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BOSTON COLLEGE
Last week:
St Josephs 67 – Boston College 57
Boston College 72 – Sacred Heart 70
BC lost their first game of the year, and came out of the week 7-1. But, this team is not playing as well as their record suggests. The St Josephs score doesn’t look bad, but they happened to catch Jameer Nelson on a very off night (4-16 shooting.) Barely squeaking by a very paltry Sacred Heart is a bad sign. Sacred Heart even lost to Columbia at home, and if it wasn’t for Craig Smith’s strong play down the stretch, they might have taken one from the Eagles. Smith struggled versus St Joes and the first 2/3rds of the Sacred Heart game, so hopefully his strong finish will carry into the coming week.

This week:
December 20th – vs Kent State
The Eagles host Kent State, who comes in with a 4-1 record. The Flash are a very deep and experienced team capable of winning on the road, so BC should be in for a tough game. Big 7-0 John Edwards could be a problem for the Eagles unless Doornekamp shows up.

CONNECTICUT
Last week:
Connecticut 88 – Quinnipiac 55
Quinnipiac was considered a preseason NEC favorite, but they’ve started very slowly and UCONN blew them out even without Emeka Okafor (back pain.) Gordon had 28 points, but more importantly, the Huskies were able to get Charlie Villanueva 21 minutes as he works his way into the rotation. Villanueva is basically the difference between UCONN being a very good team and a contender for the NCAA Championship.

This week:
December 20th – vs Iona
UCONN fans may recognize DeShaun Williams, the former Syracuse starter who transferred to Iona. Williams is really struggling with his shot, shooting only 30%. Even if Okafor doesn’t play, UCONN shouldn’t have much of a problem here.

GEORGETOWN
Last week:
Georgetown 91 – Elon 72
The Hoyas are one of the weakest 7-0 teams you’ll ever see. Like most Big East teams, they’ve beaten up on weak opponents at home, and have one not so impressive road win over a poor Penn State team. Not much you can say about their game vs Elon, except that they won. Gerald Riley had a season-high 28 points over Elon, who have just one win over a D1 team this year.

This week:
December 20th – vs Howard
Howard is minutely better than Elon, so expect a very similar result.

MIAMI
Last week:
Miami 61 – UMBC 52
Florida State 67- Miami 58
The Hurricane lost their 3rd game of the year against FSU, but have been close in each contest. Led by former Miami coach, Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles are out to an impressive 8-0 start. This loss is nothing to be ashamed of even though Miami blew a lead they held for the first 30 minutes. Armando Surratt had his best game of the year with 15 points and 5 assists.

This week:
Orange Bowl Classic
December 20th – vs Temple
Unlike most Big East teams, Miami has played a fairly competitive schedule (although they haven’t played a game outside of Dade County.) Besides their loss to FSU, they also dropped games to Rhode Island and Bradley by a point each. However, a fourth loss at home will not be a good sign of things to come during the Big East schedule.

NOTRE DAME
Last week:
Indiana 66 – Notre Dame 63
Notre Dame 82 – DePaul 69
Coming off a very disappointing home loss to Central Michigan, think are looking better for ND. Despite dropping a very entertaining game to the Hoosiers, they came back with an impressive 13 point win at DePaul. The Irish struggle because of their lack of depth and reliance on Chris Thomas to score the ball. The most impressive thing about their win over the Demons is that Jordan Cornette came through with 17 points. Cornette has the talent to easily score double digits on a consistent basis, and its only a matter of time before the light switches on.

This week:
December 21st – vs American
With a week of rest before playing American, Notre Dame will have no excuse but to win big. Anything under a 12 point win will be cause for some concern.

PITTSBURGH
Last week:
Pittsburgh 57 – Youngstown State 42
Pitt beat Youngstown at home to start 7-0. This isn’t terribly impressive when you realize the Penguins haven’t won a regular season road game in two years.

This week:
Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Tournament
December 17th – vs Georgetown (KY)
December 19th – vs Chicago State
December 20th – vs Murray State
The Panthers are one of the few teams in college basketball with a busy schedule this week. They continue their current streak of 15 games in a row within Pittsburgh (one “road” game at Duquesne included.) There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of the Kentucky version of Georgetown, but their no push-over. An NAIA power, the Tigers went to Florida State earlier and played well losing by 14. There’s a very good chance they’ll beat one of the opponents they play at the Pittsburgh Holiday event. Chicago State is a pushover, unlike Murray State, who will give the Panthers problems. The Racers are led by senior Cuthbert Victor, who has come out like a house afire, scoring 20 points and 11 boards shooting an amazing 75% from the floor. I’m still trying to figure out when Coach Dixon will stop wasting his time playing senior Toree Morris and give freshman Chris Taft a full 30 mpg.

PROVIDENCE
Last week:
Providence 70 – Illinois 51
The Friars big win over Illinois on national TV helped give them some long overdue respect. Ryan Gomes has started this season just where he ended last year, scoring 19 points and 9 boards a game.

This week:
December 21st – vs Central Connecticut
With Quinnipiac struggling, CCSU is probably the NEC favorite again. Led by senior Ron Robinson, the Blue Devils are no push-over. The twelve day break between Illinois and CCSU is a gift for the Friars. If this game was right after the MSG win, the Friars may have been over-confident. But you know Tim Welsh will have his team squarely focused on CCSU.

RUTGERS
Last week:
Rutgers 60 – Penn State 47
Rutgers 51 – Princeton 49
Rutgers is 5-1, but they haven’t played very pretty basketball. Penn State is a weak team, and a home win over Princeton by 2 points is nothing to brag about. The problem with the Knights is obvious; they basically have no solid point guard or center.

This week:
December 20th – vs LIU
Rutgers will most likely win this game, but they need to start playing better basketball if they hope to make a run at the post-season. It still amazes me that someone as talented as Herve Lamizana is only averaging 13 ppg. I’ve been expecting Herve to breakout big-time this year, and maybe he’ll have his moment versus the Blackbirds.

SETON HALL
Last week:
Louisville 80 – Seton Hall 71
Seton Hall 91 – St Peters 62
I give the Hall a lot of respect for scheduling Louisville, and a 9 point loss on the road is nothing to be ashamed of. The game was relatively close throughout and if John Allen could have even hit one or two shots (he went 0-12) perhaps the Pirates could have won. The St Peters game featured scoring sensation Keyden Clark (averaging 27 ppg) and not much else.

This week:
December 20th – vs Ohio State
Andre Barrett’s been great, but John Allen has been frustrating. Like Lamizana of Rutgers, I thought Allen would be a breakout player. Offensively, he’s somehow regressed, even managing to go 0 for 20 shooting vs Liberty and then Louisville. The Pirates really need Allen to share the scoring load with Barrett, and a big game against OSU could be the catalyst.

ST. JOHN’S
Last week:
St John’s 58 – St Francis (NY) 52
What can you say about the Johnnies? How did they suddenly end up with such little talent? Elijah Ingram’s good, but can’t carry a team on his back, “Showtime” Hill’s been simply pedestrian, and Willie Shaw’s been suspended. The only positive has been the surprising play of senior Grady Reynolds, averaging 14 ppg.

This week:
December 21st – at Georgia Tech
There couldn’t be more different teams than St Johns and Georgia Tech. Tech’s a program on the rise who plays exciting high-scoring basketball. The Storm seem to be heading south, and try to bore the opposition to sleep. A St Johns win here would be shocking.

SYRACUSE
Last week:
Syracuse 75 – Binghamton 54
The Orange have bounced back from the opening loss against Charlotte with three wins over lesser opponents. Boeheim played a lot of his bench, and freshman Terrence Roberts had his first meaningful outing with 12 points. Roberts is a player, and this team will need his athleticism and explosiveness to have a big season. As was expected, Hakim Warrick has taken the team scoring lead, but McNamara and Edelin have been inconsistent. Don’t forget that this unit is just meshing together and should only get better as the season goes on.

This week:
December 17th – vs Manhattan
December 20th – vs Siena
Syracuse hosts to in-state MAAC foes next week. Picking Manhattan as one of the best mid-majors has really been en vogue, but the Jaspers haven’t played great basketball. Star Luis Flores is only shooting 42%, but he’ll need to have a big game for the Jaspers to win. Siena is a middle of the road MAAC team coming off four straight losses. Siena’s led by Michael Haddix, a 6-6 forward that should be held in check by Warrick.

VILLANOVA
Last week:
Villanova 73 – Penn 63
Villanova 74 – Northeastern 55
The Wildcats were anything but good in Maui, but they’re finally getting all their pieces back in order. Curtis Sumpter has been a beast since returning, including 39 points on 16-20 shooting against Northeastern. The return of Chris Charles has been equally important as it gives the Wildcats added depth. Freshman Will Sheridan played well getting minutes because of the suspensions, and should be in the playing rotation throughout the season.

This week:
This ends up being a huge week off for the Wildcats. Jason Fraser returned for 9 minutes against Northeastern after suspension & injury and the week off will give him extra time to heal. Fraser’s the only important player yet to have a chance to contribute yet.

VIRGINIA TECH
Last week:
Virginia Tech 80 – VMI 56
Virginia Tech 73 – Radford 60
Not that its surprising, but the Hokies still aren’t very good. The two wins this past week came against Big South opponents who went a combined 20-40 last year. However, I give new coach Seth Greenberg a lot of credit for giving his freshmen a lot of minutes and building for the future. A lot of first-time coaches are too worried about winning right away to look good, but Greenberg is going about things the right way. Aside from senior leader Bryant Matthews, freshmen Gordon, Dowdell, and Collins are the feature players. While the frosh have fared well against lesser foes, the Big East season will be a whole other story.

This week:
December 20th – at Towson
The young Hokies have yet to win a road game this season, but they should get their first vs Towson State.

WEST VIRGINIA
Last week:
West Virginia 88 – Duquesne 84
John Beilein did a masterful job last year simply getting the Mountaineers to play at a .500 clip, and things are looking even better in this young season. Drew Schifino is WVU’s clear leader, but Beilein does a good job of working 8 guys into the rotation with good minutes. The team is best when someone besides Schifino steps up and scores the ball. The game against Duquesne was a good example of the team struggling because no one else but Schifino ever got it going. But, the comeback win over Duquesne was important, because a loss following the big Maryland win would have been a setback.

This week:
December 17th – vs IUPUI
Orange Bowl Classic (in Miami)
December 20th – vs Florida
The win against Maryland was big for the program, and the Florida game is their next big test. It would not surprise me if WVU overlooks IUPUI and struggles but still manages to win. Last year the Mountaineers beat the Gators despite being 17 point underdogs, so who is to say they cant win again on the neutral court. Unlike last year when WVU peaked in the pre-conference schedule, a win over Florida should give Beilein’s crew the momentum to have a successful Big East season.

This Week’s Important Games:

December 17th – Syracuse vs Manhattan
Everyone know’s about Syracuse’ soft schedule. This is their biggest test before facing Michigan State on January 3rd. If the Orange win, they’ll almost certainly be 8-1 before facing the Spartans

December 20th – Miami vs Temple
This might not be the prettiest of games, but it should be a close one. Miami’s already lost 3 home games, and a fourth could be a very bad sign of things to come.

December 20th – Seton Hall vs Ohio State
Seton Hall is the favorite here, and I only think its important because its one of the few games Big East teams are playing against BCS conference foes. This game is bigger for OSU because they’ve been struggling, so expect them to come out with some energy.

December 20th – West Virginia vs Florida (in Miami)
A win by the Mountaineers will give them the momentum they need to make an outside run at the NCAA tournament.

Parting Shots:

The Big East is known for their early cupcake scheduling, and this season is no different. In the past week, Big East teams went 17-4, mainly because they played joke teams. By my estimation, the Beast was 2-4 against legitimate opponents (wins: PC over Illinois and ND over Depaul.) Next week should be very similar in the win-loss column, because there is again about 6 legitimate games amongst the muck. Because of the easy scheduling, its hard to get a good grasp on what teams are truly for real.

This much we do know: St Johns is painfully bad; Virginia Tech is going with youth, and this means another ugly Big East season; Miami will only be average at best; and Georgetown, Rutgers, and BC are a combined 22-2, but haven’t played exceptional basketball. And for the rest, your guess is as good as mine.