13 Notre Dame (12-5) v. 8 Syracuse (17-2)
In what will be one of many recaps of ranked Big East battles, Syracuse showed yet again that they are an elite team this season (and probably my NCAA Champion, since I rotate back and forth between ‘Cuse and Kansas in my brackets until they are the champs) with a home win over Notre Dame. The Orange jumped on the Irish early and didn’t let up with a balanced scoring attack led by Arinze Onuaku, 19 points. Syracuse had 6 players in double figures. Kyle McAlarney (48% from 3-PT land) was 7-14 from beyond the arc and had 24 points for the Irish who drop to 3-3 in the Big East.
2 Duke (16-1) v. 12 Georgetown (12-4)
Duke had a big statement game for those who still feel that the ACC is the top conference in college basketball after a win over Big East powerhouse Georgetown. Gerald Henderson led the Blue Devils with some hot shooting, and Kyle Singler added a double-double (14 points and 16 rebounds). Georgetown has three losses, all against ranked teams, in its last five games. The final, Duke beats G-Town 76-67.
3 Wake Forest (16-0) v. 9 Clemson (16-1)
Clemson attempted to repeat its record feat of 17 wins to open a season (which was set two years ago and the ’86-’87 season), but ran into arguably the best team in the country at Wake Forest. Clemson fell apart two years ago after their 17-0 start by finishing 2-9 and missing the NCAA tournament. Things don’t get easier as they travel to face North Carolina, where they are 0-53. Wake set its own school record by opening the season with 16 wins and is the only unbeaten team remaining in Division 1. Jeff Teague led the Demon Deacons with 24 points and 5 assists. Wake Forest wins the battle of the unbeaten 78-68.
15 Arizona State (15-3) v. 7 UCLA (14-3)
To give the PAC-10 and the west coast some love, we go to Arizona State and UCLA. Since I’m a bit disgusted with anything from Arizona after the NFC Championship game crushed my hopes of Philadelphia becoming the newer better Boston, we will make this short. Arizona State brought the 15 game home win streak for the Bruins to a halt. The Sun Devils pulled out the overtime upset 61-58. James Harden (24.1 PPG, 4.3 APG, 5.7 RPG) is the real deal and a player of the year contender as he dropped in 24 to help the Sun Devils to the road victory.
1 Pittsburgh v. 20 Louisville (13-3)
Louisville remains unbeaten in Big East play after a sluggish start to their season. They look to be back on track and a contender for the Big East title after their 69-63 win over top ranked Pittsburgh. Earl Clark celebrated his birthday with a double-double and the game winning shot with under a minute to go. Louisville has now won 8 of its last 10 against ranked opponents and 9 of its last 10 against conference ranked opponents. On the other hand, the Panthers have lost 8 of their last 9 on the road against ranked opponents and 9 of their last 10 against ranked conference opponents away from the Petersen Events Center. The Cardinals will be contenders come March, watch out for a deep tourney run.
14 Marquette (16-2) v. Providence (11-6)
If you were pushing for the Big East to get 10 teams In the NCAA tourney this year, this wasn’t the result you were looking for. Providence (believed by many to be the 10th possible team to come out of the Big East) led most of the way in the Dunkin Donuts Center only to falter in the final minutes to some hot outside shooting by the Golden Eagles. Marquette battled to stay in this game, as it was Providence who had the hot hand early on. Lazar Hayward and Jerel McNeal each had 25 points in the 91-82 victory.
On a side note: One of the weirdest moments I have seen in sports in a long time occurred after Providence guard, Jeff Xavier, was unintentionally elbowed in the eye on a drive to the basket. There was no foul called on the Xavier drive, but Geoff McDermott was fouled on the same possession. During the ensuing free throws, Xavier’s brother walked from the stands, over the bench, and onto the court. Now Xavier’s brother came on to the court looking like he was about to start a whirlwind of trouble, only to “discuss” his issues with the referee before being escorted off. It was so awkward to see a random spectator walk onto the court and signal a timeout to call a conference with the officials; a very dangerous situation that turned out to just be a laugh for anyone watching.
13 Notre Dame (12-5) v. 8 
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