2-16 BETology

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!