| '01-'02 Big East Rank | |
| Field Goal % | 2 |
| Free Throw % | 13 |
| 3-point % | 11 |
| Rebounding +/- | 2 |
| Turnover +/- | 10 |
Pre-Christmas record: 8-0, #2 in the country. Won easily at URI and Penn State and at home against Ohio State.
Pleasant Surprise: No one should be surprised at how well the Panthers are playing. Page is off to a great start, as is Zavackas. Pitt is the ultimate "team." Everyone does their job and result is great team basketball. Eight players are averaging 19 minutes or more per game. Each of these eight players is averaging at least 3 rebounds per game.
Disappointment: The one negative that could hurt Pittsburgh, especially at tournament time, is Brandin Knight's free throw shooting. Knight shot only 44% from the line last season and is has started this season a dismal 48% from the charity stripe.
Impact Freshmen: 6'2" freshman guard Carl Krauser is averaging 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists while averaging 19 minutes per game.
Outlook: Pittsburgh is good enough to reach the Final Four if they can stay healthy. They have gained valuable tournament experience over the past two years (7 Big East Tournament and 3 NCAA Tournament games), which will only help them in March. Notre Dame could give Pittsburgh some competition in the Big East's West Division, but I expect the Panthers to win the West by a game or two.
| '01-'02 Big East Rank | |
| Field Goal % | 4 |
| Free Throw % | 4 |
| 3-point % | 3 |
| Rebounding +/- | 6 |
| Turnover +/- | 9 |
Pre-Christmas record: 10-1, with huge victories over Top 25 teams Marquette, Maryland and Texas. Their only loss was to #18 Creighton.
Pleasant Surprise: The Irish must be thrilled with the play of Maryland transfer Danny Miller who has averaged 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 45% from three-point range.
Disappointment: BC 14 Notre Dame 7. Oops, wrong sport.
Impact Freshmen: Tabor Academy's Torin Francis, a 6'10" McDonald's All-American, has lived up to his billing thus far, averaging 11.1 points and 9.5 rebounds. Francis was ranked as the nation's 16th best incoming freshman according to The Sporting News.
Outlook: At the beginning of the season, it looked like the inexperienced Irish would have a solid but unspectacular season in 2002-2003 given the loss of three key players. So far, the Irish have not missed the departed Seniors. Notre Dame is already 3-1 against the Top 25 with two games against #2 Pittsburgh, one with #14 Kentucky and one with #6 UConn on the horizon. This will translate to a solid opponent winning percentage segment of Notre Dame's RPI, which means the Irish will be a lock for the NCAA tournament as long as they can finish .500 or better in the Big East. Based on their play so far, I'm expecting 10-11 Big East wins and a second place finish in the West Division.
| '01-'02 Big East Rank | |
| Field Goal % | 6 |
| Free Throw % | 12 |
| 3-point % | 9 |
| Rebounding +/- | 11 |
| Turnover +/- | 3 |
Pre-Christmas record: 6-1, including a win over Georgia Tech and a loss to Memphis.
Pleasant Surprise: Along with the immediate impact of the freshmen, Sophomore forward Hakim Warrick has exceeded expectations, averaging 14.7 points and 9 rebounds per game. Warrick is shooting a solid 52% from the field.
Disappointment: Jim Boeheim should be pleased with his young team's 6-1 start, but Sophomore Craig Forth has not played as well as Orange fans had hoped. Forth is averaging 4.0 points per game (averaging 20 minutes) and is shooting an embarrassing 31% from the free throw line.
Impact Freshmen: Anthony and McNamara are making about as big a splash as two freshmen can make. 6'9" forward Matt Gorman has played sparingly over the first seven games.
Outlook: The loss of 37 points per game provided by the departed Preston Shumpert and the academically ineligible DeShaun Williams, coupled with the typical growing pains of a team with so little college experience, was supposed to make this a tough transition year for the Orangemen. So far, however, the young players have come through with flying colors. Still, these young players have not been tested the way they will be when Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Georgetown come a knockin' in January and February. Syracuse will make mistakes typical of a young team but should have enough raw talent to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament in March. I also suspect that this team will be better in March than it will be when Big East conference play begins in January.
| '01-'02 Big East Rank | |
| Field Goal % | 5 |
| Free Throw % | 3 |
| 3-point % | 4 |
| Rebounding +/- | 5 |
| Turnover +/- | 6 |
Pre-Christmas record: 7-0, but as usual Georgetown has played a weaker non-conference schedule than Waltham High. That will all change on January 8th when the Hoyas face off with Duke at Cameron.
Pleasant Surprise: The Hoyas, notorious for leading the Big East in brick-laying, have been sharp from three-point range. Gerald Riley and Tony Bethel are a combined 27 for 50 (54%) from behind the arc.
Disappointment: The disappointment may come, once again, in March when the Hoyas are left out of the NCAA tournament because of their weak non-conference schedule. Games against Grambling, Norfolk State and Howard don't help the ol' RPI. What will help are future games against Virginia, Duke and UCLA.
Impact Freshmen: Freshman forward Brandon Bowman has made solid contributions in the early going, averaging 7.6 points and 4 rebounds and 6'3" 165 pound guard Ashanti Cook is also playing a role with 7.4 ppg off the bench.
Outlook: The Hoyas are a tough team to predict at this stage of the season. They should win a lot of games simply because no one in the Big East, with the possible exception of UConn, can match the inside prowess of Sweetney and Wilson. On the other hand, Georgetown has one of the weakest backcourts in the conference. My expectation is that the Hoyas will once again be in the 8-8/9-7 range in conference play so a non-conference win against either Duke or UCLA may be required to ensure an NCAA invite in 2003.
| '01-'02 Big East Rank | |
| Field Goal % | 12 |
| Free Throw % | 14 |
| 3-point % | 12 |
| Rebounding +/- | 10 |
| Turnover +/- | 7 |
Pre-Christmas record: 6-3, with close losses to North Carolina and Virginia.
Pleasant Surprise: Herve Lamizana has been a shot-blocking phenom averaging 3.5 rejections per game. We'll see if that continues as he faces taller, more athletic players in conference play.
Disappointment: Two tough four-point losses to Virginia and North Carolina. Wins in those two games may have put Rutgers in solid position to compete for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Impact Freshmen: If you need evidence that the Rutgers program is on the right track, look no further than talented recruits Cortez Davis and Calvin Wooten, who chose Rutgers over Maryland and Oklahoma, respectively. The duo has averaged only 6.2 points per game in an average of 17 minutes this season, but expect to see more of them in the near future.
Outlook: Rutgers is certainly a team with potential, but they will need a 9-7 Big East record or better in order to have a shot at an NCAA Tourney bid. As much as I would like to see that, I don't think that the Knights are quite ready to accomplish that feat in a tough West Division this year.
| '01-'02 Big East Rank | |
| Field Goal % | 7 |
| Free Throw % | 9 |
| 3-point % | 10 |
| Rebounding +/- | 7 |
| Turnover +/- | 12 |
Pre-Christmas record: 7-1 (7-0 at home and 0-1 on the road). Their wins include Florida and Tennessee and the only loss was at Duquesne.
Pleasant Surprise: Specifically, Pittsnogle, who is actually shooting a higher percentage from the field (64%) and the three point line (64%) than he is from the free throw line (61%).
Disappointment: West Virginia needs more from returning Senior starters Chaz Briggs and Josh Yeager. The duo averaged 14.5 points and 8.6 rebounds (combined) per game last season and were expected to exceed those numbers this year but have not (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rebounds).
Impact Freshmen: West Virginia High School Player of the Year, Pittsnogle along with 5'10" guard Jarmon Durrisseau-Collins who currently has a 5.7 to 1 assist to turnover ratio and 6'6"guard Johannes Herber out of Germany. All three players have started each of West Virginia's eight games.
Outlook: After last season's pathetic 1-15 Big East campaign, the West Virginia basketball program can only get better. The win over Florida is evidence that the Mountaineer hoops program is already on the upswing. With a starting lineup comprised of three freshmen and two sophomores, the growing pains will be noticeable this season. Still, I expect West Virginia to move up a notch into sixth place in the Big East's West Division though an NIT bid will have to wait until next season.
| '01-'02 Big East Rank | |
| Field Goal % | 14 |
| Free Throw % | 7 |
| 3-point % | 7 |
| Rebounding +/- | 13 |
| Turnover +/- | 8 |
Pre-Christmas record: 3-3, with blowout losses to Louisville, Texas and Ohio State.
Pleasant Surprise: Junior forward Marcus Toney-El has improved his scoring (9.0 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 reb/gm), including an 8.3 point/6 rebound average against the combination of Texas, Louisville and Ohio State.
Disappointment: Senior defensive specialist Greg Morton still has not learned how to score points. Morton has only 2 points, 1 assist and 6 rebounds in 36 minutes this season. Barrett and Allen are both shooting just 25% from three-point range this season.
Impact Freshmen: Whitney, Copeland and Morris have contributed 57 minutes, 19 points and 7 rebounds per game so far this season.
Outlook: The Pirates won only 12 games overall and five in the Big East last season with veterans Ty Shine, Charles Manga and Darius Lane. Without those players in the fold, the Pirates may be even worse in 2002-2003. Barrett is fantastic, but he can't pass the ball to himself so he may not match his 5 assist per game average of last season. Sorry Pirate fans, but I cannot envision any place but last for Seton Hall this season.