With five Big East teams in the Top 10 nationally, it looks to be another season dominated by the biggest - and baddest - conference in the college hoops universe.After #6 Pitt dealt 4th-ranked UConn their first loss of the season Monday night, the #5 Syracuse Orangemen found themselves in a position to keep pace with the Panthers when they hosted the Providence Friars at the Carrier Dome. Thanks to an early burst that netted a 10-point lead at the half and a career-high 27 points from junior forward Kris Joseph, the Orange emerged with an 81-74 victory.
Joseph, who spent much of the past two seasons coming off the bench, has been heavily involved in shaping much of SU's 14-0 record to start the campaign. He's scored in double figures in 10 of those contests, scored 25 last week against Drexel and found his range against Providence, hitting 8-of-13 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The 6'7" Montreal native also added five rebounds and four assists in Syracuse's first Big East win.
Following the troika of UConn, Syracuse and Pitt at 4, 5 and 6 in the polls are Villanova and Georgetown, at 8 and 9, respectively. The 11-1 Hoyas open their conference schedule at #15 Notre Dame Wednesday night. The Wildcats play Temple Thursday and begin Big East contests hosting Rutgers on January 2nd. At #22, 11-1 Louisville completes the seven Big East representatives in the AP Top 25. 13-0 Cincinnati did not make the rankings.
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