1. It almost went unnoticed given how much news is being made off the court at Syracuse, but the Orange actually played a game Tuesday night, their first since longtime assistant Bernie Fine was fired amidst allegations of sexual molestation. Jim Boeheim‘s crew walloped Eastern Michigan 84-48 behind a balanced offensive attack and a smothering defense. James Southerland (19 points and five rebounds) led the way offensively, and the Orange forced the Eagles to make 17 turnovers and held them to just 34.7% from the field. But let’s be honest, the game was a mere footnote to the circumstances surrounding the program and Boeheim’s first press conference comments since the firing. ESPN obviously gave the game and the hubbub surrounding it the full-court press last night. Not only did Dana O’Neill, Andy Katz, and Tim Keown all pen opinion columns on the story, the network also sent O’Neill all over campus to interview students about the mood in the community and the student body. It was quite an impressive breadth of coverage, but I am not sure we learned anything new other than Syracuse students don’t want to be associated with Penn State and its sex abuse scandal, and that most people still don’t know what to make of the most recent evidence (i.e. tape recording and third accuser). Yahoo! also was on hand to cover the press coverage and Pat Forde justifiably ripped into Boeheim for trying to make jokes while very serious allegations are being bandied about. Boeheim may not have known anything about the alleged abuse but cracking jokes in a press conference isn’t exactly the best way to apologize for the nasty remarks you made about the alleged victims.
2. After beginning the season inside most people’s list of the Top-10 teams in college basketball, Pittsburgh has failed to engender any confidence in their lofty ranking, losing at home to Long Beach State and struggling to put away teams like Rider, Robert Morris, and LaSalle. There has been a bright spot though and his name is Travon Woodall. Woodall was little more than a role player in his first two seasons, but as HoopSpeak points out, he has emerged as a full-fledged star and perhaps the team’s most important player. The article notes that his statistics have been inflated due to inferior competition, but 15 PPG and 8.5 APG is still worth taking note of. But, the article also points out that if there is still one piece missing from his game, its his decision-making. He is still too careless with the ball and for a guy that coach Jamie Dixon is going to lean on to play heavy minutes, that is not good. The season is long and Dixon will have plenty of time to right the ship, but how far the ship sails will depend mightily on how far Woodall continues to progress.
3. In addition to poor foul shooting and silly fouls by freshman JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova appears to have been bitten by some egregious score-keeping in their painful loss to Santa Clara in the 76 Classic Sunday. Apparently, up by three points with less than ten seconds to play, Villanova wanted to foul Santa Clara after letting some time run-off, so they asked the scorer how many fouls the team had, and they were told five. That information was wrong, they had six, Santa Clara made two free throws and then made two more after Pinkston missed the front end of the one-and-one and committed a stupid foul going after the rebound. To his credit, coach Jay Wright didn’t blame the scorer for the loss, which was the right move because although the official scorer clearly screwed that one up badly, the Wildcats didn’t deserve to win that game. Sure they are young, but they are also very talented and should be able to make the NCAA Tournament. First they will need to work on closing out games, something last year’s team did especially poorly down the stretch.
4. We usually try to avoid linking to box scores in our Morning Five, but we present the Providence-Holy Cross box score from last night only to illustrate how bright Providence‘s future might be. Holy Cross is not an especially strong opponent, so the numbers can be taken with a grain of salt, but 59 points from sophomores Bryce Cotton and Gerard Coleman and freshman LaDontae Henton is pretty impressive. Throw in the fact that freshman Brice Kofane grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and it is safe to say we are looking at the future of Providence basketball, and that doesn’t even include the pair of five-star guards (Ricardo Ledo and Kris Dunn) slated to arrive on campus next season. Unfortunately for Friar fans, the box score also shows that coach Ed Cooley really only played five guys last night, showing just how thin the team is this year. But if those aforementioned players continue to develop, and the freshmen play as advertised when they arrive, the Friars may be contenders sooner than anyone thinks.
5. Beset by injuries, Louisville continues to take moral victories when it comes to their players’ health and this news should be considered just that. Junior forward Rakeem Buckles was cleared to return to practice last week and should be making his return to the court soon for the injury-riddled yet undefeated Cardinals. Buckles will likely be eased back in considering the last thing Rick Pitino wants is for him to re-injure himself, but Pitino desperately needs depth in the frontcourt and Buckles should provide just that. The junior averaged 6.8 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 16 games last season and if he can replicated even half of those numbers while spelling star freshman Chane Behanan, I bet Pitino will be happy. Forward Stephan Van Treese is out indefinitely after he re-injured his knee so getting Buckles back in time for conference play will be a huge boon for an inexperienced and thin frontcourt.

1.  We will get to the Bernie Fine news and its implications for Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse basketball program in a post later this morning, but even without the news of his firing, it was a rough week for Big East teams. Perhaps no team had a worse week than St. John’s. Not only were they beaten soundly by an inferior Northeastern team, but they also were without head coach Steve Lavin for the second straight game and third this season while he recovers from prostate cancer surgery. While there is no doubt Lavin is doing the right thing by looking out for his health first and foremost, if this continues, it will be an unfortunate distraction for the team and tough to overcome on the recruiting trail.  St. John’s is a very young team, and it needs his leadership during the games, no matter what he says about the quality of his assistants. Also — although it sounds crass even to suggest it — Lavin’s long-term health will be a point of interest for recruits, and his inability to coach during the games could open the door for some negative recruiting by other teams. Everyone in college basketball wants to see the vivacious Lavin back in good health and patrolling the sidelines, but that doesn’t mean opposing programs won’t try to lure away Red Storm recruits with promises of stability.
2. The Red Storm weren’t alone in the conference when it came to disappointing losses this weekend. Cincinnati, a team many predicted to break out this season, took another one on the chin Friday night, losing to former conference foe Marshall in overtime. To make matters worse, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran a piece this morning wondering where all the fans are. According to the paper, the Bearcats are averaging just over 5, 000 fans for home games, barely half of what the crowd looked like when Bob Huggins coached the team. Now it should be noted that the Bearcats’ opponents aren’t exactly household names, and it seems unlikely that the fans will want to sell the place out to see their team play the likes of Alabama State and Northwestern State. Even the greatest Cincinnati alumnus of them all, Oscar Robertson, is quoted criticizing the team’s soft early season schedule. Ultimately, no matter who they play, Mick Cronin‘s club will need to start winning games consistently to draw big crowds, and right now, that seems tougher than many initially expected.
3. Even though Connecticut‘s week was hardly much better than the other teams considering they blew a big second-half lead in a stunning loss to Central Florida, the news wasn’t all bad for the Huskies. Desperately in need of someone to spell starting point guard Shabazz Napier, UConn finally got talented freshman Ryan Boatright back and not a moment too soon. Playing in his first game after serving a six-game suspension for improper benefits, Boatwright played 33 minutes in the overtime win against Florida State, scoring 14 points and hitting three clutch free-throws with seven seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Coach Jim Calhoun finally sounded slightly happier with the way his team played and you can bet he is glad to have Boatright available. Napier is still one of the team’s key players and he is one of the better guards in the conference, but he is still just a sophomore and his performance against UCF showed it. Boatright will only help keep Napier fresh and healthy as the season goes on, what he adds on the offensive end will only be an added bonus.
4. No matter what Louisville does, they cannot seem to catch a break when it comes to keep their players healthy. They already lost talented freshman Wayne Blackshear and versatile role player Mike Marra. They have also been forced to deal with an ankle injury to star point guard Peyton Siva. Now the team lost junior forward Stephan Van Treese indefinitely after he re-injured his left knee in practice Saturday. Van Treese had literally JUST returned to the team following a left patellar strain and was finally working his way into the rotation. Now Rick Pitino will have to do without him again. The Cardinals’ frontcourt is already thin, and while Van Treese was hardly a star, he was a big body and a capable role player. I guess we will just have to see how Pitino and his squad handle this dose of adversity.
5. The Springfield News-Sun profiled DePaul coach Oliver Purnell on Saturday and the story centered around Purnell’s incredible optimism when it comes to reviving a moribund program. There are plenty of good quotes from people who know Purnell about the coach’s history and ability turning around struggling programs, but DePaul might be a completely different story. For one, they play in a ridiculously tough conference, and they also have to compete with dozens of teams for local talent. Chicago is a recruiting hotbed, but their best recruits almost always end up being recruited by not just Illinois, but Kansas, and Indiana, and Ohio State and a host of other elite programs that can promise a chance at the national championship now. Purnell was certainly an inspired choice for the gig, but it remains to be seen whether he can move enough mountains to make DePaul relevant again. Something they haven’t been since Eddy Curry spurned them for a shot to make a ton of undeserved money in the NBA.

In college basketball they say the coaches are the stars.  Thank goodness for that because when No. 8 Louisville (2-0) takes on reigning two-time national runner-up Butler (1-1) on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse the marquee value on the rosters will not possess the sizzle it might have had a year, or even a couple of days, ago.  While many may need to rifle through programs and online game trackers to identify players, the head coaches certainly require no introduction in a game that will prove an ample test of their considerable skills.  And let’s face it, as we scour through a November slate that includes several undercard match-ups leading up to the Big East’s main events, we need something to sink our teeth into!

Pitino Will be Working Hard Against Butler

Rick Pitino is faced with the challenge of heading into a tough road venue with a team that has been besieged by injury. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish certainly are not coming through that door, and where is Greg Kite when you need him anyway?  With junior leader and point guard Peyton Siva doubtful for the game following the recent long term losses of backcourt mates Wayne Blackshear, out six-to-eight weeks due to shoulder surgery, and Mike Marra, gone for the season with an ACL tear, the Cardinals are especially thin right now, particularly at the point.  While Pitino said Siva’s injury could impact his availability beyond Saturday, he also left the door open for a cameo appearance should the game situation dictate.

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