Big East Tournament Day 1 Results & Day 2 Preview

Day one of the Big East tournament is in the books, and what a day it was. There was a lot of exciting action. There were dramatic moments, dramatic collapses, program defining wins, and dreams of glory dashed. Let’s get to the action. 

(9) Connecticut 97 (16) DePaul 71

The Huskies flat out dominated the first half of this game, rushing out to a 23 point lead at point in the first half. UConn took a 17 point lead into intermission. The Huskies came out flat, and DePaul rallied. The Blue Demons cut the lead to 7 twice, but got no closer. Eventually, they ran out of steam, and UConn was UConn. The Huskies were powered by a 60% shooting performance, and by going 29-32 at the free throw line. Alex Oriakhi got him some, with a 13-19 double double.  Kemba Walker had a solid 26-7-5 assist game, while Jeremy Lamb had 19 and 3 blocks. DePaul was led by their guards. Brandon Young had 20-4-4 assists, and Jeremiah Kelly 15. 

(13) Rutgers 76 (12) Seton Hall 70 OT

The first half of the game featured a series of runs by both New Jersey squads. Seton Hall pulled away at the end of the half, closing with a 6 point lead. Rutgers came back strong in the second half, taking the lead. The Scarlet Knights grabbed the lead with a big time Jonathan Mitchell 3. They held a 3 point leading in the closing seconds, when Jeremy Hazell did this:

As you can see, that put the game into overtime. Things were tied with a minute left in OT, when Eniel Polynice turned the ball over, which led to a Rutgers FT. Seton Hall missed a 3, and Mitchell made 2 more FTs. Seton Hall would turn the ball over their next possession, cementing an early exit. Jonathan Mitchell went off for 25 points, while Gily Biruta had 12-7, and Dane Miller had 9-11. Jeremy Hazell had 27, but was only 5-10 at the free throw line, which was costly. Jordan Theodore had 14-5 assists-4 steals. 

(15) South Florida 70 (10) Villanova 69 

This was a true shocker. USF ran out in front 8-0 to start, but Nova pounded the Bulls to close the first half. The score went from 26-26 to 49-33 at intermission. Apparently, Nova thought their day was done. The Bulls chipped the lead to 9 just 2 and a half minutes into the half. They closed to within 4 with 9:21 left, on a JAWANZA Poland 3. The lead stayed pretty close for a few minutes. With 2 minutes left, Gus Gilchrist hit a pair of free throws to make it a 1 point game. Nova got it back to 3, but after an Anthony Crater turnover, missed the front end of a 1-1. USF turned the ball over again when Shaun Noriega slipped on the logo and lost the ball out of bounds. This time, Corey Stokes missed the front end. The Bulls got a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left to cut the lead to 1. The Wildcats had the ball knocked away on the bound, so they had to inbound from the side of the court. Maalik Wayns, who played very well, couldn’t find anyone open, and threw a terrible lob pass right in front of the basket that was stole by Crater for a layup. Wayns got to the, and made both to put Nova back up 1. With 11 seconds left, Crater went full court with no one really stopping him for a layup. Wayns threw up a long shot that got back iron, cementing the biggest upset in Big East tournament history. Nova ends the year losing 5 in a row. Ouch babe. Shaun Noriega killed it from deep, hitting 6 treys as part of his 22 points. Gus Gilchirst added 16 for the victors. Maalik Wayns had a game high 24 points, going 10-11 at the stripe. Corey Stokes played, and had 16 points. Villanova was 22-24 at the free throw line, and both misses killed them. 

(11) Marquette 87 (14) Providence 66

Marquette jumped all over Providence early, leading by 17-0. They had the lead in the 20s most of the first half, before Providence closed to 13. The Friars got the lead to 7 with 16:39 left, but Marquette got two buckets a piece from Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom to push the lead back to 13. Marquette wouldn’t be threatened again. In what could be the last game of the Keno Davis era, Providence didn’t show well. DJO had a game high 23 with 5 assists. Jimmy Butler had 19-10 rebounds-8 assists in a great performance. Marshon Brooks went for 20 in his last game as a Friar. Vincent Council led Providence with 21-7 assists-3 steals. 

Preview

12 PM ESPN (really this time) (9) Connecticut v. (8) Georgetown

I picked the Huskies to win in my prediction piece yesterday, and I saw nothing today that would change my mind. I expect a quality fight from the Hoyas, but they don’t have the dogs (pun absolutely intended) to get past UConn. 

Connecticut 74 Georgetown 69

2:30ish PM ESPN (13) Rutgers v. (5) St John’s

Steve Lavin’s boys open up play against the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers will undoubtedly play hard under coach Mike Rice. I really like Rice. He might be my favorite coach in the league. I think I would play 40 minutes for him. Ok, maybe 3 minutes. But, I would go hard. I fully expect there to be a great crowd for the Johnnies, and for them to take care of business. 

St John’s 77 Rutgers 62

7 PM ESPN (15) South Florida v. (7) Cincinnati

Preview tomorrow. 

9:30ish ESPN (11) Marquette v. (6) West Virginia

The last game of the day should be very interesting. I was really impressed with the effort Marquette had last night. They know their season is hanging in the balance. I think that’s going to pay off for them. The Mountaineers are big and physical, but if they have to play up and down against Butler and DJO, I don’t know if they can do it. I picked them to win yesterday, so I’ll do so today. But, grudingly. 

West Virginia 73 Marquette 72

Finally, let’s close on one last video. This is the shot by Solomon Bozeman that put Arkansas-Little Rock in the big dance. I love March. 

 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfBD_g8Mzyw&w=640&h=390]