Big East Bloggers Poll

I don't look like as big a fool as I figured I would this week, as most of my fellow bloggers agreed with the rankings and the two awards. And who voted for West Virginia #1?! Does anyone remember who the Mountaineers lost to last week?

This Week's Power Poll Results for 1/1/2008 (1st Place votes in parenthesis):

1) Georgetown (17): 301 points.
2) Marquette (1): 267 points.
3) Notre Dame: 250 points.
4) Villanova: 221 points.
5) Syracuse: 218 points.
6) West Virginia (1): 214 points.
7) Pittsburgh: 208 points.
8) Connecticut: 177 points.
9) Louisville: 168 points.
10) DePaul: 113 points.
11) Providence: 111 points.
12) Seton Hall: 97 points.
13) South Florida: 91 points.
14) St. John's: 61 points.
15) Cincinnati: 51 points.
16) Rutgers: 21 points.

Player of the Week: Luke Harangody. The 6'8, 250 lb sophomore bulled his way through West Virginia for 29 pts and 16 rebounds in the Irish's conference opening 69-56 win. He also added a double-double in the win over Connecticut, registering 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman of the Week: Donte Greene. Syracuse's 6'9 freshman sensation continues to roll as conference play begins. In a 76-70 win over St. John's, Greene collected 22 points despite being limited with foul trouble. He capped off the week with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks against South Florida.

Additional Notes:

Big East Notes:

* Home teams went 11-3 in the opening week of play.
* Only one week down and already 12 Big East teams have at least one loss in conference play.
* The Big East is currently ranked #2 in conference RPI, behind only the ACC. The Pac 10 is not far behind the Big East in 3rd. Of the six 'Power Conferences', the Big East had the strongest out of conference schedule rating.

Season on the Line? Not the start Providence College was looking for, going 0-2 in the first week. Now they return home with a chance to wipe the slate clean as Rutgers and South Florida come to the Dunkin Donuts Center. The Friars must win both these games if they hope to be in contention in the league this year. Their task is tougher with injuries to Sharaud Curry and Dwain Williams.

Team With Most to Gain? Syracuse. The Orange took care of business opening conference play with wins over St. John's and South Florida. They get their young feet wet on the road with a trip to Cincinnati. If they can avoid a pitfall, they will go to West Virginia Sunday with a chance to make a statement to the rest of the league.

Player in the Spotlight? Ronald Ramon, Pittsburgh. Playing with a pair of injured shoulders, Ramon is being asked to be the Panthers' primary ballhandler. A tough task for even a healthy Ramon and Villanova extended pressure from start-to-finish on Sunday and forced 22 Panther turnovers, five by Ramon. Pittsburgh still has a formidable front line and Ramon will be facing pressure each and every night to deliver them the ball and also continue to be one of th eleague's most accurate 3-pt shooters in the absense of Levance Fields.

Offensively Challenged? Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights failed to do something in either conference contest last week that their football team did in their bowl game; score 50 points in a game. The Scarlet Knights managed just 45 in a road loss to South Florida and only could score 46 in the RAC against Georgetown. The Scarlet Knights will have to dig deep to find points, I am not sure the answers will be easy for Fred Hill to find this year.