With a strong defensive effort, St. Peter’s knocked off Marist to improve to .500 overall and in early MAAC play.

In their Big East opener, the Connecticut women’s basketball team rolled in a road contest against Seton Hall.

A look at a few things we learned at the Jimmy V Classic, like a big man that needs the ball, no lack of effort, and a team that will have some nights like the one they had in New York.

Seton Hall ran away from NJIT to improve to 5-0, and Bobby Gonzalez challenged his team not to let up once they had a big lead because there was a larger mission at hand.

The two days in New York at the NIT Season Tip-Off had a few things we could take away. Here is a look at five of them, covering all four teams.

NJIT picked up its second win of the young season, and already it is evident that the Highlanders have upgraded the talent level.

Entering the Coaches vs. Cancer final respective coaches Roy Williams of North Carolina and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim were in agreement it would a game of spurts. It turned out to be that way and Syracuse had a definitive run that allowed the Orange to post an 87-71 victory in the championship

Despite years of suggestions that he try a man-to-man defense more than just on occasion, Syracuse continues to live with a 2-3 zone defense under Jim Boeheim. It’s one of the constants that have been in place there.

An early start to Tuesday’s contest between Monmouth and St. Peter’s was the most noticeable aspect of the game, although the home team’s defense also stood out.

Some notes from two openers in New Jersey this weekend, where a matchup of local rivals came down to the buzzer and another was still a close call.

North Carolina won by 16 in Isiah Thomas’ college coaching debut. A look at some numbers reveals a couple of likely strengths and a potential issue for the Tar Heels.

The regular season is about to begin, and a look at a tempo-free approach gives some insights into the game.

Working closely at New Jersey’s St. Anthony with coaching legend Bob Hurley for over 30 years, athletic director Sister Alan Barszczewski passed away this week from a long bout with liver cancer.

Some news and notes on Penn State’s win over Baylor to take home the NIT championship, which they did in front of a number of fans that made the effort to get to New York.

UConn has sustained success quite well in an era of increased parity in women’s basketball. Ray has that and more notes from the Trenton Regional.

One team held serve while another gave a big surprise at the NCAA Women’s Regionals at Sovereign Bank Arena on Sunday. Number one and unblemished UConn dispatched Cal 77-53 in a game that was more competitive than the score hints. In the nightcap, sixth seed Arizona State upset second-seeded Texas A&M 84-69.

At Rutgers, I had the opportunity to watch Rutgers and Virginia Commonwealth. The contrast in philosophy was evident as Rutgers mentor C. Vivian Stringer devoted a fair part of her 60 minutes to half court offense. The Scarlet Knights ran a lot of zone offense and after a play, Stringer took the time to make a point.

The highlight of the first day of the Atlantic 10 Tournament came from Rick Majerus as he opined on conference tournaments. We have that, and a few quick hitter notes.

The Big East Tournament afternoon sessions saw upsets with DePaul stopping Cincinnati and Georgetown dropping a decision to St.John’s. The evening held to form as Notre Dame eliminated Rutgers and Seton Hall defeated South Florida.

St. Peter’s has come on of late and finished strong in the MAAC. The last game of the regular season saw them pull one out at the buzzer.

Syracuse played well and St. John’s didn’t, and that led to a blowout that the short-handed Red Storm hasn’t suffered too many of in what’s been a difficult season.