For the first time in school history, Pitt was ranked No. 1 in both the AP and USA Today - ESPN Coaches Polls.
Pitt ascended to the consensus No. 1 ranking after entering the week ranked No. 3 in both polls. On Monday, No. 2 ranked Connecticut was defeated by No. 11 ranked Georgetown 74-63. No. [...]

It was a Big Day in the Big East, with several surprises…
**No. 3 Pitt went into No. 8 Georgetown and handed it to the Hoyas behind 20 points and 17 boards from DeJuan Blair, who looked like a man among boys while outplaying freshman Greg Monroe.
“I played with something on my back saying, ‘They’re picking [...]

With Big East action now in full swing, here are Five Questions for the upcoming games:
1. Can Pitt beat Georgetown?
The Hoyas are coming off a thorough beating of No. 2 UConn, the preseason favorite to win the conference, in Hartford on Monday. Now the No. 3 Panthers come to town Saturday (noon, ESPN) and could [...]

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg recently perused the Rutgers men’s basketball schedule and instantly felt empathy for his colleague Fred Hill.
The Scarlet Knights, after all, are in the midst of an unprecedented stretch in college basketball history.
Read the full story here for more on Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s.
**Read here about [...]

Here’s Part 2
Here’s Part 1

Check it out….Happy Holidays to all.

Here is the first of a three-part preview of the upcoming Big East basketball season. Ted Berg of SNY.tv interviewed myself and Brendon Deroschers of the “Court Visions” column on SNY.tv.

It was a Big Day for the Big East, with UConn and Syracuse both winning nationally televised games, St. John’s rolling into the finals of the Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden and Rutgers getting another strong performance from its freshmen studs.
**I was at MSG, where the Johnnies routed Marist 65-44 to advance to [...]

North Carolina remains the top team in the new Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll. The Tar Heels (7-0) top Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Duke and Gonzaga in this week’s poll.
A record eight schools were chosen from the Big East: No. 2 UConn, No. 3 Pitt, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 11 Louisville, No. 16 Syracuse, [...]

Clark Francis’ rankings of the Top Seniors in the Class of 2009 are out and Brooklyn Lincoln guard Lance Stephenson tops the list.
Stephenson has said he will wait until the spring to announce his future plans. St. John’s, Kansas and USC are among the schools recruiting him, and some speculate he may also opt to [...]