The Big East finished up basketball action last week with a 22-4 record. This week, conference play begins. Below, we review the conference's non-conference record so far. Overall, the Big East did very well, but struggled against Top 25 teams. However, the ranked teams in the conference went 7-1 (.875) against Top 25 teams.
The No. 12 (Coaches' Poll) Georgetown Hoyas are a team to keep an eye on as conference play begins. They are at 10-1 on the season and rank in the top three in the Big East in points per possession offense and defense. The Hoyas also rank in the top three in free throw percentage in rebounding margin.
Herb Pope of Seton Hall and Kevin Jones of West Virginia have been battling back and forth at the top of the conference leaderboard in scoring in non-conference play. Jones is back on top this week.
We'll get to both players' outstanding play later. First we start with the Big East as a conference:
Overall Record 2011-2012: 151-43 (.778), Vs. Top 25: 7-12 (.368).
Record Against Power Conferences (37-32, .536):
ACC: 6-2
Atlantic 10: 9-5
Big Ten: 1-4
Big 12: 3-7
Conference USA: 5-2
Missouri Valley: 1-2
Mountain West: 0-0
Pac-12: 3-1
SEC: 9-7
West Coast: 0-2
Now for Individual leaders:
Scoring
| Rank | Player | Team | Points Per Game |
| 1. |
Kevin Jones |
West Virginia |
21 |
| 2. |
Herb Pope |
Seton Hall |
20.3 |
| 3. |
Jeremy Lamb |
Connecticut |
18.9 |
Rebounds
|
| Rank | Player | Team | Rebounds Per Game |
| 1. |
Kevin Jones |
West Virginia |
11.9 |
| 2. |
Herb Pope |
Seton Hall |
11.4 |
| 3. |
Gorgui Dieng |
Louisville |
10.2 |
Assists
|
| Rank | Player | Team | Assists Per Game |
| 1. |
Jordan Theodore |
Seton Hall |
7.3 |
| 2. |
Vincent Council |
Providence |
6.9 |
| 3. |
Shabazz Napier |
Connecticut |
6.7 |
Steals
|
| Rank | Player | Team | Steals Per Game |
| 1. |
Fuquan Edwin |
Seton Hall |
3.3 |
| 2. |
Russ Smith |
Louisville |
2.5 |
| 3t |
Shabazz Napier |
Connecticut |
2.2 |
| 3t |
Jeremy Lamb |
Connecticut |
2.2 |
Blocks
|
| Rank | Player | Team | Blocks Per Game |
| 1. |
Andre Drummond |
Connecticut |
2.9 |
| 1t |
Gorgui Dieng |
Louisville |
2.9 |
| 3. |
Fabricio Melo |
Syracuse |
2.4 |
Now for the team leaders:
Points/Possession
|
| Rank | Team | Points Per Possession |
| 1. |
Pittsburgh |
1.177 |
| 2. |
Syracuse |
1.160 |
| 3. |
Georgetown |
1.118 |
Points/Possession Defense
|
| Rank | Team | Points Per Possession |
| 1. |
Louisville |
.821 |
| 2. |
Georgetown |
.846 |
| 3. |
Marquette |
.847 |
Free Throws
|
| Rank | Team | Free Throw Percentage |
| 1. |
Villanova |
76.8 |
| 2. |
Georgetown |
73.9 |
| 3. |
Marquette |
73.1 |
Rebound Margin
|
| Rank | Team | Rebound Margin |
| 1. |
Pittsburgh |
+13.2 |
| 2. |
West Virginia |
+7.2 |
| 3. |
Georgetown |
+6.9 |
Turnover Margin
|
| Rank | Team | Turnover Margin |
| 1. |
Syracuse |
+7.85 |
| 2. |
Marquette |
+5 |
| 3. |
DePaul |
+4.42 |
