Villanova News

2011 NCAA TOURNAMENT (& TICKETS) AT A GLANCE

The BIG EAST shattered the record for most schools from one conference making the NCAA Tournament field with 11 bids when the field was announced earlier this evening.

“On the heels of a groundbreaking performance by Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship, I’m thrilled by the news of yet another record-setting accomplishment by our men’s basketball programs,” said BIG EAST Commissioner John Marinatto in a statement released by the conference. “Placing 11 teams into the NCAA Championship doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a concerted, consistent and focused effort on the part of our coaches, administrators and student-athletes and I’m thrilled to see them rewarded in this manner.

“I look forward to following the progress of our men’s teams through the NCAA Championship and expect to break even more new ground tomorrow when the women’s bracket is revealed.”

In addition to UConn, which earned the conference’s automatic bid by winning he conference tournament, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse, St. John’s, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova made the field among the 37 at-large invitations.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PRIMER – - QUARTERFINALS

As if the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament did not need any more attention…the events of Wednesday transpires. The officiating meltdown of the last minute in the St. John’s/Rutgers game will take away from the excellent college basketball competition that we saw in that game, as well as the day’s nightcap with West Virginia/Marquette. No doubt the controvoersy will continue to overshadow the event today, which features a tremendous pair of double-headers in both the afternoon and evening sessions. Eight NCAA Tournament teams will compete on the Madison Square Garden court today and expect the Garden to be full from start to finish for these four games:

QUARTERFINALS: THURSDAY MARCH 10th:

–No. 9 Connecticut vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh, 12 noon.
–No. 5 St. John’s vs. No. 4 Syracuse, 2 PM.

Season Series: The Panthers and Huskies opened the 2010-2011 BIG EAST conference schedule with a December 27th date at the Peterson Events Center on the Pitt campus. Jamie Dixon’s club welcomed the young pops of UConn to the BIG EAST with a 78-63 thumping. Kemba Walker was the lone Husky in double figures, scoring 31, but he needed 27 shots to do so. The rest of the team was just 9-33 (27%) from the field. On the other hand, Pitt got 21 points from Ashton Gibbs, 14 from Brad Wanamaker and double-doubles from Gary McGhee (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Nasir Robinson (11 points, 10 rebounds). The Panthers also assisted on 19 of their 24 made field goals while UConn was credited with just 6 assists as a team. The Huskies have matured a lot since that game as the five freshmen have now been through 20 games of BIG EAST competition, including their two wins at MSG already in the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament.

While the talk all week has been how good the Red Storm have been in Madison Square Garden this season, SJU has not forgotten the 76-59 shellacking they took at the hands of the Orange on this very floor back on January 12th. SU came into the Garden and shot 57% from the floor and 45% from beyond the arc as they blew Steve Lavin’s crew out. Kris Joseph led four Syracuse players in double figures with 18 points. SU also held a 40-32 edge on the boards, with Rick Jackson posting a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Red Storm was able to force 20 turnovers and that pressure defense will have to be turned up another notch this afternoon. Expect SU to sit in their patented 2-3 zone and see if SJU can make them pay from beyond the arc.

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–No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 7 PM.
–No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 3 Louisville, 9 PM.

Season Series: The Irish got past UC 66-58 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend (IN) back on January 19th. ND used a balanced attack with five players in double figures to come away with the victory. That contest saw Carleton Scott return from injury, snapping a two-game losing streak for the Irish and would kickstart a seven game winning streak and Mike Brey’s club has won 11 of 12 since. Redshirt freshman Sean Kilpatrick had a team-high 16 for UC in the loss. The Bearcats are playing well, winning six of their last seven, and look poised for their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Mick Cronin.

The day’s nightcap features the Golden Eagles and Cardinals, two former Conference USA rivals. The two teams played a classic at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville back on January 15th as UL came out on top 71-70. Fans will remember the story as Rick Pitino’s club finished the game on a 24-5 run in the final 5:44 to erase a 65-47 deficit for the win. Preston Knowles buried four three-pointers in the run and his ability to find Kyle Kuric open for the winning layup with four seconds left completed the remarkable comeback. Knowles finished with a game-high 17 in the win. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 16 for MU in the first meeting.
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Still need your BIG EAST Tournament tickets? We have YOUR seat below! Follow the links below to the individual sessions you desire or buy for the entire event. Even with the games starting in less than three hours today it is not too late and still GREAT prices and GREAT seats available! The quarterfinals are only the warm-up to great action ahead for Friday and Saturday in this historic event!

Need a place to stay in NYC for the weekend, click here to Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament

For travel deals and arrangements, click here: Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and 2011 BIG EAST Tournament

MERNAGH: CRATER HAS HIS MOMENT

Anthony Crater had a big reputation as a young high school point guard in Flint, Michigan.

By big I mean huge. And with that huge rep came the hoisted-upon pressure that too many people put on young kids when they show a certain skill at a very early age. In Crater’s case his skill was speed. The kid they used to call ‘Noopy’ had a burst off the bounce that still is very rare even at the Big East level he currently plays at.

But that pressure, that fall we almost anticipate and expect kids to have when we rank them in single digits as prospects, can often be a really tough road.

After giving a commitment to Ohio State, Crater moved away from Flint — and all the much-discussed distractions for young folks in that city — and went to Brewster Academy (in New Hampshire) to play for Jason Smith. He arrived at Ohio State and was getting decent minutes for a first-year point guard, but he wasn’t getting huge minutes and that made the folks who had his ear unhappy.

He was the man they told him.

He was being disrespected.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

So Crater, like a young kid who doesn’t know better, bolted after what could charitably be called a half-season and ended up at South Florida.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PRIMER – - DAY TWO

* Day One Notes Below provided by Ray Floriani

Today’s Schedule (and tickets):

ROUND TWO: WEDNESDAY MARCH 9th:

–No. 9 Connecticut vs. No. 8 Georgetown, 12 noon.
–No. 13 Rutgers vs. No. 5 St. John’s, 2 PM.

Season Series: In their lone meeting on February 16, UConn scored a 78-70 win at the Hartford Civic Center. Kemba Walker pored in 31 points and also added 10 assists and 7 rebounds and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel added 23. The Hoyas got a team-high 19 points from point guard Chris Wright as the senior guard connected on five shots from three-point range. Wright will miss today’s game with a broken left (non-shooting) hand. Wright was injured early in the 2nd half of their Feb. 23 58-46 loss to Cincinnati which began a three-game losing streak for the Hoyas entering the 2011 BIG EAST Basketball Tournament.

In their lone battle this season, the Red Storm snuck past Rutgers at Carnesecca Arena, 58-56, back on Feb. 2. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 23 times in the contest. Dwight Hardy led the winners with 15 points while Jonathan Mitchell scored 21 for RU in the loss.
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–No. 15 South Florida vs. No. 7 Cincinnati, 7 PM.
–No. 11 Marquette vs. No. 6 West Virginia, 9 PM.

Season Series: The Bearcats defeated USF 74-66 at Fifth Third Arena back on January 12th. Sean Kilpatrick led four Bearcats in double-figures with a game-high 18 points. UC turned the Bulls over 18 times in that contest. Ron Anderson Jr. led USF with 13 points in that contest.

The Golden Eagles and Mountaineers met on New Year’s Day in Milwaukee with Marquette coming out on top, 79-74. Jae Crowder had 29 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in that contest with Darius Johnson-Odom adding 21. In a losing cause, ‘Truck’ Bryant scored 25 for WVU. Buzz Williams’ crew won the battle of the boards 36-24 in the first meeting.
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Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville and Syracuse await Wednesday’s winners in the quarterfinal round Thursday at MSG. Teams with double-byes are just 3-5 in the quarterfinals the last two seasons since the 16-team format was introduced.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PRIMER – - DAY ONE

Intro by Ray Floriani

LYNDHURST, NJ – The Big East Tournament will tip off in a few hours at Madison Square Garden. Five days of new stories to be written, a mix of the surprising, disappointing. The ’what happened to’ and a Cinderella usually added for good measure.

Game two in this afternoon’s session will be the ’rubber’ match of the battle between New Jersey’s two Big East schools. When Rutgers faces Seton Hall in the tournament’s second game of the schedule, approximately 2:30, a former officiating partner will be there. Not on the floor, the bench.

About six years ago a call came on a Summer morning asking if I could get to College of New Jersey. The Eastern Camp needed more officials. Instantly accepted but reminded the caller, the trip would be about an hour. No problem.

Arrived at TCNJ late morning and was told by the coordinator, “you will work with a camp counselor. Do you know Mike Rice?” Of course I did having covered his games as a Fordham point guard and following his coaching career. Mike knew me, more from the journalistic end. We were scheduled and worked three games. Told him to forget the signals, coaches just want the calls and don’t worry about positioning as much, I could work and adjust off his court location. Most important, I told Mike he played at a high level in college so officiating wouldn’t be impossible for him. In other words, he knew the game.

It was a high school team camp. We had some competitive clubs as one from Virginia as well as Neptune and CBA, two strong New Jersey programs. The games went well. Mike put his intensity seen these days on the Rutgers sideline, and conscientiousness into the effort. He was good with the coaches who may have questioned a call or no call. Showed a lot of patience in working the games and was impressive with his judgment. As noted, playing at the high level of DI, gave him the ability to decide on a call or pass on a ‘no call’. It was just a thrill and pleasure to work with him.

Not long after I mentioned the experience in my Eastern Basketball Magazine column, Mike was starting on Phil Martelli’s staff at St. Joseph’s. Mike told me later he copied the column to send to recruits. Why? To show prospects that coaches at St. Joseph’s will do anything and go the extra mile to help the kids in their program.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The 2011 BIG EAST Tournament is upon us, tipping off at high noon Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. All 16 teams from the conference converge on New York City for a five day basketball festival that promises to capture the attention of college basketball fans across the country.

In a season unlike any other seen before in the BIG EAST, Jamie Dixon and his Pittsburgh club led the regular season wire-to-wire after being pegged as the favorites by the league’s coaches last fall. The Panthers tied their school-record with 15 league wins, the same number the Sam Young, DeJuan Blair-led Pitt squad of 2008-2009. That club went on to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament, this team is looking for more.

“We really want to make this special for the seniors, especially with the team we have,” said senior Gilbert Brown following the regular season finale against Villanova. “We have a special group of individuals. I think we’re capable of doing a lot of great things. This is just the first step. I feel really confident going into the postseason.”

Brown was a key contributor off the bench for the 2008-2009 team as a sophomore and played a key role in Pitt’s BIG EAST Tournament championship win in 2008 against Georgetown, scoring 12 points as a redshirt freshman in that game.

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MERNAGH’S FIRST DAY BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

by RAY MERNAGH

Below is my first day preview/breakdown/analysis of the 2011 Big East Tournament. I’m writing this at midnight Sunday, five or six hours before I hit the road for the trip to NYC.

We kick things off Tuesday with No. 16 DePaul vs. No. 9 Connecticut at 12 Noon. Syracuse scored something like 195 points against DePaul on Saturday. UConn should be able to score at least 85 and win easily. If they don’t, Jim Calhoun’s post-game presser will be legendary and Oliver Purnell might go into shock.

The second game features #13 Rutgers against #12 Seton Hall. Neighborhood battle here. The Hall is on a run having beaten St. John’s and Marquette in back-to-back home games. Jeremy Hazell could go for 30, Jordan Theodore has looked very good and Jeff Robinson and the (Herb) Pope are always dangerous. Mike Rice will have a plan to limit Hazell’s touches and to make him hit tough shots.

The Scarlet Knights will be ready and each team won on the others floor in the regular season in two closely contested games. I expect the same thing here. Look for this to be a one possession game with five minutes left to play. Whoever makes more plays in that five minutes will get the win and move on to face St. John’s in Wednesday’s 2pm game. Rutgers needs Dane Miller to have an efficient game offensively and rebound the ball while also needing Gil Biruta to stay out of foul trouble to win. Seton Hall needs to limit turnovers and share the ball. They would also be helped by getting out in transition.

You can STILL get your tickets, see link below…

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Session 2 on Tuesday starts with #15 South Florida against #10 Villanova in a 7pm tip. The Bulls have a skilled frontcourt that’s got a world of talent. It baffles me that they’re so bad. I watched them get whatever they wanted offensively against Pitt last month only to fade in the last 10 minutes because they started getting out of their offense (and likely because the Panthers turned things up defensively). Still, this team, if focused and taking care of the ball while playing through Gilchrist, Famous and Fitzpatrick, could give the banged up Wildcats a game. Of course they haven’t been able to do that since the first few weeks of the season so…’Nova probably finds a way to get through and face a hot Cincinnati club at 7pm on Wednesday.

The nightcap of the first day has a batch of offensive fireworks ready to explode all ove the Garden floor as #14 Providence battles #11 Marquette. I was wrong regarding the Golden Eagles by the way. I thought there was no way this group finished 8th and they finished three spots below that and find themselves fighting for their tournament life. DJO, Jimmy F. Butler and Jae Crowder have to rise up in this one. PC will counter with Marshon “Fitty2″ Brooks who admittedly hasn’t been the same since he almost put the entire Notre Dame staff on Psyche Leave that memorable night (the Irish won, saving any potential commitments). Buzz Williams and crew needs this one bad. IMHO the Warriors (as I will always know them as) show up ready, while PC packs it in…unless of course Brooks goes all Chris Jackson circa ’88 on them. In that case, anything’s possible. Something tells me this has the chance, along with the Jersey Game, to be the most entertaining contest of Day 1.

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Somebody’s honking their horn. I think it’s my ride. I’ll most likely be doing daily guest spots with Joe Bendel on ESPN 970 during the week. Joe’s on from 4-7 each afternoon and you can listen live at this link. For updates all week, including what times I’ll be going live with Joe, follow me on twitter @raymern or follow NBE Sports on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/NBESports) and the NBE facebook page.

Don’t forget, you can join us this week in NYC, too. For travel deals and arrangements, click here: Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and 2011 BIG EAST Tournament
.

Back at you soon!

As a side note…the potential (I stress potential as teams like SHU/RU and Georgetown hope to have something to say about this) Thursday afternoon match-ups for the Quarterfinals has become one of the hottest MSG tickets I can remember for a mid-week afternoon BIG EAST Tournament ever. Everyone knows how well Syracuse and Connecticut (if they get past DePaul AND Georgetown) draw at MSG, throw in a revitalized St. John’s and #1 seed Pittsburgh and you have a tremendous matinee of basketball that will have the attention of the nation. Don’t miss your chance to be there live…but the prices are going up by the minute each time I check…so, buy now…

MERNAGH: ALL PITT DOES IS WIN

Pitt finished off Villanova yesterday 60-50 on what was a sweet Senior Day for the Panthers.

The win clinched the Big East Regular Season Championship for Pitt and the #1 seed in the upcoming Big East Tournament. It’s widely believed that the Panthers will also be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the brackets are announced a week from today.

The Panther body of work – I italicise the phrase because it always makes me laugh to think it’s used to describe the accomplishments of sweaty 18-22 year-old ballers and not sweaty 18-22 year-old supermodels — is exquisite.

A 27-4 overall record with the one out of conference loss coming to Tennessee, a team as talented and mercurial as their head coach Bruce Pearl.

15-3 in the Big East with the 3 losses coming on a buzzer-beater on the road (St. John’s), an overtime thriller on the road (Louisville), and a Ben Hansbrough-led five-point loss to the second best regular season team in the league (Notre Dame).

The Panthers were expected to win the deepest conference in the country — a conference some experts incorrectly thought was down heading into the season — and they did. They were ranked in the top-five nationally in every preseason poll and finished the regular season there.

Basketball is still a game that, more often than not, rewards groups that work together. Groups that help each other. Groups that sacrifice the me for the we. Groups that get in the weight room and actually pound plates of metal and steel for hours at a time. And finally, the game tends to reward Groups that consist of really good basketball players.

And that’s where a lot of folks got it twisted with this exact same group of players just fifteen months ago.

Brad Wanamaker was the kid that would never live up to the greatness that the Pitt coach kept insisting was inside of him.

Gary McGhee was the center that would never contribute anything besides picking up his five fouls and grabbing the occasional defensive rebound in his area.

Gilbert Brown would never live up to his talent level.

Nasir Robinson would never be capable, at 6’5″, of contributing offensively at the 4 position.

Ashton Gibbs would never be anything more than a spot-up shooter.

Travon Woodall would never be a quality Big East point guard.

Dante Taylor was being questioned because he was producing numbers right in the middle of all the McDonald’s All Americans from his class, while Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna were both being put in the “Pitt can’t recruit talented players” bin already.

And hilariously it continues, even on the morning after Pitt won its third outright Big East title.

I uttered a befuddled “what?” 20 minutes ago when my business partner let me know in a text that Brad Wanamaker was voted 2nd team All Big East by the coaches. It took me back to a discussion I’ve had with Brandin Knight more than once about Pitt’s philosophy in recruiting the types of players they do.

They recruit kids that come from winning programs. Kids that they think will get along with the players they already have. Kids with chips on their shoulders (somebody re-size Wanamaker’s shoulder because the Big East coaches just threw another boulder up there). Knights main point was that the staff, led by Jamie Dixon, recruits kids that they think will contribute to an elite Big East program, not kids that writers or scouts or even Ronald McDonald thinks will.

Gary McGhee is a load in the post defensively and a load on the offensive glass. His 3 offensive rebounds (10 total), especially his putback over two guys while in the air in the second half, were huge.

Gilbert Brown hit a three to give him 1,000 points for his career. He defended like he usually does with his length and strength, set good screens and hit all four of his freebies.

Brad Wanamaker went 0-5 from the field but delivered 6 extra large assists in a game that was slowed to a crawl because Jay Wright knew that was ‘Nova’s only chance. He also hit 3-4 free throws and grabbed 5 rebounds while playing with foul trouble.

Nas Robinson shot 4-6 from the field and finished with 9 points.

Gibbs made big shot after big shot, finishing with 18 points and 0 turnovers.

Woodall hit 5-6 free throws, dished out 3 assists and hit a huge runner off the glass late when the game was still in doubt.

Taylor finished with 4 points and 5 rebounds (4 offensive) in 15 minutes on a still sore knee.

Patterson hit all four of his free throws.

In other words a total Group effort and smiles all around afterwards. No down faces over numbers. No worries about touches. Just pure joy over a task accomplished together.

I asked assistant Pat Skerry to describe this team after working with them all year. Skerry is a first-year assistant, new to the program so I thought his would be a fresh take: “Cohesive and selfless group,” said Skerry. “They’re driven daily and understand winning.”

In other words….Champions.

ALL-BIG EAST TEAMS ANNOUNCED; HANSBROUGH UNANIMOUS 1ST TEAM SELECTION

BIG EAST press release

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Notre Dame senior Ben Hansbrough is the only unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players. The league announced the All-BIG EAST First, Second and Third Teams in addition to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.

DePaul forward Cleveland Melvin was the lone unanimous pick on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.

Six players were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from that group. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday, March 8. The announcement will be made between sessions of the first day of The BIG EAST Championship Presented by American Eagle Outfitters at Madison Square Garden. The press conference will begin after the postgame interviews of the afternoon doubleheader have been completed. The other individual awards will be announced Monday, March 7.

The six first-team players are also the top six scorers in the BIG EAST. The other first-team selections are: Kemba Walker of Connecticut, Austin Freeman of Georgetown, Ashton Gibbs of Pittsburgh, Marshon Brooks of Providence and Dwight Hardy of St. John’s.

Hansbrough, a 6-3 guard, led Notre Dame to a second-place finish in the BIG EAST regular season with a 14-4 record. He led the Irish in scoring with an 18.5 average, which was third in the league. He also was third in the BIG EAST in 3-point shooting, making 45.1 percent.

Walker was the unquestioned leader for Connecticut, The junior guard finished the regular season second in the BIG EAST in scoring at 23.1 ppg. He has scored at least 24 points in a game 13 times this season. Walker was an All-BIG EAST Third Team selection last year.

Freeman, the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, is fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.8 points while helping the Hoyas to a 21-9 record. The senior guard was an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick last season.

Gibbs, who also was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection in 2009-10, helped lead Pittsburgh to the BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 15-3 record. The league’s top 3-pointer shooter at 46.6 percent, he finished sixth in scoring with a 16.4 average.

Brooks was the BIG EAST scoring champion with a 26.0 scoring mark in league games. In all games, he also was first, averaging 24.8 ppg. The 6-5 senior improved his scoring mark from 14.2 ppg last season.

Hardy provided the critical offensive punch to help fuel the resurgence at St. John’s. The senior guard averaged 17.9 ppg which ranked fourth for the regular season. The Red Storm’s 12-6 mark was their best since a 12-4 record in 1999-2000.

Melvin, a 6-8 forward, was DePaul’s top scorer and the leading freshman scorer in the BIG EAST with a 14.2 average. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (& TICKETS)

The 2010-2011 BIG EAST regular season concluded with eight games on the schedule Saturday. With their 60-50 win over Villanova earlier in the day, Pittsburgh claimed the conference’s outright regular season crown with a 15-3 record in the regular season. Notre Dame checked in at 14-4 in second place.

The Panthers will enter The BIG EAST Championship as the No. 1 overall seed for the third time and look to win their third BIG EAST tournament title. It was the 6th regular season title for Pitt.

Louisville and Syracuse round out the top four seeds in The BIG EAST Championship, which begins Tuesday, March 8, at noon Eastern at Madison Square Garden in New York. The top four schools receive byes through two rounds of the tournament and won’t play until Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The tournament begins Tuesday with four first-round matchups. Connecticut and DePaul kick things off with a battle between the Nos. 9 and 16 seeds at noon, while No. 12 Seton Hall takes on No. 13 Rutgers at 2 p.m. to complete the afternoon session. Those games will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN 3D.

The Tuesday evening session begins with No. 10 Villanova and No. 15 USF at 7 p.m., followed by No. 11 Marquette against No. 14 Providence at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and ESPN 3D.

No. 8-seed Georgetown will await the Connecticut/DePaul winner Wednesday at noon in the first of four second-round games. No. 5 St. John’s has the Seton Hall/Rutgers winner at 2 p.m., while No. 7 Cincinnati takes on the Villanova /USF winner at 7 p.m. No. 6 West Virginia – the 2010 BIG EAST champion – closes Wednesday’s action against the Marquette/Providence winner.

Friday’s semifinals are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m., while the championship game tips at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Wednesday’s second-round games, Thursday’s quarterfinals, Friday’s semifinals and the championship game Saturday will be televised on ESPN.

Georgetown has won a conference-record seven BIG EAST Championships. Connecticut has won six tournament titles, while Syracuse has won five.

For the sixth consecutive year, all tickets to the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship have been sold in advance. All ticket packages for the 2011 Championship have been purchased by the 16 member institutions, negating the need for a public sale at Madison Square Garden, also possibly making it the toughest ticket in town.

Still need your BIG EAST Tournament tickets? We have YOUR seat below! Follow the links below to the individual sessions you desire or buy for the entire event. It is not too late and still GREAT prices and GREAT seats available!

For travel deals and arrangements, click here: Book Air and/or hotel for NYC and 2011 BIG EAST Tournament

2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (with ticket purchase links):

ROUND ONE: TUESDAY, MARCH 8th:
– No. 16 DePaul vs. No. 9 Connecticut, 12 Noon.
– No. 13 Rutgers vs. No. 12 Seton Hall, 2 PM.


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–No. 15 South Florida vs. No. 10, Villanova 7 PM.
–No. 14 Providence vs. No. 11 Marquette, 9 PM.


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ROUND TWO: WEDNESDAY MARCH 9th:

–16/9 Winner vs. No. 8 Georgetown, 12 noon.
–13/12 Winner vs. No. 5 St. John’s, 2 PM.


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–15/10 Winner vs. No. 7 Cincinnati, 7 PM.
–14/11 Winner vs. No. 6 West Virginia, 9 PM.


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QUARTERFINALS: THURSDAY MARCH 10th:

–16/9/8 vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh, 12 noon.
–13/12/5 vs. No. 4 Syracuse, 2 PM.


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–15/10/7 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 7 PM.
–14/11/6 vs. No. 3 Louisville, 9 PM.


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SEMIFINALS: FRIDAY MARCH 11th:


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CHAMPIONSHIP: SATURDAY, MARCH 12th:

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Do not miss any of the action of the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament, buy an all-session strip:


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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – ST. JOHN’S LOSS MEANS SU IN POSITION FOR BIG EAST TOURNAMENT DOUBLE-BYE

In the lone game on the BIG EAST schedule Thursday night, Seton Hall used a late 11-0 run to pull away from St. John’s for an 84-70 before a crowd of 9,470 at the Prudential Center in Newark (NJ).

Playing in his second-to-last last regular season home game, SHU senior Jeremy Hazell had a game-high 31 points on 9-14 shooting from the field and freshman Fuquan Edwin scored a career-high 19 points leading the Pirates to the win, snapping their three-game losing streak. In Kevin Willard’s first year at the helm, Seton Hall is 6-11 in the BIG EAST and 12-17 overall, but none of that mattered in the aftermath of an emotional win.

“We had to come out and make statement. It’s a rivalry game,” said Hazell. “We had to put it to them. These are my last two home games so I want to go out with bang.”

The game certainly ended with a bang. With the Pirates clinging to a two-point lead, 70-68, with 3:51, SHU went on an 11-0 tear that pushed their lead to 81-68 with only 1:22 remaining. Edwin began the run with a three-pointer and then Jordan Theodore and Edwin scored on back-to-back lay-ups and the lead was 77-68, forcing Steve Lavin to call a timeout. Lavin then was issued a pair of technical fouls and ejected from the game for his protest of an earlier call. Hazell would make two of the four free throws as a result and Theodore would add two more shortly after to complete the run.

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BIG EAST TOURNAMENT AT A GLANCE (PART II)

Just nine regular season games remain on the BIG EAST schedule for the 2010-2011 campaign with one tonight and the final eight set for Saturday. Still much is to be determined for seeding in regards to next week’s 2011 BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

First, let’s take a look at the few things we DO know in regards to seeds and match-ups…

The 32nd edition of the BIG EAST Tournament will tip off at noon next Tuesday (March 8th) at Madison Square Garden. This is the 29th straight year that the “World’s Most Famous Arena” has hosted the tournament, making it the longest-running Division I men’s basketball championship at one venue.

Three of the four teams taking the floor for Tuesday afternoon’s first session have been determined, and here is that opening schedule:

ROUND ONE: TUESDAY, MARCH 8th:
– (16) DePaul vs. No. 9, 12 Noon.
– Seton Hall vs. Rutgers, 2 PM.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – MADNESS BEGINS ($5 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT TICKETS?)

Welcome to MARCH!

It seems like just last week we were discussing the November tournaments and the season was just getting under way. Now we are locked and loaded as the exciting month of March begins now!

I really can not say enough how much fun the season has been. The BIG EAST has been a lot of fun to cover night in and night out. The games are super competitive and one loss seems to put a different team on the brink of a losing streak every night. The schedules are brutal and it is only fitting that the fun concludes with a party at Madison Square Garden tipping off in exactly one week. The 2011 BIG EAST Tournament promises to be unlike any other. As we evaluated yesterday in our 2011 BIG EAST Tournament at a Glance (Part 1) the possibilities are endless with just a five days left in the regular season of where teams will finish. However, there are likely three NCAA Tournament-bound teams that will be playing on Tuesday in Round One. As I was looking through ticket options with TicketNetwork.com, the official NBE Basketball ticket source, I noticed many tickets available for as low as $5 for the first session on Tuesday and even more under $10 for the second session that night. How can one go wrong?

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IRISH KEEP BIG EAST TITLE HOPES ALIVE; NOTRE DAME ROUTS REELING VILLANOVA

From the moment the schedule dates were announced this fall the late season match-up in South Bend (IN) between Notre Dame and Villanova was expected to have BIG EAST regular season title implications. That expectation certainly came to fruition, however it was the Fighting Irish who were looking to stay right on the tail of conference leader Pittsburgh while the Wildcats are trying to avoid a Thursday appearance at Madison Square Garden next week for the beginning of the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament.

Their reversal of roles in the league landscape certainly proved to be justified as a jubilant Irish home crowd sended off their five senior starters in style as Notre Dame buried Villanova with an avalanche of three-pointers from the opening minutes as they never trailed during a 93-72 BIG MONDAY win.

Just 3:32 into the game Jay Wright was forced to use a timeout to try and slow the Irish down as they lead 14-4 out of the gates on the strength of two three-pointers from Tim Abromaitis and one each from Carleton Scott and Ben Hansbrough. it was just a harbinger of things to come as Notre Dame shot 62.5% from beyond the arc while making a school record 20 treys in their 32 attempts.

The Irish was 11 for 19 in the first half on three’s, including 4 of 6 from Hansbrough whose older brother Tyler was in the stands for senior night, to build a 47-27 lead. The Irish led by as many as 25 points in the first half and 32 in the second against the shell-shocked Wildcats.

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2011 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT AT A GLANCE (PART I)

One week is left in the 2010-2011 BIG EAST regular season and the seeding picture for the 2011 Big East Tournament is very unclear. There is plenty to play for this final week as 11 BIG EAST teams are also in the mix for NCAA Tournament invitations as well as 11 of the 16 teams in the league are currently 9-7 or better in the mega conference.

The current magic number for Pittsburgh to claim the outright conference title is 2 with two games remaining. The Panthers have lost two of their last three games, falling to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden by one on a last second score by Dwight Hardy and at Louisville yesterday in overtime. Pitt finished the regular season this week at South Florida on Wednesday night and then hosting Villanova on Saturday at 6 PM. Any combination of two wins by the Panthers or losses by Notre Dame will give Jamie Dixon’s club the outright regular season title, quite an accomplishment this year in college basketball, which many believe will result in a No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Pitt has clinched a double-bye in the 2011 Big East Tournament, meaning their first acton will come on Thursday (March 10) at Madison Square Garden.

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‘PHILLY GUYS’ RETURN HOME TO BITE VILLANOVA AGAIN

Eight days ago it was the Pittsburgh combination of Brad Wanamaker and Nasir Robinson that led the Panthers to a win at Villanova, ending the Wildcats long win streak at their on-campus Pavilion.

“Our Philly guys played like Philly guys,” Jamie Dixon would say afterwards.

Earlier tonight Scoop Jardine, Rick Jackson and Dion Waiters returned home and led Syracuse to a 69-64 win over Jay Wright’s team at the Wells Fargo Center in a Big Monday BIG EAST clash.

“The difference was the Philly guys,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said following the game.

Indeed it was.

Jardine scored 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the floor and added 6 assists. Jackson was 8 of 9 from the field on his was to 18 points and he added four blocked shots. Waiters made two clutch foul shots to put Syracuse up three with 14 seconds and left and Jackson, a 50% shooter from the line, iced the game with two more from the line 10 seconds later to provide the final scoring margin.

“Scoop and Jackson were great it was like a home game for them,” said Jay Wright.

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DWIGHT HARDY HONORED AS BIG EAST’S BEST FOR 2ND CONSECUTIVE WEEK

BIG EAST Player of the Week:
DWIGHT HARDY, St. John’s, G, Sr: Hardy wins Player of the Week honors for the second straight week. He averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 steals and 3.5 rebounds while leading the Red Storm to an 80-68 win at Marquette and a 60-59 victory over No. 4/4 Pittsburgh.

Hardy scored 28 points in the win over Marquette and netted 19 against the Panthers, including the winning basket with 1.2 seconds left.

“To see that shot beat the No.4 team in the country was surreal,” said SJU head coach Steve Lavin following the game.

Hardy leads St. John’s (17-9 overall, 9-5 BIG EAST) with 17.2 points a game on the season.
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BIG EAST Rookie of the Week:
CLEVELAND MELVIN, DePaul, F, Fr: Melvin earns rookie honors for the fourth time this season after averaging 18.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Blue Demons. In a 79-76 win at Providence, he posted 20 points and six rebounds. Melvin followed that effort with 16 points and four boards in a 77-75 overtime loss to Villanova. He is the BIG EAST’s top freshman scorer, averaging 14.2 ppg.
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BIG EAST Honor Roll:

– Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, Jr: Had 31 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in a 78-70 victory over Georgetown. He averaged 23.5 ppg in a 1-1 week.

- Jeremiah Kelly, DePaul, G, Jr: Posted consecutive career scoring highs in a 1-1 week. He scored 23 points in a 79-76 win at Providence and 25 points in a 77-75 overtime loss to Villanova. Shot 55 percent from 3-point range.

- Chris Wright, Georgetown, G, Sr: Averaged 22.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week. He shot 51.7 percent from the floor, 58.3 percent from 3-point range and made all eight free throw attempts.

- Kris Joseph, Syracuse, F, Jr: Averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in a 2-0 week. Had 21 points and eight rebounds in an 84-80 overtime win
over Rutgers.

- Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Sr: Averaged 23.0 points in a 2-0 week. Scored a career-high 34 points in a 77-75 overtime win at DePaul. His 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation forced the extra period.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - BIG EAST TOURNAMENT JUST GOT TOUGHER (2/21/2011)

The 2011 BIG EAST Tournament promises to be a great event with the first game tipping off in just 15 days! Not only has the regular season shown to be very unpredictable with tough games night in and night out, but St. John’s will be playing on their home floor which has been a house of horrors for visitors this season, unlike any other in recent memory.

Steve Lavin’s team already owns sins at Madison Square Garden over the conference’s top three teams in the current standings: Georgetown, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The have also beaten Connecticut and Duke in the past month at MSG when both were ranked in the Top 10.

The Johnnies’ current four-game win streak is the longest active win streak in the conference and Saturday’s win over No. 4 Pitt has put an exclamation point on the resurgence of the Red Storm. Dwight Hardy’s tightrope dance of the sideline and twisting lay-up with 1.2 seconds left gave SJU a 60-59 win over thr tough-minded Panthers whom had just taken the lead moments earlier on a Travon Woodall three-pointer. Hardy finished with 19 points in the game and is deserving of BIG EAST Player of the Year consideration with his role in the recent ‘Storm surge.

“To see that shot beat the No.4 team in the country was surreal,” said Steve Lavin following the game.

Hardy is averaging over 24 points a game in that span while shooting 51% (55-108) from the floor and 50% (18-36) from beyond the arc in the stretch. In the last two games, which included a road win at Marquette, the 6-foot-2 senior guard originally from the Bronx has also made 27 trips to the free throw line, making 22, and his ability to break down the defense for scoring opportunities has been a key element to the St. John’s half court offense that allows them to set the tempo and make teams pay late in a shot clock.

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BIG EAST HOOPS UPDATE – - 2/17/2011

Connecticut rode the strong play of Kemba Walker and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel to earn a 78-70 win over Georgetown Wednesday night at the Civic Center in downtown Hartford. The loss snapped the Hoyas eight-game winning streak.

Walker scored 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting and added 10 assists and 7 rebounds while sophomore guard Coombs-McDaniel added 23 points, his second consecituve impressive outing.

“I’ve just been real confident,” said Coombs-McDaniel following the game. “I’ve been playing a lot more as well. The guys have a lot of confidence in me. And I’ve just been knocking down shots.”

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THE BELL TOLLS FOR ‘NOVA; WILDCATS ESCAPE NEWARK WITH WIN OVER SETON HALL

Villanova freshman James Bell steps up for injured Stokes and delivers career performance on the road

by RAY FLORIANI

NEWARK, NJ – The pass came as he made a cut from the weak side. Jeremy Hazell caught and in one motion turned and released. He was defended but had a good, clean look. Seconds remained with his Seton Hall team trailing by three. The shot seemed to have ‘eyes’ but instead rimmed and came off into the hands of a Villanova defender a split second before the horn sounded. Villanova escaped with a 60-57 victory over Seton Hall at the Prudential Center on Tuesday.

The three keys:

1. Bell stepped up. Corey Stokes is out with a turf injury about another week or two. In addition, Seton Hall did a good job defensively limiting the touches of Corey Fisher (12 points on 4 of 4 shooting). Coming off the bench to supply a team high 21 points in 29 minutes was James Bell. The 6-5 freshman guard shot 7 of 9 including 4 of 6 beyond the arc. Interestingly Bell entered the game shooting 4 of 14 on the year from three. A 29% rate. He also added three rebounds and two steals in a much-needed solid performance.

2. Poise and pace. Villanova was coming off two straight losses. The Rutgers game last Wednesday and Pitt at home, a game coach Jay Wright termed “a really ugly game”, on Saturday. Once again Villanova was in a situation similar to the Rutgers contest. On the road with the home team trailing and in possession of the ball. “We practiced that situation before playing Rutgers,” Wright said. It is easy to assume they have practiced it since as well. The Wildcats chose not to foul but to contest and play solid defense. They did.

Villanova did not want to get in a running game with Seton Hall. Paramount was stopping the Hall’s transition. For the game the Wildcats did a great job of turning this into a more pedestrian 63 possession affair. The Hall did have a 12-6 edge in fast break points but virtually the only transition available was off several of Villanova’s 22 turnovers.

Team…………………Possessions……………………..Offensive Efficiency

Villanova………………….63…………………………………….95

Seton Hall………………..63…………………………………….91

Actually, the turnovers were the only area the Hall had the upper hand. They committed only 7 of their own. Villanova shot better hitting 49% from the floor (to Seton Hall’s 33%) and owned a 37-25 rebounding edge.

3. Herb Pope foul trouble. Pope picked up his fourth foul with about 8 minutes to play. He did not foul out. Still, he managed only 7 points and 4 rebounds in 29 minutes.

“Without Herb Pope we are such a different team,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “He (Pope) is such a smart basketball player without him we become more of a mechanical team. Too play oriented.”

On a night contributions were needed from Jeff Robinson, the senior forward managed only 4 points, 7 rebounds in 35 minutes.

3A. Too many threes. The Pirates shot 4 of 26 from beyond the arc for a 15% showing (Hazell was 4-13, rest of team 0-13). “That is way too many threes at home,” Willard said. On the night Seton Hall was 19 of 58 from the floor for 33%. Adding it up, 45% of Seton Hall’s field goal attempts were from three but only 21% of their scoring was dialed long distance.

Final notes: Seton Hall is 11-15 (5-9 in the Big East). Villanova improves to 20-6 (8-5). Villanova visits DePaul Saturday and hosts Syracuse on Monday. SHU is at Marquette Saturday and at Notre Dame the following Saturday. Jeremy Hazell led all scorers with 25 points. Hazell shot 9 of 23 from the field (4 of 13 from three).

Tough home coming for Dominic Cheek. The Villanova sophomore forward out of St. Anthony’s High School did not score. Cheek was 0 for 5 from the floor but did grab 6 rebounds.

Attendance was 9,408.

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The BIG EAST conference season has moved into the stretch run and the 2011 Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden is quickly approaching. You can visit the NBE 2011 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the event schedule and links to purchase tickets to each and/or all sessions. NBE is uniquely partnered with TicketNetwork.com to bring our readers Tickets to All Sporting Events during ANY season. WE HAVE YOUR SEATS!!
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