What Did We Learn Last Night?

Last night saw four games involving Big East teams and a fifth that benefited Marquette. Let's take a look at what we can figure out from these games.

1) Cincinnati 70, #13/11 Connecticut 67. Sean Kilpatrick hit a 3 with 2.7 seconds left and the Bearcats leave Storrs with their seventh straight road win in the Big East and a big win that helps firm up Cincy's spot in second place in the BEast standings. The loss is UConn's third in Big East play and second on the season when freshman Ryan Boatright has been sitting out due to investigations into his eligibility by the NCAA.

2) Villanova 84, Seton Hall 76. Villanova defended their home court in the Pavilion and Seton Hall lost their second straight game since winning 4 of their first 5 Big East games. Both of the losses for the Pirates have come on the road. The loss drops Seton Hall down to 7th place, tied with UConn. The win is the 2nd Big East win on the season for Jay Wright's Wildcats, and for now, lifts them out of the bottom 4 spots in the standings.

3) South Florida 64, St. John's 49. The St. Petersburg Times Forum may not truly be the same Thunderdome as the Sun Dome, but it claimed another victim last night nonetheless. Victor Rudd scored all 24 of his points in the second half to keep the game out of reach of the Red Storm. With South Florida coming into the Bradley Center on Tuesday, we'll have to keep an eye on Rudd.

4) West Virginia 78, Marshall 62. The Big East's leading scorer held up his end of the deal as Kevin Jones poured in 25 - 18 in the second half - to lead the Mountaineers past their instate rivals and the top team in Conference USA on a neutral floor. Something to keep an eye on going forward is Deniz Kilicli had to sit this one out with a boot on his right foot after injuring his ankle earlier this week in practice.

5) Ole Miss 75, #18/15 Mississippi State 68. Yeah, that's right. The same Ole Miss that YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles beat by 30 in the Paradise Jam defended their home court and beat their ranked in state rivals for the first time in six tries. Former Marquette commit Nick Williams chalked up 15 to help boost our favorite team's RPI.