‘Nova Back on Top of Power Rankings

The Big East basketball season is just a week old and already several key storylines have already developed.

• Syracuse and West Virginia, undefeated until last week, both suffered their first losses of the season. The Orange fell to Pittsburgh, 82-72, on Saturday in the Carrier Dome, and West Virginia was beaten soundly by Purdue, 77-62, on New Year’s Day.

• The three New York metropolitan-area teams have yet to win a conference game. St. John’s (0-2), Seton Hall (0-2) and Rutgers (0-1) are a combined 0-5.

• Pitt and Cincinnati will hook up Monday night for the first edition of ESPN’s “Big Monday.”

“It’s a big game for us, obviously. Being on ‘Big Monday’ is big for us,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said Saturday after the Bearcats beat Rutgers, 65-58. “I’ve worked hard to rebuild the program. I’ve worked my buddies in the Big East office hard to get on ‘Big Monday.’

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Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.