If you were watching the No. 4-ranked Syracuse Orange beat the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden Wednesday and missed other Big East Conference basketball action here is a brief recap of what went down:
Behind junior guards Ashton Gibbs' 22 points, the No.5 Pittsburgh Panthers clobbered No. 19 Georgetown Hoyas, 72-57, at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
The Panthers (16-1, 4-0) began the game on a 24-9 run and never looked back.
The Hoyas (12-5, 1-4) are now on a three-game losing streak -- Red Storm (10-5, 3-2), West Virginia Mountaineers (10-4, 2-2) and Pittsburgh -- and, currently, have the third-worst record in the conference.
Corey Stokes Helps 'Nova Down Louisville
On Tuesday, I wrote in my Syracuse-St. John's game preview that Red Storm senior point guard Dwight Hardy is, maybe, the second-best guard in the conference -- Connecticut Huskies Kemba Walker is No. 1.
I was wrong. That honor goes to senior guard Corey Stokes, who netted 23 points and helped the No. 7 Villanova Wildcats beat No. 17 Louisville Cardinals, 88-74, at the Pavilion in Philadelphia, PA.
The Wildcats (15-1, 4-0) extended their winning streak to 10 games.
Preston Knowles scored a game-best 24 points for the Cardinals (13-3, 2-1).
Cincinnati Rebounds Against South Florida
Freshman guard Sean Kilpatrick scored a game-best 18 points to propel the No. 25 Cincinnati Bearcats past the South Florida Bulls, 74-66, at the Fifth Third Arena in Cincy.
The win helped the Bearcats (16-1, 3-1) rebound from their loss to Villanova on Sunday.
Junior forward Ron Anderson netted a team-best 13 points for USF (6-12, 0-5), which dropped to last in the conference standings.
Hazell Returns, Propels Seton Hall To Victory
Returning from a broken wrist and a gunshot wound, senior guard Jeremy Hazell netted a game-best 23 points to lead the Seton Hall Pirates past the DePaul Blue Demons, 78-67, at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL.
Hazell, who suffered a broken wrist in mid Novemeber then was shot below the right arm on Christmas Eve, netted 15 second-half points.
Junior foward Herb Pope had another stellar all-around game (15 points, six rebounds and five assists) for the Pirates (8-9, 2-3).
DePaul (6-10, 0-4) is tied for the second-worst record in the conference.