Not exactly a lot of time to do hard-hitting questions and answers, but since the last Q&A exchange (man, I was really down on J.J. Moore at that point of the season) was followed by a Pitt win why not. I’m stunned by how spooked the Hoya fans are by Pitt because of the recent history. It would be nice if the players were equally spooked.  Casual Hoya wanted to have another go. You can see my responses here.

Seriously. What the hell happened in the last meeting? I still can’t figure it out. [Editor note: Check the box score. It really goes against much of what we have seen most of the season. Pitt dominated so much inside, while getting nothing on the perimeter. Nas and Zanna even hit 7-8 FTs.]

Thank goodness! I thought it was just me! Georgetown was off defensively in that game and I’m not sure why. Henry Sims and Nate Lubick were getting beat to their spots down low and Pitt had a bunch of backdoor layups and alley-oops when the Hoyas were forced to help and double. In fact, Pitt looked very Georgetown-like in that game. Georgetown’s defensive lapses ultimately prevented the Hoyas from clawing all the way back from what was a double-digit deficit, but they did show signs of life in the 2nd half and I have to think (read: hope and pray to the high heavens) that the result won’t be the same again.

Do you want to make Pitt and Cuse stay in the Big East for 2013-14? Pure spite, or trying to hang onto what was for one last year? A basketball conference with 20 teams for the year.

When bank robbers grab bags of money at a bank do they stick around and wait for the cops to come or do they get the hell out as fast as they can before they get shot in the head? In that scenario, you and Cuse are the robbers, the Big East is the bank, and we have big guns. Peace. Out. But please send our regards to Wake Forest.

Do you actively root against other Big East teams in the NCAA Tournament? I’ve struggled with the whole reflected glory of conference success that those in the SEC seem to handle with ease. The idea of feeling some measure of satisfaction at the national success of teams I’ve been actively hating all season makes little sense to me.

I can honestly say that the only Big East team I actively root against in the Dance is Syracuse. Aside from the Orange, I wish everyone else nothing but the best of success. UConn last year was a good example of your theory. A bunch of Big East teams were bounced in the early rounds last year (cough) but since UConn won the whole thing it kind of salvaged the rep of the Conference, which in the end was pretty casual.

Where do you come down on the whole Jae Crowder or Kevin Jones Big East POY debate? Why?

There’s no debate as far as I’m concerned, as Crowder was the clear choice. Jones may wind up being the better player at the next level and certainly deserves his propers for his great season, but Crowder was Mr. Everything on a team that will be at least a 3 seed in the Dance, while Jones was the leading scorer and rebounder on a middling team. I think head to head Crowder crushed Jones’ soul as well, so to me the vote was a no-brainer.

[Editor explanation: During the daytime games of the BET, the announcing crew began talking about the debate of Jae Crowder or Kevin Jones for Big East Player of the Year. I was genuinely split on the two, but probably leaned towards Jones. Doris Burke, though, made the great point about voting — because apparently some coach actually left Jones completely off the ballot — that coaches don’t watch a lot of the games except for scouting. The bigger impact is remembering what that player did against their team. That actually goes a long way towards explaining my lean towards Jones. Against Pitt, Crowder was mediocre. He went for 15 points and 4 boards. Didn’t do a lot to stand out. Jones, however, killed Pitt in two games. Double-doubles in both games. He had 37 points and 26 rebounds in the two games — shooting a hair under 50%].

Do you figure there is no way that Georgetown plays that bad and Pitt plays that well in the rematch? Final predictions?

As far as Georgetown goes I think JT3 has the guys playing defense at a very high level, especially since Otto Porter replaced Markel Starks in the starting lineup. Porter’s length will help disrupt Robinson and Zanna down low, and I suspect Clark and Whittington will do a better job defensively on Ashton Gibbs. I know Pitt travels well and since many Pitt grads are unemployed they’ll show up in droves for an afternoon delight at the Garden, but I’ll roll with the Hoyas in a close one, call it Hoyas 64 – Panthers 59.

Game time around 2:30 on ESPN.