Player of the Week
[Player: DJ Carton} (So., Marquette)
The transfer from Ohio State has been playing outstanding in his last two games. He is a great playmaker being able to take the ball to the rim as well as dishing it to his teammates. He finished with season high 20 points against No. 9 Creighton hitting 5 shots from behind the arc. Carton has improved vastly from last season. The only concern is that he still can be careless with the basketball. Great to see the talented sophomore back on track and look for Carton to begin climbing draft boards for this or next year if he keeps up his excellent play.
Who’s Hot:
[Player: Sandro Mamukelashvili} (Sr., Seton Hall)
Mamukelashvili, a senior from Tbilisi, Georgia, has been Seton Hall’s go to guy with the departure of Miles Powell who was their leading scorer last season. Mamukelashvili is leading the pirates in scoring averaging 20.4 points per game so far this season, scoring more than 30 points in two games. His biggest performance was during Seton Hall’s most recent game in their first Big East battle against Saint John’s. Mamukelashvili put up 32 points shooting 67% from the field. Standing at 6’10, he has the skill set of a guard being able to knockdown shots from long range as well as being a great scorer off the dribble. He has been clutch for Seton Hall this season especially in their overtime win against Penn State.
Xavier Musketeers
Starting undefeated with seven straight wins, the Musketeers are off to a hot start. They’ve had some close games against Bradley and Toledo, but have also had some impressive wins, most notably against a solid Cincinnati roster. Their most recent game they dominated the Oklahoma Sooners winning 99-77, with three players scoring more than 20 points. They were able to set the school record for the most three-pointers in one game knocking down 19 threes. The Musketeers are still unranked after their strong start and will look to prove themselves in Big East play.
Seton Hall
The Pirates have struggled all season with slow starts. After winning only one of their first four games, they are now on a three-game win streak. They were able to carry over their energy from the comeback victory against Penn State to their following games beating Wagner and Saint John’s with ease. The Pirates starting roster is tall starting 6’10 Sandro Mamukelashvili and 7’2 [Player: Ike Obiagu}. Two of their starting guards, [Player: Myles Cale} and [Player: Jared Rhoden}, are also big players standing each at 6’6. The Pirates are currently without Harvard Transfer [Player: Bryce Aiken} who suffered an injury at the beginning of the season. Without Aiken the pirates lack in depth and will have to rely on Cale and Rhoden to step it up offensively.
Who’s Not
Saint John’s
After starting 5-1 in non-conference play, the red storm lost two straight to Big East teams. They play at a crazy tempo averaging 82.0 points per game, which is third in the conference. They like to push the pace and cause the opponent to speed up and play fast basketball. Although they are highly powerful offensively, they struggle defensively. [Player: Julian Champagnie} provides the offensive spark for this team averaging 20.8 points per game. Just like last year, the red storm dominated their non-conference play, but played poorly in the Big East winning only 5 games in the conference. The story will likely be the same this year with practically the same roster as last year losing star senior players [Player: Mustapha Heron} and [Player: Nick Rutherford}.
[Player: Jermaine Samuels} (Sr., Villanova)
Samuels has been shooting poorly from the field all season for the Wildcats. In their last game against Georgetown, he went 0-5 from the three. He currently is shooting 37% from the field this season and 14.3% from the three. Samuels is only averaging 6.7 points per game after scoring 10.7 points per game last season. Thankfully for the Wildcats he is able to provide defensively, bringing a lot of energy and hustle. Villanova has a lot of other players who can score the basketball, but if Samuels can improve his offensive efficiency Villanova will be a hard team to beat this season.
Top 5 Big East Freshman
#5 [Player: Dwon Odom} (Xavier)
Odom has been providing valuable minutes for Xavier all season. He’s sixth on the team in scoring but is second in assists averaging 4.6 assists per game. Being a great role-player for Xavier, he will learn to lead this team being surrounded by multiple veteran players.
#4 [Player: Posh Alexander} (Saint John’s)
The 6-foot freshman out of Brooklyn, New York has scored double digits three times for the Red Scare already this season. His biggest performance of the year was against Boston College where he scored 18 points, contributing to the Saint John’s win. He is also leading the team in assists averaging 4.5 assists per game.
#3 [Player: Ryan Kalkbrenner} (Creighton)
With the limited minutes that Kalkbrenner plays, he has managed to average just under 10 points per game for Creighton. The seven-foot freshman from Saint Louis, Missouri has been coming off the bench averaging only 13 minutes per game. Creighton’s starting roster is on the small side with Christian Bishop being the tallest starter standing at 6’7. Expect Kalkbrenner to get big minutes later on this season to match up with bigger opponents.
#2 [Player: Justin Lewis} (Marquette)
Marquette has had a strong start to the season with a big win over No. 9 Creighton and No.4 Wisconsin. In the game against Wisconsin Lewis scored the game winning put-back basket off a missed free throw. He led Marquette in scoring against the Badgers with 18 points off the bench. Lewis is an athletic small-forward who plays with a lot physicality. He’s capable of being a starter at Marquette this season if continues to provide valuable minutes off the bench.
#1 [Player: Dawson Garcia} (Marquette)
Garcia was the highest ranked prospect in the Big East coming into this season. The McDonald’s All-American started the season being Marquette’s second leading scorer, averaging 13 points per game. He struggled in the first half against Creighton scoring only two points, but he was able to come back and finish the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He will continue to improve gaining experience in arguably the most competitive conference in the nation.