Chris Mullin outburst evokes memories of the old St. John's vs Georgetown rivalry at Madison Square Garden

It was — almost refreshingly — like the halcyon days of the Big East all over again when St. John's met Georgetown at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night especially when the Redmen's — I mean Red Storm's — head coach Chris Mullin had to be held back from going after the Hoyas bench in the second half of the opening game of this season's Big East Tournament.

Mullin stormed over to confront Georgetown coach John Thompson III after rough play between players under the basket escalated and probably rekindled the rough house style of play he remembers during the classic battles between the two teams back in the 80's.

With 8:35 left, and the eighth-seeded Johnnies holding a 59-55 lead in the hard fought game, a melee nearly broke out. After Amar Alibegovic fouled L.J. Peak hard on a drive, Peak got up, and got in Alibegovic’s face. Bradley Hayes followed by pushing Alibegovic. That was quickly broken up. But moments later, a fired up Mullin exchanged words with Peak then JT3 before being held back by his players. Alibegovic was assessed a flagrant one foul, and Mullin and Georgetown assistant coach Patrick Ewing Jr. were both given technical fouls.

Chris Mullin Making College Basketball Great Again! pic.twitter.com/k9CScjsqy1

— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) March 9, 2017

Mullin's players responded by hanging on, 74-73, to give their second year coach his first postseason victory and the program it’s first Big East Tournament win since 2011. St. John’s will meet No. 1 Villanova in the quarterfinals Thursday at noon.

After the game, the two coaches shook hands like nothing happened but the names — Mullin, Thompson, Ewing — stirred up visions of Big East glory days past and might signal the resurgence of a new St. John's vs Georgetown era.

All we need is a little Carnesecca.

Shamorie Ponds leads St. John’s to 76-73 win over No. 13 Butler in Big East opener

Shamorie Ponds scored 26 points, including four free throws in the final 9.1 seconds, as St. John’s upset No. 13 Butler 76-73 in the Big East opener for both teams at Carnesecca Arena Thursday night.

“I was just confident. I was confident going to the foul line and saying, ‘I’m going to make these two free throws,’” the Brooklyn-bred freshman said after the victory.

The Red Storm (7-7, 1-0), coming off last week’s overpowering 33-point win at Syracuse, came back from a ten point deficit with the Bulldogs (11-2, 0-1) before taking the lead at 72-71 on a free throw by Malik Ellison with 14.1 seconds left.

St. John’s kept the ball on the second miss and Ponds was fouled. He made two free throws before Tyler Lewis of Butler countered with the same at 6.7 seconds left. Ponds added two more with 6.2 seconds to go. Kelan Martin of Butler let a shot go from half-court at the buzzer that hit the rim before giving the young Red Storm team its first Big East victory of the season.

Tie game!!!! Malik Ellison with the steal and score to knot it at 69! pic.twitter.com/DknCw8SWqF

— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) December 30, 2016

“He’s a really phenomenal player, but he also has that (calm and cool) personality,” Johnnies coach Chris Mullin said of Ponds. “That is his demeanor on and off the court.”

Bashir Ahmed added 19 points for the Red Storm.

Tyler Wideman had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Bulldogs, and Martin scored 13.

The win ended Butler’s four-game winning streak over the Red Storm and stopped a streak of losses in St. John’s last four conference openers.

St. John's embarrasses Syracuse with 93-60 rout at the Carrier Dome

St. John's handed Syracuse its worst loss in the 36-year history of the Carrier Dome, after the Red Storm overpowered the Orangemen (excuuuse me, the Orange) 93-60 on the famed court.

Wednesday night's 33-point win marked the second largest victory by St. John's over Syracuse and was the first time that a Jim Boeheim-coached team has lost five non-conference games in the regular season.

Syracuse fans even booed their beloved Orange off the court before it was all over after Boeheim waved the white flag and emptied his bench with almost three minutes to go.

Three St. John’s players scored in double figures, the Red Storm scored 32 points on 19 Syracuse turnovers and outscored the Orange 36-12 from beyond the arc in overwhelming their former Big East rivals. But not before the game turned into lob city for the Storm.

It was lob city in the Carrier Dome tonight! Full highlights on the St. John's Red Storm YouTube page! #SJUBB #WeAreNewYorksTeam pic.twitter.com/R4sOJEFMDi

— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) December 22, 2016

“I didn’t get them ready to do what they needed to do. We just didn’t execute on defense or offense. St. John’s did. That was the game,” Boeheim said. “This is on me, not the players.”

Syracuse’s previous worst loss at the Dome was by 24 points against Seton Hall in 1998.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak and was the third straight for St. John’s (6-7) over Syracuse (7-5) in three years.

St. John’s coach Chris Mullin was at a loss to explain his team’s dominating performance.

“I really can’t explain it, especially with the game we’re coming off (a 92-76 loss against Penn State). We’ve been up and down. The one thing about our team is that we’re young, we’re inexperienced,” said Mullin. “When you get effort and energy and share the ball, and do the right things, at some point things will work.”

The game was tied at 14 with 12:17 to go in the first half. From that point on, the Red Storm outscored Syracuse 79-46 — 54-31 in the second half. Syracuse climbed to within six early in the second half on six straight points from Dajuan Coleman, but St. John’s answered with six and ran away after that.

Shamorie Ponds led St. John’s with 21 points. Bashir Ahmed added 20 points and Malik Ellison 16.

Ellison scored eight straight points on two 3-pointers and put-back to tie the game at 12. The game was tied at 14 when the Red Storm went on a 19-4 run to take a 33-18 lead. The Red Storm hit four consecutive 3-pointers in a span of 1:36 during the run. St. John’s held a 39-29 halftime lead.

St. John's and Seton Hall players scuffle during post-game handshake (VIDEO)

After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half, St. John's made a strong second half comeback before losing 62-61 to their arch rival Seton Hall Pirates at Madison Square Garden Sunday.

The Red Storm struggled down the stretch as the Pirates almost let their NCAA Tournament bubble hopes get popped by the Big East bottom-dwellers.

Even though Seton Hall (19-7, 9-5) avoided what would have been a horrible loss to St. John's (8-20, 1-14), tempers were still heated in the postgame handshake line when a scuffle between the two teams led to several Pirates players pulling teammate Derrick Gordon off the court.

Things got testy after it appears that St. John's' Durand Johnson had a few choice words for Seton Hall star Isaiah Whitehead after the officials had already exited the floor.

Seton Hall and St. John's exchanging words #sjubb #shubb https://t.co/lyUwaRsIBm

— Terrence Payne (@terrence_payne) February 21, 2016

The tense scene carried over from the game after the Red Storm had a one point lead with five seconds left but the officials made a questionable foul call on Ron Mvouika that sent Whitehead to the line. Whitehead nailed both free throws and the Johnnies failed to get a shot off to win it with two seconds remaining.

Then the fight erupted.

Fight broke out on the court after the game. pic.twitter.com/PT99s24GAP

— Emily Van Buskirk (@Emilnem) February 21, 2016

St. John’s snaps 16-game losing streak with 80-65 win over DePaul

It's been 31 years since Chris Mullin participated in Big East victory and finally, now as the St. John's coach, the former Johnnies star is back in the win column.

Mullin won 44 Big East regular-season games as a player at St. John’s, but it took 14 Big East games to get his first conference win as a coach.

The Red Storm snapped a school-record 16-game losing streak (including a 0-13 start in the Big East) with a 80-65 victory over DePaul Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena on Bill Wennington Bobblehead Night — in honor of Mullin’s former teammate on that wondrous 1985 Final Four team.

Federico Mussini scored all 17 of his points in the second half for the Johnnies (8-19, 1-13) in their first victory of 2016 and their first since beating former Big East rival Syracuse, 84-72, at the Garden on Dec. 13.

“It’s somewhat of a relief and somewhat justified,” Mullin said. “They got a win and they had played well enough to win. They just haven’t broken through. You can only do so much. They have to break through themselves.”

The Red Storm were in front by nine at the end of the first half, but didn't seem to know how to handle a lead. They let the Blue Demons (8-17, 2-11) open the second half on an 8-0 run to jump ahead, 32-31.

The Johnnies got the lead right back on a rebound basket by Felix Balamou and they never gave it back. Mussini had half the points in a 14-2 run that gave St. John’s a 54-37 lead with 9:12 to play. The Red Storm stretched it to 20 with six minutes left.

DePaul got as close as 74-65 in the frenetic final few minutes.

“From a basketball point it was brutal,” Mullin said of the streak. “But they can’t take this to the next game. They have to perform. They’ll feel better about themselves but the preparation and approach won’t vary.”

And maybe a Walter Berry Bobblehead Night wouldn't hurt either.

St. John's rallies back from 16 down to beat 'out-hearted' Rutgers

It's totally illogical how St. John's could shoot 32.3 percent from the field and make only 13 of 24 foul shots yet come from 16 points down in the second half to pull out a 61-59 win over Rutgers in front of a roaring crowd of 4,540 Thursday night at Carnesecca Arena.

But frustrated Scarlet Knights coach Eddie Jordan had an answer.

"I told my team they 'out-hearted' us," Jordan said. "I've never used that term in my coaching career, but I'm using it tonight."

And Jordan had good reason to fume. It took a big effort for St. John's (3-0) to overcome a 45-29 lead by Rutgers (2-1). The Red Storm didn't score its first point of the second half until 16:20 remained and didn't make its first field goal of the half until Felix Balamou hit a layup at the 13:53 mark.

That Balamou was playing at all was a plus for the Red Storm after he missed the first two games of the season because of an NCAA eligibility issue. He came off the bench to score eight points, grab 11 rebounds, dish out seven assists and commit only one turnover. Red Storm coach Chris Mullin put the ball in his hands for long stretches in the second half, and it solved the St. John's turnover problem.

"He had seven assists and one turnover, and that's huge at any level," Mullin said. " . . . Thanks to [interim athletic director and general counsel] Joe Oliva, we found out he was eligible at 4:30 this afternoon."

After the Red Storm took a 60-59 lead, Mussini forced a Rutgers turnover that led to Christian Jones' foul shot for a 61-59 lead with 6.5 seconds left. Rutgers' Corey Sanders tried to drive to the basket but was shut off and kicked to Daniels, who hit a three-pointer — but it went through after the buzzer.

"At one point, we couldn't make a shot, but we hung in and stayed positive and gave ourselves a shot," Mullin said. "We were fortunate to win in the end."

That's heart.

Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond to reunite on St. John’s coaching bench

St. John’s will be reuniting two of the three members of the infamous Run TMC trio from the 1990s Warriors teams on its coaching staff and, if Red Storm basketball is only two-thirds as exciting as that legendary group, St. John's fans are in for a treat.

Chris Mullin had already become the Red Storm’s new head coach, returning to his alma mater following time spent in the NBA as a Hall of Fame player and also as a team executive. Now Mullin has hired former Golden State Warriors teammate Mitch Richmond — himself a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame —  to serve the program as a special assistant, the school announced Tuesday afternoon.

All that’s missing from the popular Run TMC Warriors teams of the early 90s now is Tim Hardaway. In 1990-91, Richmond, Mullin and Hardaway averaged a combined 72.5 points, the second-best output by three players on one team in the league’s history.

“I am really excited to begin this new chapter of my basketball career at St. John’s University,” Richmond said in a statement. “Throughout my life, I have had the opportunity to learn from great coaches who were mentors on and off the court. I look forward to passing along this knowledge and putting in the work to help elevate this program. Mully and I were always coaches on the floor, so I am thrilled to join him for this new venture.”

And there won’t be a better shooting coaching staff in the country. Richmond, has spent time as a scout with the Warriors, will be Mullin’s special assistant, a role similar to the one Gene Keady held on former coach Steve Lavin’s staff.

“Mitch is committed to helping us build this program and develop an environment for sustained success at St. John’s,” Mullin said. “He has tremendous basketball insight, a vision for the game and a passion to share his knowledge. Obviously, his experience in different roles throughout his career as a player, scout and mentor will have an impact in many areas.”

St. John’s also is expected to announce the hiring of its third assistant coach, Greg St. Jean — the son of former Warriors coach Garry St. Jean — which would complete a comprehensive staff that already includes experienced assistant coaches and top-notch recruiters Barry “Slice” Rohrssen and Matt Abdelmassih.

Since last spring, St. John’s has almost completely turned over its roster, bringing in nine new players. Now it's coaching staff will have all new faces too.

So charge up that old boom box, dust off those Bell Biv Devoe cassettes and lace up those Adidas, its fast break time in Queens.

Chris Mullin lands top NYC recruit Shamorie Ponds for St. John's: Report

In what can only be called laying a solid cornerstone for the future of St. John’s basketball, Chris Mullin landed one of New York City’s top players Tuesday when Shamorie Ponds, a 6-1 guard from Thomas Jefferson High in Brooklyn, verbally committed to the Red Storm program.

“It felt like a perfect fit,” Ponds said at a press conference. “It is close to home. I’m St. John’s No. 1 recruit for the class of 2016 and they are putting the ball in my hands.”

In landing Ponds, Mullin, the first-year coach, already has done what his predecessor, Steve Lavin, had a hard time doing — keep the city’s top talent in the city.

"It was a long process," Ponds said at Tuesday's presser. "I'm attending the University of St. John's."

And nobody seemed happier than Matt Abdelmassih — the Johnnies new assistant coach and recruiter.

Just jumped up and down as people looked at me weird at my hotel in Prague. Great day for St John's & NYC #sjubb

— Matt Abdelmassih (@mabde33) September 29, 2015

The smooth-shooting Ponds is a four-star recruit and is rated as a top 50 recruit nationally by recruiting services Rivals and Scout. Ponds made an official visit to the school last month.

Ponds picked the Red Storm over Providence and Creighton, and becoming the first top local player to join Mullin’s program.

“I guess I can set an example,” he said. “This is basically a dream come true. I always wanted to stay home, play in front of my family.”

Arizona recently expressed interest and Ponds had offers from the likes of Minnesota, Miami, South Carolina, Seton Hall and Oklahoma as well. But his hometown school won out.

“They love me here,” Ponds said. “There’s no arena like Madison Square Garden. [Mullin] said, ‘If you put on a show there, you can write your own ticket.’”

Ponds, a southpaw with a sweet 3-point stroke, is the highest-rated local player to pick St. John’s since Maurice Harkless committed to play there under former coach Steve Lavin in August 2011. 

Ponds led Jefferson to the city finals two years ago and the semifinals last year, when he averaged 25 points per game, 8.6 rebounds.

Cavaliers draft Sir'Dominic Pointer of St. John's in second round

St. John's versatile forward Sir'Dominic Pointer made it into the second round of the NBA Draft Thursday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him with the 53rd overall pick.

The defensive specialist and fierce competitor was selected with the Cavs' final pick. He's a 6-6 prospect who averaged 13.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.9 steals in 33 games during his senior season. 

The 23-year-old Pointer was the Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and ranks third in the school's history in blocks (172) and fifth in steals (200).

He's still a long shot to make the team.

The athletic Pointer has very little range on his jump shot, so he's counting on his defense to carve out a spot in the league.

Pointer was only the second Big East player taken in the entire draft along with Villanova's Darrun Hilliard, who went No. 38 overall to Detroit.

Former-Hoya Michael Graham wins $1 million in D.C. lottery

Former Georgetown badboy Michael Graham is making news in D.C. once again — and it has nothing to do with the Georgetown-Syracuse basketball rivalry.

The one-time Hoya forward — who helped his team win the 1984 NCAA championship title — just won $1,000,000 playing Powerball with the D.C. Lottery.

Once known as "The Enforcer," Graham was better known for his abrasiveness on the court and less for his stats against opposing teams. The one-time scourge of the Big East Conference might find a lot his former rivals letting bygones be bygones now that he has all that money.

Graham bought the $1 million Powerball ticket at a South Dakota Avenue Shell station.

A friend woke him up Monday night to tell him there was a winner, but Graham didn't think he had won, so he went back to sleep and checked the ticket the next morning.

"I lay across the bed most of the day, you know," he said. "I had to get my thoughts together, how many people I was going to hide from."

I guess Hoya Paranoia still exists.

Graham — who said he's in "retail sales management" — is the lottery's first million-dollar winner of the year. 

He didn't talk about basketball at the lottery press conference but Graham said he plans to use the money to open a business and to fund summer camps for kids.

Fans might get a chance to name the old Big East no-name league

The Big East football league— which will be losing its conference name to the Catholic 7 basketball schools — needs a new name by July 1 and is considering opening up to social media for possible suggestions, according to a league source.

The new league would likely do this via Twitter.

ESPN reported that the name "America 12" was picked for the new football conference after their lawyers bought the domain name of the same, but the report was denied by the league.

“We have not chosen a new conference name at this time and there are no favorites," Big East commissioner Aresco said in a statement released Friday. "We are going through a thoughtful evaluation of potential names for our conference, and will select a name in a timely manner through a comprehensive and deliberate process that involves our presidents and athletic directors as well as constituents from inside and outside the conference. We are excited about the prospect of re-branding and look forward to working with our institutions and our fans as we engage in this process.” 

For the record, the Big East finalized their football/basketball divorce Friday and the Catholic 7 took the Big East name with them.

The new 10-team league will need a name to brand itself and rebuild on but, gauging from fans' response, the bland America 12 moniker was kind of meh and didn't exactly float everyone's boat.

The new league will have only 10 teams the next two seasons and will be stretched from Connecticut to Texas.  Next year's football lineup is Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Central Florida, Memphis, SMU, Houston, Temple, Rutgers and Louisville until Navy and possibly Tulsa join in 2015.

So put on your thinking cap or start a drinking game but find a way to throw a few words like big, little, USA, metro, 10, 12, 14, athletic, great, valley, sun, league, America, trans, non-Catholic and Beef 'O' Brady into a hat and see what you come up with.

Imagine being able to tell your friends you were the genius behind the Great East South-West Interstate Ten Conference.

Departing Big East football teams have reportedly chosen a new red, white & blue conference name

I guess $100 million can buy you a new football league, but it still can't get you a good conference name.

It looks like the football schools that used to be part of the Big East are leaning towards the generic-sounding "America 12 Conference" as their new name, according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

You can't get any more Wonder bread and mayonnaise than that.  It sounds like a real estate company.

Not the official logo

While the "Catholic 7" take their $10 million settlement and the Big East name for its own basketball conference, the remaining football schools could be stuck with that mid-level-sounding name.

The name makes sense because the football schools are spread all over the country, but couldn't a $100 million budget come up with something with a little more marketing zing.

"America 12 Conference" favorite to become new name for Big East, league sources told @espn. Not official; other names being considered
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) March 7, 2013

McMurphy reported that the new conference also registered the domain name AmericaOne.org — so that's a step up.

I kind of like the Catholic 7 Conference name. Maybe that group can sell the Big East name back to the Am-12 and become the Cat-7 for let's say $100 million plus punitive damages.

Source: Big East football schools to keep $100 million in split

After days of talks and negotiations, a person familiar with the discussions says the Big East football schools will get almost all of a $110 million pot in a deal that will allow seven departing basketball schools to keep the name Big East and start playing in their own conference next year.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the separation agreement has not been finalized.  That should happen by the end of the week.

According to the source, the basketball schools (aka The Catholic 7) — DePaul, Seton Hall, St. John's, Providence, Villanova, Marquette and Georgetown —will keep the Big East name and the right to play their conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.  They will likely receive about $10 million to divide amongst themselves.

Meanwhile the football schools, most of which will go to holdover members Connecticut, South Florida and Cincinnati, will get about $100 million in the deal.

The whole deal is rotten from top to bottom — or since football invaded the once-proud league.  The football schools came into the conference on the shoulders of the basketball schools — the sport that built the Big East brand name.

These so-called Big East football schools were mostly middling at best and jumped in and out of the ACC and Big Ten hoops like trained circus dogs who crapped in the middle of the big top which originally took the strays in.

The new Big East is looking to add two or three basketball schools and a TV deal could be announced as early as today with the new Fox Sports 1 cable channel, reports USAToday.

Good riddance to Big Least football.  Long live Big East basketball. It rose up once, it can do it again.

Report: Big East's 'Catholic 7' optimistic about possible TV deal

The seven non-FBS football members of the Big East met informally on Friday to continue discussions on breaking away from the league and forming their own conference. The prospect of leaving the Big East without a big television contract was one of the largest hurdles facing the the seven Catholic schools.

On Saturday night, ESPN's Darren Rovell reported that the "Catholic 7" are anticipating getting at least double the money from what they currently earn in their Big East TV contracts.

The heavenly news must have sounded like Gabriel's Trumpet to the beleaguered presidents of St. John's, Georgetown, Providence, Villanova, DePaul, Marquette and Seton Hall — after weathering the hectic realignment of the conference over the past three years.

Having a TV schedule filled with basketball-only schools in a major market cities sounds idyllic at first but, in relation to the huge money earned from football and basketball leagues, the report of the lucrative deal is optimistic thinking at best.  Rovell wrote:

Sources say that Fox, whose Fox Sports 1 channel is set to launch in August, has an initial high offer on the table of more than $500 million for a 12-year deal. Fox Sports 1 will replace the network's motorsports channel Speed, already in 81 million homes. Sources say officials with Fox are scheduled to meet with those representing the interest of the "Catholic 7" in New York City on Wednesday. A Fox spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. A high-ranking source at NBC Sports Network, which has so far engaged in preliminary discussions with the "Catholic 7," declined comment. ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz also declined comment on the network's interest in the "Catholic 7" games.

Providence Friars get a change of color in Sandy Hook tribute

The tributes to the Newtown shooting victims continue to pour in from various schools and professional sports teams.  Gestures like writing the names of the 26 victims on sports equipment and moments of silence before games have become commonplace since last Friday's tragedy.

The Providence College Friars upped their tribute to another level Tuesday and changed the colors of their uniforms with the words "Sandy Hook" printed on the back of each jersey.

Instead of their normal black and white uniforms, Providence coach Ed Cooley ordered special green and white game uniforms.  Green and white are the colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children and six adults were murdered by a gunman.

Cooley got the idea while watching the news Sunday night and immediately called the school's Nike representative.  He said he wanted to get the uniforms to Providence in time for Tuesday's game against Colgate.

The Big East coach used to coach at Fairfield University, which is in the same county as Newtown, Connecticut.

"I wanted to do something to honor those victims," said Cooley.  "It made me feel really, really special that that was able to happen."

Cooley plans on sending the special jerseys to the families of the victims.

"If we can show the people there that we're thinking of them," he said, "I hope we helped."

Oh yeah, Providence beat visiting Colgate, 79-45.

Big East non-football schools plan to leave conference: source

The seven Catholic, non-football playing members of the Big East have finally said enough is enough.

DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova held a teleconference with Big East commissioner Mike Aresco Thursday and are expected to announce that they are planning to leave or dissolve the conference, according to sources.

CBS.com reported Thursday afternoon that, barring an unexpected change of plans, the split has been approved but the announcement will be made at some point next week.

The presidents of the schools — which constitute a two-thirds majority of the members of the conference as is — had the right to vote to dissolve the league if they chose without the burden of exit fees — as long as they leave as a group.  Legal action by the remaining all-sports teams —Connecticut, Cincinnati, and South Florida — who will be in a sort of conference limbo could pose a problem down the road.

The teleconference took place Thursday morning and Aresco was expected to issue a statement that afternoon saying that the non-FBS programs were leaving.

It "would be an upset if they remained in the league," a source told ESPN on Wednesday.

When the breakup is finalized, the source indicated that the Big East's media rights could take a 20% hit, potentially warding off some of the schools slated to join the conference.

The Big East was originally built around basketball based in large urban markets but, since the inclusion of major FBS programs, the realignment of the conference focused primarily on the football schools reaching all over the country.

Critics have blamed football for forcing the league to bring in schools not located in the East and diluting what was once known as one of the most elite basketball conferences in college basketball.

There is speculation that the remaining seven basketball schools — who will be allowed to retain the Big East name, tournament at Madison Square Garden and automatic NCAA bid — were courting other basketball schools such as Dayton, Xavier, Butler and St. Louis  to form a super basketball conference with 21 teams.

A more realistic plan would be to form a 10 or 12 team league.

What happens to the recently added football-based schools such as Boise State, Central Florida, East Carolina, Houston, San Diego State and SMU if the Big East breaks up?  Those schools will probably return to their respective leagues.

Big East basketball fans deserve better than the joke that the conference has become.

Big East non-football schools discuss forming new league

Looking at unstable future and the possibility of a drastically cut television deal, the seven remaining non-football schools in the Big East met Monday to discuss possibly breaking away from the league and forming their own separate conference.

The development comes less than a week after CBSSports.com reported that the Big East's next TV deal could be worth as little as $60 million annually — quite a drop from the $100 million contract the league was hoping for.

The reality of $40 million decrease could be an impetus for the non-football schools — St. John's, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Marquette, Villanova, DePaul and Providence —to leave the conference that basketball built.

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco reportedly attended the meeting.

The television money would only be a fraction of what was expected before Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Rutgers bolted from the Big East over the past 15 months.

Rutgers sues Big East while on its way out

Outgoing Rutgers is suing the Big East in an attempt to avoid paying a fee for leaving the conference two years before it plans to play in the Big Ten citing breach of contract.

The university filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Middlesex County Courthouse against the Big East in an attempt to avoid paying the $5 million to $10 million exit fee, recover millions it claims the league owes the school in withdrawal fees and financial damages and avoid giving a 27-month notice of withdrawal.

The suit is just a taste of what the ransacked conference is going through.

Rutgers is planning to join the Big Ten at the start of the 2014 football season.  In order for that to happen, the university needs the court to void by July 1, 2013 the contractual bylaw that forces the school to remain in the Big East until early 2015.

Maryland and Rutgers may join Big Ten conference says report

Pick a conference, any conference.  That seems to be the all too common practice in NCAA sports these days and it looks like another shakeup could move two more teams to the Big Ten — Maryland and Rutgers.

According to an ESPN report, Maryland is in "serious negotiations" to join the Big Ten conference.  If it does, then Rutgers would follow suit, says the report.

The announcement could come as soon as Monday.

The only hurdle would be is Maryland's $50 million exit fee from the ACC.  The exit price for Rutgers would be only $10 million to leave the Big East and a 27 month waiting period.  However, that waiting period has been waived for West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Syracuse after they paid higher fees.

The source told ESPN:

The Big Ten has been itchy about further expansion since Notre Dame made its official move to the ACC two months ago in all sports other than football.  The source said the Big Ten can justify Maryland and then possibly Rutgers since they are all contiguous states to the Big Ten footprint.

Rutgers — a charter member of the Big East — would be the sixth school to leave the conference in the past year.

Rutgers will unveil all-black uniforms on Saturday

The Rutgers football program underwent a lot of changes this year starting with new head coach Kyle Flood, renewed confidence and a return to a national ranking.

On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights will debut their new all-black look as part of what the university has designated a "blackout game." Fans are being encouraged to wear all black as well, reports The Star Ledger.

The black pants and jerseys accented with red stripes still have the familiar Rutgers "R" on each of the "scarred" helmets.

Two weeks ago, the No. 22-ranked Rutgers squad (4-0) defeated Arkansas in what many fans are calling the biggest win for Rutgers since the Greg Schiano coached team upset undefeated Louisville in 2006.   Quarterback Gary Nova had the bast game of his college career by throwing for 397 yards and 5 touchdowns against the SEC power.

Flood's team will look more like the Black Knights when Connecticut rolls into High Point Solutions Stadium this Saturday for a Big East showdown.  A big change from Rutgers usual red unis.  It's one of a trio of new uniforms the team unveiled earlier this year.

"I love all three versions of our uniforms," Flood said.  "Most important, I guess to me is the reaction from the recruits and the players.  I think our players like it.  I think they enjoy wearing the black uniforms.  I think that's probably more important than my personal taste."

Nova said the change in appearance "is probably a bigger deal for the fans than the players."

"It's something different," he said.  "It's always fun to do something like this.  So I think everyone is looking forward to it."

Rutgers officials are expecting a near sellout at Rutgers' 52,454-seat stadium.  Students have already claimed a record 11,000-plus tickets.