Friday, February 20, 2009

BETology 2-20

This is The Rant’s daily look in at the Big East conference as we creep closer to the BET in New York City, which begins March 10th.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
*-Connecticut Huskies 12-2
Louisville Cardinals 11-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 11-2
Marquette Golden Eagles 11-2
Villanova Wildcats 9-4
Providence Friars 8-6
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-6
Syracuse Orange 7-6
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-6
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-8
Seton Hall Pirates 5-8
Georgetown Hoyas 5-8
St. John’s Red Storm 3-10
South Florida Bulls 3-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1-12
DePaul Blue Demons 0-13
*-clinched a 1st day bye

YESTERDAY:
Duke Blue Devils 76
St. John’s Red Storm 69

This is basically another win for the Big East. Coach K said earlier in the season that the ACC is better than the Big East, yet in his two games vs Big East teams his top-10 ranked team has struggled mightily against teams currently in 12th and 13th place the Big East. When Duke beat Georgetown in Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier in the year it was no real surprise. The Hoyas have a total of ONE road victory in 2009 and that came two days ago against South Florida. The real surprise is that Duke couldn’t beat the Hoyas worse than they did. In the Hoyas other nine losses this season they have lost by an average of 9.1 ppg. Duke a top ten team and one of the top dogs in the ACC beat them by less. Then Duke goes to New York City to play St. John’s last night. Sure Duke gets the win, as expected, but they only won by 7. Yes I know, a win is a win. But consider this. That was the smallest margin of defeat that St. John’s has had this year. Their average margin of defeat in Big East play is 15.6 ppg. That includes wins by Cincinnati and Seton Hall, teams that are in the middle to low end of the Big East are beating St. John’s more handily then the all-powerful Duke Blue Devils. So Coach, do you still think that the ACC is better than the Big East. Based on your two outcomes versus Big East teams this season, the Blue Devils would be about 10th in the Big East standings right now.

Villanova Wildcats 82
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 72
Villanova was able to stay within two games of the first place clump atop the standings in the Big East with this win last night. They also have created a little separation with the next pack of teams. The Wildcats currently sit in 5th place, with a 1½ game cushion on Providence who is in the sixth spot. Villanova has a very favorable schedule down the stretch, and should be the favorite to win all five games. If they were to do that, they may be able to steal that last two-day bye if one of the four teams ahead of them falters. As for Rutgers, well they clinched a spot in the first every Tuesday of the Big East Tournament. Congratulations Scarlet Knights!

GAMES THIS WEEKEND:
SATURDAY:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Providence Friars
NOON Big East Game of The Week

Louisville Cardinals @ Cincinnati Bearcats
2:00 Regional Television

South Florida Bulls @ UCONN Huskies
2:00 Regional Television

Marquette Golden Eagles @ Georgetown Hoyas
2:00 ESPN

DePaul Blue Demons @ Pitt Panthers
7:00 Regional Television

SUNDAY:
Villanova Wildcats @ Syracuse Orange
1:00 CBS

West Virginia Mountaineers @ Rutgers Scarlet Knights
3:00 Regional Television

Seton Hall Pirates @ St. John’s Red Storm
5:00 Regional Television

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
Saturday:
Marquette @ Georgetown ESPN
Sunday:
Villanova @ Syracuse CBS
Monday:
Louisville @ Georgetown ESPN
Wednesday:
UCONN @ Marquette ESPN
Rutgers @ Notre Dame ESPNU
Thursday:
West Virginia @ Cincinnati ESPN/ESPN2 (check your local listings)

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
9 - Cincinnati
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – Georgetown
Vs
13 – St. John’s
7:00
10 – Notre Dame
Vs
15 – Rutgers
9:00
11 – Seton Hall
Vs
14 – South Florida

WEDNESDAY
March 11th:
NOON
8 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:005 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Providence
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 12th:
NOON
1 – UCONN
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner
Check back tomorrow for another update!

T3R College Hoops Style Week 5

The old saying for midwestern style of football (read BIG TEN) of 3 yards and a cloud of dust, made its way into the basketball world last night. The Big Ten introduced a new saying; 3 points and a cloud of saw dust. Penn State defeated Illinois last night by the final score of 38-33. Not a halftime score of 38-33, that was the final score. These two teams combined for 71 points in 40 minutes last night, while 56 other NCAA Division 1 teams scored that many or more by themselves. And trust me, this game was no this low scoring due to the defense. Neither team shot over 30% for the game, and neither shot over 20% from 3-point range. Illinois did not attempt a foul shot the entire game. Both teams had as many or more missed shots (Illinois 35, PSU 33) than the Illini had points. Both teams also had the same number of turnovers as made baskets (Illinois 15, Penn State 13). This game set college basketball back 20 years, bring back the short shorts and no three-point line. What is even worse about these two teams performance last night was that they will do it all over again in State College to close the season March 5th. Please hide the women and kids!!!!

On to the Rankings!

1. Oklahoma Sooners (25-1, 11-0)
40 votes (2 first place votes)
Last week: W vs Texas Tech 95-74
This week: Saturday @ Texas, Monday vs Kansas
I am not so sure they are the best team in the country, but they have been impressive thus far. The Sooners are the only 1-loss team remaining in the country and deserve the number spot for at least this week. The Sooners have two tough tests this week in rivalry games with Texas and Kansas.

2. Pitt Panthers (24-2, 11-2)
38 votes
Last week: W vs Cincinnati 85-69, W @ #3 UCONN 76-68
This week: Saturday vs DePaul, Tuesday @ Providence
Pitt is coming off the most impressive win by any team in the country this season after beating the previous #1 ranked UCONN Huskies in Hartford. I think that at this moment, Pitt is playing the best basketball of anyone in the country, and I do not think many people would argue that.

3. UCONN Huskies (24-2, 12-2)
35 votes
Last week: W @ Seton Hall 62-54, L vs #2 Pitt 76-68
This week: Saturday vs South Florida, Wednesday @ #9 Marquette
UCONN has played a physical style of basketball throughout the entire Jim Calhoun Era and has had unbelievable success doing so. On Monday, Jamie Dixon and the Pitt Panthers beat Calhoun and Co. at their own game. The Huskies missed the defensive ability and scoring of Jerome Dyson and did not get much out of Mr. All Everything Hasheem Thabeet, who had a total of one more basket Monday night than anyone reading this.

3. North Carolina Tarheels (24-2, 10-2)
35 votes
Last week: W @ Miami 69-65, W vs North Carolina State 89-80
This week: Saturday @ Maryland
To me Carolina is far above everyone in the ACC, but looking at the ACC, it is not all that difficult this year. Sure, there is a bunch of talented teams, but nobody that has played consistently for a two or three game span. The scary thing is that Carolina seems to be starting to play down to its competition. Beating Miami by four and NC State by nine is not exactly making a statement, especially when the Heels had beaten both of these teams by 17 points earlier in the season.

5. Memphis Tigers (21-3, 9-0)
30 votes
Last week: W @ Southern Miss 72-47, W @ Southern Methodist 90-47
This week: Saturday @ UTEP
Memphis is once again strolling through the Conference USA schedule undefeated for the third straight year. The Tigers have won 53 straight games vs C-USA opponents. Keep in mind that C-USA is one step about Conference CYO.

6. Louisville Cardinals (20-5, 11-2)
29 votes
Last week: L @ Notre Dame 90-57, W vs DePaul 99-54, W vs Providence 94-76
This week: Saturday @ Cincinnati, Monday @ Georgetown
I still cannot shake that ND pounding out of my head. I think Rick Pitino may be one of the best coaches in the nation, as it has been said all year, Louisville has no leadership. Coaches provide leadership. Coaches teach leadership. Why this team has none, befuddles me.

7. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (20-4, 7-4)
27 votes
Last week: W vs Florida State 86-63, W vs Georgia Tech 87-69
This week: Sunday @ #15 Duke
For the first time since starting the conference off 3-0 the Demon Deacons have won consecutive games. To bad it had to come after losing 3 of 4 and 4 of 6.

8. Michigan State Spartans (20-5, 10-3)
26 votes
Last week: L @ Purdue 72-54
This week: Sunday vs Wisconsin, Wednesday vs Iowa
Just when you think there is hope for the Big Ten because of Tom Izzo and the Spartans they go out and lay an egg on national television. At least this loss was to a formidable opponent (Purdue), considering the other two conference losses were to Northwestern and Penn State.

9. Missouri Tigers (22-4, 9-2)
23 votes
Last week: W vs Nebraska 70-47
This week: Saturday @ Colorado, Wednesday vs Kansas State
After being last week’s first team out, the Missouri Tigers find themselves at the number nine spot. Mizzou started Big XII play off with a loss to Nebraska, but has won nine of 10 since, including five straight. The Tigers have not lost at home and have won 17 straight dating back to last season in Mizzou Arena. That should make for an interesting story line when Blake Griffin and the #1 Sooners come in to town March 4th for senior day.

9. Marquette Golden Eagles (22-4, 11-2)
23 votes
Last week: W vs St. John’s 73-59, W vs Seton Hall 79-67
This week: Saturday @ Georgetown, Wednesday vs #3 UCONN
The Golden Eagles had two gimme games last week before a brutal 5-game stretch to finish the year of @ Georgetown, UCONN, @ Louisville, @ Pitt and they finish home vs Syracuse. I have thought this team was getting by on beating up creampuffs all season; here is their chance to prove me wrong.

11. Villanova Wildcats (20-5, 8-4)
18 votes
Last week: L @ West Virginia 93-72
This week: Thursday vs Rutgers, Sunday @ Syracuse, Wednesday @ DePaul
Nova lost to a WVU team that has no true ball handler, and no true big man. What will happen to them when they play away from home against teams with both?

12. Arizona State Sun Devils (20-5, 9-4)
17 votes
Last week: W vs UCLA 74-67, W 65-53 vs USC
This week: Sunday vs Arizona
Normally being the best tem in the Pac-10 bets you a top five spot and a good chance at the 1-seed in the West Region, not this year. The Pac-10 is down, but the Sun Devils are up. Four teams with four losses each are atop the standings; Arizona State is playing the best of any right now. Timing is everything.

13. Clemson Tigers (21-4, 7-4)
14 votes
Last week: L @ Virginia 85-81, W vs Maryland 93-64
This week: Sunday @ Georgia Tech, Wednesday vs Virginia Tech
There is no excuse for losing to Virginia, none! Virginia stinks!

14. Gonzaga Bulldogs (19-5, 10-0)
13 votes
Last week: W @ St. Mary’s 72-70, W @ San Francisco 78-73
This week: Thursday vs Loyola Marymount, Saturday vs Pepperdine
Gonzaga has hit a plateau. Everyone knows the Zags can beat up on the all-powerful WCC, but they really cannot do much against the big teams they schedule in the non-conference. It is great when you schedule UCONN, Arizona and Memphis, but when you do not beat any of them it doesn’t mean jack.

15. Duke Blue Devils (20-5, 7-4)
11 votes
Last week: L @ Boston College 80-74
This week: Thursday @ St. John’s, Sunday vs #7 Wake Forest, Wednesday @ Maryland
I understand the Shane Battier “CHARGE” mentality at Duke, but when your 7-foot center is trying to take a charge on a 5-foot nothing guard you may have issues.

Normally the rankings are the Top 16, but we have a 3-way tie for the 16th spot, and honestly, I do not want to have to rank our first SEC team of the season, so I cut it off at 15 this week.

Others receiving votes: Kansas 10, LSU 10, Washington 10, Dayton 3, Purdue 2, Syracuse 2, UCLA 2.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

BETology 2-19

This is The Rants daily look in at the Big East conference as we creep closer to the BET in New York City, which begins March 10th.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Connecticut Huskies 12-2
Louisville Cardinals 11-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 11-2
Marquette Golden Eagles 11-2
Villanova Wildcats 8-4
Providence Friars 8-6
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-6
Syracuse Orange 7-6
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-6
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-8
Seton Hall Pirates 5-8
Georgetown Hoyas 5-8
St. John’s Red Storm 3-10
South Florida Bulls 3-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1-11
DePaul Blue Demons 0-13

YESTERDAY:
Georgetown Hoyas 65
South Florida Bulls 40
This game did not mean much for either team as they both look like they will be stuck in that Tuesday game slot. Georgetown however played well in this game. They played good defense and dominated a game from start to finish. They have not done that since beating UCONN to open Big East play. The Hoyas have a very slight chance of working their way into the NCAA’s and if they continue to play the way they did against USF the rest of the way, they just might do it. The Hoyas are sitting at 5-8 in the conference now and have three tough games in a row coming up with Marquette and Louisville at home, and Villanova on the road. Georgetown has the talent to play with these teams and need to win at least one of them before closing with 2 must win games against St. John’s and DePaul. Doing that plus 2 wins or so in the BET may just be enough to get the Hoyas dancing in March.

West Virginia Mountaineers 79
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 68
Notre Dame held a 10-point lead five minutes into this game. They also held multiple nine point leads throughout the first half and did not trail until giving up a lay-up with :06 before halftime. Then in the 2nd half both the game and the season got away from them. The Irish needed this game badly to prove they could win on the road and to prove that the Louisville win was not a fluke and they were back to their winning ways. Well, there goes that. Notre Dame is 5-8 in conference with 3, maybe 4 winnable games remaining. Their problem is that they cannot win on the road. The Irish have one win in conference play away from South Bend, and that is against a winless DePaul team. Another problem the Irish have come Selection Sunday is their strength of schedule. Their RPI (according to RealTimeRPI.com) is 75, and their best non-conference win is against Texas, who has an RPI of 47. As for WVU, this was a huge win for the Mountaineers. West Virginia jumped into a 1st day bye with that win and into 7th place in the current conference standings. I would have to think that at this point WVU is just about where they expected to be and wanted to be this far into conference play. They have a chance at moving into the 6th spot, maybe even the 5th spot for the BET and are almost certainly a lock in the NCAA’s the rest of the way is just playing with house money for Huggy Bear and Co.

Louisville Cardinals 94
Providence Friars 76

Providence played with Louisville and actually led this game by one at halftime, and then they saw the big divide in the conference standings and realized that they had no business playing with Louisville. The Friars continue to impress under first year coach Keno Davis. They still don’t have an wins to brag about, but they have been able to play with the elite teams in the conference (for one half at least) and have no bad losses. The Friars finish with Notre Dame and Pitt at home before closing out the season on the road at Rutgers and Villanova. If they take care of business and split those four games they will be in good shape with a Tuesday bye in the BET. Louisville kept pace with the rest of the pack atop the conference standings with the home win. The Cardinals have five games left, and oddly enough I could see them finishing that stretch 5-0 and the #1 seed in the BET or 1-4 and missing out on the coveted two day bye. They do not have any real tough games, but some tough venues against teams that will be desperate. Road games with Cincy, G’town and WVU all will be tough ones and a home game vs Marquette will be a battle as well. Luckily, Seton Hall is in there to break up that stretch.

GAMES TODAY:
Duke Blue Devils @ St. John’s Red Storm
7:30pm ESPN
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Villanova Wildcats
9:00pm ESPN2

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
Saturday:
Marquette @ Georgetown ESPN
Sunday:
Villanova @ Syracuse CBS
Monday:
Louisville @ Georgetown ESPN
Wednesday:
UCONN @ Marquette ESPN
Rutgers @ Notre Dame ESPNU

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
9 - Cincinnati
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – Georgetown
Vs
13 – St. John’s
7:00
10 – Notre Dame
Vs
15 – Rutgers
9:00
11 – Seton Hall
Vs
14 – South Florida

WEDNESDAY
March 11th:
NOON
8 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Providence
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 12th:
NOON
1 – UCONN
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner
Check back tomorrow for another update!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

A-ROID










Being someone who loves baseball, I was obviously interested in hearing what Alex Rodriguez had to say to clear the air about his steroid use. So, I watched A-Rod’s news conference on Tuesday where he publicly addresses members of the media for the first time after admitting to using steroids in 2001 – 2003. I listened to every word of the news conference. I listened to A-Rod calling himself, “stupid” (four times), “naïve,” “silly and irresponsible,” and “immature.” I watched as he had arguable the longest and most ridiculous dramatic pause in the history of dramatic pauses (39 seconds). I listened as he threw his “cousin” under the bus, all but blaming him for the fact that he cheated baseball. But most importantly I watched him avoid questions left and right. So, what was my take on the whole thing? I do not believe one word he said.

Not wanting to be too judgmental with the whole thing, I gave it a day to settle and then went back and read a transcript of the press conference to see if I had a different reaction this time.

I did not. And here are some of the reasons why.

Last Monday, eight days before reporting to Spring Training in Tampa and holding this press conference A-Rod spoke to Peter Gammons of ESPN about his steroid use. Gammons asked most of the right questions, but A-Rod answered almost none of them.

The third question that Gammons asked A-Rod was, “what kind of substances did you take?” A- Rod answers:

“Peter, that's the thing. Again, it was such a loosey-goosey era. I'm guilty for a lot of things. I'm guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest, I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.”

Okay, do I believe it? Not at all. He is a 24-year-old athlete who is getting paid $252M to play baseball, he sure as hell better know what he is doing to and putting in that $252M body. Nevertheless, he answered the question. The problem with that answer is that just three minutes into his speech that he read while addressing the media on Tuesday he completely contradicted himself with this statement:

“Going back to 2001, my cousin started telling me about a substance that you could purchased over the counter in the DR [Dominican Republic]. In the streets, it's known as 'boli' or 'bole.' It was his understanding that it would give me a dramatic energy boost and [was] otherwise harmless.”

So three minutes into this news conference we now know that he has already caught himself in a lie. Nice going!

Later he was asked this:

"Just to be clear, did you know the stuff you were getting from the Dominican was steroids, and, if so, did you consider the consequences at the time?"

"I didn't think they were steroids at the time. Again, that's part of being young and stupid. It was over the counter, it was pretty basic and it was really amateur hour. It was two guys, we couldn't go outside, who couldn't ask anyone, didn't want to ask anyone. We went outside team doctors, team trainers. It was two guys doing a very amateur and immature thing. We probably didn't even take it right. Like I said in my statement, we used to do it about two times a month. I don't even know if that is proper. So when this gentleman asked me about how it affected us -- I'm not sure we even did it right to affect us in the right way. All these years, I never thought I did anything that was wrong. Perhaps, but not wrong. And come to find out bole triggered a positive test in 2003."

Let me get this straight. So, A-Rod didn’t think he was taking steroids and thinks he may have been doing the injections incorrectly, yet you did not ask the trainers or team doctors. Alex, if you did not think they were steroids and you didn’t think they were anything more then an over the counter supplement, why didn’t you ask a trainer? Why did you keep doing it (36 times over 3 seasons)? Especially if you thought you might be doing it wrong!

A-Rod also kept talking about him being so young when he did this stuff, “I was 24, I was 25. I was pretty naive and pretty young.” Since when is 24 and 25 “pretty young”?

Another thing that I find very interesting, and I noted this during the Peter Gammons interview as well. Gammons asked A-Rod about the time frame he used, saying “You're saying that the time period was 2001, '2 and '3?"

To which A-Rod responded, “That's pretty accurate.”

Pretty accurate? Pretty accurate meaning it may have been in 2000 or 2004 also, and you were not 100% sure or pretty accurate meaning it may have been since 1994 when you came into the league until last month?

Then to top that off he admits to using “Ripped Fuel” while in Seattle which is now a banned substance in MLB, but says that his best year was when he was in Seattle. Yeah, no kidding you were juicing then too apparently.

Alex did also use maybe the worst possible choice of words imaginable when he said, “I’m here to take my medicine.” No Alex, you are here because you took some medicine. Some medicine that was illegal. Nice try though.

Apparently I was not the only one who was not believing a word of the garbage that A-Rod was feeding the media, one reporter started his question with this phrase, “Alex, if I understand the story you are telling today.”

Now I know that I said I did not believe a word that came out of Rodriguez’s mouth during this whole process, but the last thing he said I thought made the most sense and I agree with 100%. His last line of the day was this, “I screwed up big time. But I think the only thing I ask from this group today and the American people is to judge me from this day forward. That's all I can ask for."

I agree and feel that everyone should do just that. Do you hear me Hall of Fame voters? Bud Selig? Baseball record keepers everywhere? A-Rod wants us to judge him from this day forward. That sounds easy enough for me. That would make his current career home run count, um…ZERO! Thanks Alex, that was the smartest thing you said.

BETology 2-18

This is The Rants daily look in at the Big East conference as we creep closer to the BET in New York City, which begins March 10th.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Connecticut Huskies 12-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 11-2
Marquette Golden Eagles 11-2
Louisville Cardinals 10-2
Villanova Wildcats 8-4
Providence Friars 8-5
Syracuse Orange 7-6
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-6
West Virginia Mountaineers 6-6
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-7
Seton Hall Pirates 5-8
Georgetown Hoyas 4-8
South Florida Bulls 3-9
St. John’s Red Storm 3-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1-11
DePaul Blue Demons 0-13

YESTERDAY:
Marquette Golden Eagles 79
Seton Hall Pirates 67

Marquette needed this game to keep pace with the top part of the Big East after dropping two of their past three. Now the tough stretch comes for the Eagles. MU has the toughest remaining schedule of any team in the conference. Marquette starts out in D.C against Georgetown, and then plays all three teams whom they are tied for first place with in succession. The Eagles get UCONN at home first then have back-to-back road games in Louisville and Pittsburgh, before finishing at home against Syracuse. As for Seton Hall, they have a few winnable games left on the schedule. Before games with Pitt, Louisville and Cincinnati to finish the season, the Pirates face St. John’s and South Florida. At 5-8 now, getting to 8-10 for the season would be a realistic goal for Seton Hall to shoot for.

GAMES TODAY:
Georgetown Hoyas @ South Florida Bulls
7:00 pm Local Television

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ West Virginia Mountaineers
7:30 pm Local Television

Providence Friars @ Louisville Cardinals
7:30 pm ESPN2

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
Thursday:
Duke Blue Devils @ St. John’s Red Storm ESPN
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Villanova Wildcats ESPN2
Saturday:
Marquette @ Georgetown ESPN
Sunday:
Villanova @ Syracuse CBS
Monday:
Louisville @ Georgetown ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
9 - West Virginia
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – Georgetown
Vs
13 – South Florida
7:00
10 – Notre Dame
Vs
15 – Rutgers
9:00
11 – Seton Hall
Vs
14 – St. John’s

WEDNESDAY
March 11th:
NOON
8 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Providence
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 12th:
NOON
1 – UCONN
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner
Check back tomorrow for another update!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

BETology 2-17

This is The Rants daily look in at the Big East conference as we creep closer to the BET in New York City, which begins March 10th.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Connecticut Huskies 12-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 11-2
Louisville Cardinals 10-2
Marquette Golden Eagles 10-2
Villanova Wildcats 8-4
Providence Friars 8-5
Syracuse Orange 7-6
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-6
West Virginia Mountaineers 6-6
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-7
Seton Hall Pirates 5-7
Georgetown Hoyas 4-8
South Florida Bulls 3-9
St. John’s Red Storm 3-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1-11
DePaul Blue Demons 0-13

YESTERDAY:
Pitt Panthers 76
UCONN Huskies 68

Pitt took game one of the series between the two heavyweights of the Big East. The two teams with by far the most wins this decade battled in Hartford last night with the road team coming out on top. This gives Pitt a huge advantage down the final stretch of their schedule knowing that they are currently in a virtual tie for first place and have their two most difficult games at home. UCONN on the other hand only have four games remaining in conference play, but three of them look like they will be a challenge to the undermanned Huskies. UCONN still has Notre Dame at home (UCONN won by 8 @ ND, but Luke Harrangody went for 24 and 15 dominating Thabeet) and they travel to Marquette before finishing the season in Pittsburgh.

TODAY:
Seton Hall Pirates @ Marquette Golden Eagles
8:00 pm Regional TV

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
Wednesday:
Providence @ Louisville ESPN2
Thursday:
Duke Blue Devils @ St. John’s Red Storm ESPN
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Villanova Wildcats ESPN2
Saturday:
Marquette @ Georgetown ESPN
Sunday:
Villanova @ Syracuse CBS
Monday:
Louisville @ Georgetown ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
9 - West Virginia
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – Georgetown
Vs
13 – South Florida
7:00
10 – Notre Dame
Vs
15 – Rutgers
9:00
11 – Seton Hall
Vs
14 – St. John’s

WEDNESDAY
March 11th:
NOON
8 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Providence
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 12th:
NOON
1 – UCONN
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner
Check back tomorrow for another update!

Monday, February 16, 2009

BETology 2-16

This is The Rants daily look in at the Big East conference as we creep closer to the BET in New York City, which begins March 10th.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Connecticut Huskies 12-1
Louisville Cardinals 10-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 10-2
Marquette Golden Eagles 10-2
Villanova Wildcats 8-4
Providence Friars 8-5
Syracuse Orange 7-6
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-6
West Virginia Mountaineers 6-6
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-7
Seton Hall Pirates 5-7
Georgetown Hoyas 4-8
South Florida Bulls 3-9
St. John’s Red Storm 3-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 1-11
DePaul Blue Demons 0-13

THIS WEEKEND:
SATURDAY
Syracuse Orange 98
Georgetown Hoyas 94
This game ends up being an important win for Syracuse, putting them back over .500 in conference play with Villanova next up at home. However, this game could be the game the Hoyas look back on as the on that got away and knocked them out of the NCAA’s. Georgetown was down as many as 16 late in the second half, and battled back to tie and have a chance to win in regulation, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer just didn’t fall. Now the Hoyas see themselves at 4-8 in the conference and in 12th place. Georgetown will need to win at least 4 of their last 6 and maybe one or two in New York.

UCONN Huskies 62
Seton Hall Pirates 54

UCONN passed their final test before this weeks match-up with Pitt. The Huskies seemed to have control from the start in this one. Seton Hall made a little run to start the second half and get within 5, but UCONN quickly showed its dominance by rattling off 3 quick baskets to get the lead back into double figures. It stayed there pretty much the rest of the way. UCONN now has a 1½ game lead over the clump in 2nd place in conference play. The Huskies still have Pitt twice, Marquette and Notre Dame on the schedule. Seton Hall continued its pretty predictable run thus far in the Big East. The Pirates have beaten everyone below them in the standings and nobody above them.

Pitt Panthers 85
Cincinnati Bearcats 69
Pitt also took care of business before they travel to Storrs, CT for their showdown with #1 UCONN. Pitt jumped out to a big first half lead and seemed to sleep walk the rest of the way to a victory. A win against UCONN would give Pitt a nice start to a very winnable 3 game stretch against Seton Hall, Providence and DePaul. Cincinnati is now on the verge of missing out from the Wednesday bye in New York sitting at the 8 spot in the standings. After Pitt the Bearcats have Louisville, WVU and Syracuse coming up. The WVU and Syracuse games will go a long way in seeding for the BET as they are all currently within ½ game of each other.

Providence Friars 78
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 68
Providence continues its surprising run in the Big East this season. The same Providence team that went 8-4 in non-conference play including a loss to Northeastern to kick off the season finds itself in the 6 spot right now in the Big East standings. The Friars will be tested as the season ends with three of their last five coming against teams ahead of them in the standings (Louisville, Pitt, and Villanova). Rutgers also continues its way as it has most of the season, losing. Rutgers has a young team that just is not on par with the rest of this very talented and experienced Big East conference. Things do look positive for Rutgers in the future though, of their last five losses, all have been by 10 points or fewer. This team is competing and getting better. These beating will help as this grows in the future.

Marquette Golden Eagles 73
St. John’s Red Storm 59

Marquette had the perfect prescription for a two game losing streak, St. John’s. The win allows Marquette to keep pace with Louisville and Pitt in a 3-team tie for 2nd place. The loss for St. John’s drops them to 14th in the standings, ½ game behind South Florida. Marquette has a must win game on Tuesday when Seton Hall travels to Wisconsin, before the Eagles start their brutal five game, season ending stretch. As for St. John’s the schedule lightens up a little as they get a non-conference game this week. The struggling Duke Blue Devils come to MSG on Thursday.

SUNDAY
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 67
South Florida Bulls 57

Notre Dame followed up its rout of Louisville on Thursday with another win, possibly righting the ship a little, as they head down the home stretch. The Irish cannot sit back and celebrate though, they need to keep winning to get a good spot in NYC and work their way back into NCAA Tournament talk, as of now, they are heading to the NIT. South Florida has followed up its upset win over Marquette with two bad losses against teams that they can certainly compete. The Bulls are guaranteed a spot in NYC for the first time only since the Big East is inviting all 16 teams this season, it doesn’t look like USF is in a position to make it a long stay in the Big Apple though.

Louisville Cardinals 99
DePaul Blue Demons 54
DePaul is just terrible, enough said about them. As for Louisville, you think that 33 point beat down by Notre Dame lit a fire under them today? The Cardinals are in a very good position at this point. They are sitting at 10-2 in the conference and have six winnable games remaining. They do play Marquette still, but that is at home. And they play at Georgetown and WVU, but Louisville is a good enough team to win both of those game on the road.

TODAY:
Pitt Panthers @ UCONN Huskies
7:00 pm ESPN

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
Wednesday:

Providence @ Louisville ESPN2
Thursday:
Duke Blue Devils @ St. John’s Red Storm ESPN
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ Villanova Wildcats ESPN2
Saturday:
Marquette @ Georgetown ESPN
Sunday:
Villanova @ Syracuse CBS

BETology:
TUESDAY March 10th:
NOON
9 - West Virginia
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – Georgetown
Vs
13 – South Florida
7:00
10 – Notre Dame
Vs
15 – Rutgers
9:00
11 – Seton Hall
Vs
14 – St. John’s

WEDNESDAY March 11th:
NOON
8 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Providence
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY March 12th:
NOON
1 – UCONN
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Marquette
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner
Check back tomorrow for another update!