The STF Big East Report 1.17: The Northeast Corridor - Getting Nasty

I’m a little late with this (“I’m a child of divorce. Sue me.” - American Psycho) but the action in the Big East has been getting a little more interesting and intense of late, courtesy of a series of choke jobs by my beloved alma mater. Let’s delve into this content, shall we?

Team With the Best Week: Pittsburgh
No other real contender here. Pitt’s 15-2 overall, and 3-1 in conference, but because they shattered the collective dreams of Hoya Hoops on Monday night, they’re currently leading the Big East. I knew Georgetown was going to lose that game - we looked terrible against UConn on Saturday, even though the final Hibbert shot was pretty amazing (as a side note, I know so many people who texted me “AMAZING!” when, in fact, we played awful; let’s just note that Sapp and Wallace were a combined 4 for 16) and we were on the road. Still, Keith Benjamin comes out of the irrelevancy closet to the tune of 18 points, DeJuan Blair continues his underrated frosh campaign with 15 points and 9 boards, and Jamie Dixon is looking more polished each season. Pittsburgh played GU well last year, but unless Hoya Paranoia starts getting some clear looks at the basket off the back door cut, a potential rematch at MSG in March could go the same way this one did: to the Steel City.

Player of the Week: Keith Benjamin, Pittsburgh
I probably shouldn’t have referenced Benjamin above, because it makes it less relevant that I’m throwing him down here, but his performance Monday was the kind of things Pitt fans (those battery-heaving bastards) have been waiting for since, well, forever. He almost put a “two” in the tens place of his score sheet Monday night, and you half-expected another seminal “Send it in Jerome!” moment to emerge from the broadcast crew on some of his finer moments. Alas, it didn’t. I’d give Jeff Adrien the runner-up award here. I had never actually seen (i.e. looked at, not “watched play”) Adrien before Saturday. He’s an intense-looking dude. He might be able to take Patrick Willis in a fight.

Team with the Worst Week: Georgetown
This is just depressing, not only because every paragraph of this entry has been about one game (I feel like Lou Dobbs with some free licks at a Mexican), but because I make slightly above minimum wage and live with my mom, I don’t think Georgetown has really been very successful at “basketball” OR “molding its graduates into something” as of late. Seriously, though - when you got a 7-2 guy needing to hit A THREE BALL to win a game, is that good basketball? No. Highlight reel basketball? Of course, but the difference between highlight-reel basketball and good basketball is why Shawn Kemp isn’t in Springfield.

Games to Watch:
Notre Dame vs. Georgetown (Saturday, 1/19) - Catholic Girls. Giggidy Giggidy!

Louisville vs. Seton Hall (1/19) - The winner of this one might be the sneaky team for the back half of the Big East season. Or, they might just suck.

Marquette vs. UConn (1/20) - Think anyone will be watching this over the Conference Championships? A team from New England and a team from Wisconsin? Ha.

Georgetown vs. ‘Cuse (1/21) - I’m a huge homer.

Generally Irrelevant Family Guy Quote of the Week

Lois: “Why don’t you go play in the other room, Stewie?”
Stewie: “Why don’t you burn in hell?”

Rivalries are starting to heat up on the eastern seaboard as well. Georgetown vs. ND is pretty strong - back in 2002, those guys played an epic 4 OT game paced by Chris Thomas (I don’t know where he is now, but wherever he is, I bet he shares a room with Rumeal Robinson) and Michael Sweetney.

Georgetown vs. ‘Cuse is even more intense - I once was stumbling home drunk in college, passed a kid on Georgetown’s campus in a ‘Cuse sweatshirt, and proceeded to begin an exchange that got my ass kicked. While no one will be watching Marquette and the Huskies on Sunday, that’s a burgeoning rivalry as well. Lois and Stewie, personified. I was trying to work the “Joe, I forgot how big you are / Me too” exchange in here, but had nothing to roll with. I blame the falafel I just inhaled.