Posts tagged ‘Connecticut’

You can’t go anywhere around the sporting world without hearing about the bubble. Who’s on it? Who’s safe? Who’s in trouble? It’s a bit mind-numbing, but it’s also great fodder for talk-show chatter because it can be so subjective. I try to avoid most of this talk, because I don’t want popular opinion to affect my perspective, but when the bubble lists scroll across the bottom of my television screen, they’re kind of hard to miss.

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Here’s a look at the action in the Big East this weekend. Every team is playing, with seven conference games and one big non-conference rivalry matchup.

Connecticut at Notre Dame (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Big East’s marquee game on Saturday features a pair of teams fresh off impressive openers. Like Notre Dame, Connecticut has a short turnover and the Huskies play a second road game in three days. The big question will be whether UConn’s frontcourt will be able to defend Luke Harangody and Rob Kurz. A couple of other involve Notre Dame’s ability to take care of the ball, and UConn’s guards’ ability to hit shots.These are a couple of evenly-matched teams, but with the Irish at home and so solid offensively, Mike Brey’s team should be the pick. If Connecticut does win, then my preseason third-place prediction won’t look as farfetched as it did a couple of weeks ago. Irish by 8.

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The anticipation begins to build around the middle of December. At this point, fans of college basketball teams have seen their clubs play several times and have at least some feel for the season. But they’re tired of the non-conference patsies and the interesting games occasionally sprinkled in. As Christmas comes, conference season is even closer and the anticipation grows. Finally, after the New Year’s Day bowls are done and folks are already starting to flake out on their New Year’s resolutions, the college basketball fan is rewarded with the beginning of conference play.For two of the 14 Big East fan bases who saw their favorite team open conference play this week, the opener dealt a harsh dose of reality. Villanova and Providence fans entered conference play with high hopes after solid non-conference slates, but with road openers in the Midwest, neither team found anything approaching success on Thursday night.

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I’ve been hard on Norm Roberts in this space, though many St. John’s fans don’t think I’ve been hard enough on the fourth-year coach. While the Red Storm’s offense under Roberts has always been something out of the Neolithic Era, I’d found the defense solid and the effort unquestioned.

That was the case again in St. John’s Big East opener at the Carrier Dome against Syracuse. The Orange have one of the best offenses in the Big East, but managed just more than a point per possession. Meanwhile, the Red Storm — not exactly known for their size and girth — outrebounded Syracuse and hustled all over the floor. But the Johnnies just couldn’t make enough shots to win, which ended in a 76-70 decision for the Orange.

Read more on Wednesday’s games and previews of Thursday’s action >