Hey everyone, Mike T here again with your look at the Big East conference. First off once again, my thoughts on the weekend:
- Syracuse with a big win on Saturday, holding on to beat Georgetown in OT. The Orange almost blew a 16 point lead, but Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf led the Orange to their 19th win of the year. A win Sunday against Villanova would all but assure the Orange of a return to the NCAA Tourney.
- Georgetown's bubble is on the verge of bursting. The Hoyas (13-10, 4-8) have 8 losses in conference and have to run the table and get to perhaps the finals of the Big East tournament to get back into talks for the big dance.
- Despite going 1-1 last week, West Virginia (17-8, 6-6) played very well against Pitt on the road, and roughed up Villanova on Saturday. With Notre Dame in Morgantown on Tuesday and at Rutgers on Sunday, the Mountaineers should win both and further put themselves in the talk for the NCAA tourney.
- Cincinnati suffered a bit of a setback with a loss to Pitt on Saturday, but with 17 wins and a chance to beat Louisville in Cincy, the Bearcats are still very alive in the tourney talk.
Now on to the game of the year in the Big East- #1 UConn against #4 Pitt.
#1 UConn (24-1, 12-1) vs. #4 Pittsburgh (23-2, 10-2)- XL Center, Hartford CT- 7:00
- This game will be phenomenal in so many ways. Both teams are ranked in the top 5 this year, and one could make an argument that they are the two best teams in the nation based on the teams they've played.
- Both teams play fantastic defense- both teams give up under 65 points a game.
Matchups to watch: DeJuan Blair against Hasheem Thabeet.
- As if it would be anything else. Blair is averaging a double double on the year, with 15 points and 12 rebounds a game. The 6'7" Sophomore gives Pitt muscle down low, and Senior Sam Young leads the Panthers in scoring with 18 a game. Blair also leads the nation with 6 offensive rebounds a game. Despite the notion of Pitt being a grind it out team, they actually score more points a game than UConn (78-77).
- However, Blair will be giving up 7 inches to the 7'3" Junior Thabeet, who is coming off a 25 point, 20 rebound, 9 block perfomance against Seton Hall on Saturday. Thabeet continues to stake a claim to not only the most improved player in the nation, but player of the year as well. Thabeet is averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds a game- as well as 4 blocks a game. In his last three games Thabeet is averaging 7 blocks a game. Thabeet comes into the game 2nd in the nation with a 64% FG percentage, and 2nd with his 4 blocks a game.
- Another interesting matchup will be how UConn tries to contain Levance Fields, Pitt's Senior point guard. Fields comes into the game averaging 11 points and 8 assists a game, and leads the nation with a 4.15 assist/turnover ratio. Fields is also shooting 37% from three, and in his last four games is averaging 12 points and 12 assists a game- and just 2 turnovers a game in that same span.
- UConn will be without Jerome Dyson for the rest of the year as the Junior guard decided on surgery for a torn meniscus. Dyson was injured against Syracuse on Wednesday and was third on the team with 13 points a game. This will now heap more responsibility in the backcourt on AJ Price, Craig Austrie and freshman Kemba Walker.
The Pick: Pittsburgh. This game can go many ways- UConn is definitely the more talented team top to bottom, but Pitt is a very veteran group, led by Young and Fields. Pitt feels a little slighted because they feel they are the best team in the conference, yet UConn gets all the talk. Pitt is #1 in the RPI rankings, while UConn is third.
If DeJuan Blair can stay out of foul trouble, then Pitt will win. Remember he left the Louisville game with Pitt up 10, and Pitt ended up losing by 8. If Blair cant stay in the game, then it could be a long night for Pitt. However I think Blair stays out of foul trouble and the Panthers stake their claim- for now- as the Beasts of the East.
One more note- if this game lives up to the billing, who can wait until March 7th, when these two teams meet at Pitt and the Oakland Zoo, to end the regular season.
Once again, see ya on Friday with my week in review and look to the weekend.
- Mike T
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