1. Winning three of the Four Factors does not guarantee a victory. Dean Oliver’s Four Factors tell us a great deal of why teams win or lose. Having the advantage in them is desirable but, as noted, getting three of four does not always mean a W in the ledger. The example:

The Blue Demons had slight advantages in free throw rate, Offensive rebounding percentage and turnover rate. They were though, badly beaten in the main objective of Dr. Naismith’s game. They did not put the ball in the basket as often or as proficient as Seton Hall. DePaul was 23 of 67 (5 of 20 from three) from the field. The Pirates were 37 of 63, including 11 of 21 (52%) from beyond the arc. That was a difference DePaul found too much to overcome.

1. The Hall has multiple choices. Fuquan Edwin followed up his 24-point performance at Providence with a game-high 28 points. Edwin had 24 at the half. The second half Aaron Cosby heated up, shooting three for five from deep and scoring 14 of his 15 points. Herb Pope had another solid 11-point, 13-board night and Jordan Theodore had another outstanding 26-point, 11-assist effort. Edwin’s emergence of late as a scorer and added offensive option couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
2. DePaul is in the middle of a tough stretch. The game at Seton Hall was the second of three straight on the road. The Blue Demons will visit Louisville on Saturday. Still, after the Hall contest they stand at 1-3 in the Big East and 10-6 overall.
3. What DePaul did well. Compete and get to the line. Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard was impressed with their constant full court pressure and the fact they kept working. The Blue Demons whittled the halftime deficit to a three-possession game midway through the second half before the Hall went on a game-clinching run. DePaul was able to draw fouls and made the most of their chances, shooting 22 of 25 from the line. Those 22 makes led to their impressive 33%  free throw rate (FTM/FGA). DePaul does have some young talent for Oliver Purnell to build with. Notable in that group is sophomore guard Brandon Young, who led the Blue Demons with 16 points. Cleveland Melvin, another sophomore, at forward, is an 18-points-per-game scorer. Cleveland did add 14 points but was held to 4 of 13 from the floor.
4. The Hall is not resting on laurels. That was a mantra repeated in post-game comments by players and the Seton Hall coaching staff. They have a ranking but are not resting on laurels. Chalk a lot of that up to chemistry. “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores and it is easy to maintain their attention,” Willard said. “We also have two seniors (Theodore and Pope) who not only want to make their last season special and want to further their careers.” Translated, everyone is on the same page, focused and working hard.

• Earlier in the afternoon/evening it was officiating at Hudson Catholic. The Jersey City-based school coached by Nick Mariniello is building into a legitimate state power. Even the sub varsity teams are strong. My JV game saw Hudson win 106-34 (no misprint). At any rate a familiar face was in the stand: Mike O’Koren, who starred at Hudson with Jim Spanarkel and later North Carolina before an NBA career, was in attendance. As an alum of Hudson, he is happy regarding the program’s new found strength and to be a part of it. “Nick (Mariniello) has been wonderful inviting me back and keeping me involved and close to the program. O’Koren takes in as many games as he can, especially in the gym where he and Spanarkel lead the Hawks to county and state titles.

Last Year:

7-24 overall, 1-17 Big East (16th)

Coach:

Oliver Purnell (2nd season, 7-24)

Projected starting five:

G: Jeremiah Kelly, Sr.
G: Brandon Young, So.
F: Cleveland Melvin, So.
F: Tony Freeland, Jr.
C: Krys Faber, Sr.

Important departures:

Jimmy Drew 6.4 ppg. 3.3 rpg, 2.1 apg
Mike Stovall 5.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.2 apg
Devin Hill 5.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.0 apg

Inside the numbers:

80 percent scoring returning
78 percent rebounding returning

Additions:

G: Shane Larking, 6’0”, 170 – MaxPreps #68
G: Charles McKinney, 6’4”, 190 – ESPNU Pos. #51
C: Derrell Robertson, 6’9”, 215 – ESPNU Pos. #56

Schedule:

Toughest nonconference game: 11/24 Minnesota
Toughest in-conference stretch: 1/1 – 1/8 vs. (5) Syracuse, vs. (11) Pittsburgh, at Villanova

Prediction:

15th in BE; 10+ wins

What to expect:

DePaul returns a good and young core of last year’s team that showed flashes of possibly big things to come. Brandon Young and Cleveland Melvin enter their sophomore seasons after gaining quality experience in the freshman seasons, playing the majority of the games for the Blue Demons.

Senior PG Jeremiah Kelly who led the team in minutes played and steals last season will aid Melvin and Young. Krys Faber will be the Blue Demons’ man in the middle and give Oliver Purnell’s team the big body they need. Tony Freeland will round out the starting five after averaging nearly 10 ppg last year.

Purnell is installing his system of full-court pressing that showed it could keep DePaul close against Louisville, West Virginia and Villanova last year, but unfortunately for Blue Demons fans, it looks like it will take a few more years to realize Purnell’s dream of building the success he enjoyed at Clemson.

Next: Georgetown Hoyas

Back to Big East preview

The win breaks a couple of big streaks that the Blue Demons were on the wrong side of. They had lost 25 straight Big East games before Thursday night, and had lost 29 in a row on the road. They had not won a game at all in 2011.

Not only have the Blue Demons had a tough time winning, but they haven’t been close often. Only six of their losses have been decided by single digits, and on six occasions they have lost by 20 or more points.

This DePaul team entered the night winless in Big East play on the season, but if their performance in this game is any indication, it’s not from a lack of effort. This team looks scrappy, active at both ends and has a couple of young players to try to build around. They aren’t the most talented team around, and that’s something first-year head coach Oliver Purnell will attempt to rectify in time, but talent alone doesn’t win games, it only helps. Getting wins will help, too.

“It was good for our guys,” Purnell said. “They’ve been playing better and better for the last four or five ballgames, and it’s nice to have an affirming event like a win to show them that they’re actually playing better.”

The players’ reaction to Thursday night? They were a little happy, as you might imagine.

“It’s a party in there,” said junior guard Jeremiah Kelly. “We’ve worked so hard all year. We’ve got the right pieces and the right coach. We’ve been pushing and fighting, but didn’t close a lot of games. Not only did we get a win, but we got one on the road.”

The Blue Demons have a long way to go, as there is plenty of room for improvement at the end of the floor where effort counts the most. Opponents shoot nearly 49 percent from the floor against the Blue Demons, who are also out-rebounded by more than six per game. They are last in the Big East in both stat categories by far. The upshot is that they are forcing turnovers to the tune of 15.6 per game, but it hasn’t been enough to overcome the other deficiencies.

Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young give Purnell a couple of players to build around. Young had 17 points on 7-12 shooting on Thursday, but also had nine turnovers. Melvin leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding, and had 20 points on Thursday. He is an active combo forward who should be at home in Purnell’s system, playing a little like James Mays did for Purnell at Clemson.

“He’ll be that way on the ball,” the DePaul mentor said of Melvin. “He’s a freshman who’s going to be pretty good.”

Moses Morgan has also impressed at times, but played just 12 minutes on Thursday night. The veteran leader on the team is Kelly, who led the Blue Demons with 23 points and had six steals, and was in on most big plays down the stretch. Not known for his shooting, he was 4-7 from long range on the night, including a big three-pointer with 57 seconds left that put the Blue Demons up by four and set the stage for his four free throws to seal it in the final minute, although the Friars had a chance to win that was ended by a turnover.

“He was the leader out there tonight,” Purnell said of Kelly. “He was vocal, led with his play, led with his aggressiveness. He had six steals, so he led defensively as well.”

Purnell is known for pressing and trapping, and although it’s debatable whether or not he has the bodies to do it most effectively now, he has put that system in place. Players have been learning it, and they like it since it’s part of playing the game at a fast pace. The Blue Demons didn’t press much on Thursday because of the matchup, knowing that Providence also likes to press and can play at that speed. Purnell noted that the few times they did press, Providence broke it and scored, so there wasn’t much incentive to stay with it.

“The system is in,” said Purnell. “We felt like coming on the road against a team that’s as good in the open court as any in the league, we don’t want to give them a chance to get easy baskets early and get it going on their home court.”

The Blue Demons are showing signs that in a couple of years, they will be winning games. That’s how Purnell has done it in his career, with gradual improvement both by his players individually and by his teams on the bottom line. The young talent has promise, and as Kelly noted, they’ll need to take important steps next year to keep improving. Although it’s hardly a primary motivation, they will want to make sure opposing fans have no basis on which to yell out to them anything about winning Big East games.

• An already bad off-season got worse for Providence last week when they kicked Jamine Peterson off the team. The Friars’ leading scorer and rebounder last season, Peterson was a black hole on offense and had a penchant for putting up questionable shots, but he produced points and rebounds. At times, he got both by cleaning up another player’s miss. With two non-seniors already gone from the team for next season from an off-court incident last month, this was an even less welcome development than it is by itself.

• Khem Birch (6’10” So. PF-C, Pierrefonds (Que.)) has quite a bit going on right now. The long big man recently opted for Notre Dame Prep next year and has had a good spring as his body is maturing. He also has an invitation to the National Basketball Association Players Camp next month and recently was invited to try out for the Canadian 17-under national team.

• Birch isn’t alone among New England players trying out next month for the Canadian 17-under national team. Rodell Wigginton (6’4” So. SF, Halifax (Nova Scotia) Boston Trinity Academy) will also try out for the team. Wigginton is an athletic wing who can rebound from that spot, and he helped Boston Trinity Academy win the NEPSAC Class D title this season.

• Although he’s not a big-time prospect, Cleveland Melvin (6’8” SF-PF, Baltimore (MD) Notre Dame Prep) could prove to be a very nice pickup for DePaul. Part of it is because it comes late in the spring, but another part is that he will fit Oliver Purnell’s pressing style. Melvin is an athletic forward who runs the floor well, and he could eventually be a poor man’s James Mays in the press.

• Maine also made a nice late addition in point guard Raheem Singleton, who did two years at Monroe Community College. A tough point guard who does things to help his team win, Singleton will team with Gerald McLemore in arguably the best backcourt in America East next year.

• A big thumbs-up to the NCAA for granting waivers allowing Texas A&M to do something for Tobi Oyedeji, who was tragically killed last Sunday morning. As a result, they were able to visit with his family, attend a charity basketball game held in his honor and go to his funeral on the athletic department’s dime.

The keys:

1. Defense: “I thought we came out with good energy and defensive intensity,” USF coach Stan Heath said.  At the half the Bulls enjoyed a 30-15 lead largely due to a defensive effort that limited the Blue Demons to 23 percent shooting from the field. USF doubled down on inside threat Mac Koshwal of DePaul. No one from DePaul responded especially on the perimeter.
2. Dominique Jones: The Bulls’ outstanding junior scored a team-high 20 points while taking only five shots the second half. “Dominique doesn’t care about his points or shots,” Heath said. “He just wants to win. Their zone slowed him and didn’t give him many looks but he gladly sacrificed for his teammates.

The hot shooting of DePaul guard Will Walker, who tied for game-high scoring honors with 20 points, allowed the Blue Demons to rally. They cut it to a two-possession game late before USF regrouped.

Interestingly USF did not hit a three, shooting 0 for 8 from the field. They dominated inside with a 50-20 edge on scoring in the paint.  “We have guys who can hit (outside) shots and will,” Heath said. “If we didn’t hit a three and lost I would be concerned but we won so it isn’t a big thing.” The USF mentor did admit knocking down a few against second round opponent Georgetown will be necessary.

In a tempo free note…The game had 64 possessions, a moderately slow pace with the following efficiencies:

USF  91
DePaul 78

That, anyone will agree, is great defense. DePaul finished 8-23 while ,USF advanced to 20-11, the third twenty-win season in school history. Heath did not get into “bubble talk”, stating, “Our idea is to keep playing. You keep playing here and everything takes care of itself.”

The victory against Rutgers snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bearcats, but it didn’t come without a challenge.
The Bearcats nearly saw a 16-point lead vanish as they led by one with 1:22 left.
Deonta Vaughn scored a game-high 18 points to lead Cincinnati. Mike Williams added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

De Paul Blue Demons (8-10, 0-5)
Last week:
vs. Cincinnati, L 59-55
This week:
Jan. 20 at South Florida
Jan. 24 at Marquette

The Blue Demons have lost five straight and six of their past seven after falling by four to Cincinnati last week. They are 0-5 to start conference play for the first time since starting the 2001-02 season 0-5 while members of Conference USA.
Guard Will Walker scored a team-high 17 points in the loss. He was 4-of-8 from 3-point range, but the rest of the squad was 0-for-8 from 3-point range. Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal each scored 15 points as well for De Paul.
The Blue Demons will look to avenge an 80-58 loss to South Florida on Jan. 10. It was their first loss to the Bulls since joining the Big East after four straight victories.

Louisville Cardinals (13-3, 4-0)
Last week:
vs. Notre Dame, W 87-73, OT
vs. Pittsburgh, W 69-63
This week:
Jan. 21 at Rutgers
Jan. 25 at Syracuse

The Cardinals have won five straight, including knocking off No. 1 Pittsburgh. They have now won their past three games in the regular season against ranked opponents – Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Villanova.
In addition, Louisville has won three straight against the No. 1 team in the country. The previous two were over Florida on Dec. 13, 2003 and Kentucky on Dec. 27, 2003.
Terrence Williams had a big game with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Earl Clark had 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks as well.

Marquette Golden Eagles (16-2, 5-0)
Last week:
at Providence, W 91-82
This week:
Jan. 24 vs. De Paul

Marquette used a 51-37 scoring advantage in the second half to squeeze past Providence on the road. The Golden Eagles have now won eight straight games since a 12-point loss to Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 16.
Lazar Hayward and Jerel McNeal each scored 25 points for Marquette, while Wesley Matthews added 22. Dominic James scored nine points with six assists and only one turnover in 37 minutes. He has only two turnovers in his past two games.
The Golden Eagles are the only team in the league with three players among the top 12 in scoring average – Matthews (19.1, 3rd), McNeal (18.8, 4th) and Hayward (16.5, 12th).
The chances of extending the win streak to nine looks good when Marquette hosts De Paul, a team its beaten three of four times since both joined the Big East.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-5, 3-3)
Last week:
at Louisville, L 87-73, OT
at Syracuse, L 93-74
This week:
Jan. 24 vs. Connecticut

The Irish have lost three of its past five games – all on the road. The most recent was a 19-point rout at the hands of Syracuse. It was also the first time this season Notre Dame has lost consecutive games.
Against Syracuse, Luke Harangody scored 25 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and had six assists. He extended his streak of 20-plus points to 10 games, the school’s longest streak since Adrian Dantley did it in nine straight games. Harangody also has a streak of seven straight double-doubles.
Kyle McAlarney added 24 points, going 7-of-14 from 3-point range. He has hit 74 3-pointers this season, tops in the Big East.
The Irish will have good and bad news this week. The good news is they return home, where they’ve won 45 straight games, dating back to Feb. 25, 2006, and have won 20 straight home conference games. The bad news is the opponent is Connecticut, whose only loss this year was a 74-63 loss to Georgetown at home.
Notre Dame is 5-3 in Big East play at home against Connecticut.

Pittsburgh Panthers (16-1, 4-1)
Last week:
vs. South Florida, W 75-62
at Louisville, L 69-63
This week:
Jan. 19 vs. Syracuse
Jan. 25 at West Virginia

The Panthers, the No. 1 team in the country, suffered their first loss of the season in a great game against Louisville.
The Panthers struggled down the stretch, which likely cost them the game. They hit just one field goal in the final eight minutes of the game, and committed a season-high 20 turnovers.
Jermaine Dixon scored a team-high 19 points, and Sam Young added 18.
They’ll get a chance to get back on track with a matchup against Syracuse. The Panthers have beaten the Orange 10 out of the past 13 meetings. Pittsburgh is also 11-0 at home this season.

Providence Friars (11-6, 3-2)
Last week:
vs. Marquette, L 91-82
This week:
Jan. 19 vs. Cincinnati
Jan. 22 at Seton Hall

The Friars let a five-point halftime lead slip away in a nine-point loss to Marquette, and have now dropped two straight in conference play after a 3-0 start.
For the second straight game, the Friars were led by Marshon Brooks coming off the bench, scoring 21 points. He also had six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Geoff McDermott had 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Randall Hanke was 4-of-4 from the field for nine points. He is second in the conference in field goal percentage at 68.9 percent.

Seton Hall Pirates (9-8, 0-5)
Last week:
at Connecticut, L 76-61
This week:
Jan. 22 vs. Providence
Jan. 25 vs. Georgetown
The Pirates continue to struggle, having lost five straight and seven of their past eight games after a 15-point setback to the Huskies.
Seton Hall shot just 31.4 percent in the first half, and got just two points off the bench.
Jeremy Hazell scored a team-high 20 points. He ranks second in the league at 22.3 points per game. The Pirates are 0-5 in conference play for the first time since the 1985-86 season.
Seton Hall hopes it will turnaround starting this week. The Pirates will play their next four games at home, beginning with Providence, a team Seton Hall has beaten twice in a row.

The Bearcats had four players reach double figures in scoring, three with 14, in the victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Yancy Gates, Deonta Vaughn and Steve Toyloy all had 14 points, while Dion Dixon chipped in 11.
The Bearcats allowed APB to shoot only 31 percent from the field, including 23 in the first half, and forced 24 turnovers. Cincinnati jumped out to a 43-16 first half lead.
This week, the Bearcats, who have won four of their past five games, have a tough non-conference game against Memphis before starting their Big East portion of the schedule at Marquette.
Cincinnati is third in the league in field goal percentage defense at 36.8. Ahead of the Bearcats are Georgetown (34.3) and Pittsburgh (36.2). The Bearcats also lead the league in rebounding at 42.5 per game.
Famed TV analyst Bill Raftery spoke with the Cincinnati Enquirer on Monday, saying he likes what Cincinnati is doing this season, and believes they could make a run in the postseason.
“I like the way their big men pass it, and I like the way they rebound it,” he told the newspaper.

DePaul Blue Demons (8-5)
Last week:
Dec. 22 vs. Saint Louis, W 65-61, Las Vegas Classic
Dec. 23 vs. Creighton, L 83-75, Las Vegas Classic
Dec. 28 vs. Alcorn State, W 90-67
This week:
Dec. 31 vs. Notre Dame
Jan. 3 at Providence

Against Saint Louis, the Blue Demons overcame a 32 percent shooting performance in the second half to hold off the Billikens.
Mac Koshwal led the way for DePaul, scoring 17 points. Jabari Currie, Dar Tucker and Will Walker also scored in double figures with 12, 11 and 10, respectively. Koshwal also added 11 rebounds.
Against Creighton, Tucker and Koshwal had career nights. Tucker scored 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting, and Koshwal scored 13 points, but grabbed 22 rebounds, including 16 on the defensive end. The 22 boards were a season-best in the league.
Creighton’s Booker Woodfox had 26 points.
Both teams shot better than 45 percent. DePaul shot 49 percent, including 54 percent in the first half. Walker added 12 points, and Currie added 10.
And against Alcorn State in the non-conference finale, Tucker had another big night with 25 points. Koshwal added 19 points and 13 rebounds. For the week, Koshwal averaged 16.3 points per game, while Tucker averaged 22.7.
Tucker, who played the Alcorn State game despite having the flu, is fourth in the league in scoring at 19.8 per game. Koshwal is third in the league in rebounding at 11.3.
This week, the Blue Demons start Big East play with a home game against Notre Dame on New Year’s Eve before traveling to Providence.
Alcorn State coach Larry Smith told the Chicago Tribune after the game he likes DePaul’s length upfront with Koshwal at 6-10, Devin Hill at 6-9 and Tucker at 6-5.
“Their length is tremendous,” said Smith, a former NBA star in his first season coaching his alma mater. “They’ve got a lot of athletes out there. They do a good job of crashing the boards, and they give themselves second-chance points, which is huge.”

Louisville Cardinals (8-2)
Last week:
Dec. 27 vs. UAB, W 82-62
This week:
Dec. 31 vs. UNLV
Jan. 4 vs. Kentucky

Terrence Williams scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out seven assists and blocked three shots to help the Cardinals down UAB.
The Cardinals also got a double-double from Samardo Samuels, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Andre McGee and Earl Clark were also in double figures off the bench with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Cardinals shot 50 percent for the game, including 57 percent in the second half, to blow open a nine-point halftime lead.
This week, the Cardinals continue their non-conference schedule with UNLV and the always-entertaining rivalry game with Kentucky.
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, coach Rick Pitino has offered Derrick Caracter a chance to sit out this season but return to the team for the 2009-10 season – if he fulfills certain requirements.
Caracter, according to the paper, said he is willing to meet those conditions.
“He’s going to have to get a job that I’m going to have to approve, he’s going to have to pay his own way to school, he’s going to have to get his own apartment,” Pitino said. “We’d be willing to work him out, but he’s not going to practice with our basketball team or be part of it. He’s going to have to get in shape and get himself on the right track academically.”
Caracter, a 6-9 forward out of Fanwood, N.J., averaged 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds as a sophomore last season. He decided to bypass his final two years of college and entered the NBA draft, but he changed his mind and has been looking for reinstatement from Pitino.
Caracter was ruled academically ineligble in May, the paper said, and has been “a major thorn in my side,” Pitino said in April.
In his first two seasons, Caracter has had numerous problems, multiple team rule violations and was held out of games for his failure to meet a target weight.

Marquette Golden Eagles (11-2)
Last week:
Dec. 22 at North Carolina State, W 68-65
Dec. 28 vs. Presbyterian, W 84-45
This week:
Jan. 1 vs. Villanova
Jan. 4 vs. Cincinnati

The Golden Eagles picked up a huge road victory against North Carolina State using tough defense and protecting the basketball.
Despite being outshot (51 to 48 percent) and out-rebounded (29-25), Marquette committed just 10 turnovers, compared to NC State’s 18, to help pick up the victory.
Jerel McNeal lead the Golden Eagles with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Dominic James added 18 points with six assists, and Lazar Hayward had 16 points.
Against Presbyterian, Hayward had game highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Wesley Matthews added 21 as the Golden Eagles led 40-18 at halftime.
This week, the Golden Eagles have a pair of Big East games against Villanova and Cincinnati. Last year against Villanova, the Golden Eagles shot 50 percent from the field and forced 23 turnovers in an 85-75 victory.
Marquette coach Buzz Williams told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “I want to be peaking, beginning the rise on Jan. 1 and continuing the rise hopefully to about Valentine’s Day. And when we get to Valentine’s Day, I hope we’re rolling pretty good.”
Marquette hosts St. John’s on Valentine’s Day. After that, the Golden Eagles have a brutal schedule, hosting Seton Hall on Feb. 17, at Georgetown on Feb. 21, hosting Connecticut on Feb. 25, at Louisville on March 1, at Pittsburgh on March 4 and finish hosting Syracuse on March 7.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2)
Last week:
Dec. 22 vs. Savannah State, W 81-49
This week:
Dec. 31 at DePaul
Jan. 3 at St. John’s

Notre Dame had little trouble in its final tuneup before the Big East schedule.
Luke Harangody scored 23 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, including eight offensively, and shot 13-of-14 from the free-throw line. Tory Jackson and Ryan Ayers each added 10 points for the Irish, who have won three straight after losing to Ohio State on Dec. 6.
All 11 players who played for the Irish scored at least one point.
Harangody has scored at least 20 points in seven of the nine games he’s played in this season, and the Irish are second in the nation in fewest turnovers per game at 9.2 (Houston turns it over 9.1 times per game). Harangody also ranks six in the country in rebounding (11.9).
Teammate Kyle McAlarney is second in the nation in three-point field goals made at 4.07 per game (David Holston, Chicago State, 5.2).
This week, the Irish have a pair of road games to begin Big East play. Up first is at DePaul, who the Irish beat twice last season, and they will be at St. John’s to end the week.
The Irish are still tinkering with their zone defense, according to the South Bend Tribune. Before the DePaul game, the Irish are working in a training camp mentality to fill the holes in their zone defense.
“We need to be able to be confident in our zone,” coach Mike Brey said. “We need to be able to change gears.”
The Irish use zone to try and get their opponent out of their comfort zone, the paper said.

Pittsburgh Panthers (12-0)
Last week:
No games
This week:
Dec. 31 at Rutgers
Jan. 3 at Georgetown

The Panthers didn’t have a game last week, but will begin Big East play with a possible trap game against Rutgers on New Year’s Eve. After that, they will play at Georgetown in what will be a big early statement game in the conference slate.
DeJuan Blair ranks second in the country in rebounding at 13.0 per game, behind Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin at 14.4. The Panthers are also fourth in the nation in scoring differential at plus 20.8. Fellow league member Connecticut is third (21.2).
The Panthers know there’s still much to prove, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Seven teams are ranked in The Associated Press top 25.
“I’ve said all along it’s going to be the best conference in the history of basketball,” coach Jamie Dixon said told the paper. “I can’t go back on that. It’s not a surprise and I think it’s going to continue to grow.”

Providence Friars (8-4)
Last week:
Dec. 22 vs. Bryant, W 91-64
This week:
Dec. 31 vs. St. John’s
Jan. 3 vs. DePaul

Four players were in double figures for Providence, led by Marshon Brooks’ 18 off the bench, against Bryant. Geoff McDermott, Sharaud Curry and Weyinmi Efejuku were the others with 17, 16 and 15 points, respectively. Brooks played in just 18 minutes of the game.
The Friars shot 55 percent from the field, including a sizzling 80 percent (16-of-20) in the second half. In addition, the Friars shot 39 percent from three-point range, a category they rank last in the Big East in (27.6).
The Friars, who are 7-1 at home with the lone loss coming in the season opener Nov. 15 against Northeastern, will begin the Big East portion of their schedule with a pair of home games this week.
St. John’s has won the past two meetings after Providence won the previous 10 in the series.

Seton Hall Pirates (9-3)
Last week:
Dec. 22 at James Madison, L 70-64
Dec. 27 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, W 101-70
This week:
Dec. 30 at Syracuse
Jan. 3 vs. West Virginia

The Pirates shot 52 percent from the field in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit.
Seton Hall outscored James Madison, 42-30 in the second half, but the key was being outrebounded 41-30, including James Madison having 11 offensive rebounds.
Robert Mitchell led Seton Hall with 23 points and nine rebounds. Eugene Harvey added 14 points, along with Jeremy Hazell and Paul Gause each having 12.
Against Fairleigh Dickinson, the Pirates matched a season high in points in a 31-point victory.
Hazell and Mitchell each had big nights with Hazell scoring 35 points, tied for the fourth most by a Big East player in a game this season, and Mitchell adding 24 and grabbing 10 rebounds. Harvey added 15 points and six assists, and Jordan Theodore scored 11 off the bench.
Hazell shot 15-of-26 from the field, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. It was also the best scoring performance by a SHU player under third-year coach Bobby Gonzalez.
Fairleigh Dickinson’s Sean Baptiste scored 31 points.
The Pirates get ready for two tough league games this week at Syracuse and hosting West Virginia.
Syracuse has won seven of the past nine meetings.

With that, we bring in two teams that have started Big East play on opposite ends: the 2-0 Providence Friars and the 0-2 DePaul Blue Demons after host Providence took home a 62-54 win on Saturday.

After a fairly non-descript non-conference slate, Providence has won its first two Big East games.  Granted, they were both at home, which head coach Keno Davis made note of after the game, and they came against two teams who would not be in the NCAA Tournament if it started tomorrow.  But as the coach also said, “It’s better than being 0-2.”  It’s better that the Friars have two wins in the bank and have them as evidence that they can win games in this conference later on.

What’s more, besides the confidence boost, the Friars are improving.  Davis couldn’t stop talking about it after the game, from defending the three-point line better all the way to starting stronger after they have started slowly quite often this season.

Then there’s Sharaud Curry.  Early in the season, he looked like a shell of his old self.  But now he’s looking more like the Sharaud Curry of two years ago in the first two Big East games.  He followed up his 16-point, 8-assist effort in the opener with 13 points and three assists on Saturday.  More importantly, the offense seemed different when he sat for a few minutes, as the same flow wasn’t there and on a few possessions, the Friars fell back into settling for early three-point attempts.

Said Davis, who liked the way he directed the offense: “He’s turning into a pretty good leader, and he’s understanding what the coaching staff wants.  He’s understanding that when a guy gets the hot hand, he’s willing to get the assists just as much as the points.  I think he’s continuing to improve his game coming off his injury and his long layoff.”

DePaul, meanwhile, dropped its conference opener at home.  It would be easy to think that there’s a little more urgency to try and steal one on the road to make up for it, but Jerry Wainwright is being careful about that.

“You’ve got to be careful with that, because you could put so much pressure on every game, and there’s so many games,” said the fourth-year Blue Demon mentor.

The young Blue Demons never really got into an offensive flow in this one.  Leading scorer Dar Tucker never got untracked, going 4-17 from the field and missing all six three-point attempts.  Mac Koshwal had just seven points, and Will Walker had 14 but on 5-14 shooting to go with two turnovers and no assists.

Part of Wainwright’s challenge is the youth of this team, the youngest Blue Demon team in 12 years.  Only St. John’s and Pittsburgh have more underclassmen by percentage among Big East teams, and besides the talent level, there are different styles.  So besides the psychological impact that an 0-2 start can have, he also has to manage the learning curve as much as possible.

“Each team kind of presents a different style, and you have to make changes for that style,” Wainwright said.  “You have a tendency sometimes to overload young players.  You’re trying to make changes, and they’re not ready for all those changes.”

It’s early yet, and the Big East now has 18 games instead of 16.  But the Friars and Blue Demons have started on opposite ends, and that can partially impact how they ultimately finish.

Other Notable Games

Pittsburgh 70, Georgetown 54: Behind a monster game from DeJuan Blair (20 points, 17 rebounds), the Panthers remain undefeated with a win over the Hoyas that was at least every bit as convincing as the Hoyas’ win at Connecticut earlier in the week.

Connecticut 80, Rutgers 49: At least it gets a little easier for Rutgers now that they got through the brutal three-game stretch alive, as they get home dates with Marquette and Syracuse.  Note that I did say “a little” in that first sentence.

St. John’s 71, Notre Dame 65: In the first real surprise result in Big East play thus far, the Red Storm picks up a nice home win by holding Notre Dame to 4-17 from long range.

Minnesota 68, Ohio State 59: The Golden Gophers even their Big Ten record with another good win, albeit at home.  They look more and more like a potential NCAA Tournament team.

Kansas 92, Tennessee 85: A big game from the duo of Sherron Collins (26 points, nine assists) and emerging big man Cole Aldrich (22 points, 10 rebounds) leads the Jayhawks to a signature win.  Idle thought: who could have foreseen the day a few years ago when it would be Kansas for whom this is such a big win, not the other way around?

West Virginia 92, Seton Hall 66: A thumping at home wasn’t exactly what the doctor ordered for the 0-2 Pirates.

Washington 68, Washington State 48: The Huskies get an excellent road win to open Pac-10 play.

Wake Forest 84, Brigham Young 87: The Cougars’ 53-game home winning streak, which had been the nation’s longest, ends with this one.

Florida 68, North Carolina State 66: The Gators eke out perhaps their best win of the non-conference slate.

Vanderbilt 78, Massachusetts 48: Another poor second half does in the Minutemen, who were within five at halftime.  UMass is being outscored by almost six points per game in the second half and has scored more first-half points on the season.

Xavier 84, Virginia 70: A nice road win for the Musketeers as Atlantic 10 play beckons.

Butler 75, Valparaiso 62: This road win moves the Bulldogs to 3-0 as they continue to not skip a beat despite being very young.

UNLV 60, New Mexico 58: No letdown for the Runnin’ Rebels after their big win the other day over Louisville, although they just did pull this one out.

Illinois State 86, Creighton 64: In this early Missouri Valley showdown, the Redbirds remain undefeated.

St. Bonaventure 68, Central Arkansas 58: They haven’t exactly done it against Final Four contenders, but the Bonnies are 5-0 on the road after this win.

Longwood 80, George Washington 78: File this one under, “How the mighty have fallen.”  First, the Colonials lost to Coppin State to take eighth place in the Rainbow Classic a few days ago, now they can’t pull this one out.

Georgia State 55, Old Dominion 54: The Panthers had a lot of games like this last season, and now they’re pulling them out.

George Mason 101, UNC-Wilmington 60: The Patriots improve to 2-0 in CAA play with a blowout over the struggling and injury-riddled Seahawks.

Delaware 81, VCU 79: The Blue Hens have now won five of six after pulling this one out at home.  Both teams are now 1-1 in CAA play.

Stony Brook 69, UMBC 61: The Seawolves continue to come to life this season.  They showed signs in non-conference play, including their recent win at Air Force, but this road win is big since it puts them at 1-0 in conference play and it’s against the defending champs.

Chicago State 79, Eastern Michigan 61: Remember when Eastern Michigan was the consistently good team in the MAC, with Brian Tolbert, Earl Boykins, Derrick Dial & Co.?  Those days seem so far away now.

The intracity rivalry between Cincinnati and Xavier had everything one could ask for, including five technical fouls. But in the end, it was Xavier coming away with the victory.
The Bearcats were led by Deonta Vaughn with 27 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Dion Dixon and Steve Toyloy each came off the bench to score 11 points for Cincinnati. Vaughn scored 19 of his points in the second half, but the Bearcats’ rally fell short after trailing by 14 at halftime.
Cincinnati shot itself in the foot, turning the ball over 19 times (14 in the first half), and let Xavier shoot 29-of-36 from the free-throw line, giving Xavier 48 points off turnovers or free throws.
It will be a busy week for the Bearcats with three games in six days, including a meeting with Mississippi State. The next victory for coach Mick Cronin will be the 100th of his coaching career.

DePaul Blue Demons (4-4)
Last week:
Dec. 10 vs. Morgan State, L 79-75
Dec. 13 vs. UCLA, L 72-54
This week:
Dec. 17 vs. Liberty at Las Vegas Classic
Dec. 19 vs. Southern at Las Vegas Classic

The Blue Demons went scoreless for seven minutes, and let a 10-point second half lead slip away against Morgan State.
DePaul was led by Dar Tucker with 21 points, followed by 15 points from Mac Koshwal and 14 from Will Walker.
Morgan State had just nine turnovers, and had four players in double figures, led by Reggie Holmes with 29 points.
Then the Blue Demons traveled to the West Coast for the second time in 10 days to face UCLA in the John Wooden Classic, and lost their fourth straight game.
Koshwal scored 12 points and had eight rebounds. Tucker, who didn’t start the game for the first time this season because of “attitude issues,” according to the Chicago Tribune, added 11 points.
UCLA had four players in double figures in scoring, and shot better than 55 percent from the field for the game.

Louisville Cardinals (6-1)
Last week:
Dec. 6 vs. Indiana State, W 83-43
Dec. 7 vs. Ohio, W 91-56
Dec. 8 vs. Lamar, W 78-56
Dec. 13 vs. Austin Peay, W 94-75
This week:
Dec. 18 vs. Mississippi, SEC/Big East Invitational
Dec. 20 vs. Minnesota

Earl Clark had a double-double for the Cardinals with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in their victory over Indiana State. The Sycamores did not get a player in double figures in scoring, while the Cardinals had four. Terrence Williams, Samardo Samuels and Edgar Sosa were also in double figures for the Cardinals with 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Indiana State was held to just 28 percent shooting. Louisville shot 61 percent in the first half en route to a 50-17 halftime lead.
Clark added a second double-double against Ohio with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Samuels led the way for the Cardinals with 19 points, and Jerry Smith added 16. The Cardinals dominated the glass, out-rebounding Ohio 46-26.
The Cardinals shot 52 percent from the field.
Samuels led the Cardinals with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting in their victory over Lamar. Smith added 12 points as well, and Williams grabbed 13 rebounds.
To wrap up the busy week, the Cardinals had three players score at least 20 points, led by Samuels and Preston Knowles with 21. Williams added 20. Samuels also had 12 rebounds.
Louisville will enter the week having won four straight games.

Marquette Golden Eagles (8-1)
Last week:
Dec. 13 vs. IPFW, W 69-50
This week:
Dec. 16 vs. Tennessee, SEC/Big East Invitational
Dec. 19 vs. Western Carolina

In their lone game of the week, the Golden Eagles had little trouble with Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, thanks to Lazar Hayward.
Hayward scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, the highest rebound total in Marquette history since Amal McCaskill on Nov. 26, 1995, had 19.
And he wasn’t alone as three others for Marquette scored in double figures – Jerel McNeal (16), Wesley Matthews (13) and Dominic James (10).
The matchup with Tennessee was supposed to be a union of coaches Tom Crean and Bruce Pearl.
When Pearl was at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he publicly called out to Marquette for the two city schools to play each other. At the time, they hadn’t played since the mid-1990s. Now Crean is at Indiana.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2)
Last week:
Dec. 13 vs. Boston University, W 74-67
This week:
Dec. 20 vs. Delaware State

The conference’s leading scorer was up to his usual self against Boston University.
Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Irish. Harangody is averaging 23 points per game, putting him slightly ahead of Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell (22.4).
It was the 30th double-double of Harangody’s career.
Kyle McAlarney also scored in double figures for the Irish with 16. He was joined in double figures by Zach Hillesland with 11 and Ryan Ayers with 10.
The victory extended the Irish’s home winning streak to 41 games – the nation’s second-longest. But the streak was nearly in jeopardy as the Irish fell behind by 10 early in the game, and trailed by nine early in the second half. The Terriers were held without a field goal over the final 3:26 of the game. The streak began March 4, 2006, against DePaul. The last loss was Feb. 25, 2005, to Marquette.
McAlarney has 980 career points after the BU victory.

Pittsburgh Panthers (10-0)
Last week:
Dec. 13 vs. UMBC, W 91-56
This week:
Dec. 17 vs. Siena

Five players were in double figures for the Panthers against UMBC, led by 19 from Maryland native Sam Young.
Also hitting double figures was Gilbert Brown (13), Ashton Gibbs (13), DeJuan Blair (12) and Levance Fields (11).
The Panthers shot 60 percent from the field in the second half.
Young is third in the Big East in scoring at 20.6 points per game, and Blair is second in the nation behind Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin in rebounding. Blair is averaging 12.8 rebounds per game.
Gibbs, a freshman, was 3-of-4 from 3-point range against UMBC. He is shooting 12-for-20 on the season from 3-point range.
It will be a test this week with Siena, who return all five starters from a team which beat Vanderbilt by 21 points in the first round of last year’s NCAAs.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Young turned his ankle during practice Monday, but it’s not anticipated he will miss any action.

Providence Friars (6-3)
Last week:
No games
This week:
Dec. 17 vs. Jackson State
Dec. 20 at Boston College

After taking time off for finals, the Friars will return with two games, including regional and former Big East rival Boston College.

Seton Hall Pirates (8-1)
Last week:
Dec. 9 vs. California Baptist, W 92-80
Dec. 13 at Saint Peter’s, W 60-46
This week:
Dec. 20 vs. IUPUI

Both California Baptist and Seton Hall shot 53 percent from the field, and nine players between the two teams were in double figures.
But the difference came at the free throw line with Seton Hall going 21-for-26 at the line, while California Baptist went 12-of-16.
Eugene Harvey and Jeremy Hazell each scored 25 points for the Pirates. Robert Mitchell added 18 off the bench, and Paul Gause scored 11.
Seton Hall made more free throws than field goals in the second half (17-15), but still shot 58 percent from the field in the second half.
Unlike against California Baptist, both Saint Peter’s and Seton Hall struggled to shoot the ball.
Saint Peter’s shot 29 percent, and Seton Hall wasn’t much better at 36 percent. But Saint Peter’s was forced into 19 turnovers, while Seton Hall had 11.
Hazell had a game-high 14 points, while Gause and Harvey each had 12.
The Pirates will enter their game against IUPUI on a five-game win streak.