#TWITBE Ep. 9.5 - Guests Jordan Hawkins, Thad Matta and Jon Rothstein

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood
One, continues its ninth season with guests Connecticut sophomore
guard Jordan Hawkins, Butler head coach Thad Matta and CBS Sports
Network analyst Jon Rothstein.


The fifth episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST
basketball, taking a deep dive into the league past the halfway
point. As the home teams continue to dominate, the top four teams
in the standings–Marquette, Xavier, Providence and Creighton–are
currently 8-0 against each other on their home floors. On
Wednesday, the 16th-ranked Musketeers protected their home court
in overtime against No. 17 Providence, despite losing Zach
Freemantle to an injury. On the same night, No. 14 Marquette came
back to secure a home win over Villanova.


The BIG EAST Spotlight is on UConn guard Jordan Hawkins, who
discusses the growth in his game in his sophomore season with the
Huskies. Ranking second on the squad with 16.6 points per game,
in addition to knocking down a team high 61 shots from deep on a
.399 clip, Hawkins explains how his confidence is through the
roof compared to his freshman year. He also mentions how the game
has slowed down for him and how he is making better decisions on
both ends of the court. 


The BIG EAST Focus shines on Butler head coach Thad Matta, ahead
of the Bulldogs’ showdown with Marquette Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on
FS1. Returning to the Butler sidelines after taking some time
away from coaching, it has been a rollercoaster first season for
Matta and the Bulldogs, but one they look to build upon as the
program looks to regain national prominence.


CBS Sports Network analyst Jon Rothstein gives a view on the
national perspective. Rothstein points out the outstanding
seasons both Providence and Marquette are putting together,
despite low expectations by outsiders prior to the season. With
Providence, Rothstein discusses how the Friars lost all five
starters a season ago, but have replenished the lineup and now
are in position to get back to the NCAA Tournament with a quality
seed. As for Marquette, he explains how this is the best
offensive team Shaka Smart has coached, comparing to his 2012 VCU
team, as well as how Marquette looks the part of a team that can
win multiple games in the tournament.


The episode’s “Who’s Hot” segment features the return of “Blast
from the Past”, rewinding the tape to just a season ago, February
2nd, 2022. Marquette beat Villanova 83-73 at Fiserv Forum.
Coupled with their win over the Wildcats in December, the Golden
Eagles became the first BIG EAST team to take down Villanova four
straight times since the league’s reconfiguration 10 years ago.


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. 


Please subscribe, rate and review to keep #TWITBE top of the
podcast charts.

This will air Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. ET on Sirius 134 XM 201
Online 964 leading into the Georgetown broadcast of UConn @
Georgetown.