At the midway point of the conference season, there are many developing story lines in the new-and-improved Big East. West Virginia is nine victories from becoming the first Big East team to go through league play without a loss. The only teams to go through the Big East schedule with one loss were Connecticut (17-1) in 1996 and St. John's (15-1) in '85.

Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pitt's Aaron Gray has become a force inside and master of the double-double this season. Click photo for larger image.

And the Mountaineers are not the best team in the conference, at least according to the polls. No. 1 Connecticut (19-1, 7-1) is in second place. It's a good thing Jim Calhoun is having a great season with the Huskies because the other high-profile coaches in the league are suffering through unexpected poor seasons.

Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange lost four conference games in a row for the first time in Big East play. And Louisville's Rick Pitino's young Cardinals are having trouble getting off the ground and might not make it to the Big East tournament. Their shortcomings could end the conference's hopes of placing eight or more teams in the NCAA tournament. If the season ended today, only six would be assured of an NCAA berth. The others are going to have to pick up the pace in the second half to earn a spot.

Only Marquette from among the five new members from Conference USA is not struggling. The second half of the season should provide even more intrigue. But first, a look at the conference at the midway point with the Big East half-year awards:

Coach of the half-year

Jamie Dixon, Pitt. Dixon has Pitt on course for a 12-4 Big East record when most of his peers believed he was in for a rebuilding year. Pitt was picked to finish seventh in the league in a preseason poll by the league coaches because Chevon Troutman, Pitt's best player last season, graduated and Chris Taft left early for the NBA. Dixon encouraged Carl Krauser to come back to school, move to shooting guard and be a team leader. In addition, three freshmen play instrumental roles in his 10-man rotation. If Pitt keeps it up, Dixon will have his second coach of the year award in three seasons as a head coach.

Player of the half-year

Mike Gansey, West Virginia. Kevin Pittsnogle gets all the headlines, but Gansey is the glue to the Mountaineers. He leads all NCAA Division I players in 3-point field-goal percentage (49.5 percent), leads the Big East in steals (2.3 per game) and is fifth in scoring (19.1 points per game). Gansey is making himself into an NBA prospect. In addition to his shooting prowess, he is sneaky athletic, who plays with an edge to his game.

Most improved player

Aaron Gray, Pitt. Gray is a double-double machine. He is averaging 13.6 points and a Big East-leading 10.9 rebounds per game. This from a player who never started a game before this season and averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game last season as a reserve. The biggest sign that Gray has arrived was his performance against Connecticut, which boasts the top centers and forwards in the conference. Gray had 23 points and 12 rebounds and outplayed Huskies big men Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong, who are considered NBA first-round picks.

Rookie of the half-year

Dominic James, Marquette. James is small in stature, but plays big. The 5-foot-11 point guard is averaging 15.1 points and 5.5 assists per game. James is going to be a very good player in the Big East for a long time. He edges out Cincinnati's Devan Downey and Pitt's Sam Young.

Biggest surprise

Marquette. We'll give this to the Golden Eagles because Dixon is coach of the half-year. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish 12thin the preseason coaches' poll. Marquette (16-6, 6-3) is the only team to beat Connecticut this season and is on track to earn an NCAA tournament berth. The scary thing is how young this team is: Of the top four scorers on the team, three are freshmen.

Biggest disappointment

Louisville. The Cardinals have Taquan Dean, a preseason all-Big East selection, and Juan Palacios, one of the top power forwards in the conference, plus a freshman class the analysts pegged as one of the top recruiting classes in the country. What does coach Rick Pitino have to show for it? A 2-6 conference record. The Cardinals, a preseason Top 10 team, have had some nagging injuries and play one of the most difficult schedules in the conference, but there is no way a team with this much talent should be fighting for a spot in the Big East tournament.

Quote of the half-year

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl extracted this gem from West Virginia's Kevin Pittsnogle: "You know how some receptions have fancy hours d'oeuvres? Well, we had corn dogs and pizza. We wanted stuff that people would really eat."