In the press conference following his team's 67-65 loss at Marquette on Jan. 20, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey did not express too much disappointment. He said the losses in tight games — the Fighting Irish had earlier lost at Pittsburgh in double-overtime — would even out by the end of the season.

Then came another double-overtime home loss to Georgetown, which had just beaten then-No. 1 Duke. Most disheartening of all, Notre Dame lost 72-70 at home to Villanova on Saturday.

This time the Fighting Irish, now 1-6 in the Big East, rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit and took a late 68-65 lead, before losing on a tip-in with 1.7 seconds left.

The hero for Villanova was none other than 6-foot-1 Kyle Lowry, the shortest of the team's four starting guards, who out-leaped the nearby (and taller) Notre Dame players.

Brey could use all breaks he can get Wednesday when the Fighting Irish play at Big East leader West Virginia on Wednesday.

And they're free… free fallin'

Four of the five Big East newcomers have endured horrible starts to conference play. Injuries have contributed to the disappointment of Cincinnati (Armein Kirkland is done for the year) and Louisville (Taquan Dean missed losses to St. John's and Connecticut). The 2-5 Cardinals would be fortunate just to finish .500 in the Big East. The Bearcats have lost five of their last six, including recent blowout defeats at Louisville and Georgetown.

Suspensions have taken DePaul out of rhythm. South Florida is South Florida.

Marquette, picked to finish 12th in the preseason Big East coaches' poll, is doing just fine. For now.

We're in the Big East, too

St. John's, Rutgers and Seton Hall have as many conference wins (three) as Syracuse and more than Louisville, through last weekend's games. The three programs, who were all but ignored in preseason conference predictions, have given the deep league quite a backbone. Just ask the Orange, who lost 68-61 to Seton Hall at the Carrier Dome on Sunday. Or the Cardinals, who lost 65-56 at Rutgers on Saturday.

Non-conference letdown game

West Virginia's loss to Marshall last week left most college hoops fans wondering why in the world those teams were playing each other in late January.

The result itself, while being a genuine upset, should not surprise any student who has ever flunked a routine Communication quiz the day after turning in two huge papers for other classes.

Is that all you got?

Preseason Big East players-of-the-year Rudy Gay and Gerry McNamara are playing below expectations. Gay has scored more than 15 points just once in eight conference games. McNamara, during Syracuse's current four-game losing streak, has shot a combined 19-of-65 from the field (7-of-33 three-pointers).