UConn had its back against the wall after barely pulling out a win over DePaul last Wednesday night. However, the Huskies are back in the mix of top teams in the Big East with a massive road win at No. 9 Marquette on Saturday night.
It is a massive week in the Big East, with the top teams facing each other. Marquette, UConn and St. John’s are in their biggest three-game stretch this season. Like last week, five Big East teams are being considered for the NCAA Tournament according to Bracket Matrix, with Xavier the only non-consensus team.
Even though everything this week will revolve around Super Bowl LIX, do not let the biggest day in sports overshadow an important week in not only the Big East but in college basketball overall.
Best Game: No. 15 St. John’s holds off Providence 68-66
St. John’s led by 19 points with just nine minutes remaining in regulation. However, thanks to a 27-point effort from Providence’s Jabri Abdur-Rahim, the Friars stormed back and tied the game up in the final seconds. However, Kadary Richmond was the hero for the Red Storm, hitting a jumper with three seconds remaining. Richmond had 24 points to lead the Johnnies to an eighth-straight win.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week: Solo Ball, G, UConn (20.5 ppg, 8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 bpg, 57.1 FG%, 64.3 3P%, 100 FT% in two games)
Ball had the best two-game span of his career, carrying the Huskies to wins over DePaul and Marquette. In Milwaukee, Ball had a career night with 25 points, 11 rebounds and shot 7-9 from 3-point range. He averaged 21.4 points per 40 minutes, which ranked in the 95th percentile in the country from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1. His defense has also improved, especially with chase-down blocks in both games last week. He has emerged as Connecticut’s top scorer, tying Alex Karaban in points per game at 15. Ball has the edge in total points with 331 to Karaban’s 300. Ball has lately become a player who can make the All-Big East First Team.
Freshman of the Week: Thomas Sorber, F, Georgetown (13.5 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 apg, 3.5 spg, 47.8 FG%, 62.5 FT% in two games)
Sorber might as well take the Big East Freshman of the Year award home already. He has been one of the reasons Georgetown is far better than they were a year ago. He has been elite in the paint and on the fast break, ranking in the mid-to-high 90s percentile in the country. He scored a game-high 19 points in a close win over Butler. As the league leader in rebounds this season, it is hard not to give Sorber his flowers.
Best games of the week (excluding St. John’s at UConn)
No. 11 Marquette at No. 12 St. John’s (6:30 p.m., FS1)
The two highest-ranked Big East teams go head-to-head in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Two of the best guards in the league, Richmond and Marquette’s Kam Jones, will face off in what is the most anticipated St. John’s home game in years.
Georgetown at Xavier (8:30 p.m., FS1)
Sorber against Xavier’s Zach Freemantle is primed to be a great showdown. Add that along with two teams with strong guard tandems and you have an underrated Big East matchup at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati. Georgetown must prove the analytics wrong as they rank last in conference-only offense, according to KenPom.
No. 11 Marquette at Creighton (Saturday, 2 p.m., FOX)
Marquette and Creighton are two teams in the hunt for first-round byes in the Big East Tournament. It is an important week for the Golden Eagles, who have two incredibly difficult road games after losing at home to UConn. Marquette’s Ben Gold has a tough assignment guarding Creighton star Ryan Kalkbrenner.