Saturday, February 20, 2010

BETology 2-20

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 9th.
STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Syracuse Orange 12-2
Villanova Wildcats 11-2
West Virginia Mountaineers 10-4
Pittsburgh Panthers 9-4
Louisville Cardinals 8-5
Georgetown Hoyas 8-6

Marquette Golden Eagles 7-6
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-8
Seton Hall Pirates 6-8
South Florida Bulls 6-8

Connecticut Huskies 5-8
St. John’s Red Storm 5-9
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
Providence Friars 4-10
DePaul Blue Demons 1-12

TODAY:
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 75
Seton Hall Pirates 63

Seton Hall made a run and cut the WVU lead to 4 with under 4 minutes remaining in the game but WVU woke up and put the Pirates away late. The loss drops Seton Hall 1 spot in the seedings and into a 3 way tie with South Florida and Notre Dame for 9th place. Notre Dame gets the advantage and holds the 9th spot dropping Seton Hall to the 10th seed. WVU jumps above Pitt once again holding a half game lead over the Panthers. WVU finishes with 4 tough games. They have home games against Cincinnati and Georgetown and road games at UCONN and Villanova still on the schedule. Seton Hall has two games with Rutgers remaining and one each against Marquette and Providence.

ST.JOHN'S RED STORM 74
South Florida Bulls 58

This was a tough loss for South Florida, not because it was a devastating loss for their NCAA chances, but it dropped them from 8th to 11th for the Big East Tournament. Going into the game they were in position to get a bye in New York, now they will have a lot of work to do to get back to that spot with just 4 games remaining. In those 4 games USF has games @ Villanova, vs Providence, @ DePaul and vs UCONN. St. John's helped their seeding in the BET, but it may be too little too late. StJ is currently in 13th, one half game ahead of Rutgers and one half game behind UCONN.

Louisville @ DePaul, 2:00 pm, ESPNU
UCONN @ Rutgers, 4:00 pm, Big East Regional

SUNDAY:
Villanova @ Pitt, NOON, CBS
Marquette @ Cincinnati, 2:00 pm, Big East Regional

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
MONDAY:
West Virginia @ UCONN, 7:00 pm, ESPN
TUESDAY:
Syracuse @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Georgetown @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
WEDNESDAY:
Pitt @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN2

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

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Marquette
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 11th:
NOON
1 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – West Virginia
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

Friday, February 19, 2010

BETology 2-19

BETology 2-19
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 9th.
STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Syracuse Orange 12-2
Villanova Wildcats 11-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 9-4
West Virginia Mountaineers 9-4
Louisville Cardinals 8-5
Georgetown Hoyas 8-6
Marquette Golden Eagles 7-6
South Florida Bulls 6-7
Seton Hall Pirates 6-7
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-8
Connecticut Huskies 5-8
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
St. John’s Red Storm 4-9
Providence Friars 4-10
DePaul Blue Demons 1-12

LAST NIGHT:
SYRACUSE ORANGE 75
Georgetown Hoyas 71

Syracuse clinched a Tuesday off in NYC and with one more win or a Louisville loss will clinch a double bye in New York. They also keep themselves 2 games ahead of the pack with Villanova by beating Georgetown. These 2 have seperated themselves from the rest of the Big East, but both teams may need that 2 game cushion with a tough stretch to finish the season. Syracuse still has a home game vs Villanova and a road trip to Louisville in their last four games. Villanova has five games remaining, which include Pitt and Syracuse on the road and WVU at home. This game really impacted Georgetown, who entered the game just 1 game behind Pitt and WVU and in a good spot to get a two day bye in the Big East Tournament. Now they are in 6th place. The good news for Georgetown is that in their final 4 games they play Louisville and WVU who are directly ahead of them in the standings. The bad news is that if they slip up against those two they could find themselves playing on Tuesday of the tournament.

PITT PANTHERS 58
Marquette Golden Eagles 51

This was a seperation game for the Panthers. By winning they put themselves 1 1/2 games up in the battle for the double bye. Had the lost they would have dropped to 7th place and found themselves in the middle of a pack all looking to finish in the top 8 to get at least a one day bye. Now Pitt finds themselves in 3rd place and with 4 of their final 5 games against teams under .500 in conference play they look to be in good shape for getting that much coveted double bye. Marquette on the other hand would have been tied for 4th with a win against Pitt, now they find themself all alone in 7th place just 1 game ahead of three different teams. Marquette plays their next 3 games on the road and 2 of them are against teams in that pack right behind them. This next stretch will be make or break for the Eagles.

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
SATURDAY:
Seton Hall @ West Virginia, NOON, ESPN
Louisville @ DePaul, 2:00 pm, ESPNU
SUNDAY:
Villanova @ Pitt, NOON, CBS
MONDAY:
West Virginia @ UCONN, 7:00 pm, ESPN
TUESDAY:
Syracuse @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Georgetown @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
WEDNESDAY:
Pitt @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN2

BETology:
TUESDAY

March 9th:
NOON
9 – Seton Hall
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – UCONN
Vs
13 –Rutgers
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – Providence
9:00
11 – Notre Dame
Vs
14 – St. John's

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – South Florida
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Marquette
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 11th:
NOON
1 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 –West Virginia
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

BETology 2-18

BETology 2-18
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 9th.
STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Villanova Wildcats 11-2
Syracuse Orange 11-2
West Virginia Mountaineers 9-4
Pittsburgh Panthers 8-4
Georgetown Hoyas 8-5
Louisville Cardinals 8-5
Marquette Golden Eagles 7-5
South Florida Bulls 6-7
Seton Hall Pirates 6-7
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-8
Connecticut Huskies 5-8
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
St. John’s Red Storm 4-9
Providence Friars 4-10
DePaul Blue Demons 1-12

LAST NIGHT:
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 88
Providence Friars 74

This win puts WVU a half game ahead of Pitt for the 3rd spot in the standings, with one more win than the Panthers, both teams have 4 losses. Providence falls from 14 to 15 after the loss. The Friars are a half a game behind both Rutgers and St. John's for the 13th seed in the tournament.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 91
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 89
(2 OT's)

This may have been the worst double overtime game of all-time. Louisville did just enough to hold off an undermanned Irish team who actually played pretty well away from home for a change. Notre Dame entered the game 1 1/2 games back of Louisville and in the 8 spot in the standings, but fell all the way to 11th after this defeat. Louisville didn't move anywhere in the standings but they are creating a little seperation and it looks like they should be able to hold on and get a Tuesday bye. They are currently 2 full games ahead of the 8th place team with just 5 games remaining.

SETON HALL PIRATES 59
St. John's Red Storm 50

This was a very big victory for the Pirates. It moves them from 11th to 9th in the standings and puts them right in the middle of the logjam in the middle part of the Big East standings. Teams are fighting for the 8th spot and a bye on the first day of play. Seton Hall is now currently tied for that 8th spot with two other teams. However, it looks like there will be about 5 teams fighting for that last bye.

TONIGHT:
Syracuse @ Georgetown, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Pitt @ Marquette, 9:00 pm, ESPN2

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
SATURDAY:
Seton Hall @ West Virginia, NOON, ESPN
Louisville @ DePaul, 2:00 pm, ESPNU
SUNDAY:
Villanova @ Pitt, NOON, CBS
MONDAY:
West Virginia @ UCONN, 7:00 pm, ESPN
TUESDAY:
Syracuse @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Georgetown @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
WEDNESDAY:
Pitt @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN2

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
9 – Seton Hall
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – UCONN
Vs
13 –Rutgers
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – Providence
9:00
11 – Notre Dame
Vs
14 – St. John's

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – South Florida
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Marquette
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 11th:
NOON
1 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 –Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – West Virginia
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

BETology 2-17

BETology 2-17
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 9th.
STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Villanova Wildcats 11-2
Syracuse Orange 11-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 8-4
West Virginia Mountaineers 8-4
Georgetown Hoyas 8-5
Louisville Cardinals 7-5
Marquette Golden Eagles 7-5

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-7
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-7
South Florida Bulls 6-7

Seton Hall Pirates 5-7
Connecticut Huskies 5-8
St. John’s Red Storm 4-8
Providence Friars 4-9
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9

DePaul Blue Demons 1-12

LAST NIGHT:
SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS 65

Cincinnati Bearcats 57

The win by South Florida put the Bulls into a 3-way tie for the 8th seed, which is the last team to get a Tuesday bye. In the 3-way tiebreaker you use head-to-head match-ups between the 3 teams involved. Notre Dame is 3-1, Cincinnati is 2-2 and South Florida is 1-3. So Notre Dame is the 8th seed as of now, with Cincinnati at 9 and South Florida still at 10.

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS 68
DePaul Blue Demons 64

Rutgers moves into a tie with Providence for 14th with the win. DePaul remains in last place. Rutgers lost to Providence earlier in the season, therefore remains as the 15th seed.

TODAY:
Notre Dame @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
THURSDAY:
Syracuse @ Georgetown, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Pitt @ Marquette, 9:00 pm, ESPN2
SATURDAY:
Seton Hall @ West Virginia, NOON, ESPN
Louisville @ DePaul, 2:00 pm, ESPNU
SUNDAY:
Villanova @ Pitt, NOON, CBS
MONDAY:
West Virginia @ UCONN, 7:00 pm, ESPN
TUESDAY:
Syracuse @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Georgetown @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2

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

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – Notre Dame
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Marquette
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 11th:
NOON
1 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 –West Virginia
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

BETology 2-16

BETology 2-16
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 9th.
STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Villanova Wildcats 11-2
Syracuse Orange 11-2
Pittsburgh Panthers 8-4
West Virginia Mountaineers 8-4
Georgetown Hoyas 8-5
Louisville Cardinals 7-5
Marquette Golden Eagles 7-5
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-6
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-7
South Florida Bulls 5-7
Seton Hall Pirates 5-7
Connecticut Huskies 5-8
St. John’s Red Storm 4-8
Providence Friars 4-9
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 3-9
DePaul Blue Demons 1-11

LAST NIGHT:
UCONN HUSKIES 84
Villanova Wildcats 75

Villanova drops into a first place tie with Syracuse after this loss, but maintains the #1 seed due to having stronger wins at this point. UCONN, which seemed completely out of NCAA talks before this game showed they still have a little fight left. Currently the Huskies are sitting in the 12 spot in the Big East Standings, one-half game ahead of St. John’s.

TODAY:
Cincinnati Bearcats @ USF Bulls
7:00 pm ESPNU
Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ DePaul Blue Demons
9:00 pm ESPNU

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
WEDNESDAY:
Notre Dame @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
THURSDAY:
Syracuse @ Georgetown, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Pitt @ Marquette, 9:00 pm, ESPN2
SATURDAY:
Seton Hall @ West Virginia, NOON, ESPN
Louisville @ DePaul, 2:00 pm, ESPNU
SUNDAY:
Villanova @ Pitt, NOON, CBS
MONDAY:
West Virginia @ UCONN, 7:00 pm, ESPN

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

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Marquette
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 11th:
NOON
1 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 –West Virginia
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Pitt
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!