there's no way that Pitt can continue shooting that good in the 2nd half (I think they were at 60% at the half and WVU was at 41%). They proved me wrong and finished the game at 54% or something close to that. Pitt was able to do the same thing that UK did to them early in the season and that was to lob it inside to the big guy from just about anywhere on the court. I thought that Pitt's defense was really good and they even forced Ruoff into 7 or 8 uncharacteristic turnovers. They also managed to take Butler completely out of the game in the 1st half with double teams.

In order for WVU to beat ranked teams in conference or anywhere for that matter, they need a few things to happen. They need to take care of the ball and make their 3-point shots. They really did neither very well yesterday. They aren't the type of team that can make mistakes and still win on talent. Credit Pitt's physical defense yesterday. They bothered the Mountaineers all day long. I thought that WVU should have attacked Young more when he came back in with 3 fouls but they never did. He was definitely the difference in the 2nd half as he was scoring at will. Also Dixon's two 25 ft. 3-pointers didn't help matters. LOL

Oh well, last week at this time I was expecting WVU to come away from the Georgetown & Pitt games with a 1-1 record. I just thought that the results would have been reversed. Hopefully they can get a win Wednesday against St. John's before heading to Louisville on Saturday.

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

A month into the conference slate and G'Town and ND are under .500, pretty wacky.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

A month into the conference slate and G'Town and ND are under .500, pretty wacky.

UofL is 6-0

[KG]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

A month into the conference slate and G'Town and ND are under .500, pretty wacky.

The Hoyas were picked 7th or 8th in the BE and that win @ UCONN inflated a lot of people's hopes. Wright hasnt played well in a couple of weeks and Sapp for a couple of months.

They have some easier games coming up with Cincy (2x) & Rutgers but sandwiched in there is a trip to Marquette.

How about this 5 game stretch to end the year for Marquette:

<TABLE class=tablehead cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3><TBODY><TR class=oddrow align=left><TD></TD><TD><NOBR>at No. 23 Georgetown</NOBR></TD><TD></TD><TD>Tickets | Travel </NOBR></TD></TR><!--gameId=290560269--><TR class=evenrow align=left><TD></TD><TD><NOBR>No. 2 Connecticut</NOBR></TD><TD></TD><TD>Tickets | Travel </NOBR></TD></TR><!--gameId=290600097--><TR class=oddrow align=left><TD></TD><TD><NOBR>at No. 7 Louisville</NOBR></TD><TD></TD><TD>Tickets | Travel </NOBR></TD></TR><!--gameId=290630221--><TR class=evenrow align=left><TD></TD><TD><NOBR>at No. 3 Pittsburgh</NOBR></TD><TD></TD><TD>Tickets | Travel </NOBR></TD></TR><!--gameId=290660269--><TR class=oddrow align=left><TD></TD><TD><NOBR>No. 15 Syracuse</NOBR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

That unblemished record is going to fade really quick.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

I'm predicting Marquette to get beat tonight by Notre Dame. And I agree. G'Town wasn't high on anyone's radar until after they beat UConn.

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Marquette up three at the break.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

I've been very impressed with Marquette tonight. I thought they would get beat by 6 or so due to Notre Dame being hungry after losing to UConn, but they have played a solid game. I think its safe to say that Marquette is for real.

[nickb]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

I hate saying this but look out for Marquette Big East, looks like they are for real. No presence down low at all, but those big 3 guards and Hayward are damn good, and could take this team pretty damn far...

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

After watching Notre Dame two of the last three nights I think they are relying on Gody way too much this year. There is no way that the loss of Rob Kurz meant that much to this team - right now they are a one and a half-man show. Their offense basically consists of a transition three, getting Gody a touch and having him make a move where he either scores or kicks it out for a three.

Gody does everything on that team and if McAlarney is bottled up like he was the last two games then forget about it, you aren't beating a Big East team with one player. They have Pitt next on the road, good lord that is gonna be an ugly game. The softest team in the conference against probably the toughest, ND will be 3-6 in the conference.

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

I hate saying this but look out for Marquette Big East, looks like they are for real. No presence down low at all, but those big 3 guards and Hayward are damn good, and could take this team pretty damn far...

We'll certainly know if they're for real during their final five games of conference play.

[crques]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

After watching Notre Dame two of the last three nights I think they are relying on Gody way too much this year. There is no way that the loss of Rob Kurz meant that much to this team - right now they are a one and a half-man show. Their offense basically consists of a transition three, getting Gody a touch and having him make a move where he either scores or kicks it out for a three.

Gody does everything on that team and if McAlarney is bottled up like he was the last two games then forget about it, you aren't beating a Big East team with one player. They have Pitt next on the road, good lord that is gonna be an ugly game. The softest team in the conference against probably the toughest, ND will be 3-6 in the conference.

I wonder if losing to Pitt will finally get them out of the Top 25? After watching them the past 2 weeks I would have to say that Notre Dame was way overrated. No one on their team can create their own shot and they aren't athletic or physical.

I continue to be impressed with Marquette. They look legit but they still have some huge tests ahead of them. I will be curious to see how successfull Williams is 3 or 4 years down the road when he has his own players in there. I'm thinking he better enjoy this while he can because after those guards graduate, his head coach welcoming party will be over.

[ehh]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

Marquette is a tough one for me to buy into, they are so small - I don't see them beating UConn, Louisville or Pitt but we'll see. They at least get UConn at home, the other two are on the road.

[countryboy]

Re: 2008/2009 Big East Thread

I am impressed with how hard Marquette plays defense. I wasn't sold on Marquette, but am slowly beginning to think they have a legit chance of finishing in the Top 4 in the conference.

And right now Buzz Williams has to be coach of the year in the BE.