Big East basketball teams were 2-1 on Wednesday night. The Cincinnati Bearcats and DePaul Blue Demons won their games while the South Florida Bulls lost.
Cincinnati 78, Wright State 58: In the first game for the Bearcats since the brawl with Xavier in the 2011 Crosstown Shootout, Cincinnati played without suspended players Yancy Gates (third leading rebounder in the Big East), Octavius Ellis, Cheikh Mbodj and Ge'Lawn Guyn. The Bearcats didn't miss a beat against Wright State by using a 17-2 run to start the game to end up with 43 points in the first half. The game was never close even though the Raiders outscored Cincinnati in the second half. Cincy's Sean Kilpatrick led all scorers with 20 points. Four other players scored in double figures for Cincinnati. For more on the game, see the recap at Down The Drive.
DePaul 75, Northern Illinois 52: The Blue Demons cruised past winless Northern Illinois in the second half on Wednesday after a close first half. Cleveland Melvin had 19 points to lead DePaul. Brandon Young had 16 points for the Blue Demons but also filled up the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Tim Toler led Northern Illinois with 18 points and 13 rebounds. For more on the game, see the recap at SB Nation Chicago.
Auburn 52, South Florida 40: This was not the prettiest basketball game to watch. Although Auburn picked it up in the second half, the teams combined to shoot 31-83 from the floor. Augustus Gilchrist was the only Bulls player to reach double figures with 10 points. Chris Denson and Frankie Sullivan of Auburn led all scorers with 12 points apiece. The game was close after the first half: Auburn led 21-20. Auburn jumped out to a lead in the second half but South Florida fought back. The Bulls then had their backs broken by a 14-3 Auburn run. At that point, there was a little less than 7 minutes to play and Auburn held a 45-32 lead. As it turned out, that would be enough points for the Tigers. For more on the game, see the recap over at Voodoo Five.
There are no Big East basketball games on the schedule tonight. The league resumes play on Saturday with 12 games on the slate.