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…never would have guessed that not only would Georgetown lose in round 1, they would lose convincingly enough to have the Baltimore CBS station cut away to the Northern Iowa/UNLV game with 14 minutes left in the second half. Baltimore is damn near home market for the Hoyas…

I guess if you are going to soil the bed, might as well go all the way. Props to Georgetown for that, I guess. As for Ohio U, the 9th seed in the MAC tournament coming off a 7-9 conference season, that was a solid well coached team that blitzed Georgetown. Very impressive.

Why is Duke hated? Because of shit like that. For them to get that draw, with possibly the weakest four in the history of the tournament in Purdue, and as weak a two as Villanova is, is beyond ludicrous. An absolute joke. Was Kansas the #1 overall? Because, if so, they got boned, as did #2 overall Kentucky.

Laughable.

…hard to believe Mississippi State may be on the wrong side of the bubble the way they just played in the SEC title game. As tough luck a 75-74 OT loss as you can have with so much on the line.

We’ll know in a few hours if their work this week was enough to get them in. Right now, the experts are guessing it was not.

Two teams remain standing as the Big East Tournament reaches its apex. While they are two teams that were not expected to be here, the presence of neither team is truly a surprise. Both Georgetown and West Virginia started the season ranked in the preseason top 25 and remained throughout the campaign. Both squads had NCAA Tournament bids sewn up at the end of the regular season, but both have also taken advantage of the opportunity to make their case for preferential seeding, not to mention staked their claim for a Big East title.

West Virginia is yet to win a Big East championship in their 15th year in the conference. They entered the conference tournament with a slim chance of securing the fourth #1 seed in the big dance, but so far, have held up their own end by defeating Cincinnati and Notre Dame. While neither is the marquee team they were supposed to face in the tournament (Louisville and Pittsburgh were the teams expected to advance by seeding), the Mountaineers claimed their 25th and 26th wins and kept that dream of a one-seed alive. With one of the highest strength of schedule rankings and a top-5 RPI, a stumble by Duke and a WVU win could equal that final #1 seed. After an inconsistent season, Georgetown has put all the pieces together and rattled off three impressive wins in a row. Victories over South Florida, Syracuse, and Marquette have likely propelled the Hoyas into a #5 seed in the NCAAs and a win over West Virginia would likely give them a #4 seed and the preferential game locations that accompany it. With things clicking this well for Georgetown, their eighth Big East title could earn them some light travel that could help them reach their third Sweet 16 in five years.

Big East Championship – #8 Georgetown (23-9) vs. #3 West Virginia (26-6)
West Virginia took down the regular season tilt less than two weeks ago in Morgantown, 81-68. Da’Sean Butler was excellent in his final home game as a Mountaineer, topping the team with 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists as WVU used first half runs of 13-3 and 10-1 to take a stranglehold on the contest. West Virginia, who also scored the first ten points after the break for a 27-point lead barely three minutes into the second half, got major contributions from Devin Ebanks (15 points) and Kevin Jones (14). Georgetown, who was without Austin Freeman, undermined their chances by committing 20 turnovers in the contest while only squeezing eight out of the Mountaineers. The only Hoyas in double figures were Greg Monroe, who had nine rebounds to go with his 22 points, and Chris Wright, who scored 21.

KEYS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Can anyone slow down Greg Monroe? The Hoyas’ big man has been the best player in the tournament, posting 18.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game thus far while showing a consistent level of aggression that seems almost out of character for him. He has been a dominant force in wins over Syracuse and Marquette and West Virginia not only lacks a true center, but also anyone in their regular rotation who can offer both height and bulk to match up with him. The Mountaineers best hope is that Monroe will be forced to guard one of their three best players, likely Devin Ebanks or Kevin Jones and they can use this matchup to drive to get the big man in foul trouble. If Monroe is able to play big minutes, Georgetown has a great chance.

Can anyone slow down Da’Sean Butler? The Butler has done it for the Mountaineers in both their games, leading the team in scoring at 19.5 points per game and burying 57.7 percent of his field goals in the tournament. He’s also been timely, banking home a buzzer-beater to knock out Cincinnati and demanding the ball for all the big possessions in the win over Notre Dame. The swingman has been held to single digits in scoring four times this season and never wrote less than “eight” next to his name in the scorebook. Likely to draw this assignment for the Hoyas is Austin Freeman, who at 6’3”, will be giving up four inches to the Mountaineers’ top scorer and team leader. Butler’s versatile offensive game may lead to him taking Freeman into the post to exploit his length.

Whose supporting cast will play better? Chris Wright and Jason Clark have been marvelous in the tourney and Austin Freeman has rebounded with a pair of good games. Wright has hit over 50 percent of his shots in the three games after closing the regular season on a 27-for-74 (36.5 percent) slide and is averaging 19 points and four assists per contest. Clark, who averaged 10.8 points per game during the season, has scored 16.0 points per game at the Garden and knocked down 9-of-17 from beyond the arc. Freeman rebounded from a poor game against South Florida to score 30 in the last two games. West Virginia offers three players who averaged double figures in scoring on the season, as well, in Kevin Jones, Devin Ebanks, and Darryl “Truck” Bryant. Jones has been solid on offense in the first two BET contests for WVU, reaching double figures in both low-scoring affairs and averaging 13.5 points in those low-scoring games (54 and 53 points have been the winning totals). Ebanks had trouble buying a shot against Cincinnati (3-for-13 from the floor), but still has tallied 18 points in the two games combined. Bryant, however, has been a trouble spot for West Virginia, following a 1-for-10 game against Cincy with an 0-for-2 last night and spent most of the second half on the bench against Notre Dame in favor of the steady Joe Mazzulla, who does not normally offer much offensive punch, but scored eight big points. Mazzulla will need to be ready to go if Bryant is having issues again.

Who will win the battle to establish tempo? Georgetown has shown an ability to get out and run to take advantage of transition opportunities, but those opportunities will be rare against the grinders from West Virginia. That is not necessarily a huge problem for the Hoyas, as they have shown the ability to execute in their half-court in this tournament, getting Greg Monroe into the high post against both man and zone defenses to create opportunities for himself and his mates. The Mountaineers’ slowdown style is more rooted in their ability to bang and wear down opponents in their defensive sets. Their offense is not strictly a walk-it-up unit, but tends to get slowed by their defensive pace and their low scoring thus far (107 points in two games) have been a function of playing two slow-paced teams.

With the way the two teams have played thus far in the tournament, the outcome seems to rely on West Virginia’s defense. Georgetown has made 90-of-172 shots (52.3 percent) in their stay in New York, including 19-of-44 (43.2 percent) from beyond the arc due to taking advantage of transition opportunities that are presented and making the extra pass in halfcourt sets, particularly on backdoor cuts or kickouts to the wings and corners. While the transition opportunities will be easier to take away, the Mountaineers must remain diligent in sticking to their man on defense, call out screens and for help, when needed, and close out hard to the three-point shooters to take away open looks. By uglying up the game, West Virginia can keep it close. However, the Mountaineers simply do not have anyone on their roster who can match up well enough with Greg Monroe to neutralize him. If they cannot get Monroe to the bench due to fouls, West Virginia is done. Look for the Hoyas to pull out a six-point win and Monroe to receive the Big East Tournament MVP award.

Game 1 – #8 Georgetown (22-9) vs. #5 Marquette (22-10)
One way to win is to shoot 69.2 percent from the floor in the second half. Another way to win is to force 17 turnovers. Those two factors combined propelled Georgetown as they avenged a pair of regular season losses to Syracuse by getting a 91-84 win in the first game of the day. The Orange were game, hitting 11-of-20 from downtown, but a 22-4 Hoya run in the middle of the second half turned the fortunes of the game. Chris Wright led the Hoyas with 27 points, while Austin Freeman had 18 and Jason Clark 17. Greg Monroe, however, was the best player on the floor for the winners, as he had 17 points, ten rebounds and seven assists while helping shut down Syracuse’s interior offense. Wes Johnson led the Orange with 24 points and had help from the bench duo of Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph, who added 19 and 18 points, respectively. Andy Rautins had a double-double of 14 points and ten assists in a losing effort.

Marquette played a back-and-forth game with Villanova in the second quarterfinal and strung together a 17-5 run over six minutes late in the second half to take an eight-point lead with under five minutes to play. The Wildcats stormed back to tie the score twice, but Marquette got a three from Lazar Hayward to take the lead back for good. Three-pointers were the name of the game for the Golden Eagles, as they connected on 11-of-18 from behind the line, including a 5-of-7 effort by Darius Johnson-Odom, who had a game-high 24 points. Hayward backed up Johnson-Odom with 20 points while David Cubillan dropped in 17 points and Jimmy Butler kicked in with 14. Villanova also shot well, hitting over 50 percent of their shots from inside and outside the circle. Corey Stokes was a marksman, burying 8-of-9 shots, including 6-of-7 from deep for 22 points. Corey Fisher had 16 and Antonio Pena 14 in supporting roles.

In the regular season, Marquette traded scores with Georgetown down the wire in Milwaukee and had just enough to bring home a 62-59 win. Marquette lived by the three in the contest, burying 12-of-26 treys, including Cubillan’s six makes without a miss, accounting for his team high 18 points. Hayward had a double-double of 12 points and 11 assists in the win, as well as coming up with four steals. The Hoyas, who never trailed by more than eight points and held a pair of two-point leads in the second half, got 20 points from Freeman and 12 from Julian Wright.

Georgetown has shown up for and won three games in a row for the first time in over two months, so they seem to have turned a corner. Marquette, however, will not back down for a second throughout the game and has turned into an expert group at playing tight games down the stretch. The big question for Marquette is if they can slow down Greg Monroe, whose height will provide a tremendous advantage. Of course, if they continue hitting three-pointers at the 58.3 percent rate (21-of-36) that they have in these two games in Madison Square Garden, the Golden Eagles. Marquette should play a lot better on defense than either of the Hoyas’ first two opponents, so give them the advantage for another tight win.

Game 2 – #7 Notre Dame (22-10) vs. #3 West Virginia (25-6)
Someone has stolen the Notre Dame team we have grown accustomed to and replaced them with a gritty, walk-it-up, defend as if your life depended on it squad… and the results are better than they were previously. The Fighting Irish uglied up another game and seized another win, beating Pittsburgh at their own game, 50-45. The Irish made a mere 18 field goals, but shot 54.5 percent from the floor and got assists on 14 of those buckets. More impressively, they snuffed out the Panther offense, holding a team that won eight of their last nine to 37.0 percent shooting from the field. Notre Dame, who won their sixth consecutive game, only had six players score, but each of those players had at least five points, led by Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson with 12 apiece, the former coming off the bench again. Brad Wanamaker had a game-high 16 and Jermaine Dixon ten for Pitt, but center Gary McGhee and the four bench players who saw action made only three of 18 shots.

West Virginia escaped their rugby scrum with Cincinnati with a pair of fortuitous plays in the last six seconds. First, Dion Dixon could not handle the ball in the Bearcats’ attempt to get off a last-second shot, then Da’Sean Butler banked an off-balance shot off the glass and into the hoop after the buzzer expired for a 54-51 win. As the score suggests, neither team did much on offense, as the Mountaineers were the better shooting team at 35 percent. The Bearcats were remarkably awful to start both halves, missing their first ten shots of the game, then shooting blanks on their first seven attempts of the second half. WVU exploited the first cold streak to take a commanding 18-4 lead nine minutes into the game and the second to push a three-point halftime lead to eight with seven minutes elapsed after the break. Cincinnati, who had that 14-point margin down to one in the first half, was led by Lance Stephenson, who had a game-high 19 points. Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 17 points and Butler’s game-winning heave gave him 15 to go with six rebounds and five assists, the last of which was a bounce pass from his knees after collecting a loose ball with the shot clock about to elapse.

Notre Dame claimed the January 9 contest, barely holding on to an early second half lead of 22 points for a 70-68 lead at home. The Fighting Irish stuck for their first nine field goals in the game to take a 25-4 lead just over eight minutes into the game then withstood second half runs of 11-0, 10-2, and 9-2 even though they missed all four field goals and three of four charity shots in the final four minutes. Harangody paced Notre Dame with 24 points, while Tim Abromaitis added 17 points and Tyrone Nash 13. Ben Hansbrough had a terrific all-around game with six points, nine rebounds, and ten assists. In fact, the Irish logged assists on 21 of their 23 buckets. West Virginia’s leading man was Jones, who had 17 points and ten rebounds. Butler had 13 points in a terrible shooting game (4-of-20) and “Truck” Bryant had 11.

Notre Dame’s style reversal makes them a hard read. A team that used to be freewheeling and uptempo is now slowed to a crawl. Clearly, it is working for them as they have secured an NCAA at-large berth. It also plays into West Virginia’s hands. As a superior rebounding team, particularly on the offensive end, the Mountaineers should be able to exploit the Irish on the glass, particularly when Harangody, Notre Dame’s best rebounder, is on the bench. It should be enough for them to earn a place in the championship game.

Game 1 – #8 Georgetown (21-9) vs. #1 Syracuse (28-3)
Georgetown rolled to a 69-49 win in their second round contest against South Florida, holding the perimeterally-challenged (is that a word?) Bulls to 29.1 percent field goal shooting in the contest. The Hoyas had runs of 8-0 and 7-0 in the first half and led by as many as 14 points in that time. South Florida got within six points early in second half, but Georgetown closed them out with a late 15-4 run. Three Hoyas were in double figures, as Jason Clark and Greg Monroe each had 16 points and Chris Wright had 15. USF, who got 21 points from Dominique Jones, got their first three-pointer in two Big East Tournament games with under 30 seconds left in the contest and ESPN play-by-play man Dave Pasch reported that they had two baskets that came outside the paint in their games. Maybe you guys want to work on that this summer?

A quarterfinal game with Syracuse, the top seed, is the reward for Georgetown. The Orange led the Big East in scoring differential at +15.3, more than five points ahead of the second place team. Of course, that is pretty easy to do when you have the league’s best shooting offense (51.5 percent) and second-best field goal defense (39.4 percent). One of the keys to that impressive defensive standing is the way the Syracuse defense forces opponents to take three-pointers that they cannot make. Orange foes put up over 25 threes per game (Villanova was second at just under 22 attempts per contest) and made only 30.9 percent of them. Syracuse also finished third in the conference in blocks with 6.6 per game and topped the Big East in steals with ten per night. The Orange feature a balanced offense where five players averaged in double figures in points and seven players scored at least 8.3 points per game. Big East Player of the Year Wes Johnson leads the squad in points (15.7/game) and rebounds (8.5/game).

Syracuse swept the regular season games, rocketing out of a 14-0 hole to take a 73-56 home win in January and escaping with a 75-71 road win in February after holding a 23-point lead with 12:37 to play. Andy Rautins averaged 20.5 points in the two games for the Orange, hitting seven threes in the contests, while Johnson averaged 15 and Kris Joseph 13. Austin Freeman led the Georgetown offense in both games, tallying 23 points on the road and 21 at home. Monroe and Wright each had 20 points in the home loss while Clark had 15 at the Carrier Dome. The Hoyas played very well in their first tournament game, but Syracuse is a much better shooting team, as well as having a zone defense that forces outside shots. The Orange have also gotten Monroe into foul in both regular season contests and will look to do so again. Look for the Orange to win, but in a game without a double-figure lead going either way.

Game 2 – #5 Marquette (21-10) vs. #4 Villanova (24-6)
As per their usual script, Marquette edged St. John’s in their second round game, pulling out a 57-55 win. The Golden Eagles had a ten-point lead at the eight-minute mark of the game and pushed it out to 14 points in the first half, but the Red Storm used an 18-6 run to take a four-point lead with seven minutes left. Marquette clawed back and got a dagger three from David Cubillan to take the lead with 1:15 to go and held on. Lazar Hayward led the Golden Eagles with 20 points, nine rebounds, and an uncalled moving screen on Cubillan’s three while St. John’s, who shot almost 64 percent inside the arc in the second half to rally, had three players in double digits.

Villanova tripped up frequently late in the season, dropping five of their final nine games after an 11-game win streak. The Wildcats play at a pace that is just behind Providence in the conference, only they do it at a much higher level of capability than the Friars. Villanova led the conference in scoring and finished 14th in points allowed. However, they ended up third in scoring differential at +10.1 points per game. The Wildcats’ defense is quite active, harassing their opponents into shooting only 40.5 percent from the field and 15.4 turnovers per game (third in the Big East). The downside of this activity is that Villanova fouls a lot. Their opponents shoot almost 27 free throws a game, which ranks sixth nationally. Scottie Reynolds leads three players who average double-figure scoring at 18.8 points per game. Corey Fisher averages 13.6 points and 4.0 assists per game while Antonio Pena racked up 10.8 rebounds and a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game. Reserve forward Taylor King has been suspended and will not suit up for Villanova.

The Wildcats swept the regular season contests with Marquette, getting two-point wins a week apart in January. Marquette had an early ten-point lead in the home game, but a Scottie Reynolds jumper gave Villanova the lead with under 20 seconds left and the Wildcats held on for a 74-72 win. Seven days later, the Wildcats held a 22-point lead with under seven minutes gone in the second half, but a furious Golden Eagle rally made them need three-of-four free throws in the final ten seconds to hold on for a 78-76 win. Reynolds led Villanova in scoring, averaging 19 points in the two contests, while three other players (Fisher, Reggie Redding, and Maalik Wayns) averaged 11 points per game in head-to-head play. Hayward led Marquette with 18.5 points and 11 rebounds per game and got offensive help from Jimmy Butler (16.5 pts/game) and Dwight Buycks (13.0 pts/game). Villanova exploited the Golden Eagles’ defense to make 51.8 percent of their field goals combined in the two games, which bodes well for their hopes. Marquette made 18 threes in the two games and will need to shoot that well to keep it close.

Game 3 – #7 Notre Dame (21-10) vs. #2 Pittsburgh (24-7)
Seton Hall found things to be a lot less fun in their second round game against Notre Dame, who took the air out of the ball and left with a 68-56 victory over the Pirates. The Pirates jumped out to an 11-2 lead before the game was five minutes old, but the Fighting Irish erased that deficit and used a 16-2 run to take a seven-point halftime lead, then scored the first seven of the second half to blow it open. Luke Harangody came off the bench and announced his presence as the best player in the gym, triggering the comeback with 15 points in the first half en route to a 20-point, 10-rebound night (and 64th career double-double). The Irish stifled the Pirates’ offense a night after they scored 109 points, forcing them into shooting a mere 34.5 percent from the field and 2-of-18 from three.

Pittsburgh closed very strong, but a rout at Notre Dame sticks out as the blemish in their final nine games. The Panthers ride their very stingy defense (39.8 percent field goals allowed, 30.9 percent three-point field goal allowed) to the lowest points allowed in the Big East at 61.7 per game. Their walk-it-up offense leads to them playing at the slowest pace in the conference, further slowing down their foes. Pitt is an average offensive team, ranking ninth in field goal percentage and seventh in three-point shooting, but it has resulted in a well-rounded offense featuring four players who average double figures. Ashton Gibbs tops the scorers at 16.2 points per game while Brad Wanamaker, Jermaine Dixon, and Gilbert Brown average between 10.7 and 12.0 points per game apiece.

Notre Dame started their five-game winning streak with a 68-53 blowout of Pitt at home. The Irish opened the game with a pair of threes and never looked back, holding an 11-point first half lead before going up 24 midway through the second session. Four players hit double digits in scoring for the Irish, who were without Harangody, led by Tim Abromaitis with 17 and Ben Hansbrough with 15 points and nine rebounds. Dixon had 13 and Gibbs 11 in a losing effort for the Panthers. The Panthers will have revenge on their minds, but Notre Dame is teeming with confidence and they know they can defeat Pitt in a slowdown game, having done it a little over two weeks ago. Look for the Irish to pull the upset and advance to the semifinals.

Game 4 – #11 Cincinnati (18-14) vs. #3 West Virginia (24-6)
Cincinnati trailed by as many as 12 points in their second-round game with Louisville, but used a run of 11 straight points to get back into the game and later a 13-2 run to take the lead for good with just over six minutes left and hold on for a 69-66 victory. The Bearcats pounded the Cardinals on the glass, 46-29, which enabled them to overcome a terrible shooting night (34.7 percent overall, 4-for-18 from three). Yancy Gates paced Cincy with 16 points while Lance Stephenson and Darnell Wilks chipped in with a dozen apiece. Louisville got 28 points from Edgar Sosa and 16 from Reginald Delk, who combined to make 9-of-10 from beyond the arc.

West Virginia is the last of the big fish to be released into action and rides a three-game win streak, including victories over Georgetown and Villanova, into the Garden. The Mountaineers’ slower-than-average pace has them giving up the third-fewest points in the conference at 64.8 points per game. While only seventh in points scored, their slow pace factors in again, as West Virginia actually ranks third in points per possession. In fact, the Mountaineers rank 12th in field goal percentage offense and 11th in field goal percentage defense. Their rebounding rates are where West Virginia really shines and makes up for some inadequacies. They are third in defensive rebounding percentage and tops in offensive rebounding percentage, collecting just over 42 percent of their misses. West Virginia features a strong trio of wings in Da’Sean Butler, Kevin Jones, and Devin Ebanks, who combine for over 43 points and 22 rebounds per night. Darryl “Truck” Bryant also averages double figures, scoring 10.6 points per contest.

West Virginia trailed by as many as 13 in their regular season game with Cincinnati, but bounced back with runs of 11-0 and 10-2 to pull out a 74-68 home win. The two teams combined to shoot just over 40 percent in the game, but the Mountaineers finished with +11 mark in rebounding, beating the Bearcats at their own game. Jones scored 15 points to lead WVU while “Truck” Bryant scored 14 and Devin Banks had a 12-point, 10-board double-double. Deonta Vaughn scored 15 for Cincinnati and Stephenson had 14 points and nine rebounds. The quarterfinal finale will resemble a rugby scrum at many times and the game will likely be a “first one to 60 wins” affair. Cincinnati needs another win to keep their NCAA hopes on life support, but a group of gifted wing players, including the big shot capability of Butler, should lift West Virginia to a tight victory.

Game 1 – #9 South Florida (20-11) vs. #8 Georgetown (20-9)
South Florida had a fairly easy go of it to kick off of the tournament, beating DePaul, 58-49. USF led by 19 points late in the first half before the Blue Demons got a 9-0 run to make a game of it, but they never got within five points. DePaul lived up to their poor offensive reputation, making just under 30 percent of their field goal attempts in the game and posting an entire 15 points before halftime. Dominique Jones did a little bit of everything for the Bulls, finishing the game with 20 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the game is that it took 26 minutes for anyone to make a three-pointer.

Georgetown is the first of the four teams with a one-day bye to enter tournament action. Possibly the most talented team in the conference, the Hoyas have been rather erratic. Along with wins over Duke, Villanova, and Pitt, they also lost to Rutgers. The Hoyas run their Princeton offense efficiently, finishing second in the conference with a 49.8 percent field goal mark, including a third-best 38.8 percent mark from three. Their weakness is a lack of depth, as they rarely go more than seven deep and the seventh man usually sees very limited minutes. Georgetown’s leading scorer is Austin Freeman, who averaged 17.3 points on the season and had 24 in his return after being diagnosed with diabetes. Freeman is not even the Hoyas’ top player, as multi-talented center Greg Monroe averaged 16.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Chris Wright (14.2 points/game) and Jason Clark (10.3 points/game) complete a well-balanced offense.

South Florida won the regular season tilt between the two squads in early February, 72-64. Jones, as expected, had a big game, finishing with 29 points and eight rebounds as USF roared back from a 13-point first half deficit and used a 15-2 run to take the lead for good. Monroe and Freeman paced the Hoyas with 21 apiece. With Freeman back in the lineup and clicking, the Hoyas should exact revenge against the Bulls and advance to the quarterfinals.

Game 2 – #13 St. John’s (17-14) vs. #5 Marquette (20-10)
St. John’s had a surprisingly easy time of it in the first round against Connecticut, running away with a 73-51 blowout in which they led wire-to-wire. The Red Storm led by nine points less than seven minutes into the game and pushed that margin up to 17 before intermission. The Huskies, who made 37.5 percent of their shots and turned it over 19 times to throw an anvil through their NCAA Tournament bubble, got within eight points a couple times, but ten straight points by St. John’s late blew the lid off the game. The Red Storm got good efforts from a variety of players, most notably a 19-point, 10-rebound game from Sean Evans.

Marquette closed the season 9-2, including going 3-1 in overtime games and pulling out another pair of tight victories. The Golden Eagles play at the second-slowest pace in league action, which is reflected by their second place finish in points allowed in the conference at 63.6 points per game. That high ranking is a little deceptive, as they finished 15th in field goal percentage allowed at 44.1 percent. To continue Marquette’s quirky ways, they finished first in three-point percentage allowed at 30.8 percent. The result? Opponents made 49.7 percent of their two-point tries. The Golden Eagles are okay with that, though, as they led the conference in three-point percentage at a 39.9 clip and finished fourth in threes per contest. Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler finished 1-2 on the team in points and rebounds, combining for over 33 points and 14 boards per game.

The Golden Eagles won (what else) an overtime game against the Red Storm less than three weeks ago, 63-61. Butler capped his 18-point effort with a jumper that provided the winning points and Hayward led the Golden Eagles with 22 points. The Red Storm forced only eight turnovers in the game, but held Marquette to 34.4 percent shooting in the game. D.J. Kennedy was the top scorer for St. John’s with 20 points. This rematch will likely be a walk-it-up affair. Marquette, who will be wary of a St. John’s team brimming with confidence after their first-round rout, should pull it out.

Game 3 – #10 Seton Hall (19-11) vs. #7 Notre Dame (21-10)
Seton Hall escaped their first round track meet with Providence after squandering almost all of a 29-point second half lead, 109-106. The Friars, who play at the pace of a blender on puree and offer next to no resistance on defense, allowed the Pirates to make 53.7 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 16-of-19 stretch to close the first half. The Hall, who gave up 67(!) points in the second half, had four players score at least 15 points, led by Herb Pope’s career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. Jamine Peterson paced Providence with 38 points, tying for second-most in a Big East Tournament game, and 16 rebounds.

Notre Dame, who rose to the seven-seed by winning their last four games, looks stingy on defense compared to what Seton Hall just saw, ranking 12th in the conference at 70.6 points allowed per game and 14th in field goal defense at 43.8 percent. The Irish are proficient at filling it up, however, sporting the highest points-per-possession rate in the Big East. Their marksmanship is key to their success, as they have connected on 47.4 percent of their field goal attempts on the season, including the second-best mark from deep at 39.8 percent, and hitting the third-highest number of threes in the conference. Luke Harangody, who averaged 23.3 points and 9.7 rebounds a night, returned from an injury in the season finale, but is still slated to come off the bench. Tim Abromaitis averaged 17.2 points per game and the starting backcourt of transfer Ben Hansbrough and Tory Jackson combined for almost 22 points and ten assists per outing.

The Hall pulled out a 90-87 home win over the Irish four weeks ago in an episode of “The Jeremy Hazell Show,” as the Pirate guard racked up 35 points on 12-of-16 shooting, including banging home 8-of-11 from downtown. As might be expected in a game where 177 points were scored in regulation, both teams shot over 54 percent from the field and 52 percent from deep in the game. Notre Dame, who got a personal-best 25 points from Tory Jackson in the loss, trailed by a dozen early in the first half and climbed within a single point on three occasions, but could not get over the hump. The two teams should be able to exploit each other’s questionable defense, but look for the Irish to continue to play well on their quest to sew up an NCAA bid.

Game 4 – #11 Cincinnati (17-14) vs. #6 Louisville (20-11)
Cincinnati had a 15-2 second half run and a +16 advantage on the glass, but needed Lance Stephenson to draw a foul and make a tiebreaking free throw with 1.8 seconds on the clock to pull out a 69-68 win over Rutgers in the opening day’s nightcap. The Bearcats shot only 38.2 percent from the floor, which probably is not a big surprise, but took advantage of all those misses, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds and turning them into 20 second chance points. Five Cincy players scored at least seven points, led by Stephenson and surprise starter Jaquon Parker with 13 points apiece. The latter replaced Rashad Bishop, who is suspended for the tournament for breaking an undisclosed team rule. The Scarlet Knights were led by Mike Rosario’s 26 points and Jonathan Mitchell’s 15-point, 12-rebound effort.

Louisville took a lot of pressure off themselves by rolling top-ranked Syracuse at home in their season finale and “locking up” a bid for the big dance. Aside from sweeping the Orange, the Cardinals have not shown the ability to beat upper echelon teams (0-4 against the other teams in front of them in the Big East and a loss to Kentucky). The Cards are statistically average almost all the way across the board, excelling in only threes made on the season and offensive rebounding percentage. There are two top-notch players on the squad, however, in Samardo Samuels, who topped the squad in points per game at 15.4 and boards per night at 7.1, and Edgar Sosa, who adds 12.8 points and 4.6 assists per contest to their attack.

Louisville employed a 21-10 start to the second half to grab a 12-point lead en route to a home win over Cincinnati, 68-60. The Bearcats had an 11-point lead six minutes into the game, but watched it evaporate in part due to the Cardinals’ pressure defense that forced 11 steals. Samuels and Sosa each had 14 points, but Reginald Delk’s surprise double-double of 13 points and 11 boards powered the Cards to the win while four different Cincy players had a dozen points. Both teams play at a normal pace for the conference, but the Cardinals average about a tenth of a point more per possession than the Bearcats in Big East play. That and Cincinnati’s offensive difficulties point to the Louisville moving on to the quarters.

Game 1 – #16 DePaul (8-22) vs. #9 South Florida (19-11)
South Florida has taken a major step forward this season, improving from nine wins last season to 19 and counting this time around. The Bulls, however, are a rather mediocre team even with that major on-court improvement. The team ranks in the top half in the conference in a grand total of three statistical categories (5th in three-point percentage allowed, 7th in defensive rebounds per game, and 8th in scoring defense). Dominique Jones is the star providing the push for this team, ranking second in the conference with 21.3 points per game. While the Bulls are below average statistically, DePaul makes them look pretty good in comparison. Last in scoring, last in point differential, last in field goal percentage, 13th in defensive field goal percentage. It is a gruesome picture. There are two bright spots for the Blue Demons, though. Mac Koshwal averages a double-double at 16.6 points and 10.1 rebounds while Will Walker tallied 16.0 points per night, but shot 36.0 percent on the season. Koshwal, in particular, closed the season very well, posting averages of 22.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in his last six contests.

South Florida broke a tie late en route to winning the game at DePaul a week ago, 63-59, on the strength of holding DePaul to 2-of-14 from deep and winning the board battle by 12. As expected, Jones led the Bulls with 20 points, including a tie-breaking three and a pair of free throws to ice it. Mac Koshwal had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Demons, who also got 16 points from Will Walker. Koshwal could make this game interesting, but DePaul has nothing to play for, not even their interim coach. USF moves one step closer to a bid.

Game 2 – #13 St. John’s (16-14) vs. #12 Connecticut (17-14)
The Huskies are fading, having lost their last three games. Their saving grace is their difficult schedule, which is rated third in the nation (the top four in the nation all come from the Big East). Unfortunately, their schedule has led to their double digit losses and Jim Calhoun is responding to some lackluster play by benching some of his better players. UConn is a very good defensive team again, leading the conference in field goal percentage allowed at 38.9 percent, and blocked shots at 7.8 per game (which is second in the nation). Unfortunately, their lack of consistent inside scoring and propensity for turnovers have been major weaknesses. Jerome Dyson leads the team with 17.7 points per game while Stanley Robinson and Kemba Walker both average 14.9 points. St. John’s lacks offensive punch, beating only cellar-dweller DePaul in scoring and field goal percentage. The Red Storm try to offset these offensive deficiencies by playing a slowdown game and a win here would go a long way toward ending their seven year postseason drought. DJ Kennedy leads St. John’s in points (15.3), rebounds (6.2), assists (3.0), and steals (1.1) per game.

Connecticut blew out the Red Storm in their regular season matchup in Hartford, 75-59, in their first game without Calhoun during his medical absence. The Red Storm had a lead late in the first half, but a 19-7 Husky run that bridged halftime turned the tide. UConn’s big three scorers were just that in the game, racking up 56 points, while Kennedy paced the Red Storm with 19. With their backs to the wall, look for an inspired performance from Connecticut to secure a victory.

Game 3 – #15 Providence (12-18) vs. #10 Seton Hall (18-11)
This one screams “track meet.” Seton Hall finished fourth in the conference in scoring at 80.3 points per game, but their defense was next-to-last at 74.2 points per game allowed. The Pirates spread it around, featuring six players who scored at least eight points per game. Jeremy Hazell leads the way at 21.2 points per game while New Mexico State transfer Herb Pope scores 11.1 points per game and grabs a league-best 11.2 rebounds per night. Keno Davis’ Friars play at the fastest pace in the conference and have a pretty fair offense (on the surface, anyway). However, their defense puts them in a bad spot, as they allow more points per possession than any other unit in the Big East. Their uptempo style hides their offensive inefficiency, as they shoot only 43.3 percent from the field, but does nothing to shield their inept defense (a league-worst 46.8 percent field goal percentage allowed) from public consumption. The Friars had four players average double digits in scoring, led by Jamine Peterson, who averaged 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, including single-game highs of 29 points and 22 rebounds.

Seton Hall won the regular season finale between the two teams, outrunning the Friars in Providence, 92-80. Jordan Theodore led six Pirate players in double figures with 19 points as the Hall scored to open the game and never looked back. Vincent Council led the Friars with a season-high 25 points and Sharaud Curry added 19. Seton Hall has enough offensive talent to win again, not to mention that they are chasing an at-large bid.

Game 4 – #14 Rutgers (15-16) vs. #11 Cincinnati (16-14)
Cincinnati has played themselves into this spot where they likely need to win at least three games just to get back into serious NCAA bubble contention. Of course, getting three ranked foes in a row to close the season gave them no help. The Bearcats have a tough go of it on offense, ranking 11th in points and field goal percentage while dead last in three-point shooting (29.2 percent), but get after it on defense, allowing their foes to make only 41.1 percent of their shots, and on the glass, finishing the season with a +6.1 rebounding margin and ranking tops in conference in defensive rebounding percentage. Freshman Lance Stephenson led Cincy with 12.0 points per game, which is the lowest mark for any team leader in the Big East. Rutgers may not be even as good as their 14th seed would suggest. They had the second-worst point differential in conference at -4.3 points per game and made only 42.4 percent of their field goal attempts. The Scarlet Knights have issues on the glass, too, but they compiled the second-most blocked shots in the league, returning 7.1 attempts per game. While Rutgers have three players who averaged in double figures on the season, one of them, Gregory Echenique, missed all but the first seven games of the campaign. Mike Rosario led the way with 16.4 points per game while Hamady Ndiaye topped the team with 7.1 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game.

The Bearcats proved to be rude guests at Rutgers, knocking off the Scarlet Knights, 65-58. Cincy trailed by six early in the second half, but used an 18-7 to take control and made 5-of-6 from the line in the final 40 seconds to hold on. Deonta Vaughn was the top scorer in the game, tallying 17 for Cincinnati, while Jonathan Mitchell topped Rutgers with 14 points and seven rebounds. The combination of Rutgers’ weak offense and Cincinnati’s dogged defense should result in a repeat of the regular season game.

The mega-conference is invading Madison Square Garden again, as the Big East is bringing all 16 of their members in waves to New York to determine who gets the conference title and its accompanying automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Tuesday is the first of three days of quadruple-headers, featuring the lowest eight seeds in the tournament. The teams who finished fifth through eighth get introduced in Wednesday’s second round and the top four seeds get to take their shots at picking off survivors in Thursday’s quarterfinal round. Oh, and you never know if there will be a six-overtime game.

The conference is not quite as top-heavy as last year, as there were three teams vying for top seeds in the NCAA Tournament last year, but this year’s version features a team that has all but secured a #1 seed in the big dance and three other teams who can grab #2 seeds. In fact, there are essentially seven locks for the NCAA Tournament already and one team that can realistically grab an eighth spot, should they continue their current hot streak. Beyond that, teams will need at least two wins and likely get some help in the form of other teams having their bubbles burst. With the overall quality of the conference, it is very hard to imagine a team seeded ninth or lower swiping the title, not to mention that pesky “winning five games in five days” thing.

How the squads break down, in order of seeding from top to bottom (with one exception):

Playing for top seeds in the NCAAs: Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Villanova
Syracuse allegedly wrapped up a top seed in the NCAA Tournament when they throttled Villanova a little over a week ago. However, that spot could be in jeopardy if they drop their opening game and teams like Duke, Kansas State, and Ohio State win their respective conference titles. Pittsburgh has won their last three and eight of their last nine to sneak into the two-hole. They will need to win at least one game, but more likely two, to sew up a top-two seed. West Virginia has won five of their last six and their worst loss on the season is at Notre Dame. They, like the Panthers, will need a couple wins to lock in a second seed. Villanova has tripped up lately, but that is a product of the meat grinder portion of their schedule kicking in late. They have lost to each of the other three teams in this group as part of a 2-4 slide to end their season.

Playing for NCAA seeding: Marquette, Louisville, Georgetown
If you want to watch a tight game, just tune in whenever Marquette is in action. The Golden Eagles, who have closed strong, winning nine of their last 11, have gone to overtime in each of their last four games and have had 13 of their games decided by four points or less. Louisville may have secured an at-large bid by finishing their season sweep of Syracuse on Saturday. The Cardinals have been inconsistent, however, failing to win more than three games in a row since the calendar reset. Georgetown welcomed back Austin Freeman, who was diagnosed with diabetes, by drubbing Cincinnati in their season finale. That victory snapped a 4-6 stretch for the Hoyas, which included losses at home to South Forida and at Rutgers. Georgetown, who is actually the eight seed, currently has the top strength of schedule rating in the country, which puts them in this group.

Playing to get off the bubble: Notre Dame
Notre Dame has turned the injury to Luke Harangody into a good thing. While it took a week to get things figured out, the Fighting Irish turned into a machine, getting edged in overtime by Louisville before closing with four straight wins, including knocking off NCAA locks in Pitt, Georgetown, and Marquette. Now, Harangody is back and coming off the bench.

Playing to get on the bubble, then in the NCAAs: South Florida, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, Connecticut
Each of these teams need two wins and possibly a third to get seriously considered for an NCAA bid. South Florida and Seton Hall are both at .500 in conference, which is pretty impressive, considering where they came from. Both teams righted their respective ships late, with USF winning their final three games to get even in Big East play and the Pirates getting their final two in the win column. The Bulls have a pair of impressive conference victories in beating Pitt at home and Georgetown in our nation’s capital. Seton Hall also has a home win over Pitt, as well as defeating Ivy League champ Cornell. Those thin resumes, however, create another big problem for each team, as they both reside in the 60’s in the RPI. Two wins may not be enough for either of them. Both Cincinnati and Connecticut will definitely need three wins and an appearance in the semifinals, especially because they would each get two marquee wins. The Bearcats seem to have a slim chance of doing that as they are reeling, having lost their last three and seven of nine. It’s also hard to forget how they laid down in the first round to DePaul last year after the Blue Demons went 0-18 in conference action. The Huskies are also in turmoil. Like Cincy, they have also lost their last three games. Head coach Jim Calhoun also announced after their finale at South Florida that three players are benched for their first round game. Welcome back to the bench, Jim.

Playing to get an NIT bid: St John’s, Rutgers
St John’s has had another rough season, but can at least point to their wins over Louisville and Notre Dame as signs of improvement. In fact, the fact that they are playing for a postseason bid (they may get an NIT berth, anyway) is a positive. Rutgers would really like to get two wins to guarantee a record of .500 or better, which would be a huge victory in light of their nine-game losing streak that included most of January. They have shown moments of being lively, having knocked off Georgetown and Notre Dame.

Playing on Tuesday and Tuesday alone: Providence, DePaul.
Providence is reeling. Ten straight losses. An average of 88.1 points per game allowed in that span. Ten games with 90 or more points allowed on the season. The Friars play track meets, which explains how they have four double-digit scorers and still finished 4-14 in conference and 12-18 overall. DePaul won a game in conference play this year, which is one more Big East victory than they secured last year. The Blue Demons’ victim? Marquette. 51-50. Since then, it has been a dozen losses. The team is 1-14 since Jerry Wainwright was shown the door. Of course, they did win a game in the tournament last year.

Most intriguing first-round matchup: Rutgers vs. Cincinnati
The Scarlet Knights have a shot at a .500 record, which would be a significant move for Fred Hill, whose job was in jeopardy during the season. Cincinnati has been reeling and was a no-show last year with an NCAA bid on the line. They could be ripe for the picking.

Most intriguing potential second-round matchup: Seton Hall vs. Notre Dame
A second win in the Big East tourney would give Notre Dame 22 on the season, which when combined with ten conference victories, would make them an appealing choice. Seton Hall, on the other hand, would be playing for victory #20, not to mention could knock the Irish off the bubble and perhaps even replace them.

Most intriguing potential quarterfinal matchup: Louisville vs. West Virginia
Based on their sweep of Syracuse, Louisville has shown they are capable of defeating anyone. West Virginia’s tough defense should make this an absolute dogfight, especially since the Cardinals could use another marquee victory for their resume.

Is Dexter Pittman.

Pittman was purportedly 400 pounds when he enrolled at Texas as a freshman and is now listed at 290. And if you’ve seen a Big XII basketball game, you already knew that anyway. (His 6-10 listing is a bit generous as well. I saw him pretty closely Wednesday night and there’s no way he’s 6-10. More like 6-8)

And, if you weren’t following the Big XII that closely, you’d think that besides (once) being the size of a monster, Pittman was a monster on the court.

Not so.

Thanks to a five game stretch at the end of last season, Pittman got saddled with a reputation for being a great post player. Yeah, those five games were nice–except the three rebounds against Kansas–but they came because Pittman was finally able to consistently play over 20 minutes a game. Even though he’s lost all the weight, his conditioning has never been anything better than “poor.” (Last year he averaged 16.6 MPG, while this year he’s averaging 19.3)

While his MPG still reflect that his conditioning needs a lot of work–he had his hands on his knees by the third possession every time he was on the court Wednesday against Missouri–and while his stats have increased slightly, it hasn’t been the jump that some were expecting. (He’s also averaging 0.5 more turnovers per game)

Texas’s high preseason ranking was based partially on Pittman’s continued improvement, so it’s no surprise that since Pittman has struggled, Texas has struggled. In fact, they may be at their best when Gary Johnson is on the floor instead of Pittman.