Tag: Big East

Michigan State to play in 2020 Gavitt Tipoff Games

The Spartans will make their second consecutive appearance in the annual competition after missing the first four affairs.

Michigan State will make a second consecutive appearance in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

After being the only team among the Big Ten and Big East to not participate in the first four iterations of the games, the Spartans made their Gavitt debut in 2019 when they beat Seton Hall on the road in mid-November. Now, they’ll be back in in 2020 according to national college basketball writer Adam Zagoria.

It is likely that MSU will host their Gavitt game this season.

The Gavitt Games are an annual competition between eight Big Ten and eight Big East teams at the beginning of the college basketball season. They started in 2015 and are named after Dave Gavitt, the first commissioner of the Big East.

The Big Ten holds a 2-0 lead in the event, winning 5-3 in both 2018 and 2019. The two conferences tied 4-4 in the first three years. Michigan State, Maryland, and Ohio State are the only three teams yet to lose in the Gavitt Games.

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Happy Friday, College Football Morning Announcements Style

2002 Miami vs. Florida State brought back all of the memories for me last night.

Congrats, you’ve made it to Friday.

I’m not sure if you’re working from home, still having to go to your place of employment or if you haven’t stopped going into work but you’re almost to the weekend and sometimes you just have to give yourself a small pat on the back for making it there.

Last night I was working on a couple things and scrolling channels, only to come across a college football game from when I was 16.  It took me a bit down memory lane with the NFL talent that was everywhere and it made me really want to go back to my parents basement and play NCAA Football ’03 with my high school friends.

That game is the basis of most of this Friday’s podcast.  Enjoy some discussion on the great Florida State vs. Miami rivalry, Sean Taylor and Greg Reid love and please tell me how a certain Hurricane was so loved nationally.

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We’ll be in touch on here with a few things throughout this Friday but enjoy your weekends.

Stunner – Muffet McGraw to Retire

Legendary women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw announced her retirement on Wednesday. Find out all the news on this shocking story here.

Shocking news out of South Bend on Wednesday afternoon as legendary women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw is retiring.  McGraw has not only coached the Notre Dame women’s team since the 1987-88 season but turned them into one of the top programs in collegiate sports.

McGraw released the following statement on Wednesday:

McGraw led the Fighting Irish to 24 straight NCAA Tournament appearances beginning in 1996, a streak that would have ended this past year had the tournament been played.  In that stretch she won a pair of national championships while reaching the final five more times and the Final Four three more times.

McGraw retires with the seventh most coaching wins in the history of women’s basketball, compiling 936 wins between her five years at Lehigh before her 33 seasons at Notre Dame.  McGraw finishes with a career mark of 848-251 at Notre Dame and went 425-97 in Big East and ACC play.

McGraw was elected to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.  She was also awarded 10 different coach of the year awards in her time with the Fighting Irish.

Former Notre Dame player and McGraw assitant Niele Ivey will be the next head coach.  She takes the post after working most recently as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

More on the story as it comes but an absolute stunner to see a legend like McGraw, who would perhaps be on the Mt. Rushmore of Women’s Basketball coaches all-time, retires.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 3 Seed – 2007-08 Irish

We round out our profiles for the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament field with a look at the 2007-08 Irish.

We round out our profiles for the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament field with a look at the 2007-08 Irish. They went 10-2 in nonconference play with their only two losses coming in the Paradise Jam Tournament just before Thanksgiving. The goodness continued during a 14-4 Big East showing, which tied them for second in the conference and left them one game back for the title. They also ran the table for the conference home schedule, becoming the first Big East team to do so in back-to-back years, and it helped Mike Brey defend his conference coach of the year award.

The Irish were one-and-done in the Big East tournament, but they still earned a fifth seed in the NCAA tourney. At that time, they were their season-high ranking of 14th. March Madness didn’t go how they had hoped as they cruised over George Mason in the first round before getting blown out by Washington State in the second. They ultimately finished 15th in the final poll.

Luke Harangody was named Big East Player of the Year after averaging a double-double of 20.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. Kyle McAlarney joined Harangody on the all-conference first team thanks to 15.1 points a game. Rob Kurz averaged 12.5 points and 1.5 blocks a game, and Tory Jackson paced the team in assists with 5.8 a game.

As a team, the Irish ranked eighth nationally in 3-point percentage (.405) and ninth in assists (608).

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 2 Seed – 2010-11 Irish

One of the purposes of the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament is to give disappointing teams a shot at redemption.

One of the purposes of the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament is to give disappointing teams a shot at redemption. That’s not to say the 2010-11 Irish were a letdown given their 27-7 record. Still, you have to wonder what would have happened if a few things had gone differently.

The Irish took care of business early on with an Old Spice Classic championship and an 11-1 nonconference record, their only loss coming against a ranked Kentucky team. Then, after splitting their first six Big East games, they went 11-1 the rest of the regular season. One of those wins came on the road against Pittsburgh, then ranked second. Though the Panthers ultimately finished one game better than Notre Dame’s 14-4 conference record to win the Big East title, Mike Brey had impressed enough voters to be named national coach of the year.

Though the Irish, then ranked fourth, lost in overtime to Louisville in the Big East semifinals, their resume still netted them a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Playing their first set of games in Chicago should have given them some of the best crowd support in the first weekend of the tournament, and that should have helped them advance past that, but it wasn’t to be. After taking down 15th-seeded Akron in their first game, the Irish were stunned in a 14-point loss to 10th-seeded Florida State. To be fair, that year’s Final Four had no team seeded higher than third, but that was of little consolation to the Irish, who were fifth in the final ranking.

Big East Player of the Year Ben Hasbrough paced the Irish with 18.4 points and 4.3 assists a game and shot a team-high 43.5 percent from 3-point range. Tim Abromaitis made third-team all-conference after averaging 15.4 points a game. Though he didn’t net any honors, Carleton Scott was well-rounded with an 11.2 scoring averaging and team highs in rebounding (7.4) and free-throw percentage (.889).

Oklahoma reportedly set to play at Xavier in 2020 Big 12-Big East Battle

Oklahoma is set to take on Xavier as part of the Big 12-Big East Battle.

Year two of the Big 12-Big East Battle has been released.

Oklahoma is set to take on Xavier as part of the Big 12-Big East Battle. Last season, the Sooners dropped a road game against Creighton in Omaha, 83-73 for their third loss of the season. Xavier went into Fort Worth to take on the TCU Horned Frogs, leaving Cow Town with a 67-59 win.

The Musketeers, a lot like Oklahoma, started hot. Following the win over TCU, they were 11-2. Finishing with a 19-13 record, conference play at Xavier’s lunch, playing and losing five ranked matchups in conference play.

Xavier is an experienced team as they graduated four seniors at the end of the 2019-20 season. With juniors and sophomores sprinkled throughout their roster, the Musketeers match up well with the Sooners.

Oklahoma will be without Kristian Doolittle (graduation) and Jamal Bieniemy (transfer portal) but will still have a solid core to build around with Brady Manek and Austin Reaves stepping into the leadership roles. Sophomore guard De’Vion Harmon took huge steps from the beginning of his freshman season to the end and should continue to develop nicely for the Sooners.

No dates or television details for the Big 12-Big East Battle have been released.

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Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 4 Seed – 2006-07 Irish

Towards the end of their nonconference schedule, the 2006-07 Irish had an incident that could have derailed their entire season.

Towards the end of their nonconference schedule, during which they went 12-1 and upset fourth-ranked Alabama, the 2006-07 Irish had an incident that could have derailed their entire season. Hours after a win over Rider, starting point guard Kyle McAlarney was arrested for marijuana possession, and he subsequently was suspended from Notre Dame. Rather than let losing such a prominent player become the turning point, the Irish continued to win games and ultimately finished with a 24-8 record and the 17th spot in the final rankings.

At first, the Irish kept their overall record respectable with a 6-5 start to Big East play. Then, they got hot, winning their final five games of the regular season to earn an 11-5 record in conference play, good for fourth in the standings and enough to make Mike Brey the Big East Coach of the Year. After picking up a win in the Big East tournament, the Irish went to March Madness as a sixth seed. That was as far as they got as they were upended by 11th-seeded Winthrop in the first round.

Russell Carter paced the Irish with 17.1 points a game. Colin Falls averaged 15.3 points a game, and Rob Kurz was a threat on both ends with 12.6 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game. Luke Harangody ended with an 11.2 scoring average, and McAlarney’s 5.4 assists a game remained the team high at season’s end, although replacement Tory Jackson wasn’t far off with 4.3.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 6 Seed – 2012-13 Irish

For the program’s Big East swan song, the 2012-13 Irish got off to one of the best starts in program history at 14-1.

For the program’s Big East swan song, the 2012-13 Irish got off to one of the best starts in program history at 14-1. Perhaps Mike Brey was more motivated after receiving a 10-year contract extension. Whatever the reason for the hot start, it gave the Irish the luxury of probably only needing to finish .500 in conference play to make the NCAA tournament.

After winning their first two Big East games, the Irish went 9-7 the rest of the schedule before earning a first-round bye in the conference tournament and making the semifinals. That was enough to sway the selection committee, which gave the Irish an at-large berth. However, their March Madness run was cut short as they were one-and-done after falling to lower-seeded Iowa State.

Jerian Grant was the Irish’s top scorer at 13.3 points a game, and he tied with Eric Atkins for the team lead in assists at 5.5. Jack Cooley averaged a double-double of 13.1 points and 10.1 rebounds a game. Scott Martin, who became the first Notre Dame student-athlete to earn a sixth year of eligibility, was bothered enough by his knee that his final game came in late January, and his career ended for good after he elected to have surgery the following month.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 9 Seed – 2011-12 Irish

Sometimes, it’s a matter of when you win, not what you win.

Sometimes, it’s a matter of when you win, not what you win. For most teams, an 8-5 showing in nonconference play would be deflating. But the 2011-12 Irish got back on track and went 13-5 in Big East play, which included a win over top-ranked Syracuse, and finished one game behind Marquette for the regular-season title. Blessed with the luxury of being in a power conference, that earned Notre Dame an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. However, the stay was a short one thanks to a first-round upset loss to Xavier.

The disappointing start to the season was coupled with bad luck on the health front. Eric Katenda, who was expected to contribute as a freshman, injured his eye in a pick-up game over the summer and ended up with permanent damage to his optic nerve. In late November, Tim Abromaitis’ senior season and Irish career ended prematurely when he tore his ACL. This should have been a trying season in South Bend.

A 3-3 start against Big East opponents meant an 11-8 overall record. At that point, it might have been best to start thinking about the NIT instead of the Big Dance. Then, the win over Syracuse happened, and it propelled the Irish to a nine-game winning streak and ultimately, a second-round bye in the conference tournament. There was no way they wouldn’t go dancing after that.

The Irish received balanced scoring from Jack Cooley, Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins, all of whom averaged over 12 points a game. Cooley was named to the all-conference second team and honored as the Big East Most Improved Player. Grant became a member of the conference’s all-rookie team. To top off the honors, Mike Brey won the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award and was named the District V Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 15 Seed – 2018-19 Irish

Notre Dame hasn’t had many lean seasons since Mike Brey took over, but as far as badness, the 2018-19 Irish take the cake.

Notre Dame hasn’t had many lean seasons since Mike Brey took over, but as far as badness, the 2018-19 Irish take the cake. That’s not to say they didn’t have the talent to compete, at least at the start of the season. The team was ravaged by injuries, particularly a torn ACL for Rex Pflueger, and that made it impossible for them to compete in a top-heavy ACC.

As is typical for them, the Irish had a good nonconference showing at 10-3. But with their depth suddenly thin, once conference play began, they never got anything going. Losing streaks of five and seven gave them an ACC record of 3-15, their worst conference showing since going 4-14 in their inaugural Big East campaign in 1995-96. They salvaged a win in the conference tournament over Georgia Tech before Louisville ended their season in the next round and brought their final overall record to 14-19, their worst since going 14-16 in John MacLeod’s last season in 1998-99.

In spite of the team’s troubles, John Mooney averaged a double-double with 14.1 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. T.J. Gibbs averaged 13.4 points a game, and D.J. Harvey had a scoring average of 10.7 in his final season with Notre Dame before transferring to Vanderbilt. In Pflueger’s absence, the Irish went through a revolving door for the fifth player in their starting lineup, which was consistent otherwise.

The Irish committed the fewest fouls in the country (455) and the third-fewest turnovers (306). Opponents realized they were facing a team that wasn’t going to beat itself, but they mostly won anyway.