2009–10 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2009–10 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 31st in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. Syracuse captured the regular season title, its eighth overall, and second outright.. ESPN.com. Published 03-02-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010. However, West Virginia won the 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament, their first.

Preseason

At Big East media day in October, the conference released their predictions for standings and All-Big East teams."Notre Dame's Harangody Named Preseason Player Of The Year ". Bigeast.org. Published 10-21-2009. Retrieved 01-26-2010.

Predicted Big East results

Big East Coaches Poll"Villanova Edges West Virginia In Preseason Poll" . Bigeast.org. Published 10-21-2009. Retrieved 01-26-2010.Rivals.com 1. Villanova (10*) Villanova 2. West Virginia (5) West Virginia 3. Connecticut (1) Connecticut 4. Louisville Georgetown 5. Georgetown Louisville 6. Syracuse Pittsburgh 7. Cincinnati Syracuse 8. Notre Dame Cincinnati 9. Pittsburgh Notre Dame 10. Seton Hall 11. St. John's Marquette 12. Marquette Providence 13. Providence St. John's 14. South Florida South Florida 15. Rutgers 16. DePaul

Preseason All-Big East teams

First Team Second Team Honorable MentionLuke Harangody, F., Deonta Vaughn, G., Greg Monroe, C., Lazar Hayward, F., Scottie Reynolds, G., Da'Sean Butler, F., Jerome Dyson, G., Kemba Walker, G., Samardo Samuels, F., Jeremy Hazell, G., Dominique Jones, G., Devin Ebanks, F., Stanley Robinson, F., Arinze Onuaku, C.,

Big East Preseason Player of the Year: Luke Harangody, F., Notre Dame Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year: Lance Stephenson, G., Cincinnati

Preseason national polls

AP Coaches Athlon Lindy's Sporting News Fox SportsFinal preseason top 25 for 2009–10 , Fox Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2009. CBS SportsFinal Preseason Top 25 (and one): Distractions don't KO KU from top, CBS Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2009. SI.comKansas, Michigan State are 1–2 in first Power Rankings of 2009–10, SI.com. Retrieved October 22, 2009.Rivals.com Blue Ribbon Yearbook Cincinnati 49 Connecticut 12 14 11 15 12 7 3 12 18 DePaul 155 Georgetown 20 21 21 11 19 24 18 18 24 Louisville 19 23 19 15 22 28 20 Marquette 83 Notre Dame RV RV 22 RV RV 64 Pittsburgh RV RV 31 Providence 89 Rutgers 147 St. John's 124 Seton Hall 80 South Florida 144 Syracuse RV 25 RV RV 42 16 Villanova 5 6 7 4 9 7 6 4 4 4 West Virginia 8 9 10 18 5 6 9 8 9 12

Watchlists

On August 19, the Wooden Award preseason watch list included eleven Big East players. The watchlist was composed of 50 players who were not transfers, freshmen or medical redshirts. On October 29, the Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist of 50 players was announced, which included nine Big East names. WoodenNaismith Da'Sean Butler, Jerome Dyson, Devin Ebanks, Corey Fisher, Luke Harangody, Lazar Hayward, Jeremy Hazell, Greg Monroe, Scottie Reynolds, Samardo Samuels, Deonta Vaughn, Kemba Walker,

Regular season

Season summary & highlights

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim became the eighth Division I coach to win 800 games, when the Orange defeated Albany, 75–43, on November 9.Boeheim becomes 8th Div. I coach with 800 wins as Syracuse rolls, ESPN. Retrieved 2009-11-10. Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody became the first Fighting Irish player to surpass the 2,000-point and 1,000-rebound mark, during an 80–70 victory over Idaho State on December 2., ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24. Syracuse won the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, upsetting #13 California in the semifinals, 95–73, and #6 North Carolina in the finals, 87–71., ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24., ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24. Villanova won the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, defeating Mississippi, 79–67., ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24. West Virginia won the 76 Classic, defeating Portland, 84–66.Butler scores 26 to lead undefeated West Virginia to first title since 2001 (sic), ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24. Connecticut was the runner-up in the NIT Season Tip-Off, losing to #7 Duke, 68–59.Duke stays unbeaten, hands UConn first loss, ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24. Pittsburgh was the runner-up in the CBE Classic, losing to #2 Texas, 78–62.Brown scores 12 in relief of injured Ward; Texas snaps Pitt's November run, ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24. Marquette was the runner-up in the Old Spice Classic, losing to Florida State, 57–56., ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24. On January 11, DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright was fired after a 7–8 start, and a 22-game Big East losing streak, becoming the fourth NCAA Division I coach to leave his position since the season began. Wainwright, who compiled a 59–80 record in five seasons at the school, was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Tracy Webster, who remained until a national search concluded following the end of the season.DePaul fires Wainwright in fifth season, ESPN. Retrieved 2010-01-12. On January 18, Connecticut fell out of the AP Poll for the first time since January 28, 2008, after losing consecutive games, to Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Michigan."2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings (Jan. 28)". ESPN.com. Published 01-28-2008. Retrieved 01-18-2010."2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings (Jan. 18)". ESPN.com. Published 01-18-2010. Retrieved 01-18-2010. On January 20, it was announced that Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun would go on an immediate medical leave of absence, the circumstances of his condition unknown, but unrelated to his previous bouts with cancer and heart issues."Calhoun taking medical leave". ESPN.com. Published 01-20-2010. Retrieved 01-26-2010. UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway insisted that Calhoun's condition was not career ending, and would not affect the terms of a four-year contract extension, agreed upon in principle in December 2009, but that he did not know when Calhoun would return."Calhoun's return to UConn uncertain". ESPN.com. Published 01-21-2010. Retrieved 01-26-2010. Associate head coach George Blaney took over for Calhoun, and lead the Huskies to wins at home against St. John's, then-No. 1 Texas and DePaul, and four losses at Providence, home vs. Marquette, at Louisville, and at Syracuse."UConn assistant Blaney guides UConn past St. John's". ESPN.com. Published 01-20-2010. Retrieved 01-26-2010."Dyson drops 32 as No. 21 UConn demolishes No. 1 Texas in second half". ESPN.com. Published 01-23-2010. Retrieved 01-26-2010.. ESPN.com. Published 01-27-2010. Retrieved 02-05-2010.. ESPN.com. Published 01-30-2010. Retrieved 02-05-2010."Sosa's 15 points, 8 assists steady Louisville as UConn drops 6th in last 8". ESPN.com. Published 02-01-2010. Retrieved 02-05-2010."Dyson's 20 points help UConn beat DePaul, end three-game slide". ESPN.com. Published 02-06-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010.. ESPN.com. Published 02-10-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010. Calhoun returned on February 13 for a home loss against Cincinnati, and has since kept quiet on the circumstances of his leave.. ESPN.com. Published 02-13-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim extended his NCAA Division-I record for most 20-win seasons to 32, when then-no. 4 Syracuse rallied from a 14–0 starting deficit to defeat then-no. 7 Georgetown, 73–56, on January 25."Boeheim takes over sixth place on career wins list". ESPN.com. Published 01-25-2010. Retrieved 01-25-2010. On February 27, then-no. 4 Syracuse clinched its eighth Big East regular season title and a no. 1 seed in the Big East tournament by beating then-no. 8 Villanova, 95–77.. ESPN.com. Published 02-27-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010. The game also set the NCAA on-campus basketball attendance record, with 34,616 spectators packing the Carrier Dome. Three days later they won the title outright, with a win against St. John's, 85–66. On March 1, Syracuse achieved its first no. 1 ranking in the AP Poll since the 1989–90 season, and its first in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll since winning the national championship in 2003."Syracuse No. 1 for first time in 20 years". Associated Press. Published 03-01-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010."Syracuse rises to No. 1 in coaches' poll". ESPN.com. Published 03-01-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010. On March 6, Louisville upset no. 1 Syracuse 78–68 in the final game at Freedom Hall in front of an arena-record crowd of 20,135.

Midseason watchlists

On January 4, the Wooden Award midseason watchlist was released, and included six Big East players—more than any other conference. The list was composed of 31 players, reduced from the preseason list of 50. Newcomers included junior forward Wesley Johnson of Syracuse. In addition, six Big East players who were on the preseason list did not appear at midseason: Devin Ebanks, Corey Fisher, Jeremy Hazell, Samardo Samuels, Deonta Vaughn, and Kemba Walker. The list was reduced to a final national ballot of about 20 players in March. On February 24, the Naismith Top 30 was announced, and included newcomers Johnson and South Florida guard Dominique Jones.

WoodenNaismith Da’Sean Butler, Jerome Dyson, Luke Harangody, Wesley Johnson, Dominique Jones, Greg Monroe, Scottie Reynolds,

Rankings

+ 2009–10 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV = Received Votes Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18Cincinnati 22 19 25 RV RV RV Connecticut 12 12 13 14 14 14 11 10 13 15 RV 19 DePaul Georgetown 20 19 18 16 15 11 14 13 12 11 12 7 7 7 10 11 19 22 14 Louisville 19 20 16 20 RV RV RV RV Marquette RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV Notre Dame RV RV 23 RV RV RV RV RV RV Pittsburgh RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 16 9 17 22 25 19 12 17 16 18 Providence Rutgers St. John's RV RV RV RV RV Seton Hall RV RV RV South Florida RV Syracuse RV RV 10 8 7 5 5 5 7 5 5 4 3 2 5 4 1 3 4 Villanova 5 5 4 3 3 8 8 8 6 4 4 3 2 4 3 7 9 10 9 West Virginia 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 8 10 11 9 6 5 8 8 10 7 6

Statistical leaders

The regular season team, individual, and attendance figures include all conference and non-conference games played from November 9, 2009 through March 6, 2010."Big East Conference Overall Statistical Leaders" . BigEast.org. Retrieved 03-07-2010.

Team

Scoring OffenseRkTeamGamesPointsPPG1Villanova30248382.82Providence30244881.63Syracuse31252381.44Seton Hall29232980.35Notre Dame31241677.9

Scoring DefenseRkTeamGamesPointsPPG1Pittsburgh31191461.72Marquette30190763.63West Virginia30194564.84Georgetown29189965.55Syracuse31204966.1

Scoring MarginRkTeamOffenseDefenseMargin1Syracuse81.466.1+15.32Marquette73.863.6+10.23Villanova82.872.6+10.14West Virginia74.764.8+9.95Georgetown73.165.5+7.6

Free throw percentageRkTeamFTMFTAPct1Villanova595792.7512Marquette442593.7453Notre Dame507694.7314Georgetown410579.7085Louisville478677.706

Field goal percentageRkTeamFGMFGAPct1Syracuse9301806.5152Georgetown7641535.4983Notre Dame8351761.4744Villanova8291792.4635Marquette7681693.454

3-Pt Field goal percentageRkTeam3FGM3FGAPct1Marquette235589.3992Notre Dame239600.3983Georgetown181466.3884Syracuse204538.3795Villanova230618.372

Rebounding MarginRkTeamAvgOpp AvgMarg1West Virginia38.431.8+6.62Cincinnati38.832.7+6.13Villanova39.434.2+5.24Pittsburgh37.632.7+4.95Notre Dame36.432.4+4.0

Offensive ReboundsRkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G1Providence3051217.12West Virginia3046715.63Louisville3145414.64Seton Hall2941314.25Villanova3040913.6

Defensive ReboundsRkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G1Connecticut3181726.42Syracuse3181326.23Villanova3077225.74Cincinnati3076425.55Pittsburgh3178125.2

BlocksRkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G1Connecticut312427.82Rutgers312207.13Syracuse312066.64Seton Hall291555.35Georgetown291424.9

AssistsRkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G1Syracuse3160119.42Notre Dame3153417.23West Virginia3048216.14Pittsburgh3149716.05Louisville3148115.5

StealsRkTeamGamesNo.Avg/G1Syracuse3131010.02Marquette302438.13Providence302408.04Villanova302377.95Louisville312437.8

Individual

ScoringRkNameGPPtsAvg/G1Luke Harangody, 2660723.32Dominique Jones, 3064021.33Jeremy Hazell, 2961521.24Jamine Peterson, 3057119.05Scottie Reynolds, 3056418.8