#TWITBE Ep. 9.4 - Guests Tyrese Samuel, Shaka Smart and Dana O’Neil

This Week in the BIG EAST - Weekly Overview of NCAA College Basketball's Top Conference

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continues its ninth season with guests Seton Hall senior forward Tyrese Samuel, Marquette head coach Shaka Smart and The Athletic senior writer and author Dana O’Neil.

The fourth episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST basketball, taking a deep dive into the league at the halfway point. As the league begins to stabilize, four teams have emerged as title contenders with Xavier, Marquette, Providence and Creighton all jockeying for the top position. The middle portion of the league also has eyes on post-season play as NCAA Tournament resumes begin to solidify themselves heading into February.

The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Seton Hall forward Tyrese Samuel, who reflects on his four-year career at Seton Hall. Despite the rise of the transfer portal in college basketball and a new coach at the helm for the Pirates, Samuel was excited to get to work with head coach Shaheen Holloway. He also talks about the rugged BIG EAST, in addition to Seton Hall’s recent good play and how the team is starting to gel.

The BIG EAST Focus shines on Marquette head coach Shaka Smart, ahead of the Golden Eagles’ showdown with DePaul at Wintrust Arena Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. Despite being picked ninth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Golden Eagles enter the midway point of league play tied for second with a 16-5 overall and 8-2 conference record. Winning seven of its last eight games, Marquette ranks 16th in the nation, while boasting the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, Kam Jones.

The Athletic senior writer and BIG EAST author Dana O’Neil gives a view on the national perspective. Discussing the challenges Villanova has faced at the midway point, O’Neil also touches on Xavier and Marquette and how they continue to impress. She also breaks down how the BIG EAST stacks up nationally, including how the top half of the league has the ability to make a push into the top echelon of the NCAA come March.

The episode’s “Who’s Hot” segment features the return of “Blast from the Past”, rewinding the tape to 1989. On Jan. 28, Sherman Douglas dazzled at point guard for Syracuse. “The General” set the BIG EAST single-game record dishing out 22 assists in a 100-96 win over Providence.

The returning hosts for This Week In The BIG EAST (#TWITBE) are John Rooke, a longtime BIG EAST play-by-play voice, and Kevin McNamara, BIG EAST radio host, columnist and author. Rooke and McNamara give a comprehensive look at the teams, coaches, players and storied tradition of the top basketball conference in America in each episode.

To join the conversation and send questions to Rooke (@JRbroadcaster) and McNamara (@KevinMcNamara33), use #TWITBE on Twitter. Fans may submit questions to be featured on the show.

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This will air Saturday, Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. ET on Sirius 134 XM 201 Online 964 leading into the Creighton broadcast of Xavier @ Creighton.