Whether it’s Big East or Mid-Major….there’s a lot of overachieving and underachieving going in the Garden State right now.

First off, huge win for Seton Hall yesterday against Cincinnati.  If they lost, the Pirates would have been 0-4 in conference play.  I still think that the Pirates will rack up some Big East wins as we move along here.  Keep in mind, their 3 conference losses are UConn, Syracuse and West Virginia.  On the flip side, bad loss for Mick Cronin’s team.  The Bearcats….who started off red hot….are now 2-2 in league play.

Jeremy Hazell….the best player in New Jersey….had 33 points.  Hazell is the 2nd leading scorer in the Big East and as he goes, the Pirates go.  Herb Pope also played well.  He had 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Moving south in Jersey, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights still can’t get anything going.  You know it’s going to be a long year when your team is down big at Providence this season.  Rutgers loss at Providence over the weekend 94-81.  However, there were some bright spots….Dane Miller had 26 points and Jonathan Mitchell scored 18 in the loss.

I’ve been saying since the summer that this kid Miller was going to be an excellent player and it’s playing out that way.  He is a very, very talented wing player.  The one I’m surprised about is Jonathan Mitchell.  I’ve never been a huge fan but he’s shown some things this season to change my mind.

Now the bad news in Rutgers land.  Gregory Echenique is leaving the program.  This is too bad and this a big blow to RU.  Local Mid-Majors should not get excited and think that they have a shot at Gregory transferring to them.  It’s too early to speculate where he ends up but the options are terrific.  I’m hearing from the coaching world that Florida, V-Tech, Georgia Tech and Maryland are interested….to name a few.  Remember this, if Jio Fontan went from Fordham to USC, it’s safe to say Gregory will have a lot of great options.

Going a little bit more south in Jersey.  How about Rider recently?

I remember not too long ago it was November and the Broncs just beat #18 Mississippi State and head coach Tommy Dempsey was pretty confident in his comments.  Almost too confident.  I believe the quote was ” I didn’t see any difference in the talent level” when he was asked for his thoughts after the game.

Since then….

I think that Rider is playing very average basketball right now.  They are 9-8 overall and 2-3 in the league.  And they got torched at home by Iona over the weekend.  The Gaels won by 20 and continue to make the MAAC rethink their preseason predictions.

And I’m glad that the Ryan Thompson buzz has calmed down.  All of the fans that have been saying that Ryan is better than his brother Jason….ex-Rider star and current Sacramento King….has been, and always will be far from the truth.  Ryan is one of the best players in the MAAC.  But the fact that he was not only compared; but deemed better than Jason has never been fair to either Thompson brother.

We’ll check in with New York next time….

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