COMPLETE GAME NOTES

PROVIDENCE (12-6, 4-2) at
SETON HALL (9-8, 0-5)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Prudential Center - Newark, N.J.
7:00 p.m. ET

SETON HALL STATUS:

Seton Hall has finally ended a five-game stretch to begin the BIG EAST season that featured games against four AP Top-20 teams, three of which were on the road.  Most recently, the Pirates are coming off a 76-61 loss to #4 Connecticut on Sunday in Hartford.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell remains the second-leading scorer in the conference.

 

PROVIDENCE STATUS:

The Friars have gotten off to a strong start at the beginning of the BIG EAST schedule with four wins in six games.  After losing two straight, Providence got back in the win column with a 72-63 victory over Cincinnati on Monday.

 

THE MATCHUP:

Seton Hall and Providence will meet for the 85th time with the Friars holding a slim 44-40 all-time series lead.  The Pirates have won four of their last six games with Providence including an 88-75 victory at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center last season.  Providence last won at Seton Hall on Feb. 23, 2005.

 

TV:

ESPNU

Quint Kessenich & Jay Williams

 

RADIO:

WABC 770 AM

Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin

 

WSOU 89.5 FM

Steve Faulks & Brian Wisowaty

 

WEB:

www.shupirates.com

Live Audio Stream

 

THIS WEEK IN THE FINAL FOUR SEASON OF 1988-89

(January 20, 1989 - January 26, 1989)

 

On Jan. 22, Seton Hall teed off on Division II New Hampshire, defeating them 108-67 at Walsh Gym.  The  Pirates received 20 points from Andrew Gaze and John Morton.  Gaze hit his first five three-point shots.  On Jan. 25, the #9-ranked Pirates suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of Pittsburgh.  Seton Hall led by seven with 7:34 to go, but could manage one field goal the rest of the way and lost, 82-79.  Morton had 23 points to lead the Pirates who fell to 17-2 overall and 4-2 in the BIG EAST.

 

This season Seton Hall is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of the 1988-89 team’s magical run to the Final Four. 

 

SCOUTING PROVIDENCE

Providence returns all five starters from a team that went 15-16 last season.  They’ve faired very well early on in the BIG EAST schedule this season with wins in four of their first six games under new head coach Keno Davis.  Most recently, the Friars are coming off a 72-63 victory over Cincinnati on Monday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.  Only two players are currently averaging in double-figures in scoring, but seven players are averaging at least 8.8 points per game.  Providence is 1-1 on the road in BIG EAST games this season.

 

SETON HALL - PROVIDENCE SERIES

Seton Hall and Providence will meet for the 85th time with the Friars holding a slim 44-40 all-time series lead.  Seton Hall has faired well in the series as of late.  The Pirates have won the last two, four of their last six and 11-of-17.  Last season, Seton Hall registered the first BIG EAST road victory of the Bobby Gonzalez era with an 88-75 victory at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.  This is Providence’s first trip to the Prudential Center.

 

#4 CONNECTICUT DEFEATS HALL, 76-61

UConn’s A.J. Price scored a game-high 23 points including three back-breaking three-pointers and Seton Hall couldn’t overcome a poor shooting first half as the Huskies won, 76-61, in Hartford.  The game ends a tough first five games of the BIG EAST schedule for Seton Hall who had three road games and four ranked opponents.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell led the Pirates with 20 points.

 

TALE OF TWO HALVES

A great second half couldn’t overcome a poor first half as Seton Hall fell to UConn, 76-61, on Sunday.  The Pirates found themselves down, 42-26, at halftime after shooting only 11-for-35 (31.4%) in the first half.  Seton Hall came back with a strong second half, shooting 14-for-27 (51.9%) and even outscored the nation’s fourth-ranked team in the second half, 35-to-34, but alas could not overcome the first half deficit. 

 

JUST SHY

Junior transfer Robert Mitchell missed a double-double by one rebound for the third time this year.  He had 19 points and nine rebounds at UConn.  Mitchell has three double-doubles this season.

 

HOME SWEET HOME

Seton Hall will return home on Thursday, Jan. 22 for the first of four consecutive home games.  The Pirates will host Providence (1/22), Georgetown (1/25), Rutgers (1/29) and St. John’s (2/5) before heading back on the road.  The Pirates are 6-3 at Prudential Center this season and are 17-9 all-time in the building.  Furthermore, Seton Hall is 4-7 all-time at Prudential Center against BIG EAST opponents.

 

PROTECTING THE BALL

Seton Hall has done an excellent job of protecting the ball this season.  To date, the Pirates rank fourth in the BIG EAST in turnover margin.  They’ve allowed a season-low nine turnovers in two of their last three games and are averaging only 12.8 per game while forcing 15.4 turnovers per game.

 

TOUGH STRETCH

Seton Hall has finally ended a very difficult stretch at the beginning of their BIG EAST schedule.  Three of their first five games were on the road and all five are currently ranked or receiving votes in the Associated Press Top-25.  The Pirates faced #8 Syracuse in the Dome, West Virginia (RV), #23 Villanova, #12 Notre Dame at the Joyce Center and #4 Connecticut at the XL Center in Hartford.

 

HAZELL APPROACHING RARITY

Sophomore Jeremy Hazell needs to average only 15.1 points per game through the remaining 14 games of the year to eclipse the 1,000-point mark.  Should he do so, he’ll be only the fifth player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points in only two seasons.  Terry Dehere, Nick Werkman, Ken House and Darius Lane are the other four.  So far this season, Hazell is averaging a BIG EAST second-best 22.3 points per game.

 

HARVEY JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB

With his first basket of the second half against Cal-Baptist, junior Eugene Harvey became the 36th player in Seton Hall men’s basketball history to record 1,000 career points.  The 6-foot guard finished the game with 25 points.  Last season, Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter both eclipsed the milestone.  Most impressively, Harvey is only the 20th player to accomplish the feat in less than three seasons.

 

HAZELL DAZZLES

In Seton Hall’s comfortable victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, sophomore Jeremy Hazell scored a career-high 35 points on 15-for-26 shooting from the floor.  Hazell was 5-for-11 from three-point range and also grabbed six rebounds.  It is the third time this season he has topped the 30-point mark.  Hazell’s 35 points are the most scored by a Pirates since Terry Dehere scored 41 vs. St. John’s on Feb. 17, 1993.

 

REBOUNDING MACHINE

Junior transfer Robert Mitchell had 15 points and nine rebounds at Connecticut.  It was the eighth time in nine games that he has grabbed at least nine rebounds.  Currently, he leads the Pirates and ranks 10th in the BIG EAST with 8.5 rebounds per game.

 

INSIDE THE STATS

Sophomore Jeremy Hazell scored a team-high 20 points at Connecticut to keep his average high, 22.3 points per game.  Robert Mitchell grabbed nine more rebounds to up his average to 8.5 per game.  Mitchell also scored 19 points.  Junior Eugene Harvey dished out four assists at Connecticut to keep from hurting his assist average.  Although Paul Gause recorded only one steal, his average is still a BIG EAST-best 2.8 steals per game.  John Garcia also had a nice stat day with six points and nine rebounds.

 

GAUSE CLIMBING THEFT CHART

Senior Paul Gause is currently in third place all-time on the career steals list with 218.  He trails the leader, Dan Callandrillo, by 42.  Due to two injuries that caused him to miss 16 games last season, Gause was only able to collect 45 steals in 2007-08.  But the prior year, 2006-07, he recorded a conference-leading 90 thefts which set a single-season record.  If Gause duplicates that effort this year, he’ll set the all-time career record.  Gause is also a member of the 500-Point Club.  He currently has 681 career points which ranks him third on the active list (Harvey 1,131, Hazell 788).

 

NATIONAL ATTENTION

On Nov. 24, Seton Hall earned two points in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll.  The Pirates caught the eyes of national writers with their victory over #19 USC on Nov. 20 and a win over ACC contender Virginia Tech on Nov. 23.  The BIG EAST was well-represented in the poll as the conference occupied #2 (Connecticut), #3 (Louisville), #4 (Pittsburgh), #8 Notre Dame, #15 Marquette, #20 Villanova and #21 Georgetown.  Syracuse and West Virginia joined Seton Hall in receiving votes. 

 

NEWEST MEMBER OF 500-POINT CLUB

Seton Hall’s newest member of the 500-Point Club is sophomore Jeremy Hazell.  The 6-foot-5 guard reached the milestone vs. Memphis on Nov. 21.  Currently, Hazell ranks 60th all-time in scoring with 788 points.

 

SETON HALL PLACES THIRD IN PUERTO RICO

With the Pirates’ victory over Virginia Tech, Seton Hall placed third amongst the eight teams in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off.  Facing steep competition, the Pirates went 2-1 with victories over #19 USC and Virginia Tech.  Their only setback was to #12 Memphis.  Xavier won the tournament, defeating runner-up Memphis in the championship game. 

 

HONORS FOR HAZELL:  BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK/ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Sophomore Jeremy Hazell was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on 11/24, which is the first of the conference awards for the 2008-09 season and takes into consideration all of the teams’ games up to this point.  Hazell was also named to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off All-Tournament Team.  Hazell averaged 23.3 points per game and hit the game-winning three-pointer in Seton Hall’s dramatic victory over #19 USC.  In the Pirates’ only loss, Hazell fired a career-high 32 points.  He completed his stellar tournament by leading Seton Hall with 23 points vs. Virginia Tech. 

 

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Seton Hall was one of eight teams participating in the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 20-23.  The Pirates played three games against some of the best competition in the country.  Other teams included Fairfield, Memphis, Missouri, USC, UT-Chattanooga, Virginia Tech and Xavier.  Seton Hall faced #19 USC, #12 Memphis and Virginia Tech and earned two victories.  All three games were televised nationally on ESPNU.

 

PLAYING IN PUERTO RICO

This is the second time the Seton Hall basketball program has played in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  During the 1984-85 season, the Pirates participated in the Copa Navidad Classic.  In two games, Seton Hall defeated North Carolina A&T, 73-67, and Tennessee State, 97-88.  Seton Hall is now 4-1 all-time in Puerto Rico.

 

PIRATES DROP OVERTIME HEARTBREAKER

Seton Hall rallied late to take the game into overtime, but Villanova pulled away in the extra session to send the Pirates to an 89-85 loss.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell had another strong game with 26 points, but Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds scored a game-high 40 points to help the Wildcats to victory.  The Pirates committed a season-low nine turnovers and were an impressive 13-for-14 from the FT line.

 

HAZELL HONORED AGAIN

For the second time this season, sophomore Jeremy Hazell was honored by the BIG EAST.  The conference named him to their Weekly Honor Roll for his performances last week.  In Seton Hall’s victory over California Baptist, Hazell tied Eugene Harvey with a team-high 25 points.

 

PRIME FROM THE LINE

As they have since the beginning of the Bobby Gonzalez era, the 2008-09 Pirates have shot remarkably well from the free throw line.  Currently, they rank second in the conference with a .743 free throw percentage.  Eugene Harvey and Robert Mitchell both rank within the BIG EAST’s Top-10 in individual free throw percentage.

 

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

At Syracuse, junior Robert Mitchell scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and third of the season.  He is now tied with John Garcia for the season lead.  Garcia leads the team with eight career double-doubles.  Eugene Harvey also has one double-double so far in 2008-09.

 

COMEBACK KIDS

In three of Seton Hall’s nine victories, the Pirates trailed by at least 11 points at some point throughout the match-up.  They also trailed at the half in three victories.  Showing remarkable resilience, Seton Hall trailed #19 USC by 15 at the half, but ended up winning by two.  The Hall trailed Virginia Tech by 14, before eventually beating the Hokies by four.  Most recently, the Pirates trailed Delaware by as many as 11, before rallying and defeating the Fightin’ Blue Hens by five.  In Seton Hall’s loss at James Madison, were down 21 points in the first half before rallying and taking the lead. 

 

OVERTIME

Seton Hall’s victory over in Monmouth last season’s opener marked the first time they opened the season with an overtime game since they defeated Catholic, 69-67, to start the 1963-64 campaign.  The Pirates’ victory over RMU marked the first time in the history of the program that they’ve started the season with two straight overtime games.  In all, Seton Hall set a record with five overtime games last year.  Through 17 games this season, the Pirates have played in only one overtime game.

 

STIX FINALLY GETS HIS CHANCE

After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer regulations, Robert Mitchell has finally suited up for the Pirates.  In Seton Hall’s season-opener, Mitchell scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.  In 2006-07 at Duquesne, Mitchell led the team in scoring with a 16.4 points per game average, which ranked ninth in the nation among Division I freshmen.  He made 18 starts and pulled down 5.4 rebounds per game.  Mitchell was named Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week five times en route to being ultimately named Rookie of the Year by the conference.

 

LAING, NUTTER SIGN OVERSEAS

Former Seton Hall men’s basketball players Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter have signed professional contracts to play basketball in Europe this year.  Laing has signed with STB Le Havre of France, while Nutter signed with Bakken of Denmark.  Saint Thomas Basket Le Havre plays in France’s “A” league, which is considered the top French professional league.  Laing will be reunited with former BIG EAST foe Kentrell Gransberry.  STB Le Havre signed the former USF center earlier this summer.  Meanwhile, Nutter will attempt to lead his Bakken Bears to a third consecutive Danish League championship.

 

KAZIMIR, RHODES JOIN PIRATES’ STAFF

During the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez added two to his staff.  Dennis Kazimir was hired as Director of Basketball Operations, while Rodrick Rhodes was named Administrative Assistant.  A former assistant coach at Tiffin and Wright State, Kazimir replaces Stephen Sauers.  A five-year NBA veteran and UMass administrator, Rhodes replaces Elvis Valcarcel.

 

904 POINTS IN TWO SEASONS

Harvey’s 904 points is the eighth highest total in a players’ first two seasons all-time at Seton Hall.  This season, Harvey became the 36th player overall to record 1,000 career points.

 

GARY & DAVE RETURN

The broadcast team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be back for their sixth season covering Seton Hall on the Pirates’ radio flagship station, 77WABC.  For the second straight year, all Seton Hall broadcasts will be heard on 77WABC.  The 2008-09 season marks the 20th season for radio engineer Mike Infantino.

 

LIVE AUDIO STREAM

Go to www.shupirates.com to listen to all of Seton Hall’s home and away games as a part of the Hall Pass.  Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will bring you all the action.  Get the HALL PASS Today!  

 

TV EXPOSURE

All 18 of the Pirates’ BIG EAST match-ups will be televised either nationally or regionally this season.  Additionally, all three Seton Hall games at the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be televised nationally on ESPNU or ESPN2.  Collectively, the Pirates will get the nation’s attention 10 times with at least three broadcasts on either ESPN or ESPN2 (vs. Rutgers on Jan. 29, vs. St. John’s on Feb. 5 and the BIG EAST Championship), six on ESPNU (three in Puerto Rico, vs. Providence on Jan. 22, at Rutgers on Feb. 8 and at DePaul on Feb. 10) and one on ESPN360 (at Cincinnati on March 7).  The remaining 12 conference games will be BIG EAST Network local telecasts with 11 being broadcasted on SNY and one be shown on MSG.  The Pirates’ game vs. Connecticut on February 14 is the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week.

 

CENTURY MARK

Seton Hall’s 100-76 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson marked the 60th time in school history and the second time this season, the Pirates have scored at least 100 points in a game.  Earlier this year, Seton Hall beat Monmouth, 101-78.  It’s also the fourth time in the Bobby Gonzalez era.  Last season, Seton Hall defeated Robert Morris, 111-107, and James Madison, 112-110.

 

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP EXPANDS TO ALL 16

In 2009, the BIG EAST will invite all 16 teams to its men’s and women’s championship tournaments.  The men’s tournament begins Tuesday, March 10 and continues through the championship game, which will be played Saturday, March 14.  All games will be played at Madison Square Garden.  The top four teams will receive byes in the first two rounds of tournament play, while seeds 5-8 will receive byes in the first round.

 

BIG EAST PREDICTIONS

Seton Hall was predicted to finish 13th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference for the second consecutive season.    Connecticut is the favorite to win the regular-season title in the 2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll.  Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody has been picked to repeat as Player of the Year.  Georgetown’s Greg Monroe and Louisville’s Samardo Samuels were selected BIG EAST Co-Rookies of the Year.  Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

 

MARINATTO TO BE NEXT BIG EAST COMMISH

John Marinatto, who has served as senior associate commissioner of The BIG EAST Conference since 2002, has been named Commissioner of the conference.  The appointment was made by a unanimous vote of the league’s Chancellors and Presidents.  Marinatto will succeed Mike Tranghese, who is stepping down as Commissioner in June 2009. Marinatto will assume Commissioner’s duties on July 1, 2009.

 

BIG EAST GOES 2-2 IN SEC/BIG EAST INVITATIONAL

Cincinnati and No. 9 Louisville claimed a pair of wins to earn a 2-2 split for the BIG EAST in the four-game SEC/BIG EAST Invitational on Thursday in Cincinnati, Ohio. Vanderbilt beat USF and No. 16 Tennessee beat No. 24 Marquette in Nashville, Tenn.

 

SNY - HOME OF THE BIG EAST

SNY, the television home of the New York Mets, Jets and BIG EAST Conference, in conjunction with ESPN Regional Television announced the network’s comprehensive, multi-platform coverage of the 2008-09 BIG EAST basketball season. Featuring more than 500 hours of BIG EAST basketball, SNY’s all-access conference pass will showcase more than 110 BIG EAST basketball games, including the BIG EAST “Game of the Week”. With seven of the BIG EAST schools ranked in the 2008 USA Today/ESPN top 25 preseason coaches’ poll, fans can tune to SNY for exclusive, in-depth game coverage as the network will produce inclusive pre-game, halftime and post-game shows surrounding all intra-conference primetime basketball match-ups. In addition to featuring every basketball team from the BIG EAST Conference, key match-ups that will air on SNY throughout the season include Syracuse vs. Louisville, Georgetown vs. Rutgers, Seton Hall vs. UConn, West Virginia vs. Notre Dame and Pittsburgh vs. St. John’s.

 

BIG EAST WELL-REPRESENTED IN PRESEASON POLL

The preseason excitement that has swirled around The BIG EAST Conference received a stamp of validation when the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 preseason coaches’ poll was released Oct. 30. It shows a record seven BIG EAST teams, including four among the top nine.  Connecticut is No. 2 with Louisville at No. 3. Pittsburgh is sixth and Notre Dame ninth. The BIG EAST has never had four teams in the top 10 in a national preseason poll.  Marquette was tabbed 17th with Georgetown 18th. Villanova placed 25th. Syracuse and West Virginia were among teams also receiving votes.

 

STEALS LEADER

For the third straight year, Seton Hall is towards the top of the BIG EAST Conference in steals per game average.  Through 17 games, the Pirates are averaging 9.1 steals per game which is best in the conference.  Seton Hall finished the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons as the BIG EAST steals leader as well.

 

OFF TO A HOT START

With eight wins in their first nine games, Seton Hall is off to their best start of the Bobby Gonzalez era and best overall start since they were 14-1 to begin the 1992-93 season.  That year, Seton Hall won the BIG EAST Tournament.  This season also marks the third consecutive campaign that Seton Hall has begun the year with six wins in their first seven games.  Under Gonzalez, the Pirates are 14-2 in November. 

 

PIRATES SHOCK #19 USC, 63-61

Seton Hall rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat #19 USC, 63-61, in their quarterfinal game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off.  Seton Hall trailed 43-28 at the half, but outscored the Trojans 35-to-18 in the second frame.  USC shot 62.% from the floor in the first half compared to a paltry 24.1% in the second.  Three Pirates scored in double-figures and were led by Eugene Harvey who scored 18 points to go with five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

 

RIPPING THE RANKED

The Pirates’ victory over #19 USC is Seton Hall’s second victory over a ranked team in the Bobby Gonzalez era.  Last year, the Pirates defeated #23 Virginia to win the Philly Hoop Group Classic.  All-time, the Pirates are 63-198 (.241) against the Associated Press Top-25.  Seton Hall is 5-6 all-time against teams ranked #19.  Seton Hall faced #12 Memphis on Nov. 21 and lost, 84-70.  The Pirates are now only 1-7 all-time against a #12 team.

 

PIRATES SET FOR YEAR TWO IN PRUDENTIAL CENTER

Last season the Pirates opened their new home, Prudential Center, and the state-of-the-art facility drew raves from the scores of Seton Hall fans.  Seton Hall recorded five sellout crowds in the building’s inaugural season.  This year, Seton Hall has 16 home games including marquee match-ups against Georgetown and Pittsburgh as well as local rivals Rutgers, St. John’s and Connecticut. 

 

AIR JORDAN LANDS IN SOUTH ORANGE

Freshman guard Jordan Theodore is a key member of Bobby Gonzalez’s 2008-09 recruiting class.  Theodore averaged 16.9 points, 6.7 assists and 4.6 steals per game as a junior at Paterson Catholic.  He helped lead them to an 18-8 record and scored a career-high 31 points vs. DePaul in the county final.  Additionally, he was the point guard for the #1 rated summer AAU basketball team, the New York Gauchos.  Recently, Theodore was named a Preseason All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention by CollegeHoops.net.

 

LAWRENCE, POPE TRANSFER IN

Over the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez acquired two impact transfers, Keon Lawrence and Herb Pope.  Lawrence played basketball the last two seasons at the University of Missouri.  Last season, he played in all 32 games and averaged a team-high 29.2 minutes per game.  He led the team in field goal attempts and averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while making 20 starts.    Pope played basketball last season at New Mexico State University.  Last season, he appeared in 16 games and made 12 starts.  A native of Aliquippa, Pa., he averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.  Named to the 2008 All-WAC Newcomer Team, Pope’s two best performances came in the WAC Tournament.  As of today, both players will sit out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

 

ALL-TIME 1,000-POINT MILESTONES

With Laing and Nutter reaching the 1,000-point plateau last season, it marked the eighth time that two players reached the milestone in the same season.  Most recently, Donnell Williams and Levell Sanders reached it during the 1997-98 season.  In 1988-89, three players reached the mark, John Morton, Ramon Ramos and Darryl Walker.  This season, junior Eugene Harvey (1,131) and sophomore Jeremy Hazell (788) have a chance at joining this exclusive club. 

 

LOOKING AHEAD

 

GEORGETOWN

Sunday, January 25, 2009

2:00 p.m. ET

Prudential Center

Newark, N.J.

 

TV:  SNY

Live Audio Stream:  www.shupirates.com

Radio:  WABC 770 AM / WSOU 89.5 FM

 

NOTEBOOK:  Seton Hall will remain at home to take on Georgetown on Sunday, January 25.  The game also marks the 20th Anniversary Reunion of the 1989 Final Four men’s basketball team.  The 1989 team will be present and honored at the half.  The Hoyas own a 51-39 all-time series lead and have won the last four games with the Pirates.  Seton Hall’s last win in the series was a 75-48 victory on Feb. 28, 2004.

 

Georgetown will enter the game ranked #12 in the nation.  They return three starters from a team that went 28-6 last season and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  DaJuan Summers returns as their leading scorer.  Greg Monroe is one of the leading BIG EAST rookies.