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 [...]

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 [...]

I’ve officially given up on trying to figure out where former Louisville big man Derrick Caracter of Fanwood, N.J. will end up.
UAB coaches had been researching the possibility of bringing Caracter in, but they have decided not to pursue it, according to a source.
UAB has a verbal commitment from 6-9 senior big man DeMarcus Cousins, [...]

St. Benedict’s Prep finished a perfect trip to the Marshall County HoopFest by beating Whitney Young of Chicago 69-55 Saturday night.
Texas-bound junior Tristan Thompson led the Gray Bees, No. 4 in the ESPN poll, with 22 points, Rice-bound guard Tamir Jackson added 16 points and sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo scored 12. Gilvydas Biruta added [...]

Here’s my column from Rutgers’ 63-14 rout of Louisville.
And here are a few quick notes and quotes from the game.
Momentum seems to be building for Rutgers to potentially face Ball State (12-0) in the Motor City Bowl in Detroit Dec. 26. Mike Teel warmed to the idea after throwing for a school-record 447 yards and [...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Samardo Samuels grabbed the ball and launched a game’s worth of frustration and all of his 260 pounds at the rim. Surely, this would be the moment the Louisville freshman would help the third-ranked Cardinals take control and finally put away Western Kentucky.
Jeremy Evans had other ideas. The Western Kentucky [...]

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 [...]

When defending national champion Kansas takes on 2003 NCAA champ Syracuse tonight in the final of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic on ESPN2 (10 o’clock), look for a couple of rookies with New Jersey ties to play a key role.
Freshman Marcus Morris, a Philly native who played at Apex Academies in Cherry Hill, N.J., [...]

NEWARK, N.J. — Seton Hall hopes their future big man was in the building for today’s 71-50 victory over Columbia at the Prudential Center.
Jarrid Famous, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound center from Westchester Community College, sat behind the Seton Hall bench and was greeted by chants of “We want Famous.”
“It was a good experience watching the Seton [...]

Count Louisville among those trying to get Famous.
Jarrid Famous, that is.
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino and assistant Steve Masiello are slated to come watch Famous work out at Westchester Community College on Nov. 25.
The 6-foot-11, 235-pound Famous has said he will wait until the spring signing period to commit, at which point he’ll have [...]