The Beast of the East is back. After years of taking a back seat to other major conferences like the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10, the Big East has finally returned to prominence.

Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame all rank in the top 10 of both major polls, while Syracuse and Georgetown should make a run at the NCAA Tournament.

The reason for the conference’s resurgence? Look no further than guard play. Freshmen may have taken the country by storm, but veteran guards are dominating the Big East.

Boston College’s Troy Bell, Pitt’s Brandin Knight and Marcus Hatten of St. John’s lead a pack of talented senior guards.

Troy Bell

Last season, Bell earned first-team All-Big East honors while leading the league in scoring with 21.6 points per game. This season, he averages 23.0 points, second in the conference. Bell is also shooting 81.2 percent from the free-throw line.

But Bell’s Eagles have struggled to a 6-6 start, hampered by a season-ending neck injury to standout power forward Uka Agbai. This leaves Bell as Boston College’s only senior starter.

In Saturday’s loss at Syracuse, Bell passed Bill Curley for second place on BC’s all-time points list with 2,127. He now trails only Dana Barros, who tallied 2,342.

Brandin Knight

Knight accomplished a rare feat last season, garnering Big East Most Improved Player and Co-Player of the Year honors. He averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 assists.

Knight has slowed slightly this season, averaging 11.7 points and 6.3 assists. Despite his decreased output, he has led the Panthers to a 12-1 start.

“This team, it’s not just Brandin’s,” Pitt coach Ben Howland said. “We have other seniors like Donatas (Zavackas) and Ontario (Lett). They all know what to expect.”

Marcus Hatten

Last season, Hatten averaged 22.3 points to become the first first-year player to lead the Big East in conference scoring.

Hatten naturally plays shooting guard but was forced to step into the point-guard role last season.

This year, the Red Storm added New Jersey high school player of the year Elijah Ingram at point guard. This has allowed Hatten to move back to shooting guard. So far, Hatten has averaged 22.4 points for 8-4 St. John’s.

Connecticut survives scare

Coming off its first loss of the season, to Oklahoma, perhaps Connecticut underestimated Miami. But the Huskies regrouped just in time to beat the Hurricanes, 83-80, in overtime Saturday.

Sophomore center Emeka Okafor had perhaps his worst game of the season but ended up saving UConn. After spending most of the game on the bench with foul trouble, Okafor scored the game-winning basket in overtime.

“It was an awkward game for me,” Okafor told the Associated Press. “I couldn’t get in any type of rhythm. Once I did, I’d get a foul, and (UConn coaches) would take me out.”

Okafor played just six minutes in the first half and only sparingly in the second. He finished with seven points and four boards.

The Huskies weakened in the paint without Okafor, as Miami big men Darius Rice and James Jones combined for 54 points.

“We really aren’t the same without Emeka,” Huskies coach Jim Calhoun told the AP.

Thomas on point

After shooting 2 for 15 in Notre Dame’s 17-point loss to Pittsburgh on Jan. 6, sophomore point guard Chris Thomas knew he needed to focus more. He refused to talk to the media the week before Saturday’s game against Seton Hall.

His efforts paid off. Thomas shot 7 for 16 and scored 22 points to lead the Irish to a 74-64 win over the Pirates, Notre Dame’s first conference victory.

“I had to get back to my rhythm again,” Thomas told the AP. “I did that this week.”

This and that

Georgetown junior forward Mike Sweetney and Lett, Pittsburgh’s senior center, shared Big East Player of the Week honors. Sweetney scored 35 in an overtime win against West Virginia on Sunday and 23 in a loss to Duke last Wednesday. Lett shot 81.3 percent for the week and had 20 points and eight boards in the win over Notre Dame. … Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony was named Rookie of the Week for the third straight week. Villanova guard Randy Foye shared honors with Anthony. Foye averaged 17.5 points for the week, while Anthony averaged 21 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games. … Two prominent Big East teams have critical non-conference road games Saturday. Notre Dame visits Kentucky, while Connecticut travels to North Carolina.

Published on January 13, 2003 at 12:00 pm