MILESTONE WINS
Villanova head coach Harry Perretta tallied his 600th career victory with a 76-47 win over Iona in the championship game of the Iona Tipoff Tournament on Nov. 12. Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman recorded his 100th career victory in the team’s 88-45 victory against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 18. He became the fastest coach in SU women’s basketball history to post 100 wins, reaching the milestone in his 165th game. There are several other BIG EAST coaches close to reaching milestone wins as DePaul’s Doug Bruno (491-272) and West Virginia’s Mike Carey (493-220) are both nearing 500. Marquette’s Terri Mitchell is closing in on her 300th win (298-172) and Louisville’s Jeff Walz is only one win away from the century mark (99-47).
EARLY SEASON TOURNAMENTS
Notre Dame placed second in the Preseason WNIT, falling to No. 1/1 Baylor on the road. DePaul hosted and won the Maggie Dixon Classic in Chicago, Ill., and placed second in the Jack-in-the-Box Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Villanova won the Iona Tournament in New Rochelle, N.Y., defeating No. RV/25 Michigan State and Iona for the title.
BIG EAST IN THE POLLS
Notre Dame is ranked second in the Associated Press Top-25 poll, while Connecticut is ranked No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. In the Associated Press poll, Connecticut follows the Irish at No. 4, while Louisville is ranked ninth, Georgetown sits at No. 10, Rutgers is No. 16 and DePaul is No. 19. St. John’s rounds out the BIG EAST schools in the top 25, while Marquette received votes. In the ESPN/USA Today poll, there are six teams in the top 25: No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 12 Louisville, No. 13 Rutgers, No. 20 DePaul and No. 21 Georgetown. Syracuse, St. John’s, Villanova all received votes.
NONCONFERENCE SUCCESS
Entering Tuesday evening, the BIG EAST has a .721 winning percentage in nonconference games, compiling a 44-17 record through the start of the season. There have been two BIG EAST top-25 wins, as Villanova defeated then-No. RV/25 Michigan State 75-64 and then-No. 2/4 Connecticut won 68-58 against visiting then-No. 3/5 Stanford.
IN THE COMMUNITY
Around the league, many have been taking time to honor the memory of Oklahoma State head coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna. In a game televised on ESPNU on Nov. 21, Connecticut observed a moment of silence and the team wore OSU memorial patches on their jerseys, while Stanford players wore orange ribbons and shoe laces.
In the Golden Eagles’ game against Georgia Tech on Nov. 19, both head coaches Terri Mitchell and MaChelle Joseph coached barefoot on the sidelines during Saturday’s game in support of Soles for Jesus, a non-profit corporation that provides new and gently-used shoes to people in impoverished areas of Africa.
