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General Notes:
This is the third annual SEC/BIG EAST Invitational. BIG EAST teams are 5-3 in the two years of competition following a 2-2 split last December. Five of the eight teams in this year’s event reached the post-season in 2008, including two NCAA Tournament squads. The SEC/BIG EAST Invitational also boasts three of the top seven all-time winningest programs with Kentucky (first with 1,988 wins), Syracuse (fifth with 1,753 wins) and St. John’s (seventh with 1,686 wins).
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CONNECTICUT
Nickname: Huskies
Conference: BIG EAST
Location: Storrs, Conn.
2008-09 Record: 31-5 | Postseason: NCAA Final Four
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The Huskies are coming off their third Final Four appearance after winning the NCAA West Region as the No. 1 seed last spring. Jim Calhoun is in his 24th season as coach at UConn, and his 38th overall. His 1,147 games coached are the most for any active Division I head coach. The Huskies have won 10 regular season BIG EAST titles and captured the BIG EAST Championship tournament six times. Connecticut is 12-5 against current SEC members, with the most recent game a loss at LSU on Jan. 6, 2007.
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DEPAUL
Nickname: Blue Demons
Conference: BIG EAST
Location: Chicago, Ill.
2008-09 Record: 9-24
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DePaul finished a tough season by beating Cincinnati in the first round before losing to Providence in round two of the BIG EAST Championship at Madison Square Garden. The young Blue Demons’ roster had zero post-season minutes played entering that tournament. The depth chart listed eight freshmen or sophomores among the top 10 players. DePaul begins its fifth season in the BIG EAST after previously playing in Conference USA (1996-2005) and the Great Midwest (1992-95). Coach Jerry Wainwright is in his fifth season with the Blue Demons.
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FLORIDA
Nickname: Gators
Conference: SEC
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
2008-09 Record: 25-11 | Postseason: NIT quarterfinals
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Florida reached 25 wins for the sixth time in school history last season, including its back-to-back national championships in 2005-06 and 2006-07. Billy Donovan enters his 14th season with the Gators, the longest tenure of anyone at his current school among SEC coaches. He has led the squad to 12 consecutive postseason berths and three SEC titles. Florida is 42-30 all-time against current BIG EAST teams, most recently losing to Syracuse last season at the CBE Classic.
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GEORGIA
Nickname: Bulldogs
Conference: SEC
Location: Athens, Ga.
2008-09 Record: 12-20
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Georgia is a year removed from an improbable SEC Tournament championship in which the Bulldogs won three games in 36 hours at two different venues (the Georgia Dome was damaged in a storm). Last season’s club produced wins over postseason teams Virginia Tech, Florida and Kentucky, despite a roster featuring 10 freshmen or sophomores. Mark Fox takes over as coach after winning at least 21 games in each of the last five seasons at Nevada.
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KENTUCKY
Nickname: Wildcats
Conference: SEC
Location: Lexington, Ky.
2008-09 Record: 22-14 | Postseason: NIT quarterfinals
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The NCAA’s all-time wins leader with 1,988 begins a new era under John Calipari. The 2009 Sports Illustrated national coach of the year led Memphis to a 33-4 record and a NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, after advancing to the NCAA Championship game the previous year. His 147 wins over the last four years is the most for any coach in NCAA history in a four-year span. Kentucky is 163-70 against the current BIG EAST members, most recently a season-ending loss to Notre Dame in the NIT quarterfinals.
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MISSISSIPPI STATE
Nickname: Bulldogs
Conference: SEC
Location: Starkville, Miss.
2008-09 Record: 23-13 | Postseason: NCAA 1st round
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Mississippi State reached the post-season for the ninth time in Rick Stansbury’s 11-year tenure with the program, falling to Washington in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. That was preceded by a six-game winning streak, capped by a victory over Tennessee in the SEC Tournament championship game. The Bulldogs are the first team to make multiple appearances in the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational after losing at Cincinnati last December.
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ST. JOHN’S
Nickname: Red Storm
Conference: BIG EAST
Location: Queens, N.Y.
2008-09 Record: 16-18 | Postseason: College Basketball Invitational
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The Red Storm is coming off its first postseason appearance since the 2003 NIT, falling to Richmond in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational. St. John’s posted wins over eventual postseason squads Cornell, Notre Dame and Georgetown (twice). Last season’s roster included eight freshmen under coach Norm Roberts, now in his fifth season. The storied program owns 26 NCAA Tournament berths and eight BIG EAST championships. The Red Storm first played at Madison Square Garden in 1931, and has a 383-253 all-time record at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
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SYRACUSE
Nickname: Orange
Conference: BIG EAST
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
2008-09 Record: 28-10 | Postseason: (NCAA Sweet 16)
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The Orange finished last season winning nine of its last 11 games, finally falling to Oklahoma in the NCAA Sweet 16. Syracuse reached the title game of the BIG EAST Championship after winning a six-overtime game against Connecticut followed by a single-overtime game against West Virginia the following night at Madison Square Garden. Last season was the school’s 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance, including winning the national championship in 2002-03. Jim Boeheim finished the year with 799 career wins, and his 31 seasons of 20 or more wins set an all-time record, one more than Dean Smith (30).
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Photos Courtesy AP
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