Category: Big East

Breaking: Marquette star Tyler Kolek to miss remaining regular season games

Marquette will be without star point guard Tyler Kolek for the final two Big East regular season games as he recovers from an oblique injury.

Things went from bad to worst for Shaka Smart and the Marquette Golden Eagles here in March. Not only did Marquette get beat by Creighton over the weekend, they got word that starting point guard and 2022-23 Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek will miss the final two games of the regular season due to an oblique injury.

Kolek did not suit up against the Blue Jays in Marquette’s 89-75 loss, and it was clear how much he was missed when the Golden Eagles had seven total assists – where Kolek averages 7.6 assists on his own.

Additionally, Kolek is also averaging a career-high 15 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting an even 40% from three and 88% from the free throw line.

Smart and Marquette will hope some extra rest can get Kolek healthy enough to participate in the Big East Tournament – although keeping him rested and ready for the Big Dance is likely the more important thing so this program can avoid what happened last year when as a two seed they lost to seven seeded Michigan State in the Round of 32.

St. John’s responds to Rick Pitino’s criticism, pulls off major upset over Creighton

Rick Pitino and St. John’s pulled off an upset victory over the Creighton Blue Jays on Sunday, could it put them into the NCAA Tournament?

After St. John’s 68-62 loss to Seton Hall last weekend, coach Rick Pitino lit into his players in a postgame press conference – repeatedly citing their lack of toughness and skill limitations while indicating this season has been the least fun he has had in a while.

Since then the Red Storm have picked up a pair of victories, first a five point win on the road at Georgetown followed by a massive 14 point home victory over the No. 15 ranked Creighton Blue Jays on Sunday.

Creighton, who upset UConn earlier this week, fell to 11-6 in Big East play and 20-8 overall while St. John’s moved to 8-9 and 16-12 overall.

The Red Storm were carried by transfer guards Daniss Jenkins (27 points, six assists) and Jordan Dingle (18 points). St. John’s only turned the ball over three times as a team, while they outrebounded the Blue Jays 42-35.

The win should sneak St. John’s back into the NCAA Tournament bubble conversation, although they will likely need a strong performance in the Big East Tournament to end up in the Big Dance.

But, with regular season games left at Butler, at DePaul, and home against Georgetown, Pitino’s team could carry some momentum into Madison Square Garden – and that could lead to said run, and ultimately a return for Pitino to the NCAA Tournament.

UConn falls to Creighton, extends decade long road losing streak against ranked teams

The UConn Huskies have not won a true road game against a ranked opponent since 2014, a time period where they have won two national championships.

The UConn Huskies suffered their first loss since December on Tuesday night, falling on the road to the No. 15 Creighton Blue Jays in an 85-66 blowout.

It was Creighton’s first ever win over a No. 1 ranked team, ending UConn’s 14 game winning streak and coming just days after Purdue lost to Ohio State to clear a path for the Huskies to take over as the projected No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

However, the most startling fact about this loss for UConn is how common it is, as the Huskies have a long, long history of losing true road games against ranked opponents.

It’s been since UConn beat Memphis in 2014 that the Huskies have won a true road game against a ranked opponent – a decade long span that includes two national championship victories and multiple weeks spent as the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

With tons of home and neutral site wins over ranked teams, and obviously plenty of success in the NCAA Tournament, it’s hard to imagine this team being that inept in those tricky road environments, yet the losing streak was pushed to 21 on Tuesday after an uninspiring 3-16 performance from beyond the arc.

UConn was bound to lose at some point, and Creighton is red hot right now, but this loss highlights a key area where this program has really struggled for the last decade – and considering the success they’ve had in that decade it really stands out.

The Huskies will get a chance to break the streak on March 6 when they head to Milwaukee to take on the No. 7 ranked Golden Eagles of Marquette, with tip slated for 8:30 ET on FS1.

Game of the year? Creighton defeats Seton Hall in triple overtime

The Creighton Blue Jays defeated the Seton Hall Pirates, 97-94, in triple-overtime on Saturday in another instant classic Big East basketball game.

The Big East has a rich history of incredible conference battles. From the infamous ‘sweater game’ in 1985 between Georgetown and St. John’s, to the six overtime battle between Syracuse and UConn in 2009, this conference is never lacking in entertainment value.

That proved true yet again on Saturday when Creighton went to Seton Hall and escaped with a 97-94 victory in triple-overtime thanks to a monster performance from center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who had 28 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocked shots.

The game was close more or less from the opening tip, and when Blue Jays guard Steven Ashworth forced overtime with a lay-in to end regulation, it was clear this was a game folks would be discussing for a long time.

Creighton moves to 5-3 in the Big East and helped erase the sting of losing to UConn on the road earlier in the week. Meanwhile the Pirates see their six game winning streak snap and fall to 6-2 in league play. They had previously picked up wins over UConn, Marquette, Providence, and St. John’s, and had plenty of chances to collect another win over a ranked team.

However, Kadary Richmond, who posted a triple-double in regulation and finished with 21 points, missed quite a few shots in overtime and Seton Hall struggled to slow down Kalkbrenner on the block, resulting in the heartbreaking loss.

The Pirates will get a chance to restart their winning streak on Wednesday when they host Providence, while Creighton will host Xavier on Tuesday.

If we are lucky, more regulation games will rival this one in a Big East that is loaded with talent and physicality this year.

Seton Hall’s NCAA Tournament resume improves with win over Marquette

Seton Hall picks up another massive win in Big East play as they continue to build an NCAA Tournament resume.

There are no easy victories in the Big East conference, and no team is proving that more than Seton Hall. The Pirates are 3-1 in conference play with victories over the defending champion UConn Huskies, an excellent Providence team, and now the No. 7 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles, who they defeated 78-75 on Saturday.

The Pirates had a 10-point lead with 2:25 to go but a handful of turnovers allowed Marquette to come back within one before Seton Hall was able to put it away. Al-Amir Dawes had 23 points while Kadary Richmond added 21 with five assists.

Seton Hall is now 10-5 on the year and 3-1 in the Big East, with three huge victories masking an ugly 20-point loss to Xavier – which highlights the confusing story of Shaheen Holloway’s team this season.

The Pirates came into the day ranked 79th in the NET, with a 2-2 record in Quad 1 games but only a 0-2 record in Quad 2 and 1-1 in Quad 3.

However, the losses are all incredibly respectable: USC and Iowa on neutral sites, Baylor on the road, Rutgers at home, and Xavier on the road.

It’s incredibly hard to ignore a team that has wins over UConn, Marquette, and Providence, and it’s possible the team’s win over Missouri will age well if the Tigers can find success in the SEC.

All this to say, the Pirates are building a resume that could put them on the March Madness bubble, and further demonstrates the depth of the Big East just a few weeks into the conference season.

Bryce Hopkins ACL tear devastating blow for Providence

Bryce Hopkins suffered a torn ACL on Wednesday in Providence’s 61-57 loss to Seton Hall.

The Providence Friars not only suffered a tough 61-57 loss to the Seton Hall Pirates on Wednesday evening, but they were informed the following morning that star wing Bryce Hopkins suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the 2023-24 college basketball season.

Hopkins exited the game in the second half, getting helped off the floor and heading straight to the locker room where he did not return. The worst was confirmed by the program on Thursday morning.

“We all feel for Bryce and his family in this difficult time,” Providence coach Kim English said, per a press release from the team.  “We will be with him throughout this process to help him come back stronger than ever.  We ask that all of Friartown keeps Bryce and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”

The Friars are 11-3 on the year and had started receiving Top 25 buzz before Wednesday’s loss, and the junior wing was a big reason why. Under English, in his first year at Providence taking over for Ed Cooley, Hopkins averaged 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.0 steals in 14 games while shooting a career-high 53.3% on two-pointers.

Providence will now have to try to survive in the incredibly deep Big East without their second-leading scorer, putting more pressure on guard Devin Carter (16.2 points) and big man Josh Oduro (14.7 points) to help lead the charge.

Additionally, top freshman Garwey Dual – considered a sleeper in the 2024 NBA draft – will need to step up as well, as the 6’5 guard is only averaging 3.5 points in 21 minutes per game.

Providence heads on the road to face the Creighton Blue Jays on Saturday, January 6. The tip-off is at 3:00 PM ET.

Under the radar Providence team has opportunity for major upset against Marquette

The Providence Friars could use a big win to add to their resume, and a chance to face Marquette at home to open up Big East play is the perfect opportunity.

Big East conference play gets underway on Wednesday with a pair of games, including an exciting nightcap between the No. 6 ranked Golden Eagles of Marquette and the Providence Friars, a battle between a pair of 9-2 programs.

Marquette has drawn a ton of media attention as a borderline Top 5 team and with massive wins over then No. 1 Kansas and Texas.

However, Providence has quietly had an excellent season under new head coach Kim English, who came over from George Mason to replace Ed Cooley after he left for Georgetown.

The Friars may have the same record as Marquette, but outside of a big win over Wisconsin, their resume doesn’t carry a ton of weight, with an overtime loss to a struggling Kansas State squad and a blowout loss on the road at Oklahoma.

Still, Providence is a team that is flying more under the radar than they probably should be, and it’s thanks in large part to their stellar work on the defensive end of the floor.

The Friars are 21st in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom, and third in the Big East behind UConn and Marquette. Guard Devin Carter is a big reason why, averaging 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals along with 15.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists as one of the best stat stuffers in all of college basketball.

Coach English’s defensive focused club looks capable of beating just about anyone, and while they haven’t had many chances to prove themselves it would not be a surprise to see them give Marquette all sorts of trouble on Wednesday at home.

A matchup between Carter and All-American point guard Tyler Kolek will be the headliner, but this game could be won on the block between Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro and Providence’s Josh Oduro, who are both having stellar seasons.

The Big East is always chalk full of high level competition, and getting the season started with this matchup sets the table for another fantastic season.

Connecticut’s Azzi Fudd will miss the rest of the 2023-24 season

The Huskies guard will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL and a medial meniscal tear in her right knee.

Connecticut guard Azzi Fudd will miss the rest of the 2023-24 season after she suffered an ACL tear and a medial meniscal tear in her right knee, the school announced on Wednesday.

The junior suffered the injury in a practice session on November 14. She will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the damage.

“We’re all just so upset for Azzi,” head coach Geno Auriemma said in a statement. “She worked so hard to be healthy for this season, and it’s unfortunate when you put in a lot of hard work and suffer a setback like this.”

This is Fudd’s third major injury in three years with the Huskies. She only played 25 games as a freshman after dealing with a foot injury, and she played 15 games as a sophomore after knee injuries again sidelined her.

“Azzi loves the game and works tirelessly,” Auriemma said. “I’m confident she’ll rehab with the same work ethic and come back better than ever.”

WATCH: Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway causes altercation in postgame handshake line

Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway got in a brief altercation with Wagner coach Donald Copeland following the Pirates win.

The Seton Hall Pirates advanced to 4-0 with a 72-51 win over the Wagner Seahawks on Saturday afternoon, becoming the first team in the Big East to hit four wins on the season.

However, the victory was marred by a postgame altercation between Pirates second year head coach Shaheen Holloway and Seahawks coach Donald Copeland.

The two were caught on camera arguing in the handshake line, before Holloway threw Copeland’s hand away in frustration, which led to assistant coaches separating the two.

“I take full responsibility for that,” Holloway said after the game, as reported by Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press. “I like Donald. I respect him. He’s a good person, a good player, and a good coach.”

The altercation seemed to stem from Copeland’s decision to put on a full-court press toward the end of the game – despite being down 20 points – which Holloway took issue with.

This is not the first time Holloway has had issues with postgame pleasantries, as the Seton Hall coach refused to shake hands with Xavier’s Sean Miller last year after Xavier guard Souley Boum took a three-point shot with 22 seconds left in an 82-57 blowout.

The Pirates will have a hard time advancing to 5-0, with a tough matchup against No. 16 USC slated for November 23 in San Diego as part of the San Diego Invitational.

Dan Hurley set to become one of the game’s highest paid coaches with new extension

UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley has been rewarded with a massive contract extension after leading the Huskies to their fifth national title.

Connecticut head men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley is set to become one of the game’s highest-paid head coaches with a new six-year contract extension.

On Thursday morning, the University of Connecticut announced that Hurley signed a six-year deal to remain with the university. The contract is valued at $31.5 million which equates to approximately $5.25 million per season. According to the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball head coach salaries database, Hurley’s $5.25 annual salary would make him a top-six highest-paid coach in the country.

John Calipari of Kentucky remains the country’s highest-paid coach by far with a $8.5 million salary. Kansas’s Bill Self comes in at No. 2, bringing in $5.9 million per year.

The contract extension for Hurley should not come as a major surprise. The former Seton Hill standout took over the UConn program prior to the 2018-9 season. After going 16-17 in his first season with the program, The Huskies have had a .600 or better winning percentage in each season and have made the NCAA Tournament three-straight seasons.

This past season, the Huskies went 31-8 in the regular season before making the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed out of the West region. The Huskies defeated Iona, Saint Mary’s (CA), Arkansas, Gonzaga, Miami (FL), and San Diego State to ultimately win the program’s fifth national championship, all of them coming since 1999.

Hurley in his career has amassed a career record of 255-160 with stops at Wagner and Rhode Island. He previously made the NCAA Tournament twice at Rhode Island including the 2017-18 season when he won the A-10 Coach of the Year award.