The BIG EAST Recap: Same Old Rutgers Edition

There was a massive slate for the BIG EAST last night - and the conference SHOULD have gone undefeated (I'm looking at you Rutgers and South Florida!). Most of the heavyweights coasted to double-digit victories, but as you'll see in a minute, even a new coach can't change the culture of a program immediately.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers blew out Oakland 95-71 behind a career-best 16 points and 7 blocked shots from John Flowers.

Prairie View A&M Panthers vs. Marquette Golden Eagles
Jimmy Butler finished with a game-high 18 points as the Golden Eagles blew out Prairie View 97-58. Marquette will take on the Bucknell Bison on Sunday.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Princeton Tigers
Dan Mavraides and his career-high 26 points scalped Rutgers in OT and spoiled the debut of new coach Mike Rice. The Tigers came away with a 78-73 victory.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. South Florida Bulls
The Bulls completely fell apart down the stretch, as Southern Miss ended the game on a 16-1 run, erasing a 52-44 deficit. Despite 10 points and 8 rebounds each from Jarrid Famous and Augustus Gilchrist, South Florida fell 60-53.

Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Ben Hansbrough finished with a game-high 20 points as the Irish scorched Georgia Southern 98-61.

Stony Brook Seawolves vs. Connecticut Huskies
UCONN was led by Kemba Walker (18 points) and Alex Oriakhi (11 points, 18 rebounds) as they cruised to a 79-52 victory over Stony Brook.

Seton Hall Pirates vs. Temple Owls
Despite foul-problems for star Lavoy Allen, Temple was able to hang on vs. Seton Hall to win 62-56. Temple's strong defense offset Allen's problems. Jeremy Hazell led The Hall with 17 points.

Georgetown Hoyas vs. Old Dominion Monarchs
Georgetown struggled badly in their season-opener, but a late-rally secured the win for the Hoyas. Chris Wright scored 19, Jason Clark 18, and Austin Freeman chipped in 17 as the big three carried their team to avoid a massive upset.

Northern Iowa Panthers vs. Syracuse Orange
Jim Boeheim moved to 5th on the all-time wins list as Syracuse took down Northern Iowa 68-46 in the curtain-raiser for both teams. Kris Joseph and Rick Jackson both had 14 points for the Orange.

On Tap Next:

The Pittsburgh Panthers are hosting North Florida today at 4 p.m., while the Providence Friars host the Dartmouth Big Green tonight at 7 p.m.