This Week in the Big East: December 12

Good morning Big East fans! It’s been a while, with the holidays and things getting busy at work, but I’m back. It was a huge week in the Big East, so let’s get into it.

Things We Loved Last Week

Chuck Harris knocks out Sooners

Chuck Harris scored 26 points for Butler in their overtime victory at Oklahoma, and none were bigger than the three he hit late in the extra frame to put the Bulldogs ahead for good.

Oso with the block

Redshirt freshman Oso Ighodaro got the block at the end of regulation to give Marquette the win at Kansas State.

Also, those Kansas State uniforms are so ugly. Respectfully, never wear them again. Thank you.

Bryce Aiken’s step-back three to seal win over Texas

Bryce Aiken had 10 points against Texas, all in the second half. This step-back three-pointer was the dagger to give Seton Hall it’s second top ten win this season.

The Tony Stubblefield Era begins with a bang

DePaul went on the road to knock off Louisville Friday night. David Jones scored 33 points and Nick Ongenda had 8 blocks. Don’t look now, but the Blue Demons are 8-1.

Ryan Hawkins breaks Brigham Young

I think Creighton’s tweet sums this one up perfectly. This dunk broke Big East Twitter, and I’m shocked it didn’t break the backboard. The Bluejays knocked off #24 BYU decidedly on Saturday.

Georgetown making Syracuse glad they left the Big East

Georgetown rallied from down 10 at the half to beat Syracuse. We just absolutely love that.

Xavier is the best team in Ohio

Finally, Xavier knocked off Cincinnati in the Crosstown Shootout to finish non-conference play 3-0 against teams from the state of Ohio. The Musketeers look mighty dangerous right now.

In the Rankings

Stock Rising

DePaul Blue Demons

DePaul is now at 51 in the NET after beating Louisville, and the Blue Demons have been legitimately impressive this year. Let’s see how they do next Saturday at Northwestern.

Xavier Musketeers

Xavier has jumped into the top 15 in the NET, and Zach Freemantle is still only a role player coming back from injury. Watch out for the Musketeers.

Seton Hall Pirates

Seton Hall got another top ten win this week, and Bryce Aiken showed what fans in Newark expected when he transferred from Harvard. The computers don’t like them as much as Xavier, but this is a damn good team.

Stock Falling

The only team that really qualifies here this week would be UConn, but we’ll give them a pass for a tough loss at West Virginia while being banged up.

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The Schedule

Game of the Week

Villanova at Baylor, 3:00 PM, Sunday December 12

I had this as the game of the non-conference schedule. Baylor is the reigning national champion, and Villanova is the best team in the Big East. This could easily be a Final Four preview. Villanova has a great team, but Eric Dixon won’t be enough to handle the athleticism Baylor has in the paint. Give me the Bears in this one.

My prediction: Baylor 87, Villanova 81

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Stat of the Week

The Big East went 18-3 this week, with all three losses coming to power conference opponents. Seton Hall and Creighton had wins over ranked opponents. The conference already has 13 Quad 1 wins. With conference play starting at the end of the week, things are looking good in the Big East.