The Reitmeyer Rant

Bowl Season Extreme Makeover Edition

2012-01-06T04:37:00.004-05:00

It has been 303 days since the last time I ranted. Since that time, I got engaged. Kim Kardashian also got engaged. Lebron James showed the world that his kryptonite is the 4th quarter of big games. The Pirates were in 1st place after the all-star break. Kim Kardashian got married. The Eagles became the most recent “dream team” to fail to deliver. Tim Tebow saved Denver and all of us. Kim Kardashian got divorced. Jerry Sandusky gave a whole new meaning to "horsed around".

So what it is that could get me out of my slumber and writing again? No, not the Jersey Shore premiere tonight, however that could be a good future topic. Combined with finally having time, after being incredibly understaffed at work for the last 4 months and sitting through meaningless bowl game after bowl game, I figured the terrible bowl system would be a great topic.

I know that I will not be breaking ground here by saying that the college football post-season is the worst in all of sports. And since we are only in year 2 of the 4 year deal between the BCS and ESPN, which spent $500M for the rights, the current BCS system is not going anywhere anytime soon. Rather than complain about the system, I’ve come up with a better, more entertaining system for the college post-season.

A bowl draft.

Hear me out now. I think we all realize that despite being entertaining, the post-season in college football consists of 1 important game, the national championship game, and 34 absolutely meaningless games. In my system, you will still have 34 meaningless games to go along with the national title game, but you will have better match-ups pairing off evenly matched teams with no pre-arranged conference affiliations. (By the way, ideally, I would only have between 20-25 bowl games, but we know that neither the bowls nor ESPN are going to throw away the money that these bowls bring in.)

All of that being said, I actually like the idea of the BCS. I think there are many good ideas in how they come up with their rankings. Where they fall short is the limiting the rankings to affecting just the top 2 teams. So let’s use the BCS standings in the draft format. This is how I would do it if I had a chance to revamp the college bowl system.

THE BASICS:
1) Using the BCS rankings, list all the bowl eligible teams, starting at the top with #1.

2) Using bowl payouts, we create our draft order. The 4 BCS bowl games would always draft in spots 2-5 followed by the highest payout game all the way down to the lowest payout game drafting 35. This year the draft order would have looked like this:

1. National Championship Game
2. Rose Bowl
3. Fiesta Bowl
4. Sugar Bowl
5. Orange Bowl
6. Capital One Bowl ($9.1M)
7. Cotton Bowl ($7.25M)
8. Outback Bowl ($7M)
9. Chick-fil-A Bowl ($6.9M)
10. Insight Bowl ($6.65M)
11. Alamo Bowl ($6.35M)
12. Gator Bowl ($5.45M)
13. Champs Sports Bowl ($4.55M)
14. Holiday Bowl ($4.15M)
15. Sun Bowl ($4M)
16. Music City Bowl ($3.675M)
17. Pinstripe Bowl ($3.6M)
18. Meineke Car Care Bowl ($3.4M)
19. Belk Bowl ($3.4M)
20. Liberty Bowl ($2.875M)
21. Independence Bowl ($2.3M)
22. Las Vegas Bowl ($2.2M)
23. TicketCity Bowl ($2.2M)
24. Military Bowl ($2M)
25. BBVA Compass Bowl ($1.925M)
26. Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl ($1.675M)
27. GoDaddy.com Bowl ($1.5M)
28. Little Caesars Bowl ($1.5M)
29. Hawaii Bowl ($1.3M)
30. Armed Forces Bowl ($1.2M)
31. Beef O’Brady’s ($1.075M)
32. Poinsettia Bowl ($1M)
33. New Orleans Bowl ($1M)
34. New Mexico Bowl ($912,500)
35. Idaho Potato Bowl ($650,000)

THE DRAFT:
The way the draft would work is simple. There would be absolutely no conference affiliations with any bowls. There would be no automatic bids for any conference. Obviously, the top 2 teams would automatically be placed in the national championship game. After that, it is a free for all, minus a few simple rules.

* Bowls will select in order, with a pool of 10 teams to pick. For instance, this year with the 2nd pick, the Rose Bowl would be able to pick any 2 teams that finished 3-12 in the final BCS standings. (Remember the #1 and #2 teams would be off the board already in the national title game.) Next pick would be the Fiesta Bowl and 2 more teams would open up for their selection, teams #13-14. And so on and so forth, until all the bowls are filled.

* No team can drop more than 5 bowl games. Meaning every team must be selected within five games of becoming available. This rewards teams for successful seasons despite how unattractive they might be as a bowl team. For instance, this season Boise State would had to have been invited to one of the top 8 bowls, instead of going to the Las Vegas Bowl, which ranked #22. It would also prevent teams with great history and huge fan bases being selected to bowls they don’t deserve (This year it would be Ohio State and Florida, both 6-6 and unranked, playing in the Gator Bowl.)

Think about what this would do for the college football post-season. First, the TV networks could/would sell the hell out of the live draft. Imagine having every AD or head coach at the draft along with the bowl committee members. They make the pick, the coach or AD’s from both schools go up onto stage and shake hands. Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit talk about that bowl for the next 5 minutes or so, maybe interview the coach or AD from the schools. Everybody wins. The schools gets some press, the bowls gets their individual time in the national spotlight and the coaches get a little face time.

Another benefit to this system is you don’t have repetition. Bowl attendances have been way down the past few years and a big reason is fans don’t want to go back to the same bowl a few years ago. Sure lots of fans will go and support their team wherever they go, but they want to go to new places and see new things. In the last 3 years, 9 different teams played in the same bowl game at least 2 of those 3 years.

This format also helps other conferences get a chance to play each other. For instance, the Big East has the best record of any automatic qualifying conference in bowl play over the past 6 seasons. Does that mean that the Big East is the best conference in football? Of course not, but they don’t get a chance to prove themselves against the bigger conferences either. The Big East currently has 6 bowl affiliations. Of those six, they play the ACC in 2, the Big 12 in one, the SEC in one, C-USA in one and their BCS bowl game, which is usually against an ACC team in the Orange Bowl. The Big 12 game is against the 7th place team from the Big 12 and the SEC game is against their 9th place team. So even when they play the elite conferences they are playing the worst bowl eligible teams that the conference has to offer. While in turn the SEC and the Big Ten both set up their top teams to play each other in 2 different bowls.

THE MONEY:
Now, many people might complain that this is taking money away from teams/conferences since the bowl contracts with conferences all but guarantee a certain amount of money that every conference knows that they will receive come bowl season. I disagree. If anything, conferences have a chance to make even more money. This year the SEC had 3 teams in the top 6 and 4 in the top 9, yet both Arkansas (#6) and South Carolina (#9) were both blocked from partaking in any BCS bowl because current rules state only 2 BCS bids per conference.

The bowl payouts would probably also go up, creating more money in the total pot for teams. The reason the bowl payouts would go up is because that directly affects your draft order. If you want to get better teams to your bold game you up your payout. Payouts would have to be submitted before the season starts in a blind bid, the draft order would then be announced closer to the end of the season. If the Las Vegas Bowl wanted to make a splash next year to celebrate the 20th year of the bowl, they could make a larger bid than they might normally, and get a better match-up between top 15-20 teams.

One last detail I would tinker with would be the bowl payouts. Instead of each team splitting the pot and putting on an exhibition for the fans, I would have the result of the game determine the payout. Winning team takes two-thirds and the losing team gets one-third.

I know that this does not fix all the problems in the college football post-season, but I think it does make bowl season better. I know as a Pitt fan, that I would love to be able to see Pitt play Penn State in a bowl game or maybe Arizona State, now that Todd Graham left Pitt for that job. Before, that was impossible. The chances of playing in the Cotton Bowl or Rose Bowl are currently non-existent if you are an ACC or Big East team, which should not be the case. Change is good. Change is needed.

BET Day 1 Look Back

2011-03-09T11:17:00.004-05:00

Day 1 is in the books at the Garden and we had some surprises and some results that went pretty much as predicted. Here is a quick look back at Day 1 at the Garden.

DePaul Saves Money Booking Business Man Special On Airfare
The Blue Demons flew into town for their 12 NOON meeting, the meeting lasted just over 2 over and they went straight back to the airport to return home. UCONN looked good, they got scoring from all over, including the 26 that Kemba Walker led the way with. They rebounded, they got to the rim and they advanced to today against Georgetown.

Rutgers claims NJ State Championship in OT
Rutgers wins the rubber match with state rival Seton Hall in the first OT game of the week in NYC. Rutgers jumped out to a big lead, then coughed it up by halftime. The second half and OT were both very competitive but the Scarlet Knights did just enough to advance.

Villanova now on Bubble Watch
Nova blew a 16 point halftime lead and lost to lowly South Florida. Nova was outscored 37-20 in the 2nd half and have now lost 5 in a row and 10 of their last 15. This is a team that was ranked as high as 6th in the nation and started the season 16-1. This is the second straight year they have had a end of year collapse. Last year it ended in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. This year Jay Wright and Co. may be luckily to get that far.

STAT OF THE DAY:
Since expanding the tournament in 1985 NO TEAM has every made the tournament losing 5 in a row entering Selection Sunday. Jay Wright and Villanova will be sitting on pins and needles Sunday.

Marquette Gets Tourney Clinching Win
Most people felt that the Golden Eagles were in the NCAA Tournament as long as they didn't have a bad loss in the Big East Tournament. Well, it is kind of tough to have a "bad loss" to ranked teams so the only chance of that happening was last night to Providence. They passed that test and should now be comfortably in the Big Dance.

Big East Tournament LIVE

2011-03-08T12:05:00.020-05:00

Feel free to share your thoughts on the game, email The Rant at TheReitmeyerRant@hotmail.com or you can follow my twitter for thoughts and updates, http://twitter.com/#!/kevinreitmeyer

We are underway!

12:17pm- DePaul is now 1-12 from the field! Amazingly they are only down 5.

12:21pm- DePaul on a little run and actually making shots. Down by only 1 now with 11 minutes to go in 1st half.

Love the video that ESPN just showed of DePaul beating Providence earlier this year. The players looked like they wanted to storm the court after their first win in something like 25 straight Big East losses.

By the way, I selected UCONN to win by 15+ in this game in ESPN's Streak for the Cash Contest. My thought was if UCONN can't beat DePaul by that much that they should automatically be eliminated from eligibility for the NCAA Tournament and put into the NIT.

DePaul is 2-54 in the last 3 season against Big East teams. So I ask this question. What conference could DePaul win? Not win a game, win the conference. Are there any?

12:42pm- Announcer just said that DePaul won't change their style. That may be a reason that they have 1 win this year!

12:48pm- UCONN 26 points in the paint, DePaul 22 TOTAL points.

HALFTIME: UCONN - 45, DePaul - 28

Wow, DePaul is bad!

COMMENT FROM FACEBOOK:
if we started a FB Group to have Doris Burke removed from ever calling another NCAA Mens game again, how many ppl would join the group by the end of today? I'm thinking atleast 10,000
I think that is a pretty safe bet! I'd join!

It only took about 10 minutes, the group has been created! JOIN HERE!

1:20pm- 12 point game, UCONN looks like they spent halftime prepping for Georgetown tomorrow already.

1:23pm- Doris Burke is hitting on Kemba Walker I think. This right after the other announcer just commented about the "rich basketball tradition at DePaul." Any chance these are the 3rd tier teams from ESPN only being used today? I sure hope so!

1:32pm- DePaul making a run... Allowing Kemba Walker to make UCONN a 1-man team and knocking down shots on their offensive end. Lead down to 10.

1:37pm- DePaul pressure creating problems, down to single digits now.... Well, it was. Kemba strikes again!

1:41pm- Lead down to 7 now. DePaul hasn't giving up yet. As these fantastic announcers have mentioned a few hundred times, this team believes in Oliver Purnell.

1:52pm- Oliver Purnell trying to use the Mock Turtleneck ala fellow midwest coach Mike Brey to lead his team to victories. It looks just as ridiculous on Purnell as it does Brey.

1:58pm- UCONN looking to end a 6 game losing streak in the BET. Lots due to Alex Oriakhi deciding to show up. He has 15 rebounds, DePaul as a team has 20. That is bad news for the Huskies tomorrow though. Oriakhi hasn't put 2 games together all season.

GAME 1 FINAL
UCONN - 97
DePaul - 71

Yes, DePaul is that bad!

That may be all for today, heading to work now. I may be back in time for some games in the night session!

Big East Tournament Live Stream

2011-03-08T01:42:00.003-05:00

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Big East Tournament this year, like I have each of the past 12 years. Instead I will be live blogging my thoughts throughout the games as I watch them. I will not be able to be doing this the entire tournament, due to my work schedule (the same reason I couldn't make it to NYC this year), but if I am watching games I will be on my computer talking about them. Check out my Twitter account to for up to the minute thoughts of what is going on in New York.

Big East Tournament Preview

2011-03-06T23:06:00.002-05:00

We are on to tournament play. The Big East Tournament kicks off Tuesday in New York City. Let‘s take a look at the final regular season standings as well as the match-ups for New York.

FINAL STANDINGS:
Pitt Panthers 15-3
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 14-4
Louisville Cardinals 12-6
Syracuse Orange 12-6
St. John’s Red Storm 12-6
West Virginia Mountaineers 11-7
Cincinnati Bearcats 11-7
Georgetown Hoyas 10-8
UCONN Huskies 9-9
Villanova Wildcats 9-9
Marquette Golden Eagles 9-9
Seton Hall Pirates 7-11
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-13
Providence Friars 4-14
South Florida Bulls 3-15
DePaul Blue Demons 1-17

BET SCHEDULE:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Connecticut
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Villanova
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

BET MATCH-UPS:
Here are some match-ups or possible match-ups that could be very interesting games this week in New York.
TUESDAY:
Marquette vs Providence, 9:00 PM
This is an interesting match-up because Providence has the talent to play with every team in the conference and Marquette has struggled to close out this season. I think Marquette is comfortably in the NCAA Tournament, primarily because the field/bubble is so weak this year, but if I were the Golden Eagles, I would not want to leave it in question with the selection committee. A win and Marquette is 100% in, no questions asked. A loss and they should still be in, but you never know.

Seton Hall vs Rutgers, 2:00 PM
This game really doesn’t mean much as far as the NCAA Tournament, but it is 2 rivals playing for a 3rd time this season. The 2 teams split the season series. What is maybe more interesting is the possible 2nd and 3rd round games if Seton Hall wins. The winner would go on to play St. John’s, a team that the Hall just beat Thursday by 14. The winner of that game would get Syracuse, a team that Seton Hall beat by 22 earlier this year. With Jeremy Hazell healthy for the Pirates and some favorable match-ups they are a team that might be able to make a splash in NYC.

WEDNESDAY: (possible match-ups)
Connecticut vs Georgetown, NOON
How strong is the Big East? Both of these two teams were ranked in the top 10 at some point this season, and when they played 3 weeks ago Georgetown was ranked 9th and UCONN 12th. Now they are playing as the 8th and 9th seeds in the Big East Tournament. No word yet on if Chris Wright will be back from his broken hand yet, if not they could be in a lot of trouble. The Hoyas finished the season losing their last 3 games with Wright running the point. UCONN won that meeting between these 2 teams, it was the only time they met this season.

Seton Hall vs St. John’s, 2:00 PM
As mentioned above I think this game could be a very intense game between two teams that just had a very hard fought game the last week of the regular season. St. John’s had their head coach get 2 technical fouls and ejected, then one of their players committed a flagrant foul and was also ejected. There is certainly no love lost between these two teams and it would be fun to see them matched up in New York. St. John’s has not lost in Madison Square Garden since losing to Syracuse on January 12th.

Villanova vs Cincinnati, 7:00 PM
Who would have guessed that of these two teams, Cincy would be the one with the bye in the Opening Round? Both of these teams are in the NCAA Tournament, Nova has been falling fast in seeding and a win for Cincy certainly wouldn’t hurt, but neither of these two teams will have anything to worry about come Selection Sunday. This is going to be a game for the winner to get some momentum going leading into the Big Dance.

Providence or Marquette vs West Virginia, 9:00 PM
This is the game to miss on Wednesday, and luckily it is the last game of the day and session so you can hit the sack early and rest up before another big day Thursday. To be honest none of these 3 teams have impressed me one bit this season. It is kind of crazy that one of these 3 are guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals.

THURSDAY: (possible match-ups)
UCONN/Georgetown winner vs Pitt, NOON
This match-up has been the Championship game in the Big East Tournament 5 times in the last 9 years. Pitt has played UCONN 3 times and Georgetown twice in that span. This is what you get in the Big East, Pitt wins the conference, being in 1st place everyday of conference play and in the 1st round of the Big East Tournament they will be playing a team that has been ranked pretty much all season.

Seton Hall/St. John’s vs Syracuse, 2:00 PM
This game could be the best attended game in an afternoon session in Big East Tournament history. Syracuse claims to be New York’s college team and St. John’s in NYC and this years team has taken the city by storm. St. John’s was in position to have a bye to this round and hold the #4 spot until Seton Hall upset them on Thursday. Syracuse took advantage of that slip up and now gets the double bye.

Villanova/Cincinnati vs Notre Dame, 7:00 PM
This will be a fun match-up no matter if it is Cincinnati or Villanova. Those teams both play a more athletic style of game that really fits their teams. Both are longer teams and have some really good athletes all over the court. Notre Dame is the opposite. They don’t have the athletes of most teams in the conference, but they have the toughness and discipline that not many teams in the conference have. And they can shoot, just ask Villanova about the game last week when ND made 20 of 32 from long range.

West Virginia vs Louisville, 9:00 PM
Louisville is by far the better team, but then again they just lost to the Mountaineers in Morgantown on Saturday. I think that once again the nap cap is the worst game on the schedule Thursday as it is Wednesday.

PREDICTION:
I like Pitt beating Louisville in the Championship Saturday night, giving Pitt their 8th championship game appearance in the past 11 years and 3rd title.

3-4 BETology

2011-03-04T15:05:00.002-05:00

One game to go. Every team in the conference plays on Saturday, the last day of the regular season. Some spots are clinched, others are still wide open.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
*-Pitt Panthers 14-3 vs Villanova
*-Notre Dame Fighting Irish 13-4 @ Connecticut
*-Louisville Cardinals 12-5 @ West Virginia
X-Syracuse Orange 11-6 vs DePaul
X-St. John’s Red Storm 11-6 vs South Florida
West Virginia Mountaineers 10-7 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 10-7 vs Georgetown
Georgetown Hoyas 10-7 @ Cincinnati
UCONN Huskies 9-8 vs Notre Dame
Villanova Wildcats 9-8 @ Pitt
Marquette Golden Eagles 9-8 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 6-11 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-12 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-14 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 3-14 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-16 @ Syracuse
*- Clinched Double Bye
X- Clinched Tuesday Bye

GAMES ON TV:
Louisville @ WVU NOON, ESPN
Notre Dame @ UCONN 2:00 pm, ESPN
Villanova @ Pitt 4:00 pm, CBS

WHAT WE KNOW:
Pitt Panthers
WIN:
Clinches outright championship and #1 seed in BET
LOSE:
Clinches outright championship and #1 seed in BET with a Notre Dame loss.
Co-Champions and #2 seed in BET with a Notre Dame win.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
WIN:
Clinches #1 seed and shares league championship with a Pitt loss.
Clinches #2 seed with a Pitt win
LOSE:
Clinches #2 seed in the BET
Louisville Cardinals
CLINCHED #3 SEED, will play Thursday at 9:00pm
Syracuse Orange
WIN:
Clinches #4 seed and 2-day bye.
LOSE:
Could finish either 4th or 5th depending on other results.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with St. John’s if St. John’s also loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with West Virginia if WVU wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Cincinnati if Cincy wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Georgetown if Georgetown wins.
St. John’s Red Storm
WIN:
Clinches #4 seed with a Syracuse loss.
Can do no worse than #5 seed.
LOSE:
Could finish anywhere from 5th to 7th depending on other results.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with West Virginia if WVU wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Cincinnati if Cincy wins.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Georgetown if Georgetown wins.
West Virginia Mountaineers
WIN:
Clinches #6 seed.
LOSE:
Could finish anywhere from 7th to 11th depending on other results.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Cincinnati if Cincinnati loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Georgetown if Georgetown loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Connecticut if UCONN wins.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Villanova if Villanova wins.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Marquette if Marquette wins.
Cincinnati Bearcats
WIN:
Clinches a bye
Would finish 6th if WVU loses to Louisville.
Would finish 7th if WVU beats Louisville.
LOSE:
Could finish anywhere from 7th to 11th depending on other results.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with West Virginia if WVU loses.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Connecticut if UCONN win.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Villanova if Villanova wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Marquette if Marquette win
Georgetown Hoyas
WIN:
Clinches a bye
Would finish 5th if St. John’s and WVU both lose.
Would finish 6th if St. John’s loses and WVU wins.
Would finish 7th if St. John’s and WVU both win.
LOSE:
Could finish anywhere from 7th to 11th depending on other results.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with West Virginia if WVU loses.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Connecticut if UCONN wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Villanova if Villanova wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Marquette if Marquette wins.
UCONN Huskies
WIN:
Could finish anywhere from 7th to 11th depending on other results.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with West Virginia if WVU loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Georgetown if Georgetown loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Cincinnati if Cincy loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Villanova if Villanova wins.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Marquette if Marquette wins.
LOSE:
Will play on the opening day of the Big East Tournament.
Could finish anywhere from 9th to 11th depending on other results.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Villanova if Villanova lose.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Marquette if Marquette lose.
Villanova Wildcats
WIN:
Could finish anywhere from 7th to 11th depending on other results.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with West Virginia if WVU loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Cincinnati if Cincy loses.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Georgetown if Georgetown loses.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Connecticut if UCONN wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Marquette if Marquette wins.
LOSE:
Will play on the opening day of the Big East Tournament
Could finish anywhere from 9th to 11th depending on other results.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Connecticut if UCONN loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Marquette if Marquette loses.
Marquette Golden Eagles
WIN:
Could finish anywhere from 7th to 11th depending on other results.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with West Virginia if WVU loses.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Georgetown if Georgetown loses.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Cincinnati if Cincy loses.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Villanova if Villanova wins.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Connecticut if UCONN wins.
LOSE:
Will play on the opening day of the Big East Tournament.
Could finish anywhere from 9th 11th depending on other results.
Loses head-to-head tie breaker with Villanova if Villanova loses.
Owns head-to-head tie breaker with Connecticut if UCONN loses.
Seton Hall Pirates
CLINCHED #12 SEED, will play Rutgers Tuesday at 2:00pm
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
CLINCHED #13 SEED, will play Seton Hall Tuesday at 2:00pm
Providence Friars
WIN:
Clinches #14 seed
LOSE:
Claims #14 seed if South Florida also loses.
Claims #15 seed if South Florida wins.
South Florida Bulls
WIN:
Can Clinch #14 seed if Providence loses.
Clinches #15 seed if Providence wins.
LOSE:
Clinches #15 seed
DePaul Blue Demons
CLINCHED #16 SEED, will play Tuesday at NOON

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Connecticut
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Villanova
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Syracuse
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back Sunday for one final update!

3-3 BETology

2011-03-03T02:08:00.001-05:00

With just a few more days left in the Big East season I am changing up our format a little today. No game recaps, just standings. If you have any tiebreaker questions or other questions regarding your team please leave it below in the comment section and I will answer in more detail for you.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
*-Pitt Panthers 14-3
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 vs Villanova
*-Notre Dame Fighting Irish 13-4
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ Connecticut
*-Louisville Cardinals 12-5
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ West Virginia
X-St. John’s Red Storm 11-5
Remaining Schedule:
3/3 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
X-Syracuse Orange 11-6
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 vs DePaul
West Virginia Mountaineers 10-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 10-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 vs Georgetown
Georgetown Hoyas 10-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ Cincinnati
UCONN Huskies 9-8
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Villanova Wildcats 9-8
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ Pitt
Marquette Golden Eagles 9-8
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 5-11
Remaining Schedule:
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-12
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-14
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 3-14
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-16
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ Syracuse

*- Clinched Double Bye
X- Clinched Tuesday Bye

GAMES ON TV:
Tonight - St. John’s @ Seton Hall 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Saturday - Louisville @ WVU NOON, ESPN
Saturday - Notre Dame @ UCONN 2:00 pm, ESPN
Saturday - Villanova @ Pitt 4:00 pm, CBS

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Connecticut
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Villanova
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – St. John’s
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-28 BETology

2011-02-28T01:55:00.002-05:00

Despite a big weekend and leading up to the last week of the Big East regular season, I will unfortunately have to be short with my update today. I came home to Pittsburgh for the weekend and I don’t have all of my paperwork, so this will be as good as I can do until I get back to Maryland on Tuesday night. The standings and seedings are accurate based on the Big East tiebreaker system, however I did not update the “clinched“ teams because I wanted to be certain of them before I put it on here.

WEEKEND RECAP
Saturday:
SYRACUSE ORANGE 58
Georgetown Hoyas 51

ST. JOHN’S RED STORM 81
Villanova Wildcats 68

SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS 78
DePaul Blue Demons 68

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 60
Seton Hall Pirates 48

Sunday:
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 65
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 54

CONNECTICUT HUSKIES 67
Cincinnati Bearcats 59

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 62
Pitt Panthers 59
OVERTIME

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 86
Providence Friars 62

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
*Pitt Panthers 13-3
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 12-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Louisville Cardinals 11-5
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 11-5
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Syracuse Orange 11-6
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 vs DePaul
Georgetown Hoyas 10-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/5 @ Cincinnati
UCONN Huskies 9-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Villanova Wildcats 9-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Marquette Golden Eagles 9-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
West Virginia Mountaineers 9-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 9-7
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Seton Hall Pirates 5-11
Remaining Schedule:
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-12
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-13
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 3-13
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-15
Remaining Schedule:
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse
*- Clinched Double-Bye

TONIGHT:
Villanova @ Notre Dame 7:00 pm, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Marquette
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – West Virginia
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Cincinnati
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – St. John’s
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-25 BETology

2011-02-25T02:04:00.001-05:00

The Big East is without a question the best conference in the nation. It also might be the toughest conference to figure out. There are so many talented teams that they just beat up on each other game in and game out. It is thought that this conference could get a record 11 teams into the NCAA Tournament in a few weeks, so that should give you an idea of how good the top of the conference is. With only 8 days left in the regular season there are no spots that have been clinched in the 16-team conference tournament. No team in the conference has more than 3 games remaining and yet other than Pitt nobody has really been able to separate themselves from the rest of the league. Pitt is the only team in the conference that holds more than a game lead on the team immediately behind them. They have a 2 game lead over 2nd place Notre Dame with just 3 games to play after last night’s win. In the other Big East game last night in further cluttered the standings. Check out the results from last night.

THURSDAY’S RECAP:
MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 74
Connecticut Huskies 67
OVERTIME
Just to give you another idea of how tough the Big East is, UCONN is ranked 15th in the country, after losing last night they are in 10th place in the conference. Marquette jumps into a 3-way tie for 9th place with Connecticut and West Virginia after the results from last night. This is a game that UCONN should have won. And had they won it, they would have been just 1 game out of a double bye in the BET. Now they find themselves currently in position to play an opening day game. The Huskies were up by 8 half way through the 2nd half and up by 2 with under 15 seconds on their home court and still lost the game. One of the reasons was Kemba Walker. As great as he has been at some times, he scored 27 points for UCONN, but it took him 27 shots to achieve that. He also had only 2 assists while turning the ball over 4 times, including 1 with under 10 seconds to go that led directly to the game-tying hoop for Marquette. UCONN has 3 games remaining and all 3 are against teams either tied with them or better than them in the standings. The face Cincinnati and WVU on the road before the season finale at home versus Notre Dame. The Golden Eagles have a much easier end of the season schedule. Marquette has home games with Providence and Cincinnati before going on the road against Seton Hall to close the season.

PITT PANTHERS 71
West Virginia Mountaineers 58
As mentioned above, WVU is now in a 3-way tie with Marquette and UCONN for the 9-10-11 spots after losing in the Backyard Brawl. Pitt with the win clinched a double bye. The Panthers can clinch at least a share of the conference title with one more win. Pitt has road games with Louisville and South Florida still on the schedule before closing the season at home against Villanova. WVU has 3 games to play as well. They go to Rutgers on Sunday, then play UCONN and Louisville at home to finish things. WVU is currently slated for a Tuesday game when the BET kicks off, but could still get all the way up to the top 4 for a double bye.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
*Pitt Panthers 13-2
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Louisville Cardinals 10-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 10-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Georgetown Hoyas 10-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Syracuse Orange 10-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Villanova Wildcats 9-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Cincinnati Bearcats 9-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 8-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
UCONN Huskies 8-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
West Virginia Mountaineers 8-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Seton Hall Pirates 5-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-13
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-14
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse
*- Clinched Double-Bye

THIS WEEKEND:
Saturday:
Syracuse @ Georgetown NOON, CBS
St. John’s @ Villanova 2:00 pm, ESPN
South Florida @ DePaul 2:00 pm, Regional TV
Seton Hall @ Notre Dame 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Sunday:
West Virginia @ Rutgers NOON, Regional TV
Connecticut @ Cincinnati NOON, ESPNU
Pitt @ Louisville 2:00 pm, CBS
Providence @ Marquette 4:00 pm, Regional TV

NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES COMING UP:
Saturday - Syracuse @ Georgetown NOON, CBS
Saturday - St. John’s @ Villanova 2:30 pm, ESPN
Sunday - Pitt @ Louisville 2:00 pm, CBS
Monday - Villanova @ Notre Dame 7:00 pm, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Marquette
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Connecticut
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – West Virginia
Vs
14 – Providence

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

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – St. John’s
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

Update on Hoyas Guard Chris Wright

2011-02-24T12:58:00.005-05:00

According to the Washington Post Georgetown Hoyas guard Chris Wright has had surgery on his broken left hand and the team is hoping he can make a full recovery and return by the start of the NCAA Tournament.

Wright broke his non-shooting hand at the beginning of the second half during the Hoyas loss to Cincinnati at the Verizon Center in Washington last night.

The Hoyas are currently in line for a bye in the Big East Tournament and are still in play for a double bye, but losing Wright for their final two games will make it difficult for the team. The last two regular season games for Georgetown are Saturday at home on Senior Day, which Wright will be honored, against rival Syracuse and then the following weekend at Cincinnati. With Wright out for those 2 games Georgetown could drop out of the top 8 in the standings and draw a Tuesday game in the Big East Tournament; while winning both games still doesn't guarantee a double bye either. In either case, Wright is not expected to play in New York at all during the tournament.

Georgetown's biggest concern may be how the NCAA Tournament committee views this injury. The Hoyas, which had been thought of as a team that could fall in the top 12 overall seeds, may drop drastically without Wright. In years past the committee has never held a very consistent view on these types of injuries while seeding. Sometimes the committee tries to view how the team would rank without the player, and in this case could really focus on how Georgetown does without Wright, other times they anticipate a players return and wouldn't consider what a team has done with his absence at all. It will be very interesting to see what the committee does on Selection Sunday. It will also be interesting to see how the Hoyas respond to losing arguable their most valuable player at this point in the season.

2-24 BETology

2011-02-24T03:14:00.001-05:00

What a crazy night in the Big East. We had an upset that further crowds the race for the top 8 in the conference. We had a scorer drop a Big East single game record 52 points, which was more than 2 different teams scored on the evening. We also had a devastating loss for a team, and that loss was not shown on the scoreboard. Let’s get to the action.

WEDNESDAY’S RECAP:
ST. JOHN’S RED STORM 76
DePaul Blue Demons 51
St. John’s just keeps winning. This was an easy let down game, but the Johnnies dominated from start to finish and by doing so the move into 4th place and a double bye spot with just 3 games remaining. St. John’s could do themselves a huge favor bye continuing this 6 game winning streak in the conference by beating Villanova Saturday. If they can do that, they would be sitting pretty with only Seton Hall and South Florida left on the schedule after Saturday. DePaul losing certainly comes as no surprise. The Blue Demons could climb to the 13-seed if they win out and get some help, but we do know that they will certainly be playing on Tuesday.

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 94
Providence Friars 93
The game of the night, was an absolute shoot out. 125 shot attempts, 43 3-point attempts, both teams shooting over 50% from the field. Now the crazy stats. Providence guard Marshon Brooks scored 52 points, breaking the previous Big East single season scoring record set in 1991 by fellow Friar Eric Murdock. Brooks was fantastic, shooting 20-28 from the field including 6-10 from beyond the arc. Another crazy stat is that only 5 other Friars scored and only 2 scored in double figures. Brooks scored 52, the rest of his team scored 41. As for the Irish, they had 2 guys scored a total of 60 points. What does this results mean for the rest of the Big East though besides just being an exciting game? Well, actually not much. This game was a game the Irish were expected to win. Notre Dame is a game and a half behind Pitt for the top seed in the conference tournament. They also have a full game lead with only 3 games remaining on the group behind them trying to get a double bye. The Friars do know that they will be playing Tuesday. They could climb as high as 12th in the standings, but that is if they win out and get help.

CINCINNATI BEARCATS 58
Georgetown Hoyas 46
This was a game that Cincinnati absolutely had to have for NCAA Tournament hopes. It finally gives them a quality win for their resume. But this is a loss that Georgetown absolutely could not afford. Not the loss of the game, but the loss of their starting point guard and second leading scorer, Chris Wright, who left the game with a broken left hand. Wright is out indefinitely and the Hoyas will have to rely on sophomore Hollis Thompson and freshman Markel Starks to fill in until Wright can come back, if he can come back. Losing the game didn’t help Georgetown much either as it dropped them out of the top 4 and into a tie with Syracuse, who they host Saturday. The Bearcats have now won 3 in a row and have snuck up into the top 8 during that run. Cincy still has a tough remaining schedule and can’t afford a let down with only 3 games to go. The Bearcats lone road game is against Marquette. Cincy gets both UCONN and Georgetown at home to finish the season.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 12-2
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Louisville Cardinals 10-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 10-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Georgetown Hoyas 10-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Syracuse Orange 10-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Villanova Wildcats 9-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Cincinnati Bearcats 9-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
West Virginia Mountaineers 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
UCONN Huskies 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Marquette Golden Eagles 7-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 5-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-13
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-14
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
Marquette @ Connecticut 7:00 pm, ESPN2
West Virginia @ Pitt 9:00 pm, ESPN

NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES COMING UP:
Saturday - Syracuse @ Georgetown NOON, CBS
Saturday - St. John’s @ Villanova 2:30 pm, ESPN
Sunday - Pitt @ Louisville 2:00 pm, CBS
Monday - Villanova @ Notre Dame 7:00 pm, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – West Virginia
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Connecticut
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

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

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – St. John’s
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

BETology 2-23

2011-02-23T14:31:00.001-05:00

I’m back from vacation and ready for the stretch run. Look for my Rants about the Jim Calhoun slap on the wrist punishment and the Top 25 Rankings, but this is the BETology so let’s take a look at the last 2 days of hoops in the Big East and look ahead a little bit at what is still to come.

MONDAY’S RECAP:
SYRACUSE ORANGE 69
Villanova Wildcats 64
Syracuse starting to get their act together now after losing 6 of 8 the Cuse have now won 3 in a row and are putting themselves back into discussion for a double bye in 2 weeks. As of right now Syracuse is just a half of a game out of 4th place, with two games to play. Their game Saturday at Georgetown will be a huge game for both teams fighting for a top-4 finish. The Orange close the season at home versus DePaul the last Saturday of the season. As for Nova, they are not closing the season the way they would have wanted. The Wildcats have now lost 3 of 5 and struggled in those 2 wins against Seton Hall and DePaul. Things don’t get an easier for Villanova either with St. John’s, Notre Dame and Pitt remaining on the schedule. Villanova went from looking like a sure thing for a bye and probably a double bye to being in real danger of dropping all the way out of the top 8 and playing Tuesday.

TUESDAY'S RECAP:
LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 55
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 37
Yes, you read that right, 37 points for Rutgers. Louisville is a great defensive team, but if you can’t score more than a point a minute you should just join the Big Ten basketball conference. Then again, Rutgers was one of the schools considered by the Big Ten, maybe this was their audition, if so they passed with flying colors, but for Big East basketball it is pathetic. Louisville keeps pace for a double bye with the win. They are tied with Georgetown for 3rd place with just 3 games to go. Louisville closes the season with a home game Sunday against Pitt, another one next week versus Providence, and a road game in Morgantown. Rutgers has just 3 games remaining. They can finish no better than 12th place, but technically could drop all the way into last place. Rutgers finishes out the year with hosting WVU, then going on the road against DePaul and Providence before the Big East Tournament.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 12-2
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 10-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Louisville Cardinals 10-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 9-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Syracuse Orange 10-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Villanova Wildcats 9-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
West Virginia Mountaineers 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
UCONN Huskies 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Cincinnati Bearcats 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 7-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 5-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-13
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-13
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
Notre Dame @ Providence 7:00 pm, Regional TV
DePaul @ St. John’s 7:00 pm, Regional TV
Cincinnati @ Georgetown 9:00 pm, Regional TV

NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES COMING UP:
Thursday - Marquette @ Connecticut 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Thursday - West Virginia @ Pitt 9:00 pm, ESPN
Saturday - Syracuse @ Georgetown NOON, CBS
Saturday - St. John’s @ Villanova 2:30 pm, ESPN
Sunday - Pitt @ Louisville 2:00 pm, CBS
Monday - Villanova @ Notre Dame 7:00 pm, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Connecticut
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-21 BETology

2011-02-21T01:13:00.001-05:00

What a week to go away on vacation!! Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I get back to work and unfortunately the real world, cold weather and all, on Tuesday evening so things should be back to normal by then. Until then, I will update as much as possible, but won’t promise anything.

It was a crazy weekend in all of college basketball, not just the Big East. For the first time since November of 2003, the top 4 in the AP rankings all lost in the same week. That on top of 3 OT games in the Big East as well as the top 2 teams losing. Just 2 weeks remaining in the regular season and still lots to determine. 7 games to review and break down, so let’s not delay any longer.

SATURDAY’S RECAP:
ST. JOHN’S RED STORM 60
Pitt Panthers 59
This game was the 5th that St. John’s has won at home against an elite team this year. Being a Pitt fan, I will say that I believe Dwight Hardy was out of bounds before taking the last second game winning shot, but that is in the past and there is nothing that can be done about it. The loss, sets the Panthers back a bit, but not that much since Notre Dame lost also and Pitt still holds a 2 game lead with just 2 weeks remaining in the season. Pitt finishes the season with home games against WVU and Villanova and road trips to Louisville and South Florida. For St. John’s this win bumps them into a 3-way tie for the final double-bye. As of right now they would get that spot due to the strength of their wins against Pitt and Notre Dame. The Johnnies has 3 very winnable games remaining, but the 4th is against Villanova in Philadelphia this Saturday. Nova is one of those teams tied currently for 4th, so that game could end up being the biggest game on the schedule for St. John’s and it is away from MSG where they have had so much success.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS 77
DePaul Blue Demons 75
OVERTIME
This Villanova team better get their act together if they don’t want to avoid ending the same way they did last season (losing 4 of 6 to close the reg. season, losing their 1st BET game, sneaking by Robert Morris in the NCAA’s before losing in the 2nd round to St. Mary’s). They have now won 2 straight, after losing 2 in a row, but the wins are a 3 point win versus Seton Hall and a 2 point overtime win against DePaul. Honestly, if DePaul take you to overtime, the NCAA committee should not be allowed to put you in the Big Dance. All that, and Nova closes with easily the most difficult schedule in the conference. The host Syracuse tonight, then St. John’s Saturday before going on the road to close out against Notre Dame and Pitt. DePaul, well they still stink.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 72
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 58
Well, we knew that at some point WVU would finally get their offense going, and we also knew that at some point Notre Dame would fall back to reality. We just never realized that it would be in the same game. The Irish, one of the better shooting teams in the conference, shot 35% from the field, under 30% from 3 and just a hair over 60% from the foul line, while WVU shot over 40% from both the field and 3, and almost 75% from the charity stripe. The lost blows a golden opportunity for Notre Dame to gain ground on Pitt, they are still 2 back with 4 to play, but hold that valuable head-to-head victory. Notre Dame closes the season at Providence on Wednesday then 2 home games against Seton Hall and Villanova before finishing off on the road in Connecticut. WVU gets a much needed win, pulling them back up into a tie for the final opening day bye spot at 8-6. The Mountaineers have a tough stretch though to finish. They play game 2 of the Backyard Brawl in Pittsburgh Thursday, then stay on the road Sunday against Rutgers before finishing with 2 home games against UCONN and Louisville. One would think WVU has to win at least 2, maybe 3 of those 4 to be in play for that final bye spot. That could be difficult.

GEOREGTOWN HOYAS 61
South Florida Bulls 55
Georgetown took advantage of Pitt and Notre Dame losing and gained a game on both while also keeping some separation between themselves and the rest of the pack chasing. The Hoyas are 2.5 games out of 1st with 3 games remaining, but in a fairly comfortable spot to secure a double bye. In the Hoyas remaining games the face Cincinnati home and away, with a home game against rival Syracuse sandwiched between. South Florida is assured of playing on Tuesday at this point, still with only 2 conference wins. The Bulls have just 3 games remaining too, a home game against 1st place Pitt and road games with DePaul and St. John’s.

SYRACUSE ORANGE 84
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 80
OVERTIME
A win is a win, that is what Syracuse is thinking at this point I would imagine. It wasn’t pretty, but Syracuse has now won 2 straight with 3 to go. They sit one half game behind a 3-way tie for 4th place and a double-bye and one half game from 10th place and playing on the opening day. The Cuse have the week off before traveling Villanova Saturday, then to Georgetown before closing the season in the Carrier Dome against DePaul. With that schedule and how streaky the Orange have been this year, I wouldn’t be surprised with them getting that double bye or playing Tuesday afternoon. The loss for Rutgers puts them into the Tuesday schedule. The best the Knights could do now would be 8-10, which would change their seed, but not get them into a bye and a day off in New York. Rutgers closes with Louisville and WVU at home before road trips to DePaul and Providence.

CINCINNATI BEARCATS 93
Providence Friars 81
OVERTIME
Cincinnati one again wins the games they are supposed to win and taking advantage of their schedule. The Bearcats could possibly claim a bye in the BET yet only 2 wins they have are to teams at .500 or better in the conference (St. John’s and Louisville). The Bearcats will earn it if they do get that bye though with 4 tough games remaining. A home-and-home with Georgetown on top of hosting UCONN and traveling to Marquette. Providence clinched a Tuesday time slot with the loss.

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 73
Seton Hall Pirates 64
I once again don’t know what to say about Marquette. They are the definition of average, right down to their 7-7 record. Right now, that won’t cut it if you want a bye on Tuesday in New York. The Eagles do have 3 winnable games down the stretch after going to Connecticut Thursday. I think they will probably have to be above average the last 2 weeks to get that last bye, but their schedule says they could do it. After that UCONN game Marquette has Providence and Cincy at home before a return trip to Seton Hall. As for those Pirates, it looks like their ship has sailed. I guess technically they could still get a bye, but they need TONS of help on top of winning out their final 3 games. I’m not even going to get into detail what they would need to happen until they win 1 or 2 games.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 12-2
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 10-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
St. John’s Red Storm 9-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Villanova Wildcats 9-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Louisville Cardinals 9-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
Syracuse Orange 9-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
West Virginia Mountaineers 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
UCONN Huskies 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Cincinnati Bearcats 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 7-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 5-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-13
Remaining Schedule:
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-13
Remaining Schedule:
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
Syracuse @ Villanova 7:00 pm, ESPN

NATIONALLY TELEVISED GAMES THIS WEEK:
Thursday - Marquette @ Connecticut 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Thursday - West Virginia @ Pitt 9:00 pm, ESPN
Saturday - Syracuse @ Georgetown NOON, CBS
Saturday - St. John’s @ Villanova 2:30, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Connecticut
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – West Virginia
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 – Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – St. John’s
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-18 BETology

2011-02-18T23:42:00.002-05:00

Due to the fact that I am in Florida on vacation and the fact that both DePaul and Providence stink, I did not update after that game Thursday night, and hopefully none of you were stuck watching it either. Here is a look back at the last 2 nights in the best conference in basketball.

THURSDAY’S RECAP:
DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS 79
Providence Friars 76
This is a game that would give ESPN 2nd thoughts about agreeing to broadcasts rights for the Big East Conference. In the conference’s contract agreements with ESPN they state that each team must be on ESPN/ESPN2 a certain number of times. ESPN sucked it up and put them on together to killed 2 birds with 1 stone. Can’t say that I disagree with that strategy actually. Anyway, DePaul wins their first game in 25 attempts in Big East play. Providence drops to 3-10 in conference play and makes themselves a solid 14 seed.

FRIDAY’S RECAP:
LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 71
Connecticut Huskies 58
The complete opposite of scheduling for ESPN on this one. ESPN normally has the NBA on Friday nights, but with this being NBA All-Star Weekend, they had a void in their schedule and put on a elite caliber match-up from the best conference in the country. Another smart move by ESPN scheduling. This game matched up the 4 and 7 seeds in the conference coming in, both with identical records of 8-5. Louisville kind of gets a little breathing room from that large clump behind them with the win last night. The Cards are now tied with Georgetown in the 3-4 spot, both would secure a double bye as of right now. Louisville is sitting pretty at holding on to that spot too, as they have a fairly favorable schedule the rest of the way out. Still on the schedule for Louisville is road games at Rutgers and WVU as well as home games versus Providence and Pitt. The loss hurts UCONN because they are now behind a group of 4 fighting for that double bye. They are also with another group of 4 within one half game of dropping all the way to the 10 seed, which plays on the opening day. UCONN also has a little tougher schedule to close, their final 4 games are road games at Cincinnati and WVU, and home games versus Marquette and Notre Dame. Notre Dame is obviously ahead of the Huskies in the standings and both Cincy and WVU sit just one half game behind. Marquette isn’t out of the running for a bye either, just one and a half games behind UCONN.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 12-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 9-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Louisville Cardinals 9-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Villanova Wildcats 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Syracuse Orange 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
UCONN Huskies 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 5-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 1-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
Villanova @ DePaul NOON, Regional TV
Pitt @ St. John’s NOON, ESPN
Notre Dame @ WVU 1:00 pm, CBS
Rutgers @ Syracuse 4:00 pm, Regional TV
Georgetown @ South Florida 7:00 pm, Regional TV
Cincinnati @ Providence 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Seton Hall @ Marquette 9:00 pm, Regional TV

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – West Virginia
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-17 BETology

2011-02-16T23:09:00.005-05:00

Just when you think that things are starting to sort themselves out in the Big East we have a day like yesterday that shakes things up again. I’m not sure you can call UCONN winning at home against Georgetown an upset, but Louisville losing to Cincinnati certainly is an upset. Let’s take a better look at what happened last night.

WEDNESDAY’S RECAP:
CONNECTICUT HUSKIES 68
Georgetown Hoyas 60
Kemba Walker picked a great time to end his shooting struggles. Walker had been shooting just over 30% from the field since mid-January, but went off for 31 points last night, he also added 10 assists to get his teammates involved. The Huskies entered this game the 7 seed in the conference against the red hot Hoyas, who have won 8 straight and came in in 3rd place. UCONN has now won 2 straight and 3 of 4 in the conference and this win brings them into a 4-way tie for the 4th and final double bye spot in the BET. Georgetown, despite this loss, remains in 3rd place in the conference, but now have little room for mistake. The Hoyas hold a half game lead over that group of 4 in 4th place. Georgetown has only 4 games remaining, all of which are very winnable. They still play Cincinnati twice, as well as a road game in South Florida and hosting Syracuse. Connecticut has a much tougher schedule down the stretch, as they still have 5 games, 3 of which are on the road.

CINCINNATI BEARCATS 63
Louisville Cardinals 54
The Bearcats needed this win big time. Having lost 3 of 4 games before last nights victory Cincinnati was heading the wrong direction at the wrong time. Beating rival Louisville maybe be just what they needed to get them kick started down this closing stretch. With 5 games remaining, Cincy has 3 on the road and only the game at Providence would be one they might be favored to win. The others should be 4 battles, that I would think the Bearcats need to win 3 of 4 if they want to make the NCAA Tournament. As for the Big East Tournament, Cincy is one of 7 teams all within 1 game of each other ranging from 4th place to 10th place. For Louisville this loss drops them into that group as well. The Cardinals had been playing as well as any team in the conference and worked their way up to the 4th spot in the standings. Now they share that 4th spot with 3 other teams. Louisville has a very manageable schedule in their last 5 games. Their toughest 2 games remaining are home games, against UCONN and Pitt.

PITT PANTHERS 67
South Florida Bulls 55
This is the only game from the schedule that went as many expected last night, and that isn’t even entirely true. Yes Pitt won, but many would have thought they would have won more convincingly being that they were back at home. Then again, the Panthers were playing their 3rd straight game without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs and this game kind of set up as a trap game being the lone home game in a tough 4 game stretch. Pitt now holds a 2 game lead over the rest of the conference at this point, with just 5 games remaining. South Florida has now lost 5 straight and have all but wrapped up a date in The Garden on opening day of the tournament. The Bulls do have some winnable games remaining and could change their seeding, but most likely won’t be able to do enough to avoid that Tuesday game. USF plays Georgetown and Pitt, but both at home as well as road games against DePaul and St. John’s.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 12-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 9-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Louisville Cardinals 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Villanova Wildcats 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
UCONN Huskies 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Syracuse Orange 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 5-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
DePaul @ Providence 9:00 pm, ESPN2

THIS WEEKS GAMES ON TV:
Friday - Connecticut @ Louisville 9:00 pm, ESPN
Saturday - Pitt @ St. John’s NOON, ESPN
Saturday - Notre Dame @ WVU 1:00 pm, CBS

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – West Virginia
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-16 BETology

2011-02-16T01:46:00.003-05:00

And they just keep winning. I think everyone knew that St. John’s could be a dangerous team this year, with so many veterans back from last year, but I doubt anyone expected this. Steve Lavin should be the runaway winner for Big East Coach of the Year. His team is playing as well as any team in the conference and the 9 seniors help the young guys in tough moments. This team will be fun to watch in March.

TUESDAY’S RECAP:
ST. JOHN’S RED STORM 80
Marquette Golden Eagles 68
Four the 4th straight conference game St. John’s once again comes out on top. The Red Storm, who started conference play at 4-5, have used a win against Duke as a momentum builder to not only make the NCAA Tournament, but to climb up the ranks of the nations toughest conference. The win last night moves them into 5th place in the Big East. During the middle part of the 2nd half St. John’s outscored Marquette by 19 turning a 7 point deficit into a 12 point lead. St. John’s next hosts 1st place Pitt at MSG, but afterwards close with games against DePaul, Seton Hall and South Florida as 3 of their last 4 contests. Marquette however has been doing the exact opposite as St. John’s having lost 2 straight and 5 of 7 in the conference. At 6-7 in the conference and 15-11 overall they are in danger of misses the NCAA unless they get their act together fast. They close with 5 winnable games, but they must actually do that. They have 2 against Seton Hall, a road game against UCONN and homes contests versus Providence and Cincinnati, none of those games would be considered un-winnable Actually they should probably be the favorite in most or all of them.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS 60
Seton Hall Pirates 57
Nova playing without guard Corey Stokes used seldom used Jason Bell to carry them to victory last night. Bell, who averages just over 7 minutes a game, and had score a total of 31 points all season, played 29 minutes, going 4-6 from 3 point range and scoring 21 points for the Wildcats. The Wildcats needed every one of those points too, as the rest of the team combined to go 2-7 from 3 point land and score just 39 points. The win let Nova keep pace with St. John’s for the 5th spot in the conference, just one half game back of Louisville for 4th place and the final double bye spot in the conference tournament. Villanova has a brutal stretch to finish the season. After playing DePaul on Saturday, the Wildcats close with games against Syracuse, St. John’s, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, the last two of those on the road. Seton Hall is the opposite of St. John’s. Both teams have good returning talent. Both teams have new head coaches, but only one is having success. The Pirates are pretty much assured of playing in the opening day of the BET, as they are 3 games behind the 8-spot with just 4 games remaining on their schedule. The Hall finished with Marquette still on the schedule twice, as well as a road game in South Bend and a home game versus St. John’s.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 11-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 9-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Louisville Cardinals 8-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Villanova Wildcats 8-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
UCONN Huskies 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Syracuse Orange 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-7
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Seton Hall Pirates 5-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
Louisville @ Cincinnati 7:00 pm, ESPN
Georgetown @ Connecticut 7:00 pm, Regional TV
South Florida @ Pitt 7:00 pm, Regional TV

THIS WEEKS GAMES ON TV:
Thursday - DePaul @ Providence 9:00 pm, ESPN2
Friday - Connecticut @ Louisville 9:00 pm, ESPN
Saturday - Pitt @ St. John’s NOON, ESPN
Saturday - Notre Dame @ WVU 1:00 pm, CBS

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – West Virginia
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Marquette
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-15 BETology

2011-02-15T01:50:00.002-05:00

We are just 3 weeks away from tipping off the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City. We only had 1 Big East game yesterday, the Big Monday game between West Virginia and Syracuse in New York.

MONDAY’S RECAP:
SYRACUSE ORANGE 63
West Virginia Mountaineers 52
This was a match-up between two teams that desperately needed a win to get back on the right track. Syracuse entered the game losing 6 of their last 8 games and West Virginia had lost 2 of their last 3. The Mountaineers lead by 6 in this one and had a 4 point lead going into the break, but Syracuse came out and went on a 12-0 run in the early part of the second half. West Virginia was once again held back by their in-ability to put the ball in the hoop. During the Big East season the Mountaineers have score 70+ in just 4 games, still losing two of those. Last night WVU made a total of 6 2-point shots. They went 6 of 25 from inside the arc. WVU has 5 games remaining and 4 of them are against teams ranked in the top 20. Syracuse is now 8-6 in conference play after starting 5-0. The Cuse are currently sitting in the 8 spot in the standings and there is no reason that the Orange can’t go at least 2-2 the rest of the way out. Wins at home against Rutgers and DePaul would give them 10 conference wins, which should be enough to earn a bye in the BET. Road games on the road against Villanova and Georgetown would just be bonuses wins if they can take care of their home court.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 11-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 9-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Louisville Cardinals 8-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 @ Marquette
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
UCONN Huskies 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Villanova Wildcats 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 @ Seton Hall
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Syracuse Orange 8-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 vs St. John’s
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Seton Hall Pirates 5-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 vs Villanova
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
Villanova @ Seton Hall 8:00 pm, Regional TV
St. John’s @ Marquette 9:00 pm, ESPNU

THIS WEEKS GAMES ON TV:
Wednesday - Louisville @ Cincinnati 7:00 pm, ESPN
Thursday - DePaul @ Providence 9:00 pm, ESPN2
Friday - Connecticut @ Louisville 9:00 pm, ESPN
Saturday - Pitt @ St. John’s NOON, ESPN
Saturday - Notre Dame @ WVU 1:00 pm, CBS

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – West Virginia
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Marquette
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Cincinnati
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-14 BETology

2011-02-14T03:16:00.002-05:00

We have three weeks remaining in the Big East regular season and as of right now we know only when one team is playing. DePaul will be playing on Tuesday, yeah stunning I know! Pitt has a game and a half lead overall in the conference and we have 8 teams within 2 games of each other battling it out for the bye and double bye spots. So with out further ado lets check out what is on tap for this week. But first there were 3 games played yesterday, here is the review of those.

SUNDAY’S RECAP:
ST. JOHN’S RED STORM 59
Cincinnati Bearcats 57
Entering the game both teams had a 6-5 record and held the final two bye spots for the BET, Cincinnati in 7th place and St. John’s 8th place. Cincinnati won the first game on the road against the Johnnies and St. John’s got its revenge in this one in Cincinnati. St. John’s is starting to play well at the right time, winning their 3rd straight conference game. The Red Storm could solidify that first day bye if they take care of business the rest of the way out. Of their 6 remaining games, only Pitt is ahead of them in the standings. As for Cincinnati, this lose hurts because their schedule gets very difficult over the final 3 weeks. After going 13-0 in the non-conference their were high expectations for the Bearcats, however they have not been able to get a quality win all season. Their best win, other than the St. John’s one earlier, is probably Xavier. They will however certainly get their chance in the upcoming weeks. The Bearcats have Louisville, UCONN and Georgetown twice still on the schedule.

GEORGETOWN HOYAS 69
Marquette Golden Eagles 60
The Hoyas overcame a four point halftime deficit and an injury to its start player Austin Freeman and won their 8th straight game in conference play. The win put Georgetown alone in 3rd place ahead of Louisville and just one game behind Notre Dame for 2nd place. The Hoyas go on the road twice this week, first against Connecticut Wednesday, then to South Florida Saturday. Marquette has now lost 6 straight road games to ranked teams. Luckily for them, they only go on the road two more time this season against the four home games remaining on the schedule. Sitting at 6-6 in the conference one would think that Marquette would need to win at least 3, but more likely 4 if they hope to get a day off in New York before they start play. Looking at their schedule this is very realistic, and actually winning 5 of their last 6 looks doable.

CONNECTICUT HUSKIES 75
Providence Friars 57
Connecticut oddly had lost 4 of the last five times the Friars visited the Huskies, but could not afford to trip up in this one. The Huskies entered the game losers of 3 of their last 4 and sitting at 6-5 in the conference. The win puts them in a tie for 5th place just a game out of a double bye spot. This week could be a make or break for the Huskies, they play the two teams directly ahead of them in the standings, home versus Georgetown and then on the road in Louisville. Providence was in this game for most of the first half but let it slip away like most of their games this season. The Friars are now 3-9, with 5 of those losses coming by 10 points or less. Providence sits in 14th place and looks to be a shoe-in for Tuesday action in NYC. The Friars do play better at home and have 4 of 6 games to close out the season in the Dunkin Donut Center, so they could change their seeding, but probably not their start day.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 11-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 9-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Louisville Cardinals 8-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
St. John’s Red Storm 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 @ Marquette
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
UCONN Huskies 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Villanova Wildcats 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 @ Seton Hall
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/14 @ Syracuse
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Syracuse Orange 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/14 vs West Virginia
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 vs St. John’s
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Seton Hall Pirates 5-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 vs Villanova
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
West Virginia @ Syracuse 7:00 pm, ESPN

THIS WEEKS GAMES ON TV:
Tuesday - St. John’s @ Marquette 9:00 pm, ESPNU
Wednesday - Louisville @ Cincinnati 7:00 pm, ESPN
Thursday - DePaul @ Providence 9:00 pm, ESPN2
Friday - Connecticut @ Louisville 9:00 pm, ESPN
Saturday - Pitt @ St. John’s NOON, ESPN
Saturday - Notre Dame @ WVU 1:00 pm, CBS

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Syracuse
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Marquette
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Cincinnati
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-13 BETology

2011-02-13T03:25:00.001-05:00

A fairly big day of action to recap from yesterday, so lets get right to the action.

SATURDAY’S RECAP:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 78
South Florida Bulls 55
Notre Dame is now winners of 7 straight games and has gotten a little separation between themselves and the big group behind them. Notre Dame also has a game in-hand against most of the teams in the conference, with just 5 remaining as opposed to the 6 the majority of the conference has. The Irish still have 2 more road games in this 3 game road stretch, next up is a trip to Morgantown next Saturday. South Florida has now lost 4 straight and have all but locked up a date to play on Tuesday in Manhattan. The Bulls, like Notre Dame, only have 5 conference games remaining, two of which are against first place Pitt.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 73
Syracuse Orange 69
This game had more ups and downs than a roller coaster. The Cuse were up 7 in the first half before Louisville went on a tear and took a 10 point lead into halftime. They built that lead up to 20 before nearly giving it all back. Syracuse cut it to 3, but with the help of good foul shooting and shaky officiating, Louisville held on. This is the 6th lose in the past 8 for Syracuse and the team that started 18-0 is suddenly just 7-6 in the conference and sitting in 11th place. Louisville seems to be gelling at just the right time, like Pitino teams almost always do. The Cardinals toughest two games remaining are Connecticut and Pitt, both of which have to travel to Louisville. If the season ended today Pitino and Co. would be the 4th seed getting a double bye.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 82
DePaul Blue Demons 71
A win is a win in the Big East and I’m sure that WVU was thrilled to snap their mini losing streak, but it was not very impressive at all. DePaul is a team that you hope to get down and then put them away, West Virginia never did that. They built a 9 point lead in the first half, but never really added much to it. Kind of just cruising to that 11 point win. WVU is now sitting in 6th place, but only a half a game out of 10th. West Virginia has a brutal schedule to close. The Mountaineers still have 5 of their final 6 games against teams either within a game of them or ahead of them in the standings. As for DePaul, well, they really stink. We still have 3 full weeks remaining in the regular season and DePaul is the first team to clinch a start date for the tournament. Sure we all figure that South Florida and Providence will be playing Tuesday, maybe Seton Hall, Rutgers and St. John’s will join them, but DePaul has clinched that.

SETON HALL PIRATES 69
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 64
I’m sure this is not the way that Rutgers would have like to follow up their big win against Villanova, splitting with their hated state rival Seton Hall, each team winning on the road. Both teams were tied coming into this one at 4-8, so the Hall has the upper hand right now in the standings, but both teams currently look destined to be playing on Tuesday once the tournament starts. Seton Hall closes the season with a slightly more difficult schedule including games with Villanova and Notre Dame as well as a pair still with Marquette. Rutgers has it’s toughest 2 games remaining at home, which they have proved to make tough place to play. The Scarlet Knights end the season with games on the road at Providence and DePaul, which has to be the easiest of any team. That could give them some nice momentum going into the BET.

PITT PANTHERS 57
Villanova Wildcats 54
Philly boys Brad Wanamaker and Nasir Robinson showed off in front of their friends and family combining for 36 of the Panthers 57 points in the win. Pitt built up a 10 point lead in the second half before holding off a late rally. Villanova shouldn’t be hitting the panic button just yet, but they might want to locate it and have it within reach. This is now the Wildcats 4th loss in their last 6 games after starting 5-1 in the conference. Nova is still sitting in a nice position, but just not where many fans thought they would be at this point. Losses on the road to Providence and Rutgers has Nova sitting in 5th place, 1 game out of the double bye spot. The good news is that Nova has Seton Hall and DePaul the next two games. The bad news is that 4 of their last 6 are on the road. Pitt on the other hand is sitting pretty with a game and a half lead on the rest of the conference with 6 games to go. Pitt, with help. could actually clinch a first day bye as early as Wednesday when they host South Florida.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 11-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 8-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs Marquette
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Louisville Cardinals 8-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
Villanova Wildcats 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 @ Seton Hall
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
West Virginia Mountaineers 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/14 @ Syracuse
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs St. John’s
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
St. John’s Red Storm 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Cincinnati
2/15 @ Marquette
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
UCONN Huskies 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs Providence
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Georgetown
2/15 vs St. John’s
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
Syracuse Orange 7-6
Remaining Schedule:
2/14 vs West Virginia
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Seton Hall Pirates 5-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/15 vs Villanova
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Connecticut
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-12
Remaining Schedule:
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
St. John’s @ Cincinnati NOON, Regional TV
Marquette @ Georgetown 1:00 PM, ESPN
Providence @ Connecticut 7:00 PM, Regional TV

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Connecticut
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Marquette
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Syracuse
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - Villanova
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Cincinnati
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-11 BETology

2011-02-11T01:28:00.003-05:00

Before we start things off I want to congratulate the players and teams from this years McDonald’s All-American Game. The rosters were announced yesterday and of the 24 players selected for the game, five will be playing in the Big East next season. Syracuse and Louisville each have two recruits playing and Pitt has one. For Syracuse, Michael Carter-Williams from St. Andrew’s in Rhode Island and Rakeem Christmas from Academy of the New Church just outside of Philadelphia will both be playing on the East squad. Louisville has Chane Behanan from Bowling Green, Kentucky playing on the East team and Wayne Blackshear from Morgan Park in Chicago playing on the West team. Pitt has Khem Birch from Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts, but originally from Montreal playing on the West team. Good luck to all those players, I look forward to watching you play on the biggest stage in college basketball next season in the Big East. Here is a look at the rest of the McDonald’s All-American roster. The game will be played on March 30th at 10:00 pm EST in the United Center in Chicago and can be seen live on ESPN.

Now onto the games from last night. Another night of Big East basketball and another upset. This conference just gets better and better every day it seems.

LAST NIGHT RECAP:
ST. JOHN’S RED STORM 89
Connecticut Huskies 72
The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde team of the Big East was at it again last night. St. John’s, who has losses to St. Bonaventure’s and Fordham (both within 5 days of each other) has now beaten its second top 10 team in just under two weeks. The Johnnies, beat Duke by 15 at MSG on Jan 30th and UCONN last night. This result creates a 5-team tie in the standings ranging from 7th place to 11th place. So 2 of those 5 teams would get a bye in NYC and 3 will start play on Tuesday if the tournament started tomorrow. St. John’s goes on the road for 2 straight against teams they are tied with in Cincinnati then Marquette. After that road trip they come home to host first place Pitt. UCONN has it a little easier with their next two both at home, but the second of the two is Georgetown winners of 7 straight in the conference. That makes their game with Providence on Sunday that much more critical that they come away with a victory.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 10-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Villanova
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ South Florida
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 8-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs Marquette
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Villanova Wildcats 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Pitt
2/15 @ Seton Hall
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Louisville Cardinals 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Syracuse
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
Syracuse Orange 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Louisville
2/14 vs West Virginia
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
St. John’s Red Storm 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Cincinnati
2/15 @ Marquette
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
UCONN Huskies 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs Providence
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs St. John’s
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Georgetown
2/15 vs St. John’s
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
West Virginia Mountaineers 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs DePaul
2/14 @ Syracuse
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Seton Hall
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Seton Hall Pirates 4-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Rutgers
2/15 vs Villanova
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Providence Friars 3-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Connecticut
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Notre Dame
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ West Virginia
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
No Games Scheduled

SATURDAY:
Notre Dame @ South Florida NOON, Regional TV
Syracuse @ Louisville NOON, ESPN
DePaul @ West Virginia 4:00 PM, Regional TV
Seton Hall @ Rutgers 7:00 PM, ESPNU
Pitt @ Villanova 9:00 pm, ESPN

SUNDAY:
St. John’s @ Cincinnati NOON, Regional TV
Marquette @ Georgetown 1:00 PM, ESPN
Providence @ Connecticut 7:00 PM, Regional TV

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Cincinnati
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Rutgers
Vs
13 – Seton Hall
7:00
10 – Marquette
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – West Virginia
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – UCONN
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – St. John’s
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-10 BETology

2011-02-10T04:15:00.002-05:00

We had a crazy night last night in the Big East, so let’s not waste any time and see what happened.

LAST NIGHT RECAP:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 89
Louisville Cardinals 79
OVERTIME
This was the 5th time in the last 9 meetings between these two teams that went to overtime and the Irish came out on top largely in part to Louisville going scoreless from the 1:22 mark left in regulation to the 1:04 mark of the overtime session. During those 5+ minutes Notre Dame went from down 2 to up 14. Notre Dame now has a full game separation over the rest of the conference behind Pitt in the #2 spot. The Irish have won 6 straight, but now go on the road for 3 straight hoping to improve on their 2-3 road record for the season. The loss drops Louisville into a mix of 5 teams all within 1 game of each other fighting for the double byes. The Cardinals schedule doesn’t get any easier with Syracuse and Connecticut both traveling to Kentucky and a trip across the river to Cincinnati in the next 10 days.

GEORGETOWN HOYAS 64
Syracuse Orange 56
The Hoyas take this round in the Big East’s best rivalry game. The win gives Hoyas coach John Thompson his first win in six tries at the Carrier Dome. It also marks the first time since 2002 that the Orange have lost 3 straight at home. Georgetown, winners of 7 straight after starting the conference season 1-4, is now right in the thick of the chase for a double bye. The Hoyas currently sit alone in 3rd place with a half game lead over Villanova and Louisville and a full game lead over UCONN and Syracuse. Georgetown has a very manageable schedule remaining and have put themselves in a great position to earn that double bye. The Cuse however are in a downward spiral. Syracuse is now losers of 5 of 7 after starting the season 18-0. The Orange go on the road next to Louisville. Syracuse still has two other tough road games on the schedule at Villanova and Georgetown. Being just one half of a game ahead of 3 other teams for 7th place, Syracuse could find themselves playing on opening day in New York if they don’t figure out what’s wrong.

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS 77
Villanova Wildcats 76
Rutgers held 2 leads the entire game, once at 5-4 three minutes into the game and the final at 77-76 with :00.8 left. Villanova had this game wrapped up before Corey Fisher committed the biggest sin in basketball, fouling a jumper shooter. But that wasn’t the worst of it, he fouled the jumper shooter while he was attempting a desperation game tying 3 pointer. He made the shot and then the go-ahead foul shot for the win. The Rutgers comeback was impressive. The Scarlet Knights went 8-17 from beyond the arc during this game, but made them when they counted making 6 of 7 in the final 4 minutes. Rutgers, at 4-8, is still a ways behind the front runners in the conference and are almost assured to be playing on Tuesday in New York, but if they string some wins together, they could get themselves a favorable match-up in that opening day game. Rutgers has 3 of their next 4 at home. Villanova finds themselves battling for a double bye but could be in danger of missing out on any bye. Currently they sit tied for the 4th spot, but only 1 game out of the missing any bye. Next up for Villanova is Pitt at home Saturday.

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 59
South Florida Bulls 58
Marquette found themselves in a battle in a game that really should not have been that close. The Golden Eagles trailed on the road in Tampa by 16 in the second half but used a full court press to create turnovers and finish the game on a 31-14 run. Marquette forced 18 turnovers, many in the second half when they used a trapping press to change the pace of the game. Marquette keeps themselves in the thick of the Big East race with the win improving to 6-5 in conference play. That puts them just 1 game out, and some favorable tie-breakers away from getting a double bye in New York. The Golden Eagles have a very favorable schedule the rest of the way out with games against Georgetown and UCONN the only two against teams ahead of them in the standings. As for South Florida, this doesn’t do much for them as they have all but clinched being in New York on Tuesday. The Bulls would pretty much have to win out to avoid Tuesday in NYC, but that seems very unlikely with 2 games against Pitt, as well as 1 against Notre Dame and Georgetown still on the schedule.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 10-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Villanova
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ South Florida
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Georgetown Hoyas 8-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs Marquette
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
Villanova Wildcats 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Pitt
2/15 @ Seton Hall
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Louisville Cardinals 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Syracuse
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
UCONN Huskies 6-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/10 @ St. John’s
2/13 vs Providence
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
Syracuse Orange 7-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Louisville
2/14 vs West Virginia
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Marquette Golden Eagles 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Georgetown
2/15 vs St. John’s
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
West Virginia Mountaineers 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs DePaul
2/14 @ Syracuse
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs St. John’s
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
St. John’s Red Storm 5-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/10 vs Connecticut
2/13 @ Cincinnati
2/15 @ Marquette
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Seton Hall
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Seton Hall Pirates 4-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Rutgers
2/15 vs Villanova
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Providence Friars 3-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Connecticut
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs Notre Dame
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ West Virginia
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

TODAY:
Connecticut @ St. John’s 7:00 pm, ESPN

TOP TV GAMES OF THE WEEK:
SATURDAY:
Syracuse @ Louisville NOON, ESPN
Pitt @ Villanova 9:00 pm, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – West Virginia
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Rutgers
Vs
13 – Seton Hall
7:00
10 – Cincinnati
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – St. John's
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – Marquette
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - Louisville
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Georgetown
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-9 BETology

2011-02-09T01:19:00.003-05:00

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 in just under one month on March 8th.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 10-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Villanova
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Louisville
2/12 @ South Florida
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Villanova Wildcats 7-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ Rutgers
2/12 vs Pitt
2/15 @ Seton Hall
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Louisville Cardinals 7-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ Notre Dame
2/12 vs Syracuse
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
Syracuse Orange 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Georgetown
2/12 @ Louisville
2/14 vs West Virginia
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Georgetown Hoyas 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ Syracuse
2/13 vs Marquette
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
UCONN Huskies 6-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/10 @ St. John’s
2/13 vs Providence
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
West Virginia Mountaineers 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs DePaul
2/14 @ Syracuse
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 vs St. John’s
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Marquette Golden Eagles 5-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ South Florida
2/13 @ Georgetown
2/15 vs St. John’s
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
St. John’s Red Storm 5-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/10 vs Connecticut
2/13 @ Cincinnati
2/15 @ Marquette
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Seton Hall Pirates 4-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Rutgers
2/15 vs Villanova
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 3-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Villanova
2/12 vs Seton Hall
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Connecticut
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Marquette
2/12 vs Notre Dame
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-11
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ West Virginia
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

LAST NIGHT:
CINCINNATI BEARCATS 71
DePaul 68
The Bearcats nearly had a huge letdown in the last minutes of this game. Up by 11 with 6 minutes to go Cincinnati closed the game by going 0-4 from the field, 3-6 from the foul line and having 3 turnovers. This let the Blue Demons sneak back in the game and try to claim their first victory of the season in conference play. DePaul hit a 3 pointer with :00.4 left in the game to close the lead to 3. After a Cincinnati could not successfully get the ball inbounds, DePaul got one last possession and saw a 3 point shot rim out as time expired. DePaul has now lost 24 staright Big East games including last years BET; their last win was January 20th of last year against Marquette. Cincinnati keeps its slim NCAA hopes alive with the win, a loss would have dashed all chances of an at-large bid. Cincinnati snaps its two game losing streak with the win and now have home games against St. John's and Louisville next up on the schedule.

TODAY:
Georgetown @ Syracuse 7:00 pm, ESPN
Louisville @ Notre Dame 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Marquette @ South Florida 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Villanova @ Rutgers 8:00 pm, Regional TV

TOP TV GAMES OF THE WEEK:
SATURDAY:
Syracuse @ Louisville NOON, ESPN
Pitt @ Villanova 9:00 pm, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Cincinnati
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – Marquette
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – St. John's
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

2-8 BETology

2011-02-08T02:58:00.003-05:00

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 in exactly one month on March 8th.

STANDINGS:
Big East Official Tie-Breaking formula
Pitt Panthers 10-1
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Villanova
2/16 vs South Florida
2/19 @ St. John’s
2/24 vs West Virginia
2/27 @ Louisville
3/2 @ South Florida
3/5 vs Villanova
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Louisville
2/12 @ South Florida
2/19 @ West Virginia
2/23 @ Providence
2/26 vs Seton Hall
2/28 vs Villanova
3/5 @ Connecticut
Villanova Wildcats 7-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ Rutgers
2/12 vs Pitt
2/15 @ Seton Hall
2/19 @ DePaul
2/21 vs Syracuse
2/26 vs St. John’s
2/28 @ Notre Dame
3/5 @ Pitt
Louisville Cardinals 7-3
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ Notre Dame
2/12 vs Syracuse
2/16 @ Cincinnati
2/18 vs Connecticut
2/22 @ Rutgers
2/27 vs Pitt
3/2 vs Providence
3/5 @ West Virginia
Syracuse Orange 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Georgetown
2/12 @ Louisville
2/14 vs West Virginia
2/19 vs Rutgers
2/21 @ Villanova
2/26 @ Georgetown
3/5 vs DePaul
Georgetown Hoyas 7-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ Syracuse
2/13 vs Marquette
2/16 @ Connecticut
2/19 @ South Florida
2/23 vs Cincinnati
2/26 vs Syracuse
3/5 @ Cincinnati
UCONN Huskies 6-4
Remaining Schedule:
2/10 @ St. John’s
2/13 vs Providence
2/16 vs Georgetown
2/18 @ Louisville
2/24 vs Marquette
2/27@ Cincinnati
3/2 @ West Virginia
3/5 vs Notre Dame
West Virginia Mountaineers 6-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 vs DePaul
2/14 @ Syracuse
2/19 vs Notre Dame
2/24 @ Pitt
2/27 @ Rutgers
3/2 vs Connecticut
3/5 vs Louisville
Marquette Golden Eagles 5-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 @ South Florida
2/13 @ Georgetown
2/15 vs St. John’s
2/19 vs Seton Hall
2/24 @ Connecticut
2/27 vs Providence
3/2 vs Cincinnati
3/5 @ Seton Hall
St. John’s Red Storm 5-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/10 vs Connecticut
2/13 @ Cincinnati
2/15 @ Marquette
2/19 vs Pitt
2/23 vs DePaul
2/26 @ Villanova
3/2 @ Seton Hall
3/5 vs South Florida
Cincinnati Bearcats 5-5
Remaining Schedule:
2/8 @ DePaul
2/13 vs St. John’s
2/16 vs Louisville
2/19 @ Providence
2/23 @ Georgetown
2/27 vs Connecticut
3/2 @ Marquette
3/5 vs Georgetown
Seton Hall Pirates 4-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/12 @ Rutgers
2/15 vs Villanova
2/19 @ Marquette
2/26 @ Notre Dame
3/3 vs St. John’s
3/5 vs Marquette
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 3-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Villanova
2/12 vs Seton Hall
2/19 @ Syracuse
2/22 vs Louisville
2/27 vs West Virginia
3/2 @ DePaul
3/5 @ Providence
Providence Friars 3-8
Remaining Schedule:
2/13 @ Connecticut
2/17 vs DePaul
2/19 vs Cincinnati
2/23 vs Notre Dame
2/27 @ Marquette
3/2 @ Louisville
3/5 vs Rutgers
South Florida Bulls 2-9
Remaining Schedule:
2/9 vs Marquette
2/12 vs Notre Dame
2/16 @ Pitt
2/19 vs Georgetown
2/26 @ DePaul
3/2 vs Pitt
3/5 @ St. John’s
DePaul Blue Demons 0-10
Remaining Schedule:
2/8 vs Cincinnati
2/12 @ West Virginia
2/17 @ Providence
2/19 vs Villanova
2/23 @ St. John’s
2/26 vs South Florida
3/2 vs Rutgers
3/5 @ Syracuse

LAST NIGHT:
PITT PANTHERS 71
West Virginia 66
Pittsburgh played its first game without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs and didn’t miss a beat offensively as the Panthers had 4 players score in double figures and 4 others add their names in the scoring column. Pitt shot over 40% from the field and out-rebounded the Mountaineers 39-25 on the evening. Deniz Kilicil who scored 19 points to lead all scorers led West Virginia. Pitt has now won 3 straight and faces Villanova on Saturday. WVU hosts DePaul Saturday in hopes of snapping its 2 game losing skid.

TODAY:
Cincinnati @ DePaul 7:00pm, ESPN2

TOP TV GAMES OF THE WEEK:
WEDNESDAY:
Georgetown @ Syracuse 7:00 pm, ESPN
Louisville @ Notre Dame 7:00 pm, ESPNU

SATURDAY:
Syracuse @ Louisville NOON, ESPN
Pitt @ Villanova 9:00 pm, ESPN

BETology:
TUESDAY
March 8th:
NOON
9 – Marquette
Vs
16 - DePaul
2:00
12 – Seton Hall
Vs
13 – Rutgers
7:00
10 – St. John’s
Vs
15 – South Florida
9:00
11 – Cincinnati
Vs
14 – Providence

WEDNESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
8 – West Virginia
Vs
Tuesday NOON winner
2:00
5 - Syracuse
Vs
Tuesday 2:00 winner
7:00
7 – Connecticut
Vs
Tuesday 7:00 winner
9:00
6 – Georgetown
Vs
Tuesday 9:00 winner

THURSDAY
March 10th:
NOON
1 - Pitt
Vs
Wednesday NOON winner
2:00
4 – Louisville
Vs
Wednesday 2:00 winner
7:00
2 – Notre Dame
Vs
Wednesday 7:00 winner
9:00
3 – Villanova
Vs
Wednesday 9:00 winner

Check back tomorrow for another update!

ACT NOW, FIRE HAYWOOD

2011-01-01T02:42:00.002-05:00

Mark Nordenberg didn’t exactly have the ideal New Year’s Eve. Just before 4PM Friday, the new Pitt football head coach Michael Haywood was arrested for domestic violence in South Bend, IN. The Pitt Chancellor now has a tough decision to make, but one he has to do. He must fire Michael Haywood right now.

Another coaching search is the last thing that Pitt fans want to deal with right now, but it has to be done. In my last post, one that welcomed Haywood as the head coach, I ended the rant with the comment that, “I’m willing to at least give the guy a chance.” Well, I gave him a chance and he just ruined it.

You cannot run a football program, be the father figure to 120 young men, and hit women. Haywood preached discipline, building character and bringing integrity to the players and program. Yet he used none of those traits or characteristics with his actions yesterday afternoon.

So what is the next move for Nordenberg? Well, my first move, after firing Haywood would be showing Steve Pederson the door as well. Pederson is responsible for this hire. This was his chance to go out and get the guy to take Pitt to the next level, and by the looks of things he has taking Pitt to a new low.

After firing Haywood and Pederson, the next move is finding your next head coach. Since Dave Wannestedt was replaced, Pitt has lost nearly half of their verbal commitments from the recruiting class that signs letters of intent in 5 weeks. Of the 10 that have stayed committed, about half of them are at least willing to consider other schools. Mark Nordenberg needs to hire a head coach ASAP. He also needs to be willing to open up his wallet to do so. He has 5 weeks to get a coach, and for that coach to fill a recruiting class. He cannot let money get in the way of hiring the best possible coach for this university and this program. He needs a big-time name that will draw players. He needs someone that will get the majority of the recruits who left, to come back to Pitt. He needs to offer the Cathedral of Learning to Chris Petersen and hope he accepts the position.

After he lands Chris Petersen, and he needs to not accept “NO” for an answer from him, the next step would be hiring a new athletic director. I’m not going to lie and say I know what it takes for a person to be a good athletic director, I don’t. I do however know that I want this hire to be a Pitt guy. I want this guy to love Pitt the way that I do. I want this guy to see the challenge ahead of him with the problems left behind from Steve Pederson and this football hire and want to fix them; not because it is his job, but because he cares about the University of Pittsburgh, and he wants to be a part of turning this mess into something special. My top two candidates are guys who love the school and football program. Two guys that are well known among the alumni. And two guys who have done as much as anyone else for Pitt’s national perception. My first candidate is Mark May. There is nobody that represents the Panthers in the national spotlight better. He is an educated man that clearly knows what is going on throughout the NCAA at this time. The next candidate is Dave Wannestedt. Yes, that Dave Wannestedt. He cares about the program. There is no way that this would have happened with him running the show. I don’t think he is the right guy to be on the sidelines, but I think he would certainly be a great guy to take the athletic department in the right direction, back to where it should be.

Whether these hires happens remain to be seen, but one thing that can’t happen is Michael Haywood cannot be the head coach of this football team any longer.

PITT HIRES HAYWOOD

2010-12-17T00:31:00.002-05:00

Earlier today, the University of Pittsburgh will announce Michael Haywood as the football programs 34th head coach. This comes 9 days after the forced resignation of Dave Wannestedt. Many supporters of the program were glad to see Wannestedt go, but then thoroughly disappointed in the hiring process of his replacement. So let’s take a look at what has gone on over the past week plus.

Many Pitt fans were excited about the program not settling for the underachieving that Wannestedt had done over the past three. Most fans also expected the university to make a sexy pick for their next hire to take Pitt to the proverbial “next level.” Michael Haywood is by no means is a sexy pick as the new head coach.

When Wannestedt was forced to resign, the rumors began of who could be the next head coach. We heard Chris Petersen from Boise State was the first person that Steve Pederson contacted. We heard names like Mike Leach tossed around. The way-to-optimistic Pitt fans saw Urban Meyer available as the next coach after he resigned at Florida. Well, none of these guys ended up being serious contenders. The guys that were considered serious candidates included Al Golden from Temple, who took the Miami head coaching position, and Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who chancellor Mark Nordenberg said no to. That left fans back at square one. However, that was not the case for Pederson and the staff at Pitt. Apparently, they had in fact offered Al Golden the position and he was the schools #1 choice, but he chose Miami instead. However, the school never did offer Holgorsen and reports are showing that the school never actually talked to him directly about the job. Nordenberg did not like his background and thought he was not a “Pitt guy” (whatever that is).

What we have found out is that Michael Haywood was interviewed multiple times during this process, so apparently he was one of the schools top targets from the beginning. And why wouldn’t he be? Haywood has a solid background. Haywood, in his first head-coaching job, went 1-11 in his first season. In season two, he in 9-4 and won the conference title. On that conference title team, 43 of the 65 men on the travel roster were freshmen or sophomores. The guy cleaned house, got the players he wanted and won, what’s not to like?

Haywood has a great coaching background too. Since 1995 he worked at three programs before getting the head-coaching job at Miami. In that time he won a national championship while at LSU working with Nick Saban. He also learned from Mack Brown at Texas and was the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame with Charlie Weis. Nobody liked Charlie Weis at Notre Dame and they didn’t win much, but one thing that never lost them games was the offense, and that was run by Haywood.

Do I love the hire, no. Do I hate it though, certainly not. I like the fact that Haywood has head coaching experience. I like the fact that he has great recruiting connections. I like the fact that it is tough to find another coach in the business that has worked with him that doesn’t rave about his abilities. I get that he was not a sexy pick, but I’m willing to at least give the guy a chance. The last time Pitt fans were this upset that the school didn’t make a “sexy” hire was when the university hired a guy named Jamie Dixon, how’s that working out?

PITT COACHING SEARCH

2010-12-10T03:37:00.003-05:00

PITT COACHING SEARCH

Since the news came down on Tuesday that Dave Wannestedt would not return as the head football coach at Pitt, the question that everyone wanted answered was not, “why?” it was, "who can we get to replace him?" Well, I am hoping to shine some light on the subject today. Below I have listed the names of 20 potential candidates that have either been rumored or that I would like considered for the job. Some are long-shot chances and others are nightmare choices, but I will break them all down here.

(Listed alphabetically)
Teryl Austin - Austin, 45, is currently the defensive coordinator at Florida, which now also has a head-coaching opening. Austin played at Pitt from 84-87 and has some very strong ties to the area. He was a defensive coach at Michigan before working two stints in the NFL as a defensive backs coach before taking his current position at Florida. He has also been known as a very strong recruiter.

There is lots to like about Austin. He is a young coach. He has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area, being from Sharon, PA. He is a strong recruiter, and that always is important. He has coached at major programs and has many connections to the NFL. The negative is he is a defensive coach. College football has become a score first ask questions later league, and we just went through what a defensive minded coach brings. Another draw back, in my opinion, is that he is a Pitt guy. I love Pitt, and I loved coach Wannestedt’s love for Pitt, but the next coach’s main concern should be winning; not returning home to be the school’s football savior.
GRADE (1-10, 1 = I will start rooting for Penn State and WVU if this hire is made, 10 = Do you think this guy will be ready to go by the BBVA Compass Bowl game?): 6.5

Tom Bradley - Bradley has been the defensive coordinator at Penn State since 2000. He had widely been considered the next in line at Penn State after Joe Paterno retires, but that no longer seems to be the case. He is a relentless recruiter and has tons of connections throughout Western PA.

As much as his defenses have dominated at Penn State, it concerns me that he has dropped out of favor with the higher-ups at Penn State. If he isn’t good enough for Penn State, he isn’t good enough for Pitt.
GRADE: 5

Frank Cignetti - Cignetti, 45, is the current offensive coordinator for the Panthers. He helped develop Bill Stull from a very average QB, to the leader in the Big East in passing his senior season. He has lots of ties to the university and the Pittsburgh area, growing up in the area and starting his coaching career as a grad assistant at Pitt.

What worries me is the offense that we saw this year. Was that Wannestedt playing close to the vest, or was that Cignetti making those play calls? I would rather start over and not keep this coaching staff.
GRADE: 2.5

John Fox - Fox, 55, is currently the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, but looks to be done there after this season. Fox coached at Pitt in the late 80’s for 3 seasons under Mike Gottfried. Fox also coached for the Steelers in Chuck Noll’s final 3 seasons. His name was thrown around during the Pitt coaching search 6 years ago before the school hired Wannestedt.

We’ve been down this aisle already with Dave Wannestedt. John Fox was a good coordinator everywhere he coached. He was an above average head coach in the NFL, but nothing special. As I said, I don’t want an NFL guy to do a college job.
GRADE: 3

Greg Gattuso - Gattuso, 48, is the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at Pitt. He has done wonders for the defense at Pitt. He had been considered a great recruiter in the western PA area, but recently has burned some bridges. Gattuso played at Penn State and has head coaching experience at Duquesne.

I would love to see Gattuso stay on the staff at Pitt, but not running the staff. He has developed the defensive linemen at Pitt to dominate games and that position at Pitt has won Big East Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons under Gattuso. I worry that he is a defensive mind and Pitt needs someone that thinks offense. Hopefully, that person sees the value of Gattuso and keeps him at Pitt.
GRADE: 6

Al Golden - Golden, 41, is the head coach at Temple. He has completely turned the Owls around and made them relevant in the college football world. Golden has played and coached at Penn State and he now seems to be the hot coach whose name gets thrown around when talking about replacing Joe Paterno.

I don’t want a guy that is going to leave Pitt for Penn State, and I have no doubt that Golden would do that. I think he has the potential to be a great coach, but that is not enough for me to feel comfortable with him as the long-term fit at Pitt.
GRADE: 2

Russ Grimm - Grimm, 51, is the offensive line coach and assistant head coach for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. Grimm played at Pitt during the glory days of the program, from 1977-1980. He is and has always been a great ambassador to the university. He was a candidate for the Steelers head-coaching job after Bill Cowher retired.

A big concern that I have about Russ Grimm is that he has never coached college football. I feel that he is a lot like Dave Wannestedt without the background. I would worry that this would be a Foge Fazio type hire, one that could really set the program back in the end.
GRADE: 2.5

Dana Holgorsen - Holgorsen, 39, is the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. In his first year with the Cowboys, the offense led the nation in total offense. He is a disciple of Mike Leach and Hal Mumme. He is probably one of the hottest young assistant coaches in the nation right now.

Holgorsen has been rumored to have been contacted by Pitt yesterday regarding the opening, and I think this is a slam-dunk. Holgorsen would put points on the board and seats in the stadium. His offense is exciting, and Pitt certainly has the talent and skill players for him to be able to come in immediately and win. One downfall is that he is not widely known as a big-time recruiter, but when you run an offense like this, the system recruits for you.
GRADE: 9.5

Mike Leach - Leach, 49, is currently looking for work while sipping frosty beverages in his Key West home. Leach took a Texas Tech program from nothing to a national power, and that while competing against the likes of Texas, A&M and Oklahoma for the top talent in the area. In his 10 seasons at Tech, Leach never had a losing season. Leach never played football, but instead, studied the game. He went to BYU and studied the high-powered offensive that Lavell Edwards and Norm Chow ran there. He then went on to Pepperdine Law School where he earned a JD. He has graduated his players, while keeping them out of trouble as a coach.

People seem to be scared off by Mike Leach because he was accused of putting a player suffering from concussion-like syndromes into a storage shed. That may or may not have been the right thing to do, but maybe that is how they do it in Lubbock. Pitt has some of the best doctors in the country so the good news is they would be handling athletes with concussions, not the head coach. I don’t see much wrong with this hire, and I think it is just the type of hire Pitt needs to make.
GRADE: 9.5

Marvin Lewis - Lewis, 52, is the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, but is likely to be fired at the end of the season. Lewis was born in western PA and has ties to both the Steelers and Pitt, coaching both teams in the early 90’s. Since leaving the Steelers he went on to be the defensive coordinator in Baltimore and Washington before being named the head coach in Cincinnati in 2003.

Lewis has not been in the college game since 1991 when he was at Pitt. This is a lot like John Fox. Why would Pitt want to hire an NFL guy that has failed at his most recent job and has not been in the college game over the last 20 years? Wouldn’t make much sense to me.
GRADE: 2.5

Tim Lewis - Lewis, 48, is currently coaching the secondary for the Atlanta Falcons. Lewis is a former Pitt player, from 1979-1982. He was the 11th pick in the 1983 draft and played for the Packers for 4 seasons before suffering a career ending neck injury. Lewis coached at Pitt for 2 seasons under the “Back to the Future” debacle under Johnny Majors. Lewis then went on to coach the Steelers.

As the defensive coordinator for the Steelers, he is responsible for cutting James Harrison three times. Do we really want someone that cannot recognize talent like that? He also has never been a head coach and been fired as a defensive coordinator every time he held the position. Not someone that is really blowing the doors off saying, “HIRE ME!”
GRADE: 2

Gus Malzahn - Malzahn, 45, is the offensive coordinator at Auburn. He has also held that position at Tulsa and Arkansas. He is known as an offensive guru and someone that really develops quarterbacks. He loves hurry-up offenses and rarely huddles. He has had success with talented players, but his recruiting ability is unknown.

The one thing that scares me about Malzahn is that he was coaching high school football in Arkansas the last time Pitt went through a coaching search. Malzahn basically got his first college job because his high school team was loaded, so before signing day, Arkansas offered him the OC position to bring his players with him. Now he has Cam Newton. I’m not so sure how difficult it is to look like an offensive genius when you have that guy playing QB.
GRADE: 7

Josh McDaniels - McDaniels, 34, was just fired by the Denver Broncos after losing 17 of the last 22 games. He is a Bill Belichek disciple and was considered a sure-fire, big-time head coach in the NFL and started 6-2 in his first 8 games. McDaniels is from Ohio, but does not have any direct connections to Pitt or the Pittsburgh area.

Pederson has loved hiring NFL guys in the past, and McDaniels looks like someone that he might like. McDaniels has never recruited and has never coached the college level. He is also a cheater. He was behind the “SpyGate” scandal the Patriots had and has just recently gone through it again with the Broncos this season.
GRADE: 1.5

Bronco Mendenhall - Mendenhall, 44, is the head coach at BYU. Mendenhall is one of the young head coaches that seem to pop-up on every coaching list. He is a defensive minded coach and has coached in college the past 20 years. He has had four 10+ win seasons in his six years at BYU. He has never coached east of the Mississippi, so his contacts, which are very important in the college game, would all be very far away.

I like the idea of hiring someone younger and I definitely want someone that is not a “Pitt guy,” so in that regard, Mendenhall seems like a great hire. I do worry about his ability to being able to cope with being the second most popular MENDENHALL in the city.
GRADE: 8

Chris Petersen - Petersen, 46, is the head coach at Boise State. He is by far the most popular candidate for every job opening in America. He has led Boise State to a 60-5 record since taking over. He was the mastermind behind the famous Fiesta Bowl game against Oklahoma, which featured a Hook And Ladder play to tie the game and a Statue of Liberty play to win it in overtime. Petersen is a great recruiter and has now started getting big-time talent to Boise. That is impressive. He also has ties to Pitt. His first coaching job was at Pitt in 1992 when he was the QB coach. Alex Van Pelt was the QB at the time, and he still holds the record for career passing yards at the school.

I can’t find anything wrong with this hire. Rumor has it that Pitt does plans to contact Petersen to gauge his interest in the position. Pitt has already named two different athletic complexes after him in preparations for this day. He is the go-to guy and, now that Florida seems set on either Dan Mullen or Charlie Strong (two former Meyer assistants), it opens Pitt up as the top job available so far this offseason.
GRADE: 10

Paul Rhoads - Rhoads, 43, is the head coach at Iowa State. Rhoads formerly was a defensive coordinator at Pitt before leaving Pitt to take the same position at Auburn. Rhoads was a finalist for the head-coaching job at Pitt when Walt Harris left for Stanford. Rhoades and Cavanaugh, the other finalist, both took positions as coordinators under Dave Wannestedt, who beat them both out for the position.

Rhoads has a record of 12-13 at Iowa State in two seasons. He left Pitt after a disappointing year and was never comfortable calling the defense after Dave Wannestedt came in with his defensive philosophies. He does obviously have ties to the university, but he played at Iowa State, so I am not sure he would want to leave even if he was offered the job at Pitt.
GRADE: 4

Mark Stoops - Stoops, 43, is the defensive coordinator at Florida State. Stoops has a strong family background in coaching. His brothers are both head coaches, Bob at Oklahoma and Mike at Arizona. Having coached at Miami and now Florida State, Stoops has lots of ties to high schools and recruiting in Florida, which is always nice. Like his brothers, Mark is also a defensive coach. Stoops was born and raised in Youngstown, OH so he is familiar with the area.

Stoops in an interesting candidate for the job due to his name. The Stoops family has been very success in the college coaching world. I like the fact that he does not have any direct ties to the university, but I worry about him being a defense first coach. His defenses have been good everywhere he has gone, but both of his brothers struggled finding good offenses to compliment their defenses, and that worries me a bit.
GRADE: 7

Kevin Sumlin - Sumlin, 46, is currently the head coach at Houston. He has worked in the college game his entire career, including some very prominent programs and offenses. Before taking over the reins at Houston, Sumlin had one of the most successful offenses in the country at Oklahoma. Since taking over at Houston, his teams are 23-16, including a 10-win season last year.

Sumlin is rumored to be a finalist for the vacancy at Miami, which looks like it could be filled by the end of this weekend. So he may never actually be in the running for the Pitt job if things go his way in Coral Gables. Sumlin would be the 1st African American head coach at Pitt in any major sport. His offenses have always been high-powered passing games, which have put up lots of points, but also may not fit in the cold northeast.
GRADE: 6.5

Sal Sunseri - Sunseri, 51, is the linebackers coach at Alabama. He is a Panther grad, and his son is the current quarterback at Pitt. He has coached at high-level programs including LSU and Michigan State under Nick Saban before going to the NFL to join John Fox’s staff in Carolina. Sunseri was the interim coach at Pitt for 1 game to end the 1992 season and that team lost to Hawaii. Although he has coached all different levels at all different places, Sunseri has never even been a coordinator, let alone a head coach.

There is nothing good about this hire. Sunseri was not even a finalist 6 years ago when he wanted the position. Another downfall to this hire would be that his son, Tino, would pretty much be handed the starting QB job the next two seasons, when Mark Myers (a redshirt freshman) should be the starter for the next 4 years.
GRADE: 1

Brent Venables - Venables, 39, has been the defensive coordinator for Bob Stoops at Oklahoma since 2004 and worked as the linebackers coach there for the five years prior to the promotion. Venables is a relentless recruiter and a great game planner on the defensive side of the ball.

One of the problems I have with Venables is that he is the defensive coordinator for a defensive minded coach, which always makes you wonder how much pull he really has with that defense. Another worry is that despite having a nice resume, he rarely has been getting looks for other openings. I am not normally one who changes my opinion based on what others think, but it says something when a guy continues to get overlooked for jobs that he is qualified for. One interesting thought is that if Bob Stoops takes the Florida job, I would imagine Venables would be a top candidate to replace Stoops at Oklahoma.
GRADE: 7.5

Well, there you have it. It took a little longer than I expected, but here is the complete list. As you can tell, I am looking for a younger, offensive coach with a college mindset of running up a score when he can. I would like a coach that takes a 21 point halftime lead and comes out of halftime with the mindset that he wants to make it 42, not that he wants to hold on and win by 14 or 21. I also want nothing to do with a Pitt guy. I want the best guy for the job, regardless of if he went to Pitt, drove through Pittsburgh at some point, or has no idea in which state Pittsburgh is located. I want a winner!

DAVE WANNESTEDT RESIGNS

2010-12-08T01:39:00.001-05:00

I had another Rant in mind for today, but due to the Wannestedt Era ending at Pitt, this takes priority.

First let me say that yes, I am glad that the University of Pittsburgh will no longer be coached by Dave Wannestedt. However, let me quickly follow that up by pointing out that Dave Wannestedt has been a great ambassador for the Pitt program over the last 6 years. Unfortunately, that does not get you very far though if you do not win games too.

I did not think that the university had enough guts to ask Wannestedt for his resignation. I am thrilled at how this worked out, for both parties. Coach Wannestedt has never been anything but a class act while at Pitt and representing the Panthers. That is why I was glad to see that Pitt offered Wanny a cushy job in the athletic department if he resigned as head coach. As much as Wanny wanted to win at Pitt, the last thing he would want to do is hurt the program by staying when a changed needed to be made. The school decided it was time and gave Wannestedt a chance to go out with his pride still intact, and he did.

As of right now, I would give the university an “A” for how they have handled things so far, but that is only half of it. Now the school needs to go out and find a guy that will win at Pitt. No more NFL guys. No more Pitt guys. Just go find a winner. So far they have handled this process flawlessly, but they need to finish. It is easy to get rid of a coach, the tough part is replacing him with someone better. This is the university’s new challenge.

Check back later in the week for a rundown of my wish list of Pitt coaches.

RANDOM RANT

2010-11-30T00:29:00.004-05:00

PITT FOOTBALL
I have supported Pitt football head coach Dave Wannestedt since they hired him. I supported him after being shellacked in his debut to Notre Dame at home. I supported him after the 3-0 debacle in the Sun Bowl. I supported him last year in all 3 of Pitt’s losses when they blew late 4th quarter leads. I supported him this year after I drove 3 hours to watch his team get embarrassed on national television to a very average Miami team.

I no longer support him. He has to go.

There is no reason that Pitt should have ZERO BCS bowl appearances since Dave Wannestedt has taken over. If you recall he took over for a guy that had just taken the Panthers to their lone BCS bowl game in Walt Harris, who took Pitt to the Fiesta Bowl in 2004. Pitt has lead recruiting rankings in 3 of the 6 recruiting classes that Wannestedt has put together. They finished in the top half of the conference in the other 3 seasons. Yet, with all that talent, he has gone to just 2 bowl appearances in 5 seasons. He has lost to teams like, Navy, Ohio University and Bowling Green. He has gone 2-4 against Rutgers. He has simply not lived up to expectations.

Nobody likes a coaching change. Dave Wannestedt is a great front man for the university and the Pitt football team. However, he is not getting it done on the field on a weekly basis. It is time for the university to create a new position in the athletic department, something like Assistant Athletic Director to the Football Program, and go out and hire a big name coach that can take the Panthers to the Promised Land.

The guy to do this? Chris Petersen, the front man for the Boise State Broncos. I know it sounds unrealistic, but hear me out.

Chris Petersen is just the type of guy that Pitt fans want. A younger coach, check. Petersen is just 46 years old and has been a head coach for the last five years. An offensive minded coach, check. Petersen is the guy that calls the play for that high-speed, high-paced Boise offense that ranks 4th in the nation in yards per game and 2nd in points per game. A big name guy, check, is there a bigger name out there when it comes to young and up-and-coming college coaches?

Is he a long shot? Yes, but he is exactly the guy that Pitt needs to go after if they want to be a legit football program. If you do not want to be a legit football program, which is fine, we will take out Top 5 basketball program, just tell the fan base so we can cancel our season tickets and find something else to do on Saturdays next fall.

THE REALLY BIG EAST
Texas Christian University announced today that they would be joining the Big East conference in all sports in 2012.

Let me repeat that, Texas Christian University announced today that they will be joining the Big East conference in all sports in 2012.

They were not referring to the Texas Big East, the actual Big East conference. The same conference that began in 1979, when Syracuse was the school furthest to the west and Georgetown was the southern most school.

Someone please explain to me how this works? Yes, I understand that TCU certainly strengthens the Big East football conference, but how does it help the rest of the conference? How long before the schools complain about the cost of sending the women’s tennis team to Dallas for their annual match? And tell me what this does for the basketball conference. The conference that is widely regarded as the best conference in the country year in and year out, how does adding TCU help there? How is adding a team that has already lost to Rider and UMASS this season going to help the strength of the basketball conference? The Horned Frogs went 5-11 last year in the Mountain West Conference last year, how do you think they will do when they are playing Villanova and Syracuse week in and week out? TCU has not played in the NCAA Tournament since 1997. Yeah that is great for the basketball conference. South Florida and DePaul are jumping for joy that they will have a team to beat.

I understand that the Big East wants to add teams for football, by why TCU? Don’t give me the old, “they need them to save face for their automatic BCS bid.” That is complete BS. Look at this write up by Chadd Cripe, from the Idaho Statesman about how the BCS will determine the future automatic bid teams. As you can see, the Big East is safe. Actually, the ACC is behind the Big East in both of the top key rankings and the Big Ten trails the Big East in one of them too. So, as I mentioned, the Big East is safe with their BCS bid, so why add TCU?

If I were the commissioner of the Big East, which I am available for the job if they are looking to improve the conference, I would add Villanova and Navy. It is not difficult to see how these two fit in and help the conference. Villanova is already in the Big East for every other sport and they are continuously a top 1-AA team and could make the leap rather easily. As for Navy they fit because they are an independent in football right now. That means that they have another conference already for all other sports. They compete in the Patriot League for all other sports, which fits them perfectly. By joining the Big East in football, it would still give them enough open weeks to play their rivalries games each year like Army, Air Force and Notre Dame as well as tie them into some bigger and better bowls. They also have a nation wide fan base obviously, which would only help the other Big East teams.

TCU has no place in the Big East. This move will be the beginning of the end of the Big East conference. A 17-team conference does not work. Does the conference go to 18? It is already too big, why are they adding schools. Does this mean they are going to drop some of the basketball only schools that make no sense (hello Marquette and DePaul, I mean you!)

As I said, TCU has no place in the Big East, but don’t worry the Big East won’t be around very long anymore after this.

This may just be the best thing about TCU. And honestly, ever since Miami left for the ACC, hot cheerleaders is something that has been missing in the Big East.

RANDOM RANT

2010-11-15T21:17:00.003-05:00

RANDOM RANTING

It’s been a while since my last Rant, so here are some thoughts regarding the sporting world, quarterbacks in it, and certain 4-letter stations that report it.

BRETT FAVRE

This one has been boiling for a while, since he came back for this “final” season. Brett Favre has played in something like 700 straight games, which is an NFL record. All the hype a few weeks back was that if he missed a game with his broken ankle, the streak would be snapped. Okay, let’s dissect that last thought.

First, this action by Favre trying/wanting to play illustrates his career in a nutshell. He wanted to keep his personal record in tact and was willing to do so, despite what was best for his team’s chance to win. He already held the record. He was not chasing it. I could possibly understand his desire to play if he was closing in on the record, but he is not. He is more than 100 games ahead of the next closest player on the active games streak. Eventually, this record will be snapped. Eventually, Favre will ACTUALLY retire and no longer play. I cannot wait for that date! Oh yeah, he played with a BROKEN ANKLE!

And we wonder why the Vikings are currently sitting at 3-6 in a year they were expected to compete for the NFC title. They are playing a 40+ year old QB with 2 broken bones in his ankle, and he is all but running the team because the pathetic coach doesn’t have the guts to stand-up to him. I am starting to think that Favre decided to play for Minnesota as one last move as a true Packer. He knew he could no longer play at the NFL level, so rather than retiring, he went to the Vikings to destroy the only real threat the Packers had in the NFC North. That is the only reasonable explanation.

Brett, please do us all a favor, and leave. Go back to Mississippi. Play football in your Wranglers. Go do whatever you want. Just quit trying to play in the NFL. I know that the people in Bristol will be upset when you finally do that because the will have to find REAL programming, but everyone else who enjoys sports will be grateful. You are ruining what was, at one point, a great career.

CAM NEWTON

Okay. Let’s move on to the next overblown QB story. Reports over the past few weeks are basically saying that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s dad, Cecil, told Mississippi State that it would cost anywhere between $100K to $180K for his son to play in Starkville. Frankly, I think that is being generous, I would want more if I were going to put my son on that shitty team. But seriously, what is wrong with his dad saying this? Why is this an issue? Why is this news?

Cam Newton plays at Auburn. He does not play at Mississippi State. There are not currently, nor have there been, any reports/rumors that he accepted any money to go to Auburn. Until that happens, this is not a story!

This would be like anyone else getting a job offer to do the job you currently do in Baghdad. Not sure about you, but I’m pretty sure my response would be something like, “You’d have to pay me between $100K and $180K for me to go there.”

THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES

First, I must say that not only did I not get the managerial job with the Pirates, but they did not even contact me for an interview. I am very upset and disappointed by this.

The Pirates hired Clint Hurdle as their new manager. He is the 6th manager for the organization since they decided to stop trying to win. It is an absolutely terrible hire, which makes it perfect for Neil Huntington, Frank Coonley and Bob Nutting. In an odd managing circle, Clint Hurdle takes over a position once held by Jim Tracy. In 2 seasons with the Bucs, Tracy went 135-189. He is now the current manager of the Colorado Rockies, a spot he took over from Clint Hurdle. He has since gone 157-121 in nearly 2 full seasons in Denver. In 2009, Tracy went 74-42 after replacing Hurdle, who had that same team at 18-28. Just basic math tells me Hurdle was 10 games under .500 and Tracey was 32 games above .500 with the same exact players. That is a 42 game difference. At that rate, we should expect the Pirates to win a total of 51 games over the next 2 seasons. So, the Pirates are basically hiring a guy who is a much worse manager than Jim Tracy; the same Jim Tracy who was fired after 2 seasons in Pittsburgh. Hmm, interesting!

The hire that I wanted (other than me) was Bobby Valentine. This guy must be black-balled by Major League teams. He is the only guy since Davey Johnson to win with the Mets. After getting canned there, he went overseas and won in Japan. He led the Chiba Lotte Mariners to their first pennant in 31 years and first Japan Series Title since 1974. That is about the same drought the Pirates have been in. Seems like a perfect fit for me. Yet he doesn’t even get an interview?

As a Pittsburgh sports fan, this weekend has been difficult for me. Pitt looked embarrassing on Thursday night, opening the door for what will be the typical Panther collapse that their fans are oh-so-familiar with. The Pirates have just committed to losing for another 5 years, minimum. And the Steelers were completely exposed by the Patriots. At least we have Pitt hoops!

The Pirates Need A New Manager, Why Not Me?

2010-10-04T20:42:00.009-04:00

October 4, 2010

Frank Coonelly
Pirates Team President
115 Federal Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

I am interested in the open managerial position with the Pittsburgh Pirates. As you can see from my enclosed resume, the invaluable experience I have had both coaching Brookline Little League and working a job that had me at nearly every home game has prepared me well for this position of managing the Pirates.

I am energetic, hard-working, and extremely knowledgeable of sports, something that most Pirate employees don‘t seem to be. My work background has supplied me with an understanding of the game of baseball. I also read Managing Baseball for Dummies, so I am well ahead of the game compared to your recent hires for this job. While coaching Brookline Little League, I have been a part of 7 championship teams, and I fully expect them to put a bust of me at the field entrance due to my success. Seeing how the Pirates love building statues to honor people, I thought this would be a plus for me. While watching over the past 3 seasons, I learned so much from watching every home game the team has played since I started. You know the old saying, “mistakes aren’t bad if you can learn from them.” Well, I’ve seen plenty of mistakes in the games I’ve seen and learned from all of them.

I have the skills, determination, knowledge, and natural instinct to be successful as the next manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I love baseball and there is nothing more that I would like to be a part of than turning this joke of a franchise around and making it a winner. I look forward to speaking with you about the opportunities involved in this job.

Sincerely,

Kevin Reitmeyer

Enclosures
RESUME

OBJECTIVE
To bring winning baseball back to the team and city that I love.

EXPERIENCE

AS A PLAYER:
1992 Knight of Columbus - Brookline Little League
Starting 2nd baseman and reserve centerfielder.

AS A COACH:
1998 - 2007 5 Championships - Brookline Little League
1st base coach and hitting instructor for Steve Poremski Plumbing (1998 - 2001)
Won 3 championships in 4 seasons and runner-up the 4th season.
2 straight undefeated seasons, the only time that has ever happened in 60 years of BLLA. (98-99)
Coached the BLLA All-Stars to the District Finals for the first time in 20 years.

3rd base coach and pitching coach from 2002 - 2007
Won back-to-back titles in 2006-2007 with 2 different teams.

AS A MANAGER:
2003 - 2005 Minor League Manager, 1 championship
Manager and 3rd base coach
Took over as interim Manager mid-way through the 2003 season. Led a winless team in 2003 to the championship series in 2004 before losing in the 3rd game of a best of 3 series.
2005 Champions, sweeping the Championship series.

OFF THE FIELD:
2008 - 2010 Worked in the stadium allowing me to watch every home game
My Responsiblities including paying close attention to the fine details of each and every game. I believe this experience has given me a better understanding of what not to do on the field and how to handle the players and deal with the umpires.

EDUCATION:
SELF TAUGHT
* I have learned the ins and outs of the game of baseball from my father, who at young age took me to games at 3 Rivers Stadium and taught me tendencies and strategy involved with the game.
* I have also watched baseball and studied the great managers of the game, like Jim Leyland who the Pirates let go.
* I watch the game on TV as well, listening to some of the best minds in the game dissect each and every play, including Bob Costas, Bob Uecker and other baseball announcing greats.
* I also watch Pirate baseball, almost religiously, despite how incredibly painful it is to sit through. By doing that, I feel that I have learned what NOT to do.

COACHING STYLE:
MIXED BRED STYLE
* I feel that my style is considered to be more of a small ball coach, which would work well in Pittsburgh since there is nobody on the roster that will hit more than 30 HR’s, minus Pedro.
* I like to use plate patience, good speed on the bases and the ability to advance runners to manufacture runs. This may be tough considering it does not seem that the current players on the 40 man roster have any of these capabilities.
* I like to trust my pitchers and let them fight through their struggles instead of keeping them on a strict pitch count and pulling them on the first sign of difficulties, and thereby wearing down the bullpen.

October is Upon Us

2010-10-02T04:15:00.003-04:00

What a great sports weekend! What a great sports month! I love October, not quite as much as March, but close. October brings us Major League Baseball playoffs, conference play gets into full swing in college football and the NFL has made it to the second quarter of the season. This weekend is a great example and just a small sample of what this month has to offer. Oh, by the way, this year we get the Ryder Cup too!

Yesterday started the month; it also started the last weekend of the MLB regular season. Today kicks off the first of five football weekends in the month of October. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly this weekend has to offer to sports fans everywhere.

The Ryder Cup
24 of the best golfers in the world playing against each other for 3 straight days. Golf, a game normally played by individuals, being played in a team format. It brings out some of the best shot-makers in the world doing just that. What is more exciting when watching golf than to see guys take dead aim at the stick and playing ultra aggressive? That is what you get at the Ryder Cup. You get the best players in the world making some huge risk/reward shots because if they miss, they have a teammate for once who can make the shot if they miss. Unfortunately, since the Cup this year is being played in Wales, you need to be awake at 3am (as I am right now as I type this) to watch when it starts.

College Football
5 games featuring top 25 teams playing each other.

The headliner? Alabama v Florida. The winner of this game the past 2 years went on to win the national championship. Also today, another top 10 showdown, Stanford @ Oregon. This is a game that could let a PAC-10 jump right into the thick of the national championship debate. How about the Red River Rivalry? When was the last time this game was the 3rd biggest game of the weekend? Texas-Oklahoma, the stadium split down the middle at the 50, one half red, the other burnt orange.

The last two match-ups are Big Ten match-ups. Michigan State hosting Wisconsin and Penn State @ Iowa. Now we all know that there is almost no such thing as a big time Big Ten match-up, but they are all in the top 25 and both games are somewhat intriguing. In the Michigan State-Wisconsin game, we get to find out which Big Ten team will be undefeated and overrated all the way into November. The loser will still be ranked because, well, they play in the Big Ten, and there is a clause in the rankings that says at least 5 Big Ten teams must be ranked at all times. In the Penn State-Iowa game, you get to watch the Fighting JoePa’s lose to Iowa again. What’s not to love about that? Penn State is 1-7 vs Iowa in their last 8 games, and who could forget that barnburner in 2004 which the Hawkeyes won 6-4?

NFL
Week 4 of the season and the schedule is loaded with great match-ups. Despite it being the first week of bye weeks with 4 teams not playing, there is no shortage of marquee games on the slate. Maybe the best game of the week will also be the first one completed. At 1:00, the 3-0 Steelers take on the 2-1 Ravens for control of the AFC North. Anyone who has seen these teams play in the past knows that there is no love lost between these teams. From Joey Porter going onto the Ravens bus calling out Ray Lewis after a game, to the Ravens bitching and whining about the referees in the Santonio goal line touchdown catch. This game has become the biggest and best rivalry in the league. This will be a slugfest, with two hard-nosed and rugged defenses. First team to blink loses. And that is only the first game!

At 4:00, you have the battle for the brotherly love. Vick vs McNabb. Will they boo McNabb or not? Will Vick beating McNabb in Philly Sunday crush the legacy Donovan had in the city? If McNabb and the Skins pull the upset, will Andy Reid suddenly be on the hot seat? This game, although probably not a great game, does have many great storylines attached to it. I personally want McNabb to stick it to the Eagles with a 400+ yard, 4 TD game. Do I think that will happen? Hell no! McNabb has as many offensive weapons in Washington as Obama has fulfilled promises; ZERO!

To cap off the weekend, we head to South Beach Monday night for the Pats and the Fins. This doesn’t seem like much of a showdown, but in recent years, the Dolphins have been a huge pain in the side of Tom Brady and Co. With the Jets already beating both teams, this game could be huge in a fight to catch New York. Despite the Patriots being the most successful team this past decade and the Dolphins being the epitome of average, the Patriots have won exactly ONE more game than the Dolphins in this series since 2000.

MLB
By the time the Monday Night game concludes, we will know exactly who is playing in this season's Major League Baseball playoffs. Coming into the last weekend of play, there are still 2 open spots to be claimed: The NL West and NL Wild Card. The west will be won in San Francisco this weekend or in San Diego on Monday. Those two teams play today and tomorrow in San Fran, with the Giants needing just one win to clinch the west. If the Padres were to sweep the series, the two teams would head about 400 miles south to play on Monday in a winner-take-all one-game playoff. The loser does have a chance of making the playoffs the wild card team if the Braves can’t beat the Phillies ONE TIME this weekend. In the AL, the Yankees and Rays are battling for the AL East crown. However whichever team loses will be the wild card team from the AL. Also this last weekend, the Twins are in discussion for home field advantage. Currently the Yankees have a slight lead over both the Rays and Twins in that regard.

There you have it - a great weekend schedule, leading to a great month of sports! Enjoy! I know I will!

PARITY IS ALIVE AND KICKING IN FOOTBALL

2010-09-21T13:46:00.004-04:00

If you are anything like me, you are super-excited that football is back in full force, but this year, it seems like we have walked in to Uncle Wally’s Wacky Fun House and everything is up-side-down.

In the NFL, last year’s 8 division winners are a combined 5-10 (UPDATE AFTER THE SAINTS GAME TODAY) and there are currently more teams that made the playoffs last year that are 0-2 (Cowboys, Vikings) than 2-0 (Green Bay).

Kansas City is 2-0; they have not started the season with 2 wins since 2005. In fact, they have not won any of their first two games since that 2005 season. Houston is 2-0; the first time they started 2-0 since ‘07, when they then proceeded to lose 5 of the next 6 games they played on route to an 8-8 record. Tampa is 2-0, albeit against the Browns and the Panthers; something they have done only twice this decade and not at all since 2005. The Bears hit 2-0 this weekend, the first time they started that hot since their Super Bowl season in 2006. The Steelers are 2-0 for the 4th time in 6 years, 2 of which they went on to win the Super Bowl (‘05 & ‘08), so that is not much of a surprise except that they are winning with a 3rd string QB, and yesterday, with a QB who would not have made the team if Ben Roethlisberger were not suspended. Finally, Miami is 2-0 for the first time since Ace Ventura was looking for Snowflake. Well, it hasn’t been that long, but it was 2002, when Jay Fiedler and Ricky Williams were leading the way. By the way, NONE of these teams made the playoffs last year!

The college football season started not much differently from the NFL. Perennial powerhouses like Georgia and Virginia Tech already have 2 loses. Everybody’s PAC-10 darlings, the Washington Huskies, also already have 2 L’s, as do the 2-time defending Big East champs, Cincinnati Bearcats. Other top-tier programs are off to good starts record-wise, but not the typical dominant starts that their fan bases have grown accustomed to. Florida is 3-0, but has struggled mightily in all 3 wins against teams that the experts in Vegas picked the Gators to beat by a total of 66. Add that to the fact that their offense currently ranks 92nd out of 120 teams in total offense, and maybe we now know why Urban Meyer considered retiring after last season.

The Trojans of USC are 3-0, but have struggled against some teams they would have put away early in the “Pay Our Recruits With Cars and Houses” era of Pete Carroll. USC beat Virginia at home in week 2 in a game in which they had to recover an on-sides kick attempt to hold onto the victory. They beat UVA in Virginia 2 years ago 50-7. Then this week, the Men of Troy trailed Minnesota two different times in their game before getting the victory. That is the same Minnesota team that held only a 3-0 lead to 1-AA South Dakota State the week before in a 41-38 loss to the Coyotes.

Ohio State has had 3 big wins to start off, but only one of which was against a competent team in Miami. And if you are a Buckeye fan, you probably should be a little concerned that you didn’t beat the Canes by more. Miami scored 2 special teams touchdowns and held tOSU to 4 field goals when they had 1st and goal to go. If THE Ohio State is planning to get to the National Championship game, that won’t cut it in Arizona. Then again, are we really to expect tOSU to get inside the 10 yard line four times in a BCS Championship game?

Some other schools that can be added to the “Not-So-Hot Start” List…

(preseason AP Rankings)

#9 Iowa - Gave up 34 points to a good Arizona team, 27 in the first half. The Hawkeyes had not let up that many points in one game since September of 2007.

#10 Va Tech - The Jokies went from being a minute away from beating #3 Boise State in the opener to losing to #3 (in 1-AA) James Madison. Frank Beamer is now 1-18 vs Top 5 teams at Virginia Tech.

#15 Pitt - Lost on the road against a good Utah team; that is not why they make this list. They make it for being completely bland in play-calling on offense considering the weapons they have at hand. In two games, Dion Lewis has 102 yards on the ground in 35 carries. Lewis only had 3 games all last season in which he ran for under 102, and he has that total in 2 full games this season. They also completely ignored Jon Baldwin in their loss to Utah. In 20 snaps offensively in the red-zone in that game, they threw Baldwin’s direction ZERO times. Baldwin had an 8 inch height advantage over the Utah CB who was covering him that night.

#16 Georgia Tech - Lost to Kansas the week between Kansas losing to North Dakota State and Southern Mississippi; enough said.

#18 North Carolina - Starting 0-2 was not expected, but you have to credit UNC for scheduling 2 non-conference games against BCS conference teams and one conference game in their first 3, but also blame UNC for having 13 players suspended for various reasons.

#19 Penn State - The Fighting Joe Paterno’s have looked less than stellar on offense their first three games. Honestly, nobody expected them to beat Alabama, and with the way Penn State schedules, 2-1 is the way most figured they would start. Although true freshman QB Robert Bolden has shown glimpses of stardom, he has also struggled mightily against Youngstown State and Kent State (struggling @Alabama in your first college road game is expected and forgiven). The offense ranks 73rd in rushing, 74th in passing and 79th in total offense. Considering the competition, this has to be a concern in Happy Valley.

#20 Florida State - Although they looked good this week beating BYU soundly, that whooping they took in Norman, Oklahoma last week is tough to forget. FSU trailed 44-7 after 3 quarters and allowed nearly 500 yards of offense by the Sooners.

Not to worry, not all is wrong with the football world; the Detroit Lions are 0-2 for the third straight season.

Running Blog Throughout the Days Games

2010-03-06T10:07:00.090-05:00

I will be doing a running blog of my thoughts throughout the Big East games today. They will include little bits of information on the games that I am watching as well as the implications that each result brings throughout the day.

If you want to share your thoughts, you can email me at thereitmeyerrant@hotmail.com

Watching the Nova/WVU game on CBS, will be checking in with Georgetown/Cincy game on ESPN360.com as we go.

12:10
Not sure if I am more surprised to hear Greg Anthony doing the color to this game or the fact that he has his "bubble teams". He covers the NBA, why is he covering a big game in March?

12:18
If my math is correct through 6 minutes WVU is on pace to score ZERO points!

12:20
Villanova 10, Turkey 2

12:21
The Turkish kid has never seen a shot he didn't like, unfortunately the same can not be said about a razor!

12:24
Scottie Reynolds has now been more productive at the broadcast table than Greg Anthony!

(From by buddy Jason)
The Turkish kid shots his FT's like he is gonna try to tackle a bull

12:28
Thought about looking up the Turkish guys name, but it is more fun to just call him "the Turkish kid," it's not like everyone doesn't know who we mean!

12:36
I hate those stupid UPS commercials with the guy with the chick hair. How does UPS not realize how annoying those commercial are?

HALFTIME SCORE:
Georgetown 29, Cincinnati 26

12:55
How does a Top 10 team shoot 2-10 from the foul line? No excuse for that. That is the difference on the scoreboard right now for WVU.

HALFTIME SCORE:
Villanova 29, WVU 16

Jason- Time to ship WVU of to the Big Ten, 16 points in the 1st half!

Georgetown 41, Cincinnati 35
15:53 remaining

Diabetic Austin Freeman is a 60% 3-point shooter, has 15 points already!

Let the Austin Freeman diabetic jokes start...

Jason- Austin Freemans line, 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 insulin shots
Keith (from Philly)- Imagine how good Georgetown would have been all season if Freeman had Diabetes all season!

1:18
Since I get updates on my phone for the Penguins, you get them here too...Jordan Staal goal. Pens 1, other team 0

I seriously don't know who they are playing....I'll look it up.

1:21
Kevin Jones scores 2, his first two. Obviously a new strategy for this half, they are going to try to score in the first 6 minutes of the half.

1:24
The Penguins are playing the Dallas Stars

SCORE UPDATE:
Georgetown 52, Cincinnati 37
10 to play

A win secures a bye for Georgetown in the BET.

1:34
WVU already in the bonus with 14:34 left in the game, Redding has 4 fouls for Nova. The way that WVU has shot FT's today, I'm not sure this is a good thing....6-16 today.

1:35
2 point game, Villanova has scored only 5 points in 6 minutes of the second half. 34-32 Nova.

SCORE UPDATE:
Georgetown up 29 with 3:42 left, 70-41

Win clinches a bye for Georgetown. Hoyas could get to #7 with a ND loss.
Cincinnati will finish either 11th or 12th depending on the UCONN/USF game.

1:47
Butler knocks down 2 FT's and WVU has their first lead of the game...41-39

1:48
Apparently neither team wants to join the Big Ten, we've had an offensive explosion in the last two minutes.....WVU is killing Nova down low and on the boards. That is something that I think will really hurt Villanova in the Tournament (the big one, as well as the BET).

FINAL SCORE:
Georgetown 74, Cincinnati 47

Way to show up Cincy!

GEORGETOWN CLINCHES OPENING ROUND BYE
Georgetown will finish either 7 (ND loss) or 8 (ND win).
CINCINNATI will finish either 11 (UCONN loss) or 12 (UCONN win)

1:54
Freeman finished with 24 points going 4-7 from 3 for the Hoyas.

1:59
Good news is Pitino is not wearing his all-white suit, bad news is it is RED!

2:00
Huggy Bear just got T'd up....he better be careful, it looks like heart attack #2 could be right around the corner....he is fired up!

2:02
After the Technical, WVU comes out in the 1-3-1 and Nova picks it apart with some great interior passing for an easy lay-up....followed up by 2 straight 3's by WVU...game is going back and forth now, we are in for a great finish. WVU 51-50 4:18 left.

2:05
UNLV professors not happy with that one....32+5 is NOT 36 Greg!

2:10
Not sure why Nova keeps settling for 3's against this zone considering they got easy lay-ups the 1st 2 trips down against it using quick passes and their bigs.

2:11
My buddy Jason just texted me that he is thinking of betting Penn State today...I can take him cheering for WVU today since it helps PITT, but there is no reason to EVER root for Penn State, even if it does help your wallet.

2:13
Nice to see this top-notch broadcast team is paying attention, "West Virginia is now is some type of sort of zone this trip." REALLY?! They have been playing zone the last 5 minutes!

2:15
Typical Big East game, the refs are calling WAY to much. Both coaches already got T'd up for arguing and now they send Scottie Reynolds to the line after never getting touched. LET THEM PLAY!

2:16
HUGE 3 by Butler...WVU up 56-55 with 52.0 seconds left

2:17
OFFENSIVE FOUL!!!! Very VERY questionable call...WVU up 1 and with the ball, 37 seconds left.

2:20
WVU is 12-14 from the line in the 2nd half...Reynolds answers quick, WVU up 58-57...WVU ball

2:21
14-16 now

2:22
Corey Fisher hits a DEEP 3 with 7.5 left....Devin Ebanks mismanaging clock, has to settle for a half-courter for the win. OVERTIME!

2:27
FYI: Greg Anthony, there is no "NEW RULE" about the charge circle, that is just in the NBA....this guy is terrible!!! I hope he isn't doing any games in the NCAA Tournament!

2:30
46 fouls and 61 FT attempts so far....Truck Byant has now fouled out, 4 other players with 4.

2:31
Greg Anthony with bad information yet again....Pitt has the tiebreaker over WVU not the other way around.

2:35
West Virginia up 1, 64-63 with 51.3 left in OT. The WVU zone is really giving Nova problems due to their size in that zone.

2:38
WVU has now made 16-18 FT's since the halftime and 12 straight. Corey Stokes makes a BIG 3 to tie it.

2:41
Butler just did his best Ray Allen impression and hit a crazy runner it take the lead with 5.7 seconds left!

2:43
Scottie Reynolds misses a 3 from the corner (not sure it would have counted anyway, don't think he got it off in time) and WVU wins 68-66.

FINAL SCORE:
West Virginia 68, Villanova 66

Seeding for those 2 teams will be determined by the outcome of the Pitt/Rutgers game.
If Pitt wins, seeding goes, #2 Pitt, #3 WVU, #4 Villanova
If Rutgers wins seeding goes, #2 WVU, # Villanova, #4 Pitt

HALFTIME SCORE UPDATES:
South Florida 33, UCONN 31
Syracuse 35, Louisville 30
Notre Dame 26, Marquette 26

2:52
Jay Williams in studio talking about Louisville being a bubble team, "they won the games they are suppose to won." REALLY!?!?! He is a Duke guy too. "they won the games they are suppose to WON!" UNREAL!

3:19
This Syracuse-Louisville is high paced, but not really a great level of play at this point.

SCORE UPDATES:
Marquette 42, Notre Dame 33 12:12 left
South Florida 52, UCONN 42 12:15 left
Louisville 45, Syracuse 42 13:32 left

3:29
Louisville absolutely lighting it up right now....3 straight trips with 3's then a fast break basket. Louisville up 55-48.

3:33
Interesting stat...Syracuse 34 of 48 points scored in the paint, can't knock down any jumpers, while Louisville is living by the 3. Now 9-30 for the Cardinals behind the arc.

3:40
Kyle Kuric averages 3 ppg for Louisville, just hit 2 straight 3's....he has 13 today in 13 minutes.
Louisville 63-54.

PENS UPDATE:
Pens 6-3 winners, trailed 3-1. Crosby had 2 goals and 1 assist.

3:44
Syracuse with the press causes some confusion, Louisville has to waste a TO.

3:45
Wes Johnson just picked up with 4th foul, still 7:03 remaining, he is staying in the game. Louisville 64-56.

3:47
Kuric ANOTHER 3 pointer! 67-59 Louisville

SCORE UPDATE:
Marquette 46-43, Harangody has played today, but not much and is not is the game down the stretch.

Marquette 50-43 with 1:02 remaining

3:52
Louisville is up by double digits now. Kyle Kuric is now 8-9 from the field and leads all scorers with 20. Rautins on the other hand is 1-9....Louisville up 75-61

3:56
Marquette blows 50-43 lead, Scott hits a 3 at the buzzer for the Irish and we have our 2nd OT game of the day in Big East play. 51-51

SCORE UPDATE:
South Florida 68, UCONN 62 1:25 left

4:00
Louisville just eating clock now, 1 minute to go in the game Louisville 75-64.

FINAL SCORE:
Louisville 78, Syracuse 68

SYRACUSE IS #1 SEED
LOUISVILLE IS #6 SEED

4:04
UCONN down 2, 70-68 with 36.0 left

4:05
USF up 72-68 with 25.1 left and the Bulls are heading to the foul line.... This loss would REALLY hurt UCONN's chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament, they will need a long run in NYC.

FINAL SCORE:
South Florida 75, UCONN 68

UCONN IS #12 SEED
CINCINNATI now secures the #11 SEED with UCONN loss

4:10
Notre Dame up 56-53 with 48.0 seconds left

4:15
Marquette's Jimmy Butler hits a BIG 3 to cut it to 2, 22 seconds left, Marquette lets 9 seconds go off the clock before fouling ND's best foul shooter.

4:17
Acneitis hits both foul shots for ND, 13.8 left ND leads 60-56.

4:18
Whoever the moron color guy is in this game just said that he hopes that DePaul gets a win the BET because the new coach has done "such a great job" REALLY?! That 1-17 record makes me think otherwise.

4:19
Acneitis makes 1-2, Irish up 3, FOULS! GREAT CALL, why don't more coaches do that?

4:20
Marquette makes both FT's down 1 with 2.7 to go.

4:22
IRISH WIN!

FINAL SCORE:
Notre Dame 63
Marquette 60

4:25
With a little break before the Pitt-Rutgers game let's take a look at what we know now.

X**Syracuse Orange 15-3
**West Virginia Mountaineers 13-5
**Villanova Wildcats 13-5
**Pittsburgh Panthers 12-5
X*Marquette Golden Eagles 11-7
X*Louisville Cardinals 11-7
X*Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10-8
X*Georgetown Hoyas 10-8
X-South Florida Bulls 9-9
X-Seton Hall Pirates 8-9
X-Cincinnati Bearcats 7-11
X-Connecticut Huskies 7-11
St. John’s Red Storm 6-12
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-12
Providence Friars 4-13
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-17

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

5:18
This game is incredibly boring...How the hell did Rutgers win 5 games?

5:20
They could play this game for the next 5 hours and I think Pitt already has scored more than Rutgers could get in that span.

SCORE UPDATE:
Pitt 40, Rutgers 16

To be fair I think we need to use the same comment as before...
Apparently Rutgers is making a run at the Big Ten with just 16 points in the 1st half. They would be winning most games in the Big Ten with that type of offensive showing!

5:24
With some time at halftime let's take a look at the brackets as of now for the BET.

TEAMS IN BOLD ARE LOCKED INTO SEEDS
TUESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
9 – South Florida
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – UCONN
Vs
13 – St. John's
7:00
10 – Seton Hall
Vs
15 – Providence (with loss vs Seton Hall, Rutger's with Providence win)
9:00
11 – Cincinnati
Vs
14 – Rutgers (with Seton Hall win, Providence with Seton Hall loss)

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

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

5:54
I realize they are playing Rutgers, but I have seen every game that Pitt has played this year and I really think this might be the most complete performance all season. It is a nice time to be playing your best basketball game. Wonder if the coaching staff laid into them after just going through the motions and stealing one from Providence Thursday.

6:00
No wonder Dante Taylor was a McDonald's All-American, look at how well he plays against high school level talent!

6:12
Gotta love the one man press by Nasir to force the turnover, while up 28!

6:13
Gilbert Brown tried to get the media guide cover with that dunk attempt!

FINAL SCORE:
Pitt 83, Rutgers 54

PITT IS #2 SEED
Rutgers is now either #14 or #15 depending on Seton Hall/Providence outcome
ST. JOHN'S IS #13 SEED

6:35
Ok, everyone thanks for taking part in the running blog today, I am done. We know everything right now except for the #14-15 seeds. Simply put, if Providence beats Seton Hall they are the #14, if Seton Hall wins Rutgers is the #14.

Here is what the brackets look like as of now:
TUESDAY
March 9th:
NOON
9 – South Florida
Vs
16 – DePaul
2:00
12 – UCONN
Vs
13 – St. John's
7:00
10 – Seton Hall
Vs
15 – Providence (with loss vs Seton Hall, Rutger's with Providence win)
9:00
11 – Cincinnati
Vs
14 – Rutgers (with Seton Hall win, Providence with Seton Hall loss)

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

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

I will be doing the same type of running blog next Tuesday and Wednesday for the Big East Tournament before I head up to NYC for Thursday and the weekend. Depending on access, I will try to be on from NYC too.

You can follow me on Twitter, click here

BETology 3-6

2010-03-06T09:18:00.002-05:00

BETology 3-6
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
X**Syracuse Orange 15-2
**Villanova Wildcats 13-4
**Pittsburgh Panthers 12-5
**West Virginia Mountaineers 12-5
X*Marquette Golden Eagles 11-6
*Louisville Cardinals 10-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-8
Georgetown Hoyas 9-8
South Florida Bulls 8-9
Seton Hall Pirates 8-9
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-10
Connecticut Huskies 7-10
St. John’s Red Storm 6-12
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-12
Providence Friars 4-13
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-17

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

LAST NIGHT:

ST. JOHN'S RED STORM 90
DePaul Blue Demons 82
(3 OT)
Pittsburgh native D.J. Kennedy dropped in 32 points going 7-9 from 3-point range to help the Red Storm get to 6-12 in conference play. Amazingly both teams have completed their conference schedule and we still don't know where St. John's finishes in teh standings. They will either be 13 or 14 depending on what Rutgers does today in Pittsburgh. If Rutgers wins, StJ drops to 14, if Pitt wins StJ is 13.

TODAY:
Cincinnati @ Georgetown, NOON, ESPN360.com
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Georgetwon needs a win to secure the opening round bye. They can still get it with a loss, but they will then have to depend on getting a bunch of help from elsewhere in the conference.
* Cincinnati cannot claim that bye, but can claim a virtual bye if they win and get help and finish in 9th place. That would place them against DePaul on Tuesday, and that is about as close to a bye as you can get.

West Virginia @ Villanova, NOON, CBS
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Lots! Both teams have clinched the double bye and won't be playing in MSG until Thursday but seeding is very important. Both teams can finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th depending on this game and the Pitt result. Oddly enough, this game will help determine seeding elsewhere down the line as "best win" is a tiebreaker used by the BIg East. So teams further down the standings will be pulling for teams that they have already beaten atop the standings. Being that Syracuse has only 2 losses, WVU, Villanova and Pitt are going to determine seeding for a lot of other teams as well today.

UCONN @ South Florida, 2:00 pm, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* With Help South Florida can still get a opening day bye, something they have never gotten before at the BET. They need a win and have Georgetown lose.
* UCONN really can't do much to improve itself right now as the are assured of playing on Tuesday after losing to Notre Dame Wednesday. UCONN can get to the 9th spot, which as we said is like getting a bye since you get to play DePaul in the 1st round.

Notre Dame @ Marquette, 2:00 pm, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* For Marquette, NOTHING. The Golden Eagles locked up the #5 spto by beating Louisville Tuesday and Pitt and WVU both also winning earlier in the week. They will open at 2:00 pm Wednesday against the 12/13 winner from Tuesday.
* Notre Dame can clinch 7th with a win. If they lose they could finish anywhere between 7th and 9th, finishing 9th would drop them out of a bye.

Syracuse @ Louisville, 2:00 pm, ESPN
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Syracuse is playing for NCAA Tournament seeding at this point. If they can continue to win they may be able to get the #1 overall seed in the tournament. As for the BET, they have already locked up the #1 seed and will be playing at NOON on Thursday.
* Louisville is assured of a bye and is playing for positioning right now. They will finish in 6th with a win today, and could even with a loss if ND also win. If they lose and Georgetown wins AND Notre Dame loses teh Cardinals drop to #7.

Rutgers @ Pitt, 4:30 pm, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* As mentioned before, Pitt has a double bye, but like Villanova and WVU can finish anywhere from 2-4. That final seeding will also determine positions for other teams based on the BIg East tiebreaker system.
* A win for Rutgers and they can bump St. John's down to the 14 spot. A loss, combined with a Providence win and Rutgers could drop to 15.

Seton Hall @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPN360.com
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
*Seton Hall can still claim that last opening round bye with a win and a little help. Seton Hall needs wins from Georgetown and Marquette to still have a chance for that bye.
* Providence will either be 14 or 15. A loss and they are 15, a win and a Rutgers loss they are 14.

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

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

BETology 3-5

2010-03-05T02:50:00.004-05:00

BETology 3-5
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
X**Syracuse Orange 15-2
**Villanova Wildcats 13-4
**Pittsburgh Panthers 12-5
**West Virginia Mountaineers 12-5
X*Marquette Golden Eagles 11-6
*Louisville Cardinals 10-7
*Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-8
Georgetown Hoyas 9-8
South Florida Bulls 8-9
Seton Hall Pirates 8-9
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-10
Connecticut Huskies 7-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-12
St. John’s Red Storm 5-12
Providence Friars 4-13
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-16

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

LAST NIGHT:
SETON HALL PIRATES 85
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 74

This win for Seton Hall keeps them in play for the opening round bye that about 5 teams are fighting for. Seton Hall is one game behind Georgetown and Notre Dame who currently hold the 7th and 8th spots. The Pirates lost to Georgetown, so they do not fair well against them in a tiebreaker, but they beat ND and own that tiebreaker. A win against Providence on Saturday could be enough to get Seton hall to that #8 spot in the standings. Rutgers has now secured a spot in the bottom 4. Rutgers plays at Pitt on Saturday.

PITT PANTHERS 73
Providence Friars 71

After 39 minutes adn 56 seconds of terrible basketball played by the Panthers, Ashton Gibbs bailed them out with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Providence and secure a double bye in the BET. Pitt is assured of a top 4 finish right now, but they could end up as high as #2 with a win Saturday and a Villanova loss to WVU. Providence remains in 15th place and takes on Seton Hall Saturday.

TONIGHT:
St. John's @ DePaul, 8:30, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
*NOTHING, both teams stink and will be playing on the opening day at MSG.

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
SATURDAY:
West Virginia @ Villanova, NOON, CBS
Syracuse @ Louisville, 2:00 pm, ESPN

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

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

BETology 3-4

2010-03-04T00:55:00.002-05:00

BETology 3-4
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
X**Syracuse Orange 15-2
**Villanova Wildcats 13-4
**West Virginia Mountaineers 12-5
*Pittsburgh Panthers 11-5
*Marquette Golden Eagles 11-6
*Louisville Cardinals 10-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-8
Georgetown Hoyas 9-8
South Florida Bulls 8-9
Seton Hall Pirates 7-9
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-10
Connecticut Huskies 7-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-11
St. John’s Red Storm 5-12
Providence Friars 4-12
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-16

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

LAST NIGHT:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 58
Connecticut Huskies 50

In a dreadful game to watch that included 22 turnovers and only 37 TOTAL 1st half points the Irish all but clinched an opening day bye. These two teams entered the game on the NCAA "bubble" and hopefully nobody from the selection committee was watching because neither team would get in after that performance. The two teams combined to miss 64 shots and were a combined 6-29 from 3-point range. However the way basketball works is that someone has to win and that someone was Notre Dame today. The Irish jump to 7th in the current standings and will get a Tuesday bye unless they lose Saturday AND Seton Hall wins their remaining two games AND Georgetown defeats Cincinnati on Saturday. UCONN drops to 12th after this loss and no longer has a shot at getting that opening day bye. The Huskies could get as high as 9th with a win in Tampa on Saturday and some help, but they will still be playing on Tuesday in MSG.

TONIGHT:
Seton Hall @ Rutgers, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Seton Hall can still claim one of the two remaining opening day byes if they win out and the Pirates get a little help.
* Rutgers is playing for Tuesday matchups at this point. If they lose they will be in the mix to finish anywhere from 13-15, but a win would almost certainly secure the 13th seed.

Providence @ Pitt, 9:00 pm, ESPN2
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Pitt needs to win 1 game to secure a double bye. If they win their remaining 2 games they can do no worse than 3rd in the final standings, 2nd if WVU beats Villanova.
* Providence is playing for a Tuesday time slot. Their fans can get on the train and get to the Garden for a Tuesday night game, so finishing 14th or 15th might be best for them.

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
SATURDAY:
West Virginia @ Villanova, NOON, CBS
Syracuse @ Louisville, 2:00 pm, ESPN

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

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

BETology 3-3

2010-03-02T23:30:00.003-05:00

BETology 3-3
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
X**Syracuse Orange 15-2
**Villanova Wildcats 13-4
**West Virginia Mountaineers 12-5
*Pittsburgh Panthers 11-5
*Marquette Golden Eagles 11-6
*Louisville Cardinals 10-7
Georgetown Hoyas 9-8
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-8
South Florida Bulls 8-9
Connecticut Huskies 7-9
Seton Hall Pirates 7-9
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-11
St. John’s Red Storm 5-12
Providence Friars 4-12
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-16

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

LAST NIGHT:
SYRACUSE ORANGE 85
St. John's Red Storm 66

Syracuse won their first game as the nations #1 team since 1990. As we already knew, Syracsue has clinched the #1 overall seed in the BET and with the win tonight they clinched the out-right league title as well. St. John's remains in 14th place after the loss. The Red Storm are now one half game ahead of Providence and one half game behind Rutgers. St. John's finishes their regular season on Friday night at DePaul.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS 77
Cincinnati Bearcats 73

Cincinnati hurt themselves badly with this loss. They drop all the way to 12th in the current standings and assured themselves of playing on Tuesday in the New York. Cincinnati has not won a Big East Tournament game since joining the conference. A win Saturday against Georgetown will help draw and easier team for the Bearcats, but they will now certainly play on the opening day. Villanova remains in second place, but their final position won't be determined until the hours after the final whistle blows in their game on Saturday against WVU. With a win, Villanova clinches 2nd place. If they lose they finish in 3rd (if Pitt loses once this week) or 4th if Pitt wins both games this week. WVU and Villanova play at NOON, Pitt plays at 4:30 Saturday.

SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS 63
DePaul Blue Demons 59

South Florida stays alive for that opening round bye. They own a tiebreaker over Georgetown, so Hoyas loss on Saturday and a USF win and the Bulls could get a day off in NYC this year. They can also get in without a Georgetown loss, but that way gets more complicated. First things first though, the Bulls need to be UCONN on Saturday to have any chance. As for DePaul, well...yeah there isn't much more to say about them.

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 69
Louisville Cardinals 48

In the double bye elimination game Marquette is the victor. The win allows Marquette to stay alive for the double bye, however they will need help from the bottom-feeders of the Big East. The Golden Eagles need Providence AND Rutgers to beat Pitt this week, and both games are in Pittsburgh. Even if that happens Marquette would still have to beat Notre Dame on Saturday as well. This win does secure a finish no worse than 5th place in the final Big East standings. As for Louisville, this win locks them in at either the 6th or 7th spot in the BET. A win Saturday to close out Freedom Hall against the #1 team in the nation and the finish 6th, a loss and a Georgetown win (vs Cincinnati) and Louisville drops to 7th.

TONIGHT:
UCONN @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* A win for the Irish puts them in great shape to get and opening round bye, a loss drops them right back into the mix with about 4 other teams.
* UCONN needs a win to have any chance at the opening round bye, a loss and they cannot get it, no matter what they do on Saturday.

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
THURSDAY:
Seton Hall @ Rutgers, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Providence @ Pitt, 9:00 pm, ESPN2
SATURDAY:
West Virginia @ Villanova, NOON, CBS
Syracuse @ Louisville, 2:00 pm, ESPN

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

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

BETology 3-2

2010-03-02T08:44:00.002-05:00

BETology 3-2
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
X**Syracuse Orange 14-2
**Villanova Wildcats 12-4
**West Virginia Mountaineers 12-5
*Pittsburgh Panthers 11-5
*Louisville Cardinals 10-6
*Marquette Golden Eagles 10-6
Georgetown Hoyas 9-8
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-8
South Florida Bulls 7-9
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-9
Connecticut Huskies 7-9
Seton Hall Pirates 7-9
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-11
St. John’s Red Storm 5-11
Providence Friars 4-12
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-15

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

LAST NIGHT:
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 81
Georgetown Hoyas 68

West Virginia clinched a double by in next weeks BET. They finish the regular season on Saturday in Philadelphia taking on Villanova. A win Saturday would put the Mountaineers ahead of Villanova in the final standings. This loss for Georgetown is a tough one. The best Georgetown could finish is their current position of 7th, but to do that they need to beat Cincinnati on Saturday and hope Notre Dame loses on of their final two games. With a loss Saturday the Hoyas could fall as low as 10th in the final Big East standings.

TONIGHT:
St. John's @ Syracuse, 7:00, Big East Regional
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Syracuse is already locked into the #1 seed in the BET, but if they win out they could line themself up for the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
* St. John's could pull a half game ahead of Rutgers for 13th in the standings with a win.

Villanova @ Cincinnati, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Villanova oddly enough does not have much at stake tonight. Win or lose the game that will determine their final seeding is Saturday vs WVU.
* Cincinnati can make a play for that top 8 spot that everyone wants if they finish strong. If they go 2-0 this week they should have it wrapped up.

South Florida @ DePaul, 7:30 pm, ESPNU
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* DePaul has nothing at stake, they are dead last just as they have been all season.
* South Florida could really benefit from a strong finish, 2 wins could get them an opening round bye if some teams around them lose this week.

Louisville @ Marquette, 9:30 pm, ESPNU
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
* Both teams would like to get a double bye, but it seems unlikely now. Both teams have clinched an opening round bye, so this game will basically be about seeding. The winner will finish in 5th, the loser in 6th.

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

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

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

BETology 3-1

2010-02-28T23:40:00.002-05:00

BETology 3-1
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
X**Syracuse Orange 14-2
**Villanova Wildcats 12-4
*Pittsburgh Panthers 11-5
*West Virginia Mountaineers 11-5
*Louisville Cardinals 10-6
*Marquette Golden Eagles 10-6
Georgetown Hoyas 9-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-8
South Florida Bulls 7-9
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-9
Connecticut Huskies 7-9
Seton Hall Pirates 7-9
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-11
St. John’s Red Storm 5-11
Providence Friars 4-12
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-15

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

YESTERDAY:
MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 84
Seton Hall Pirats 83
OT

Marquette clinched an opening round bye with the win in NJ. The Golden Eagles can still get a double bye, but they would have to win out against Louisville and Notre Dame (both at home) and have either West Virginia or Pitt lose both of their remaining games. The win also allowed the Eagles to keep pace with Louisville, who also won. The loss dropped the Pirates to 12th in the current standings with just two games to go in the final week of the season. Seton Hall has two very winable games coming up, against Rutgers and Providence. If they can win those, they still have an outside chance of claiming an opening round bye, but they would still need help from others ahead of them losing.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 78
Connecticut Huskies 76

Like Marquette, Louisville also clinches an opening round bye with this win. They push their record to 10-6 in conference play and are currently in 5th place. However the Cardinals are in the same boat Marquette is, since they don't hold the tiebreakers with either WVU or Pitt, they need one of those two teams to lose their final 2 games, while the Cardinals need to win both of their remaining games to move up to 4th and get a double bye. UCONN was hurt bigtime by this loss. The loss prevented UCONN from pulling away from that pack at 7-9, now they join them. And unfortunately for the Huskies, they have not fared very well against that group and finish 3rd out of 4 in the tiebreaker with that group. That drops UCONN to 11th place. Like Seton Hall, UCONN can still get up to 8th place, but they will likely need help. Unlike the Pirates, the Huskies may not need to depend on others for the help. In the Huskies final 2 games they play two teams directly in front of them. UCONN goes to Notre Dame on Wednesday, then travels to South Florida on Saturday. 2 wins in their final 2 games and UCONN may earn a day off in NYC.

TONIGHT:
Georgetown @ West Virginia, 7:00 pm, ESPN
WHAT IS AT STAKE:
*West Virginia can clinch a double bye with win.
*Georgetown can clinch an opening round day bye with a win, however a loss puts the Hoyas in play to drop out of the top 8 and be forced to play on Tuesday.

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
TUESDAY:
Villanova @ Cincinnati, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
South Florida @ DePaul, 7:30 pm, ESPNU
Louisville @ Marquette, 9:30 pm, ESPNU
WEDNESDAY:
UCONN @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN
THURSDAY:
Seton Hall @ Rutgers, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Providence @ Pitt, 9:00 pm, ESPN2
SATURDAY:
West Virginia @ Villanova, NOON, CBS
Syracuse @ Louisville, 2:00 pm, ESPN

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

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

BETology 2-28

2010-02-27T23:22:00.003-05:00

BETology 2-28
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
X**Syracuse Orange 14-2
**Villanova Wildcats 12-4
*Pittsburgh Panthers 11-5
*West Virginia Mountaineers 11-5
Louisville Cardinals 9-6
Marquette Golden Eagles 9-6
Georgetown Hoyas 9-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 8-8
Connecticut Huskies 7-8
Seton Hall Pirates 7-8
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-9
South Florida Bulls 7-9
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 5-11
St. John’s Red Storm 5-11
Providence Friars 4-12
X-DePaul Blue Demons 1-15

**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye
X-Clinched Current Seeding

YESTERDAY:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 78
Georgetown Hoyas 64

Luke Harangody out again and Notre Dame wins again. Luke Haragody does not help this team, he is too selfish and Mike Brey lets him get away with it. Hopefully he has been watching and seeing his teammates make plays and he realizes that he doesn't have to go everything on the offensive end of the court. The little win streak that the Irish have going on has bumped them into 8th place in the Big East standings and in position to get a first round bye in the BET. The Irish aren't off the hook yet, they finish the season with UCONN and Marquette this week. Georgetown has been one of the toughest teams to figure out this season. The Hoyas have beaten teams like Villanova, Pitt and Duke, but have lost to Rutgers, South Florida and Old Dominion. This loss all but knocked Georgetown out of the chances of getting a double bye in New York. They are currently in the 7 spot and would need lost of help to move up, but if they slip up against WVU or Cincy to finish the season they may not even hold on to there first round bye they have now.

PITT PANTHERS 71
St. John's Red Storm 64

Pitt can clinch a double bye by winning either one of their 2 final games at home this week. The Panthers host Providence Thursday and Rutgers Saturday, 1 win in those two games or 1 loss by Louisville, Marquette and Georgetown each and that double bye will be secured. The Panthers can move up to 2nd, but that is the best they can finish. St. John's has clinched a date in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with this loss and the Notre Dame win. St. John's is currently tied with Rutgers for 13th, but Rutgers owns the tiebreaker.

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS 76
Cincinnati Bearcats 68

West Virginia kept pace with Pitt and stayed a few games up on the field trying to get into the Top 4. WVU has a tough finish with Georgetown on Big monday this week at home before finishing with Villanova next weekend. 2 wins will assure WVU of not playing until Thursday in New York, but with two losses in those games the Mountaineers will most likely have to play on Wednesday. This loss really hurts the Bearcats dropping them all the way down to 11th in the standings. Cincy finishes with Villanova at home and a road game at Georgetown, and they have 3 teams between them and an opening day bye in NYC. Cincinnati will almost certainly have to win both games and get some help to avoid playing on the opening day.

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS 71
DePaul Blue Demons 82

Despite this win Rutgers will still be playing on Tuesday of the Big East Tournament for the second straight year. Rutgers is currently in 13th place and can only move up if they win their last two games against Seton Hall and @ Pitt and get some help by the teams above them losing. DePaul has clinched the bottom spot in the Big East once again and will be playing the opening game in NYC Tuesday at NOON.

SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS 99
Providence Friars 93

South Florida has played to very exciting games with Providence this year. In the two games they combined for 406 points. South Florida has been fortunate enough to win both of these games. This win snaps a 2-game losing streak that put them behind a big group in the middle of the pack in the conference standings. South Florida is still sitting in 12th, but only 1 game out of 8th place. USF plays DePaul in Chicago on Tuesday and host UCONN to close out the season. If they can win those two they may be able to steal that last opening round bye from the group of teams in front of them. This loss didn't do much for Providence, who is stuck in the bottom half of the standings. Providence plays @ Pitt and versus Seton Hall, but the best they can do is a 13th place finish.

SYRACUSE ORANGE 95
Villanova Wildcats 77

Syracuse had a great performance tonight and dominated Villanova for the final 30 minutes of the game. The win also clinched the regular season title for Syracuse and the #1 seed in the Big East Tournament. Syracuse will play at NOON on Thursday. Villanova is still in 2nd place and has secured a double bye in the BET when Georgetown lost. The Wildcats can still finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the final standings depending on how they handle their final 2 games. Nova faces Cincinnati on the road on Tuesday before playing WVU at home Saturday.

TODAY:
Marquette @ Seton Hall, NOON, Big East Regional
Louisville @ Connecticut, 2:00 pm, CBS

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
MONDAY:
Georgetown @ West Virginia, 7:00 pm, ESPN
TUESDAY:
Villanova @ Cincinnati, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
South Florida @ DePaul, 7:30 pm, ESPNU
Louisville @ Marquette, 9:30 pm, ESPNU
WEDNESDAY:
UCONN @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN
THURSDAY:
Seton Hall @ Rutgers, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Providence @ Pitt, 9:00 pm, ESPN2

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

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

BETology 2-25

2010-02-25T00:17:00.002-05:00

BETology 2-25
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 13-2
*Villanova Wildcats 12-3
*Pittsburgh Panthers 10-5
*West Virginia Mountaineers 10-5
Louisville Cardinals 9-6
Georgetown Hoyas 9-6
Marquette Golden Eagles 9-6
Seton Hall Pirates 7-8
Cincinnati Bearcats 7-8
Connecticut Huskies 7-8
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7-8
South Florida Bulls 6-9
St. John’s Red Storm 5-10
Providence Friars 4-11
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11
DePaul Blue Demons 1-14
**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye

LAST NIGHT:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH 68
Pitt Panthers 53

Notre Dame shot lights out and Pitt failed to take advantage of a huge size advantage inside as the Irish get their 7th conference win of the season. Oddly enough with the crazy tiebreakers and teh crowded standings in the middle of the Big East ND actually dropped a spot in the BET seeding after winning tonight. Notre Dame was in the 10th spot, but with Cincinnati also winning it caused a 4-way tie at 7-8 in conference play. So after the tiebreaker ND finishes 4th of 4. Notre Dame finishes with three tough games, @ Georgetown, home versus UCONN and @ Marquette. The loss does not directly effect Pitt as they stay in the 3 spot, however their chances of winning the conference are all but over now. They also have to be aware of the 3 teams tied, just one game behind them, all battling for the 4th spot and a double bye in the BET. Pitt however holds the tiebreaker over every team in the top 10 in the standings except Georgetown, who beat them head-to-head.

CINCINNATI BEARCATS 74
DePaul Blue Demons 69

Cincinnati survived what would have been a terrible loss in the Bearcats hopes for an NCAA bid. The win puts Cincy into a crowded 4-way tie for the last opening round bye of the tournament with Seton Hall, UCONN and Notre Dame. Cincinnati has a favorable record against those teams and is currently in the 9th spot after tonights win. Cincinnati plays three teams ahead of them to finish the regular season. These next three games @ WVU, home versus Villanova and @ Georgetown could make or break the Bearcats season. With the loss tonight DePaul all but locked up the 16 seed in the BET for the second straight year. 1 more loss or 1 Rutgers win the rest of the way out will clinch it for them.

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 63
St. John's Red Storm 61
(OT)

Marquette has now won 4 straight road games in Big East play. This win helps teh Golden Eagles keep pace with Georgetown and Louisville just one game back of WVU and Pitt for the coveted double bye. Marquette has the easiest remaining schedule of the two schools it is tied with includinga head-to-head match-up with Louisville next Tuesday in Milwaukee. The loss for St. John's is their second straight home loss and it keeps them one game behind South Florida in the standings. St. John's finishes the season with Pitt at home before going to Syracuse and DePaul.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS 74
South Florida Bulls 49

Villanova took advantage of the Pitt loss and extended their lead in the standings to 2 full games over Pitt and WVU. Nova clinches a double bye with one more win or one more Georgetown loss. South Florida had won four straight to get to .500 in Big East play, but has since lost 4 of 5 and finds themself stuck behind a big group fighting for the 8th and final bye spot. USF does have a easy schedule to finish out and could still make a run at that spot if they sweep their last three games vs Providence, @ DePaul and home against UCONN.

THIS WEEKEND:
SATURDAY
Pitt @ St. John's, NOON, Big East Regional
Notre Dame @ Georgetown, NOON, CBS
Cincinnati @ West Virginia, 2:00 pm, Big East Regional
DePaul @ Rutgers, 4:00 pm, ESPNU
Providence @ South Florida, 7:00 pm, ESPN360.com
Villanova @ Syracuse, 9:00 pm, ESPN
SUNDAY
Marquette @ Seton Hall, NOON, Big East Regional
Louisville @ Connecticut, 2:00 pm, CBS

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
MONDAY:
Georgetown @ West Virginia, 7:00 pm, ESPN
TUESDAY:
Villanova @ Cincinnati, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
South Florida @ DePaul, 7:30 pm, ESPNU
Louisville @ Marquette, 9:30 pm, ESPNU
WEDNESDAY:
UCONN @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN

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

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – Seton Hall
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!

BETology 2-24

2010-02-24T00:32:00.002-05:00

BETology 2-24
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 13-2
*Villanova Wildcats 11-3
*Pittsburgh Panthers 10-4
*West Virginia Mountaineers 10-5
Georgetown Hoyas 9-6
Louisville Cardinals 9-6
Marquette Golden Eagles 8-6
Connecticut Huskies 7-8
Seton Hall Pirates 7-8
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-8
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-8
South Florida Bulls 6-8
St. John’s Red Storm 5-9
Providence Friars 4-11
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-11
DePaul Blue Demons 1-13
**Clinched Double-bye
*Clinched opening round bye

LAST NIGHT:
SYRACUSE ORANGE 99
Providence Friars 85

Syracuse survived a scare from Providence when the Friars made 9 3-point FG's in the first half and went into the half with a 5 point lead. With the win Syracuse moved a game and a half up on Villanova for the lead in the Big East, they also clinched a double-bye in the BET. Syracuse hosts Villanova in a battle for first place this Saturday. A surprising note on this game, Syracuse only played 7 players and 2 of which played the entire game and one other played 39 of 40 minutes. Is this a possible chink in the armor of the Orange? Do they lack depth? Syracuse went on a 17-2 run over a 10 minute span at the beginning of the 2nd half, giving them a double digit they would hold the rest of the game,and Boeheim still used none of his bench. Interesting. Providence stayed in 14th place in the conference, tied with Rutgers who also lost last night.

GEORGETOWN HOYAS 70
Louisville Cardinals 60

Georgetown got a big win last night taking down the Louisville and jumping 2 spots in the standings. The win put Georgetown into a tie with the Cardinals in the win-loss columns, but it also means that Georgetown owns the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cardinals. Georgetown still has three games remaining including a game at West Virginia which could put the Hoyas in a similar situation they found themselves in today. A win against the Mountaineers could again put the Hoyas into a tie, and giving them the head-to-head advantage over them as well. Louisville drops to 6th place after this loss and has two tough road games with UCONN and Marquette, both of which are within reach of catching Louisville in the standings.

SETON HALL PIRATES 76
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 70

Seton Hall gets a much needed win against in-state rival to get them out of a crowded tie in the middle of the conference. The Pirates are now a half a game up on that crowd and tied with UCONN for the coveted 8th spot in the standings which assures them a bye in the opening round of the BET. Seton Hall has a much easier schedule ahead, with Providence and another game against Rutgers still to come. The Rutgers loss assures them that they will be playing on the opening day of the BET and keeps them in 15th place in the standings.

TONIGHT:
DePaul @ Cincinnati, 7:00 pm, Big East Regional
Pitt @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
Marquette @ St. John's, 7:30 pm, Big East Regional
South Florida @ Villanova, 9:00 pm, Big East Regional

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
SATURDAY:
Notre Dame @ Georgetown, NOON, CBS
DePaul @ Rutgers, 4:00 pm, ESPNU
Villanova @ Syracuse, 9:00 pm, ESPN
SUNDAY:
Louisville @ UCONN, 2:00 pm, CBS
MONDAY:
Georgetown @ West Virginia, 7:00 pm, ESPN
TUESDAY:
Villanova @ Cincinnati, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
South Florida @ DePaul, 7:30 pm, ESPNU
Louisville @ Marquette, 9:30 pm, ESPNU

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

WEDNESDAY
March 10th:
NOON
8 – UCONN
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 – 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!

BETology 2-23

2010-02-23T00:41:00.002-05:00

BETology 2-23
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 11-3
Pittsburgh Panthers 10-4
West Virginia Mountaineers 10-5
Louisville Cardinals 9-5
Marquette Golden Eagles 8-6
Georgetown Hoyas 8-6
Connecticut Huskies 7-8
Seton Hall Pirates 6-8
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-8
South Florida Bulls 6-8
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-8
St. John’s Red Storm 5-9
Providence Friars 4-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-10
DePaul Blue Demons 1-13

LAST NIGHT:
UCONN HUSKIES 73
West Virginia Mountaineers 62

The loss for WVU does not do much for the Mountaineers except making the last 3 games on their schedule carry a little more meaning. The Mountaineers were in 4th place before the game and are still in 4th place. They are only one half game ahead of Louisville for that spot, but beat Louisville head to head and therefore own the tiebreaker. However WVU does still have some tough remaining games. They finish with homes games versus Cincy and Georgetown before going to Villanova to close out the regular season. UCONN has now won 3 straight and moved themselves up into that coveted 8th spot in the standings. The are currently one half game ahead of 4 other teams all vying for that last bye in the Big East Tournament. UCONN still has a home finale against Louisville on Sunday before closing the season out on the road in South Bend and Tampa.

TONIGHT:
Syracuse @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Georgetown @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
WEDNESDAY:
Pitt @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
SATURDAY:
Notre Dame @ Georgetown, NOON, CBS
DePaul @ Rutgers, 4:00 pm, ESPNU
Villanova @ Syracuse, 9:00 pm, ESPN
SUNDAY:
Louisville @ UCONN, 2:00 pm, CBS
MONDAY:
Georgetown @ West Virginia, 7:00 pm, ESPN

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

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

BETology 2-22

2010-02-22T00:58:00.002-05:00

BETology 2-22
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 11-3
Pittsburgh Panthers 10-4
West Virginia Mountaineers 10-4
Louisville Cardinals 9-5
Marquette Golden Eagles 8-6
Georgetown Hoyas 8-6
Cincinnati Bearcats 6-8
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-8
Connecticut Huskies 6-8
Seton Hall Pirates 6-8
South Florida Bulls 6-8
St. John’s Red Storm 5-9
Providence Friars 4-10
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 4-10
DePaul Blue Demons 1-13

THIS WEEKEND:
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 into a 5-way tie for 8th place with a 6-8 conference record. Seton Hall finishes 4th of the 5 in the tie-breaker and is currently looking at the 11 seed in the BET. WVU keeps pace with Pitt at 10-4 and that last crucial double bye spot in the standings, which goes to the top 4 in the conference. 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 12th 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 game ahead of Rutgers and Providence and just one game behind that 5-way tie sitting at 6-8.

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS 68
DePaul Blue Demons 59

Louisville as expected, defeated a pretty lifeless DePaul team. Louisville is currently sitting in the 5 slot for the BET and it will be difficult for them to get into the top 4 for a double bye due to the tiebreakers. Louisville is 1 game back of WVU and Pitt, but lost to both teams so it is almost like they are 2 back with just 4 to go. Louisville sits 1 game ahead of both Marquette and Georgetown, and face both of those teams in their remaining games. Louisville hosts Georgetown tomorrow and travels to Milwaukee to play Marquette next Tuesday. DePaul has pretty much wrapped up the 16 seed in the BET, their magic number for clinching that spot is 1.

UCONN HUSKIES 76
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 58

With two straight wins UCONN has found itself in a 5-way tie for the critical 8th spot for the BET which ensures a bye on day one of the tournament. Due to the tiebreakers UCONN currently sits in 10th, but with games remaining against Notre Dame and South Florida, two teams they are tied with, they can certainly improve their position. Rutgers dropped to 15th with this loss. The Scarlet Knights are tied with Providence, but lose the tiebreaker due to a Providence win in the teams only match-up this season.

PITT PANTHERS 70
Villanova Wildcats 65

Pitt becomes the only team in the country this season to claim wins against 3 different Top 5 teams this season, but it also helped its cause in the Big East standings with this win. Pitt could actually be playing themselves into the top spot in the BET if they finish strong. No one on their remaining schedule has a winning record in conference play and both teams in front of them (VILL, SYR) have a tough homestretch including playing each other. On top of that, Pitt has beaten all 3 of the teams tied or ahead of them, thus giving them the tiebreaker with all of them. Villanova dropped back to the 2 spot with this loss and need to bounce back quickly. Nova has an absolutely brutal finishing schedule still with games vs USF, @ Syracuse, @ Cincy and vs WVU to close the season.

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 79
Cincinnati Bearcats 76
(OT)

This win by Marquette jumps them ahead of Georgetown in the seeding since Marquette won the only match-up between the two teams in early January. I don't think Marquette will be able to get to the Top 4 for a double bye, but they are sitting pretty for an off day on Tuesday. Cincinnati however is not sitting pretty. Cincy finds themselves stuck in a 5-way tie for the last bye spot. They are currently holding that 8th spot with a favorable record against the other teams tied with them, but any type of slip up could send them way down the standings. Considering Cincy finishes with WVU, Nova and Georgetown as their last three games, holding that final bye spot may be difficult.

TONIGHT:
West Virginia @ UCONN, 7:00 pm, ESPN

UP COMING GAMES ON NATIONAL TV:
TUESDAY:
Syracuse @ Providence, 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Georgetown @ Louisville, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
WEDNESDAY:
Pitt @ Notre Dame, 7:00 pm, ESPN2
SATURDAY:
Notre Dame @ Georgetown, NOON, CBS
DePaul @ Rutgers, 4:00 pm, ESPNU
Villanova @ Syracuse, 9:00 pm, ESPN
SUNDAY:
Louisville @ UCONN, 2:00 pm, CBS

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

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

BETology 2-20

2010-02-20T15:34:00.003-05:00

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!

BETology 2-19

2010-02-19T03:03:00.004-05:00

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!

BETology 2-18

2010-02-17T23:57:00.003-05:00

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

2010-02-17T01:25:00.003-05:00

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!

BETology 2-16

2010-02-16T01:45:00.003-05:00

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!

THE REITMEYER RANT PLAYOFFS

2010-01-07T19:22:00.002-05:00

NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS
GAME 1
Florida @ TCU, Amon G. Carter Stadium
Saturday Jan 2nd, 3:30
Weather at kickoff- 53 degrees, partly cloudy, 8 mph winds
In a match-up of mirroring teams Florida and TCU battle for the rights to be the first team to get into the first every Reitmeyer Rant College Football Championship Game. Both Florida and TCU have explosive offensives, but their defenses are what carry the team.

Florida enters the game after beating Virginia Tech in the 1st Round 31-3 and then defeating Cincinnati 34-20 in the East Regional Finals last week.

TCU has cruised into this week’s game dominating Miami in the 1st Round 45-7 and then cruising past Boise State in Phoenix 51-21 to get to this point.

TCU enters the game winning their past 15 games at home; they have not lost at Amon G. Carter Stadium since October 18th 2007, when they lost to Utah 27-20.

This game started out slow as both teams defense stood tall as the offenses tried to feel out the other team. After going 3-and-out on their first two drives Florida struck first when Tim Tebow hooked up with TE Aaron Hernandez for an 18-yard score with 4:29 left in the first quarter. The Florida defense who had two sacks on TCU’s first two possessions stepped up and did some scoring of their own. On a third and 13 Andy Dalton tried to force a pass to Antoine Hicks, but Janoris Jenkins stepped in front of it a darted down the sideline for 28 yards and another Gators touchdown. After that, the rout was on.

TCU was able to mount a drive midway through the 2nd quarter and cut the Gator lead to 17-3 at the half, but the Horned Frogs would have an uphill battle in the second half.

TCU got the kick to start the second half and played very conservative in their first possession, possibly just trying to keep the Gator offense off the field. Despite having entered the game with the best scoring defense in the nation TCU was being outgained 274-31 at halftime and Florida had begun to move the ball at will on them. The two-headed running monster of Michael Tucker and Joseph Turner did most of the work on the opening drive for TCU. Turner carried the ball 4 times for 21 yards and Tucker added 33 yards on 3 carries to get the Horned Frogs into the Red Zone. After abandoning the run once in the Red Zone, Dalton threw three straight incompletions and TCU had to settle for another FG.

Tim Tebow saw the blood and went for the kill after watching TCU eat up nearly six minutes of clock and only come away with a field goal. The Gators needed just four plays to add to the lead on a shovel pass to Chris Rainey that went 41 yards for another Gators touchdown. Now up 24-6 midway through the third quarter the Florida defense pinned their ears back and attacked the Andy Dalton and the TCU offense.

The Gators had five sacks in the second half and nine for the game, and also picked off Dalton two more times in the second half. Joe Haden returned his interception 71 yards before being tackled at the 13 yard line, setting up another Florida score. It was the first time that Dalton had thrown three or more interceptions since the last home loss for the Horned Frogs nearly two and a half years ago.

Tim Tebow will get a chance to win his third national championship with the Gators next week in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
FLORIDA 38, TCU 6

GAME 2
Oregon @ Alabama, Bryant-Denny Stadium
Saturday Jan 2nd, 8:00
Weather at kickoff - 30 degrees and clear, light winds
Opposites attract in semi-final #2. We have the speed and finesse of the Oregon Ducks travelling south to take on the size and strength of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

#1 seeded Alabama enters the game carrying the nation’s longest winning streak at 15 games. They have convincing wins over Pitt in the first round and Georgia Tech in the second round to get them into this game. Alabama has also won 15 straight homes games, their last home loss came in November of 2007 when Louisiana Monroe, upset them 21-14.

Oregon is the highest seeded team remaining at #7. They defeated Penn State 38-20 in the first round, and then beat Texas last week on a last second FG in a thrilling 48-45 victory.

This marks the first time Oregon has visited a team from the SEC since opening the 2003 season with a 42-34 win at Mississippi State. It is the first time Oregon has ever faced Alabama.

The Crimson Tide won the toss and chose to defer until the second half allowing Oregon to take the opening kick. The Ducks went three-and-out on their first drive completing two short passes on second and third down after a two-yard loss by running back LaMichael James on first down. Alabama took control with good field position after a nice punt return by Javier Arenas. The Tide then gave the Ducks a steady dose of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. Alabama moved the ball slowly, but effectively, down the field and attempted only one pass their entire first drive. Alabama finished the 42-yard drive with Mark Ingram hammering it home on a one-yard run on fourth and goal.

The next Oregon drive was completely different from their first. Oregon took over at the 31 after the Alabama score and using screen passes, draw plays and misdirection, to keep the Alabama defense on its heels. It seemed to work as the Ducks put together a 11 play, 69 yard drive for a touchdown. No play on the drive was longer than eight yards, and Jeremiah Masoli capped the drive with a qb keeper from two yards out to tie the score.

After some defensive adjustments from both sides, the scoring slowed down considerably. Alabama won a second quarter field goal kicking contest when Leigh Tiffin made two, to Oregon’s Morgan Flint making just one. Alabama led at the half 13-10.

The Crimson Tide came out in the second half poised to repeat the style of play from the first half. After running the ball five straight plays, the Tide went play action and Greg McElroy found Marquis Maze for a 51-yard scoring strike. A hold by the Bama defense and another field goal by Tiffin put the pressure on Oregon as the entered the fourth quarter down 23-10.

Oregon came out of the gate in the final stanza and tried to get it all back on one play, but it was Mark Barron that made the play on the ball, as he intercepted the Masoli pass attempt. Alabama then played keep away from the Ducks using their power running game with Richardson and Ingram to keep the chains and the clock moving. Ingram finished the drive off with a 7-yard touchdown run and put the game on ice.

Oregon made a valiant comeback attempt scoring 10 points in the final 5:16 of the game, but it was too little too late.

Alabama will be playing for the national title game for their first time since 1992 when they beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide will be seeing a familiar opponent in the title game as the Reitmeyer Rant Playoff will have an all-SEC title game.
ALABAMA 30, OREGON 20

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Monday January 11, 2010
Pasadena, CA
The Rose Bowl
#5 Florida Gators vs #1 Alabama Crimson Tide