Big East heavyweights lock horns in D.C.
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
01/09/2010 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-25 teams clash in the nation's capital this afternoon, as Big East play takes to the floor at the Verizon Center, featuring the 13th-ranked Connecticut Huskies against the 12th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas.
Jim Calhoun's Huskies dropped their Big East opener at Cincinnati, but have since rallied with a pair of league wins, topping Notre Dame (82-70) and Seton Hall (71-63) in the last week.
John Thompson's Hoyas are also 2-1 in Big East play thus far, opening up their conference slate with back-to-back victories over St. John's (64-59) and DePaul (67-50). More recently however, the team suffered its first league setback with a 62-59 nail-biter at Marquette on Wednesday.
This is the 60th all-time meeting between these two storied programs. Georgetown owns a 32-27 edge in the series with UConn, thanks to wins in each of the last three meetings.
Despite only putting up 71 points against Seton Hall last time out, the Huskies were ultra-efficient at the offensive end of the floor, converting 50.9 percent of their shots, including 55.6 percent in the second half. In addition, Connecticut also out-hustled the Pirates, scoring 26 points on fast breaks. The Huskies had five players finish in double figures, led by star guard Jerome Dyson's 16 points. Dyson completed a double-double with 10 assists and just missed a triple double, hauling in nine rebounds. Kemba Walker and Gavin Edwards poured in 15 points apiece, while Alex Oriakhi and Stanley Robinson chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Seton Hall game represented the blueprint for UConn's success this season. The team isn't putting up eye-popping numbers (74.7 ppg) but is getting it done efficiently (46.6 percent shooting). Dyson is a dynamic player with the ability to serve in several different capacities. He leads the team in scoring at 19.9 ppg, but is also a solid rebounder (5.4 rpg) and distributor (77 assists). Robinson is strong up front, averaging 17.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Walker (12.9 ppg, team-high 86 assists) gives the team depth in the backcourt, while Edwards (11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) does the same down low.
The Hoyas fought back in Milwaukee last time out, but could not get an Austin Freeman jumper to fall in the waning moments of the game, and ultimately dropped a three-point decision at Marquette. The Hoyas shot .489 from the field in the game, but managed just 59 points, while the Golden Eagles hit 12 three-pointers to offset a rather bland shooting performance overall (.389). Freeman led the way with 20 points and six assists. Julian Vaughn added 12 points, while Greg Monroe chipped in nine points, while grabbing 10 boards. Chris Wright also had nine points in the loss, but still is tied for the team- lead with Monroe in terms of scoring at 14.4 ppg. Monroe is a beast in the middle, as Georgetown's center is pulling down nearly 10 rebounds per game (9.8). Freeman is right behind in the scoring column at 14.1 ppg. Jason Clark rounds out the double-digit threats on the roster, chipping in with 10.6 ppg. The Hoyas don't put up huge numbers offensively (70.5 ppg), but rather, play the kind of defense (57.8 ppg against) that makes it unnecessary to do so.
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Florida has dropped the first two tests
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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