Big East Conference Tournament

Associated Press NEW YORK — Greg Monroe had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 22 Georgetown finally got the better of Marquette in a 80-57 victory Friday night that sent the Hoyas to the Big East tournament title game for the third time [...]]]>

Big East Conference Tournament

Monroe leads Hoyas into Big East title game

Associated Press
NEW YORK — Greg Monroe had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 22 Georgetown finally got the better of Marquette in a 80-57 victory Friday night that sent the Hoyas to the Big East tournament title game for the third time in four years.

Butler, No. 7 West Virginia survive Notre Dame

Associated Press
NEW YORK — Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia’s last-second hero in the quarterfinals, scored 24 points to lead the seventh-ranked Mountaineers to a 53-51 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night in the Big East tournament semifinals.

UP NEXT

West Virginia vs. Georgetown for Big East title
9:00 PM ET, March 13, 2010
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Big East Conference Tournament

Associated Press NEW YORK — West Virginia became the only one of the conference’s top four seeds to advance to the semifinals when Da’Sean Butler took an inbounds pass and banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Mountaineers [...]]]>

Big East Conference Tournament

West Virginia sinks Cincinnati at the buzzer in Big East tournament

Associated Press
NEW YORK — West Virginia became the only one of the conference’s top four seeds to advance to the semifinals when Da’Sean Butler took an inbounds pass and banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Mountaineers (No. 6 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) a 54-51 victory over Cincinnati on Thursday night. (Full Story)

Wright leads Georgetown past top-seeded Syracuse

Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Wright scored 27 points and No. 22 Georgetown sailed past No. 3 Syracuse with an impressive second-half surge, beating the top-seeded Orange 91-84 in the Big East tournament quarterfinals Thursday.

Though still a strong candidate for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, Syracuse (28-4) sustained a potentially costly loss when starting center Arinze Onuaku injured his right knee with 5:07 remaining.

Hayward helps Golden Eagles hold off Wildcats

Associated Press
NEW YORK — Lazar Hayward gave Marquette the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 1:51 to play, then added the clinching free throws with 3.2 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles went on to another close win, 80-76 over No. 10 Villanova on Thursday in the Big East tournament quarterfinals.

Fifth-seeded Marquette (22-10) will face eighth-seeded Georgetown in the semifinals Friday night. The loss for fourth-seeded Villanova (24-7), coupled with top-seeded Syracuse’s 91-84 loss to the Hoyas earlier, dropped the teams that had earned double byes to 0-2 – and both came against teams they had beaten twice during the season.

Harangody, Notre Dame hold off Pittsburgh 50-45

Associated Press
NEW YORK — Draining the shot clock on nearly every possession and relying on stout defense, Notre Dame is playing its best basketball of the season at the perfect time.

Luke Harangody came off the bench and hit three key free throws in the final two minutes, helping the Fighting Irish hold off No. 16 Pittsburgh 50-45 in the Big East tournament quarterfinals Thursday night for their season-best sixth straight victory.

Big East Conference Tournament

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Cincinnati has rebounded quite well in getting comfortable at the Big East tournament.

The 11th-seeded Bearcats again used a huge advantage on the boards to beat sixth-seeded Louisville 69-66 on Wednesday night to advance to the quarterfinals. They are the [...]]]>

Big East Conference Tournament

Vaughn leads Cincy over Louisville in Big East

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Cincinnati has rebounded quite well in getting comfortable at the Big East tournament.

The 11th-seeded Bearcats again used a huge advantage on the boards to beat sixth-seeded Louisville 69-66 on Wednesday night to advance to the quarterfinals. They are the only team to play in the opening round still playing, and it was rebounding that keyed both close wins. (Full Story)

Clark, Monroe spur No. 22 Hoyas past South Florida

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Georgetown coach John Thompson III has a remarkable knack for making a difficult game sound simple.

Take, for instance, his approach to guarding Dominique Jones. The South Florida star ripped apart the Hoyas the last time the two teams met, and was coming off an impressive performance that helped his team reach the second round of the Big East tournament.

“I just yelled at the guys, ‘Guard him!’” Thompson said, grinning.

They sure listened, and didn’t stop with the league’s second-leading scorer. The No. 22 Hoyas frustrated South Florida all over the court in a 69-49 second-round victory Wednesday, propelling them into a marquee matchup with regular-season champion Syracuse.

Marquette shakes off St. John’s, advances to Big East quarterfinals

Associated Press

NEW YORK — When Marquette plays another Big East team no one is allowed out of their seat in the final minutes.

How about this stat?

In their 19 games against conference foes this season, the Golden Eagles have had 12 games decided by three points or less. They have won six of the last seven of those, the latest a 57-55 victory over St. John’s on Wednesday in the second round of the Big East tournament.

Healthy Harangody guides Notre Dame into Big East quarterfinals

Associated Press

NEW YORK — With a healthy Luke Harangody back in top form, Notre Dame stopped Seton Hall in its run-and-gun tracks to take another big step toward the NCAA tournament.

Harangody had 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, and the Fighting Irish shut down Seton Hall’s high-octane offense for a 68-56 victory in the second round of the Big East tournament Wednesday night.

Big East Conference Tournament

Rutgers 68, Cincinnati 69 NEW YORK — Lance Stephenson picked up the hardware, then helped Cincinnati finally get a Big East tournament win.

The New York native was selected the conference’s Rookie of the Year on Tuesday afternoon. About 6 hours later, he backed up the choice by making [...]]]>

Big East Conference Tournament

Rutgers 68, Cincinnati 69
NEW YORK — Lance Stephenson picked up the hardware, then helped Cincinnati finally get a Big East tournament win.

The New York native was selected the conference’s Rookie of the Year on Tuesday afternoon. About 6 hours later, he backed up the choice by making the game-deciding free throw with 1.8 seconds to play and the Bearcats beat Rutgers 69-68 in the opening round. (Full Story)

DePaul 49, South Florida 58
NEW YORK — Dominique Jones had 20 points and nine rebounds, and South Florida beat DePaul 58-49 in the Big East tournament opener Tuesday for its fourth straight victory.

St. John’s 73, Connecticut 51
NEW YORK — For the fifth straight year, Connecticut left the Big East tournament without winning a game. And for the second time in the run, there won’t be an NCAA tournament bid to offset the hurt.

St. John’s ran away from the Huskies 73-51 on Tuesday, extending their Big East tournament losing streak to six games and beating them for the first time since February 2002, a stretch of nine games.

Providence 106, Seton Hall 109
NEW YORK — Seton Hall and Providence raced up and down the court, playing little defense in a one-sided game that felt like a school-yard mismatch most of the night.

That is, until Providence nearly pulled off a colossal comeback.

Herb Pope had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Seton Hall built a huge second-half lead before barely holding off a furious Friars rally for a 109-106 victory in the first round of the Big East tournament Tuesday night.