Big East Tournament

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.

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 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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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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4 GAME SUNDAY IN THE BIG EAST

Marshon Brooks of Providence went for 52 last week in a loss to Notre Dame (a game that Ben Hansbrough of the Irish had 32 in).

Dwight Hardy went for 34 yesterday at Villanova during an 81-68 St. John’s win. St. John’s moved to 11-5 in Beast action and 19-9 on the season.

There’s been a lot of discussion about who’s the Player of the Year in the Big East and guys like Brooks, Hansbrough, and Hardy seem to make a new case for themselves each and every game.

Who will it be today?

Huge games today in league play and plenty of opportunities for both personal and team accomplishments.

UConn goes to Cincinnati for a noon tip. The Mighty Bearcats have righted their ship as of late and now stand at an impressive 22-6 and 9-6. UConn is 20-7 and 8-7 and has lost two straight.

The noon hour also gives us a West Virginia at Rutgers tilt. WVU is 17-10 (8-7) and continues to struggle to make shots in close. Bob Huggins was asked after the Pitt game to explain it and said simply “we missed shots” while admitting the Mountaineers had to put the beating at Pitt behind them and “get ready for Sunday.” Rutgers is dangerous, especially after a string of strong efforts was interrupted with a bad one in their 59-37 loss to Louisville. Mike Rice will probably have his kids ready for a battle. RU is 13-14 and 4-11 in the league.

Pitt goes to Louisville for a 2pm tip. Pitt’s 25-3 and 13-2 in the Big East while Louisville is 21-7 and 10-5 in what’s probably the marquee match of the day.

Also, Mr. Brooks takes his act to Milwaukee to face a Marquette team fresh off a huge win at UConn Thursday night. PC is 14-14 (3-12) while Marquette is 17-11 (8-7). That game tips at 4pm.

It’s gotten to the stretch run here.

In fact we leave for the Big East tournament a week from tomorrow.

We will have wall-to-wall coverage of the tourney throughout.

Should be fun!

Enjoy the games today.

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BIG EAST and college basketball fans better not miss the 2011 Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden next month. 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. Even though the event is sold out to the public, 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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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (5/26/2010)

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In today’s news and notes, the elimination of the double-bye (in reality, byes altogether) from the Big East tournament is nearing reality after yesterday’s unanimous vote by the coaches. Recruiting updates on Chasson Randle and Karron Johnson are also linked for readers to catch up on as well.

Read on below for all of the latest News & Notes around the Big East basketball conference. Sports fans should also visit StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you this spring.

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MERNAGH: BIG EAST TOURNAMENT WAS BUTLER’S TIME

by RAY MERNAGH

“Da’Sean Butler is the best basketball player in the Big East.”

Those words were uttered by an NBA scout, a guy I respect, back in January of this year.

And while I didn’t scoff at him, I also wasn’t completely buying it.

Butler was definitely one of the top five players in the Big East, maybe even in the top three, but the best?

Really?

“He does whatever they need him to do Raymond,” the scout scolded me — no doubt seeing the doubt in my face. “That’s what this Butler kid does, his will to win is off the charts.”

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2010 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP WAS DA’SEAN’S TOURNAMENT

By Anthony Jaskulski

Heroic efforts and exemplary moments are not scarce in the Big East tournament.

In 2006, Gerry McNamara rocked the tournament for four days, hitting buzzer-beaters and shocking every opponent his Syracuse Orange played to reach the title.

In 2009, Syracuse and Connecticut went to an epic six overtime periods to decide a 127-117 Orange victory. The game lasted for 3 hours and 46 minutes.

But this year, Da’Sean Butler’s story could be added to the classics played in the past. Butler played three games in three days that made everybody who watched ask exactly how thin is that line between reality and just plain impossible?

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WEST VIRGINIA TAKES BIG EAST TITLE

Mountaineers win on the heels of Da’Sean Butler

By Anthony Jaskulski

He did it again.

Arguably the most clutch shooter in the history of West Virginia basketball, Da’Sean Butler showed exactly why he is the go-to man.

And while he’s hit six game-winning shots for the Mountaineers this year, none was as big as Saturday night’s.

With just four seconds left, the senior did what he does best, and drove from the top of the key to the paint, where he then fired up an acrobatic floater that dropped giving West Virginia (27-6) the 60-58 advantage and eventual win over Georgetown (23-10) in the 2010 Big East tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden Saturday night.

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2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: CHAMPIONSHIP PRIMER

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The 2010 Big East Tournament has reached it’s end-point as Georgetown and West Virginia will meet at 9 PM tonight under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden for the conference tournament championship.

If you can get to NYC, there are still tickets available to be purchased and the links below (or at our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page) provide the resources to find seats with Stub Hub’s guarantee for fans to have their tickets in hand prior to the game, even at this last minute…

The remaining Big East Conference Tournament Schedule…

Championship, Saturday March 13th:

Session 8:

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 8 (Championship) March 13 2010

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2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: DAY THREE RECAP

by RAY FLORIANI and MATT WHITFIELD

NEW YORK CITY – The quaterfinals of the 2010 Big East Tournament served as reminder, as if we needed one, as how tough and unforgiving this conference is. Also, how interesting and exciting for those of us watching and/or analyzing.

The Scores:

Georgetown 91, Syracuse 84

Marquette 80, Villanova 76

Notre Dame 50, Pittsburgh 45

West Virginia 54, Cincinnati 51

Ray’s ten points of emphasis from Thursday…

1. Syracuse exited the tournament one and done. For Orange faithful, the weekend to quote Steeley Dan, “didn’t turn out as you planned”. Orange fans can also take solace from 2003. That year they won a quarterfinal game before being eliminated by UCONN in the semis. Less than a month later they cut the nets down in New Orleans. ESPN reported no team lost its first conference tournament game and won the national title. Interesting, but right now Syracuse is concerned with Arinze Onuaku who exited the Georgetown game with a knee strain that needed further evaluation.

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DOUBLE-BYE A CURSE IN BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

‘Nova and Pitt join Syracuse out the MSG door heading into final quarterfinal game

In the unique, 16-team tournament format in the Big East conference the top four regular season finishers breeze into the quarterfinals with a double-bye. The reward for finishing at the top of the grueling and competitive 18 game conference schedule would seem to be a significant one and an advantage in the conference tournament played annually at Madison Square Garden.

Not so fast.

This year in the 2010 Big East Tournament the double-bye has acted more of a curse as Syracuse. Villanova and Pittsburgh all recipients of a double-bye for their outstanding regular seasons, fell one-by-one over the course of the first three quarterfinal contests Thursday.

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LANCE STEPHENSON AT HOME UNDER GARDEN LIGHTS

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While an extended stay in New York City and Madison Square Garden is something new to most of the Cincinnati Bearcats on Mick Cronin’s roster, there is one player that is an old pro at playing under the bright lights and scrutiny that the Garden brings.

The NBE Big East Freshman of the Year Lance Stephenson was a New York City basketball prodigy since he was in 6th grade and the legend of the player known as ‘Born Ready’ grew to a climax as Stephenson led Lincoln High School to four consecutive PSAL championships on the Garden floor. This week he returned home hoping to help the Bearcats turn around a season that has not lived up to the preseason expectations heaped upon them by adding Stephenson to an experienced returning cast.

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2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: THURSDAY PRIMER

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The 2010 Big East Tournament has reached the quarterfinal round and what better way to tip-off the action than with a match-up between Syracuse and Georgetown at high noon in Madison Square Garden. I am sure many fans will be joining Digger Phelps on a long lunch today. If you can get to NYC, there are still tickets available to be purchased and the links below provide the resources to find seats with Stub Hub’s guarantee for fans to have their tickets in hand prior to the game, even at this last minute…

The remaining Big East Conference Tournament Schedule…

QUARTERFINALS: THURSDAY, MARCH 11th:

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 5 March 11 2010

1) Syracuse vs. 8] Georgetown, 12 noon.
4) Villanova vs. 5) Marquette, 2 PM.

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 6 March 11 2010

2) Pittsburgh vs. 7) Notre Dame, 7 PM.
3) West Virginia vs. 11) Cincinnati, 9 PM.

Semifinals, Firday March 12th:

Session 7:

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 7 (Semifinals) March 12 2010

Championship, Saturday March 13th:

Session 8:

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 8 (Championship) March 13 2010

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2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: DAY TWO RECAP

by RAY FLORIANI and MATT WHITFIELD

NEW YORK CITY – Day two at the 2010 Big East Tournament is complete and one thing is definitely certain, we will have a new champion.

The scores:

Georgetown 69, South Florida 49

Marquette 57, St. John’s 55

Notre Dame 68, Seton Hall 56

Cincinnati 69, Louisville 66

Ray’s ten points of emphasis from Wednesday…

1. Georgetown did it the old fashioned way. They defended the heck out of South Florida. Dominique Jones of USF had 21 points to lead all scorers but the Bulls outstanding junior talent had no one to lend a helping hand. Credit the Hoya defense that forced South Florida into a 29% afternoon from the field.

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BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: MERNAGH’S THOUGHTS ON DAY I

by RAY MERNAGH

USF 58 DePaul 49

A lot is being made about South Florida winning without scoring from outside a few feet and I’ll concede it’s one of the more stranger things I’ve seen in a long time.

But it also points to the control that Stan Heath has over this squad. The Bulls finished 0-8 from three but only took two of those in the second half.

Why? Because they didn’t have to make three’s or a lot of jump shots to beat DePaul. Heat told them that and they executed their game plan of getting to the rim.

Today against Georgetown they’ll have to hit some J’s, but because they realized they didn’t need to yesterday they got to today.

It’s all about advancing folks.

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2010 BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: WEDNESDAY PRIMER

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After a thrilling doubleheader Tuesday to close the first day of action of the 2010 Big East Tournament, we roll on into Wednesday with four more games as the action will continue to heat up into the weekend at Madison Square Garden.

Here is Wednesday’s schedule (and your chance to get tickets to the games):

9) South Florida vs. 8] Georgetown, Noon.
13) St. John’s vs. 5) Marquette, 2 PM.

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 3 March 10 2010 (USF vs GTown & SJU vs. MU)

10) Seton Hall vs. 7) Notre Dame, 7 PM.
11) Cincinnati vs. 6) Louisville, 9 PM.

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 4 March 10 2010 (SHU vs. ND & UC vs. UL)

The rest of the schedule this week (and your chance to buy tickets to see the action live at MSG):

QUARTERFINALS: THURSDAY, MARCH 11th:

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 5 March 11 2010

1) Syracuse vs. GTown/USF, 12 noon.
4) Villanova vs. MU/SJU, 2 PM.

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 6 March 11 2010

2) Pittsburgh vs. ND/SHU, 7 PM.
3) West Virginia vs. UL/UC, 9 PM.

Semifinals, Firday March 12th:

Session 7:

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 7 (Semifinals) March 12 2010

Championship, Saturday March 13th:

Session 8:

Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets – Session 8 (Championship) March 13 2010

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BIG EAST TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: DAY ONE RECAP

by RAY FLORIANI and MATT WHITFIELD

NEW YORK CITY – The first round of the 2010 Big East Tournament is in the books. Four games, one upset with St. John’s over UCONN in a surprisingly lopsided contest . The scores:

South Florida 58, DePaul 49

St. John’s 73, Connecticut 51

Seton Hall 109, Providence 106

Cincinnati 69, Rutgers 68

—Be sure to visit NBE’s 2010 Big East Tournament home page (HERE!) for the full schedule and links to get tickets to each session—

Ray’s ten points of emphasis from this first day:

1. Loved the attitude of South Florida coach Stan Heath. His Bulls defeated DePaul and are 20-11. Rather than discuss the bubble Heath simply tells his players to keep playing. “We win we get to keep playing,” Heath said, “and that takes care of itself.” Bulls jumped out to a 30-15 halftime lead and outside of a late run fueled by DePaul’s Will Walker (20 points), did a good defensive job.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (3/8/2010)

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The regular season is complete and the Big East Tournament tips off tomorrow so be sure to visit our 2010 Big East Tournament & Tickets page for the full tournament schedule and the links needed for Big East basketball fans to purchase tickets to any or all of the 2010 Big East Tournament sessions. The Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden is an event Big East fans must experience when they have the opportunity and here is your chance to get your tickets early before they become harder, and more expensive, to find. They still have plenty of seats, and inexpensive options, for the early sessions as well as the entire tournament.

Stub Hub and the Big East conference have teamed up to provide fans with quality tickets and your tickets are guaranteed to be in hand before the game, even when purchasing for the early sessions of the BET: StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online.

Before we dive into the stories of the Big East Tournament and the post season awards and the latest on this coach’s future and who doesn’t like this coach, which is all below, we urge everyone to check out Keith Sargeant’s blog post at Scarlet Scuttlebutt titled Caring for Brayden and see the stories he wrote on Rutgers men’s basketball recruiting coordinator Jim Carr. His son, Brayden, has been battling epilepsy for most of his 18-month old life and the efforts of the Carr family and those close to them and young Brayden to find a cure.

Now, onto today’s News & Notes around the Big East…

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