Pittsburgh Following their upset victory over Georgetown on Jan. 14, the No. 21 Panthers have dropped three of their last five games, certainly feeling the effects of playing without star guards Levance Fields and Mike Cook. The Panthers recovered from a shocking home loss to Big East laughing stock Rutgers to defeat the struggling Villanova Wildcats 72-63 on Jan. 30 at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh. Pitt opened up a six-point halftime lead behind 15 points and eight rebounds from leading scorer Sam Young and 10 points and 14 boards from DeJuan Blair, Junior forward Tyrell Biggs came off the bench to contribute 14 points (8-of-12 from the free-throw line). The key to the victory was Pitt’s ability to hold the young Wildcats to less than 38 percent shooting from the field. Pitt then hit the road to take on the streaking Connecticut Huskies, only to fall 60-53. The teams headed to the locker room tied at 22, but UConn outscored the Panthers by seven to secure their fifth consecutive win. Young poured in 18 points and Blair once again cleaned the glass with 13 rebounds in the loss. Next up for the Panthers is a Feb. 7 home meeting with West Virginia. Against Georgetown: Won 69-60, Jan. 14 St. John’s The Red Storm ended a brutal six-game losing streak, including a 32-point drubbing at the hands of the Hoyas, on Jan. 30 with a 72-58 victory on the road Saturday over South Florida. In the blowout home loss to Georgetown, the Johnnies managed only 14 points in the first half and at one point trailed 31-5. The high man for St. John’s was leading scorer Anthony Mason Jr. with only nine points. Showing resiliency on the road after trailing for most of the first half, the Red Storm used an impressive second half surge to overcome the Bulls of South Florida in a battle for the basement in the Big East. Freshman forward Justin Burrell played the entire 40 minutes, scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Larry Wright came off the bench to provide 17 points on a near perfect 7-of-8 from the field. The Red Storm returns to the floor on Feb. 6 in New Jersey against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Against Georgetown: Lost 74-42, Jan. 30 Cincinnati The Bearcats have lost three of their last four games and have fallen to 5-5 in the Big East. Following three straight losses, Cincinnati faced a daunting task on Jan. 30, playing West Virginia on the road, but the game wasn’t even close. The Bearcats crushed the Mountaineers 62-39 behind sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn’s 18 points, sending a clear message to West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins, former head man at UC. Cincy played suffocating defense all night, limiting West Virginia to a staggering 10-of-50 from the floor. After that impressive road win, the Bearcats returned home on Saturday to face No. 16 Marquette only to fall 75-60 in a disappointing shooting night (32 percent from the field). Vaughn again had a big game in the loss, dropping 23 points, but he received little help from the rest of his teammates. The Bearcats’ record fell to 7-5 at home and their overall record currently stands at a disappointing 10-12. Next stop for Cincinnati is Piscataway, N.J., as they gear up for a Feb. 9 meeting with Rutgers. Against Georgetown: Feb. 23, noon, at Verizon Center West Virginia After a nail-biting 66-64 victory over Marshall on Jan. 23 in the 2008 Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic in Charleston, W. Va., the Mountaineers were riding high. WVU had won four straight games, three in the Big East, when they welcomed Georgetown to town for a highly anticipated Saturday night affair in Morgantown. But a three-pointer from Jessie Sapp and a block from Patrick Ewing Jr. as time expired, propelled the Hoyas to a 58-57 victory. Senior guard Darris Nichols led WVU with 16 points, and the loss was the only the fourth in the last 43 games for the Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. A few days later, WVU played host to the Cincinnati Bearcats. In a horrendous exhibition of shooting, the Mountaineers made just 10-of-50 field goal attempts (20 percent) and connected only once in 22 tries from three point range in an ugly 62-39 loss. Sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn scored 18 points to pace the Bearcats. But, on Groundhog Day the Mountaineers didn’t see their own shadows and got back on track with a 77-65 triumph over the Providence Friars at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Rhode Island. Nichols connected on 7-of-10 from floor and tallied a career high with 23 points. WVU faces a stiff test this Thursday when they visit the Petersen Events Center for a clash with powerful freshman DeJuan Blair and the Pittsburgh Panthers. Against Georgetown: Lost 58-57, Jan. 26 Syracuse Since a three-pointer from freshman Johnny Flynn rimmed out at the end of overtime period against Georgetown on Jan. 21, the Orange have heated up by capturing their last three games in conference. Syracuse began its winning streak with in a 71-64 dismantling of Providence at the Carrier Dome on Jan. 27. Freshman forward Donte Greene broke the game open when he nailed a 24-foot three-pointer with the score tied at 56 and 2:26 remaining in the game. The trifecta was one of five for Greene on the day, and he led the Orange with 24 points. Three days later in a crucial road battle with DePaul, ‘Cuse looked to junior Arinze Onuaku in a 60-55 victory in Chicago. The burly junior, who shattered the backboard at Syracuse’s Midnight Madness, muscled his way to a game high 22 points and nine rebounds. This past Saturday the Orange avenged an earlier setback to Villanova with an 87-73 win at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Sophomore forward Paul Harris fired an efficient 9-of-12 from the field and 12-of-16 from the free-throw line to tally a career high 28 points. The Orange looks forward to an important matchup tomorrow with Connecticut at the Carrier Dome. Against Georgetown: Lost 64-62 (OT), Jan. 21; Feb. 16, at Carrier Dome DePaul Since a torrid 3-1 start to Big East play, the Blue Demons have cooled as of late, dropping four out of their last five games in the conference. DePaul last captured a victory on Jan. 21 in an out-of-conference contest with Florida Gulf Coast University. The Blue Demons sprinted to a 92-60 victory with sophomore guard Will Walker leading the way with 19 points. On Jan. 26 DePaul resumed league play at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee against Marquette. Senior guard Dominic James helped MU improve to 11-0 at home with 19 points. Last Saturday DePaul looked to snap its three game losing streak, but 29 points and 14 rebounds from sophomore forward Luke Harangody was too much for the Blue Demons. The Fighting Irish got the job done at home, winning 89-80 at the Joyce Center. DePaul looks to right a sinking ship when it travels to Providence tomorrow for a contest with the Friars. Saturday, the Blue Demons return home for a date with University South Florida. Against Georgetown: Lost 76-60, Jan. 8 – Compiled by Dave Finn and Brett Depenbrock