Tag: Big East

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.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 13 Seed – 2005-06 Irish

The oldest team in our tournament field, the 2005-06 Irish gave fans something to talk about early by jumping out to a 9-2 record.

The oldest team in our tournament field, the 2005-06 Irish gave fans something to talk about early by jumping out to a 9-2 record with the nonconference schedule. At the beginning of Big East play, Notre Dame nearly took down a then-perfect Pittsburgh team before falling in double overtime. The Irish never recovered from that as they ended up losing eight of their first nine conference games. Amazingly, their record never fell below .500, and despite being one-and-done in the Big East tournament, they earned an NIT spot.

Notre Dame made its mark in the first round of the NIT with a win at home over Vanderbilt. It traveled to Michigan for the second round and lost to the eventual tournament runner-up by three in double overtime. Playing beyond regulation time was not kind to the Irish this season as they dropped all five games that required longer than 40 minutes.

Chris Quinn was the big player on this team as he led the Irish in both scoring (17.7) and assists (6.4). Notre Dame also got double-digit scoring averages from Colin Falls (13.8), Russell Carter (11.5) and Torin Francis (11.6), who also was the team leader in rebounds (9.4). Six players started at least 10 games this season, and seven started at least nine.

Paced by Falls’ 102 field goals from beyond the arc and 70 from Quinn, the Irish were fifth in 3-point field-goal percentage (.403) and sixth in 3-pointers made (288).

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 12 Seed – 2008-09 Irish

Fresh off Luke Harangody’s Big East Player of the Year campaign, Notre Dame entered 2008-09 anticipating a big season.

Fresh off Luke Harangody’s Big East Player of the Year campaign, Notre Dame entered 2008-09 anticipating a big season. The national writers agreed, ranking the Irish ninth in the AP preseason poll. At first, the Irish rewarded the writers’ faith with a 9-2 nonconfernce record and a 3-1 start to Big East play. The ranking ascended to as high as seventh.

Unfortunately, the bottom fell out once the tough part of the Big East schedule began as the Irish lost their next seven games, six of them against ranked teams, and the final deficit in each never was closer than seven points. Somehow, the Irish recovered enough to earn an NIT berth, and they made the most of it. They won their first three tournament games in South Bend before falling to Penn State in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. At 21-15, things certainly could have gone a lot worse.

Averaging 23.3 points and 11.8 rebounds a game, Harangody broke LaPhonso Ellis’ program record for most double-doubles in a season (25) and became the sixth Notre Dame player to reach 400 rebounds in a season (401). This season was the last for seniors Luke Zeller, Ryan Ayers, Zach Hillesland and Kyle McAlarney, all of whom were key cogs in the rotation for their farewell tour. Tory Jackson was the team’s best passer with 4.9 assists a game to compliment a 10.6 scoring average.

Why the Seton Hall Pirates will win the 2020 NCAA Tournament

Three reasons why the Seton Hall Pirates will win the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

The Seton Hall Pirates (21-9) enter the Big East Conference Tournament ranked No. 15 in the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, making them a lock to be invited to the Big Dance. This will be Seton Hall’s fifth straight season in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Kevin Willard, which is the longest streak in the school’s history, but they haven’t advanced past the second round.

Below are a few good reasons why the Seton Hall Pirates will finally have its One Shining Moment and win the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

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Battle-tested

Seton Hall played the 20th-most difficult strength of schedule in the country, and despite not getting the hype it did back in its glory days, the Big East Conference is still a conference of champions. Four of the National Champions the last decade were Big East teams—the Connecticut Huskies and Villanova Wildcats each claimed two titles—which was second behind the Atlantic Coast Conference’s five National Championship teams.

The Pirates went just 4-5 against their nine ranked opponents, and aside from the 17-point dusting they took at the hands of the No. 9 Creighton Bluejays in their last regular-season game, Seton Hall played all of them tough. The Pirates didn’t have a bad loss—four of them were by one possession and the other was a five-point loss to Creighton. Their season highlights included a 52-48 home win over then-No. 7 Maryland Terrapins on Dec. 19 and splitting the season series with perennial powerhouse No. 8 Villanova Wildcats.

Interior presence 

Seton Hall is a low-key big team as they are one of the few ranked teams with a legit seven-footer in their starting lineup. Starting C Romaro Gill—who leads the Big East in blocks per game—is listed at 7-foot-2, and starting PF Sandro Mamukelashvili is 6-foot-11. Their size could create headaches for opposing offenses in a win-or-go-home game. The novelty alone of going against bigs like the Pirates have could cause teams to force up ill-timed threes, dissuade foes from attack the basket and, in turn, opponents getting to less foul shots.

Experience

All five of Seton Hall’s starters are upperclassmen, including three seniors and four starters from last year’s NCAA Tournament team. Their two leading scorers are PG Quincy McKnight and SG Myles Powell, who is second in the Big East in points per game (21 PPG). One of the key attributes of the recent title-winning programs is to have upperclassmen guards to run the offense. Five of the previous seven national title winners had two upperclassmen guards in their starting lineup, with the previous two champions trotting out a three-guard starting lineup. Powell will start in his third consecutive NCAA Tournament, and McKnight his second, so their veteran leadership will be relied upon in the big moments of the tournament. Powell and Co. will have to play their best six games of their lives if they want to be this year’s Cinderella story.

These factors make it plausible the 2020 Seton Hall Pirates win the program’s first-ever national championship.

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How to watch Georgetown at St. John’s: Live stream, date, time, odds

Here’s how to watch Georgetown vs. St. John’s rematch live stream as well as TV channel, date, time and NCAA basketball odds

It’s a Big East revenge game as Georgetown takes on St. John’s in front of a national audience. You can catch the CBB stream live on CBS All Access.

Georgetown is in the midst of a three-game losing streak and the Hoyas are trying to stop it from turning into four-straight. Georgetown already has one win over St. John’s this season, beating them 87-66 early in January.

The Red Storm are coming off a loss to No. 8 ranked Villanova and will be looking for revenge over the Hoyas in front of a national audience. A win over Georgetown would help push St. John’s up the standings in the Big East.

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How to watch Georgetown vs St. John’s:

Georgetown Hoyas (12-9) at St. John’s Red Storm (13-9)

Sunday, Feb. 2, 1:00 p.m. ET

Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

CBB streams:

Live stream: CBS

NCAA basketball odds:

St. John’s is a 1.5-point favorite over Georgetown, according to BetMGM. The over/under is set at 154.5 points.

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Seton Hall at DePaul odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s Seton Hall Pirates vs. DePaul Blue Demons Blue Demons sports betting odds and lines, with NCAA basketball betting picks.

The Seton Hall Pirates (8-4) and DePaul Blue Demons (12-1) open the conference schedule at Wintrust Arena in suburban Chicago at 8:30 p.m. ET Monday. We analyze the Seton Hall-DePaul odds and betting lines, while providing college basketball betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Seton Hall at DePaul: Three things you need to know

1. The Pirates have been banged up, but they have ripped off two straight wins while playing at less than 100%. They surprised Maryland as seven-point underdogs Dec. 19, and thumped Prairie View A&M as 17.5-point favorites, winning by 20. The Under has hit in four straight for the Pirates.

2. DePaul suffered a stunning 74-69 loss to Buffalo Dec. 8, falling as a 10.5-point favorite. But the Blue Demons have rattled off three wins in a row since, including a solid 83-78 victory over crosstown rival Northwestern.

3. The underdog has connected in four of the past five meetings in this series.

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Seton Hall at DePaul: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

DePaul 70, Seton Hall 63

Moneyline (ML)

There was no moneyline available at the time of publishing, probably because of the 1-point spread.

Against the Spread (ATS)

DEPAUL (+1, -110) is the play at home, mainly due to health. G Myles Powell (concussion) and F Sandro Mamukelashvili (wrist) are out for Seton Hall, and the Pirates can’t continue to tick off wins without two of their top scorers.

Over/Under (O/U)

UNDER 137 (-110) is worth a small-unit play, as the Pirates will likely look to slow it down without Powell and Mamukelashvili in the conference opener on the road. The Under is 4-0 in the past four for SHU, and 5-2 in DePaul’s past seven against teams with a winning percentage of .600 or better.

New to sports betting? Every $1.10 wagered on the Under will profit $1 if the combined total score is 136 points or less.

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Xavier at Villanova odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s Xavier Musketeers at Villanova Wildcats sports betting odds and lines, with NCAA basketball betting picks, tips and bets.

The Xavier Musketeers (11-2, 0-0 Big East) and Villanova Wildcats (9-2, 0-0 Big East) open the conference schedule at Finneran Pavilion at 6:30 p.m. ET Monday. We analyze the Xavier-Villanova odds and betting lines, while providing college basketball betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Xavier at Villanova: Three things you need to know

1. These Big East rivals faced each other three times last season, with the Wildcats winning 85-75 to cover the spread on Jan. 18 and also hitting the Over. In the rematch, the Musketeers won 66-54 to cover as the Under hit. They also met in the conference tourney, with ‘Nova winning in overtime, as Xavier covered with the Over.

2. The Musketeers have covered four of the past 13 games overall, and they’re 7-3 against the spread in the past 10 games on the road.

3. The Wildcats have covered 29 of the past 42 games at home, but they’re just 1-5-1 ATS in the past seven overall, and 1-4-1 ATS in the past six against winning sides.

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Xavier at Villanova: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 9 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Villanova 77, Xavier 75

Moneyline (ML)

There was no moneyline available at the time of publishing.

Against the Spread (ATS)

XAVIER (+5.5, -106) will look to add to ‘Nova’s (-5.5, -115) woes against the number. The Wildcats have been scratching out wins, but failing to cover, going 1-5-1 ATS in the past seven. Look for a close battle in this conference opener, as the two rivals feel each other out early before a close finish at the end.

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 139.5 (-106) is the play in Philly, as the over has hit in six of the past eight for XU, and 12 of the past 17 for ‘Nova.

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Maryland at Seton Hall odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Thursday’s Maryland Terrapins at Seton Hall Pirates sports betting odds and lines, with NCAA basketball betting picks, tips and bets.

The Maryland Terrapins (10-1, 1-1 Big Ten) and Seton Hall Pirates (6-4, 0-0 Big East) meet up at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. at 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Maryland-Seton Hall odds and betting lines, while providing college basketball betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Maryland at Seton Hall: Three things you need to know

1. The Terrapins look to rebound from their first loss of the season – 76-69 at Penn State Dec. 10.

2. The Pirates are on a two-game skid. They lost 76-66 at Iowa State Dec. 8, and 68-48 at Rutgers in a Garden State Hardwood Classic Saturday, falling as 1.5-point favorites.

3. Seton Hall G Myles Powell, the team’s leading scorer (21.2 points per game), is considered out indefinitely due to a concussion. In fact, Powell was so concussed in the game against the Scarlet Knights last time out, he reportedly asked coach Kevin Willard why his team was practicing at Rutgers. Scary stuff. He joins second-leading scorer Sandro Mamukelashvili (wrist) on the shelf.

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Maryland at Seton Hall: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:15 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Maryland 75, Seton Hall 61

Moneyline (ML)

Maryland (-300) is costly –  every $3 wagered profits a $1 if the Terps win outright. Seton Hall (+250) offers a 2.5-to-1 payoff, but this is a PASS. We’ll focus on the spread below.

Against the Spread (ATS)

MARYLAND (-6.5, -110) hits the road looking to rebound from a loss to the Nittany Lions. The Terps catch a break with Powell likely sidelined for the Pirates, and Mamukelashvili already on the mend. Look for the Terrapins to make a statement in this road battle. UMD is 13-5 ATS in the past 18 games following a non-cover, and 7-3 ATS in the past 10 after a straight-up loss, too.

Over/Under (O/U)

UNDER 138.5 (-110) is the play in this one, as it’s uncertain where Seton Hall’s scoring is going to come from. The Pirates’ only two guys averaging double-digit point totals are dealing with serious injuries. Look for the under to hit.

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