#TWITBE Ep. 7.7 - Guests: Jay Wright, Julian Champagnie and Steve Lappas

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One in in its seventh year. The seventh episode of the season welcomes Villanova head coach Jay Wright, St. John’s sophomore guard Julian Champagnie and college basketball analyst Steve Lappas.

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The TWITBE BIG EAST Spotlight shines on Champagnie (6:52) this week as the Red Storm sophomore gives insight into St. John’s resurgence and NCAA tournament hopes. Champagnie averages a league-leading 19.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season. The BIG EAST Focus turns to Wright (22:46), who again has his Wildcats at the top of the BIG EAST standings. This week, Villanova is 10th in the AP Poll. Wright discusses the challenges he has faced this season coaching amid the pandemic as well as how he thinks his team can evolve as VU heads toward March Madness. Lappas (32:23) gives the National Perspective from the overhead view of a CBS Sports Network analyst. Lappas, the former Villanova head coach, breaks down the NCAA Tournament contenders within the conference as well as other schools making moves as the calendar turns toward March.

The 2021 season of This Week in the BIG EAST (#TWITBE) is available for download on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Overcast, Castro, Castbox and Podfriend in addition to its Westwood One distribution. The show airs on three Sirius XM stations on Saturdays preceding the first BIG EAST contest of the day. This week, TWITBE will be carried on Sirius 136, XM 201, Online 964 at Noon ET, leading into the Connecticut at Villanova broadcast at 1 p.m.

In the “Blast from the Past” segment, TWITBE takes a dive into the 1995 BIG EAST matchup between Villanova and then-No. 1 UConn. Wildcat Kerry Kittles outbattled Husky Ray Allen to take down top-ranked Huskies. Guest Lappas was head coach of Villanova at the time.

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 reporter, 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.

The episode’s “Who’s Hot” segment features audio clips from some recent big performances around the league and a recap of the league’s weekly honors. “Who’s Got Next?” takes a look at the upcoming schedule, highlighting the big matchups.

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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