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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.

Pitt has appeared in seven of the last 10 Big East Championship Finals (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008), but is 0-2 in the BIG EAST Tournament following a double-bye, which they earned as the #2 seed in both 2009 and 2010. Despite their recent losses in the BET, Pitt is 26-12 at Madison Square Garden since the 2001-02 season and performing well this week means something to this team.

“We’re happy, but we realized that [winning the regular season title] is just the first check point of what we want to do this year,” said senior Brad Wanamaker, a 2nd team all-BIG EAST performer and recepient of the league’s Sportsmanship award, on Saturday. “After tonight we’re going to focus on New York and what we have to do down there.”

What Pitt has to ‘do down there’ in New York is navigate the waters that is unlike any other conference tournament in the nation. When the Panthers hit the court in New York City for the first time on Thursday they are likely to face a team that was looking at a top 4 NCAA Tournament seed and top 10 national ranking in the last two weeks before the gauntlet that is the BIG EAST conference schedule took it’s toll. A likely quarterfinal date with either UConn or Georgetown awaits the regular season champ. Nothing is easy in the BIG EAST, but Villanova coach Jay Wright believes the Panthers will be ready to compete, no matter who is put in font of them.

“They are an outstanding team,” said Wrigth Saturday after his Villanova team, who was listed as a co-favorite to win the league in the preseason by many, lost at Pitt 60-50 to finish 9-9 in the league. “They are well-coached. I love how their guys compete. Their guys are classy. They play hard, they don’t talk any trash. Yes, we want to beat their asses when we play them, but we really respect them.”

Pitt is joined this year by Notre Dame, Louisville and Syracuse with a double-bye into Thursday’s quarterfinal round by virtue of their top-four finishes in the regular season. They will be hoping to reverse the trend of a double-bye curse that has top four seeds just 3-5 on Thursdays since the format was introduced for the 2009 tournament. While Pitt is 0-2 with the double-bye, Louisville was able to take the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament championship as the No. 1 seed in 2009 and West Virginia took the crown last season as the No. 3 seed. So while recent history points to the struggles of the top four teams in their opening game, it also points to one of the top four finishers being the last team standing Saturday night and cutting down the Madison Square Garden nets.

One team that looked to be making a strong push into the favorite role was St. John’s. In Steve Lavin’s first year at the helm of the Red Storm ran off a strong of impressive victories over Notre Dame (by 18), Duke (by 15), UConn (by 17) and Pitt (by 1) in a span of just more than a month on the very floor of the BIG EAST Tournament, Madison Square Garden. Lavin’s senior-dominated club won nine of their last 11 regular season games to finish 20-10 overall and 12-6 in the BIG EAST. Their loss last week to Seton Hall cost them the 5th seed as they lost the tie-breaker to Syracuse for the final double-bye. The Orange beat SJU at the Garden, 76-59, back on January 12th.

If the seeds hold true, St. John’s will get a chance to revenge the loss to the Pirates on Wednesday afternoon and if they are successful they will get another chance at Syracuse on Thursday in an afternoon session that could is stirring quite a buit of early excitement (more on that below).

Below is out game-by-game preview with some thoughts as we try to forecast the winners. Also, for you last-minute shoppers there are links to get tickets for all the action this week at MSG below. 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.

Session one opens up with a likely mis-match between the Huskies and Blue Demons. UConn faltered by losing four of their last five down the stretch to finish 9-9, but they are likely to have little problem with the Blue Demons, who finished 1-17 in the league and lost leading scorer Cleveland Melvin for the season late last month. UConn won the lone regular season meeting between the two 82-62 behind 31 points from Kemba Walker. Expect a similar result…

The second game of the opening double-header is a rubber match between the two BIG EAST teams from across the river in New Jersey. The Pirates and Scarlet Knights split in the regular season, each winning on the other’s home court. However, one of the two clearly enters the BET riding a wave of momentum while the other looks to be running out of gas.

Mike Rice’s RU club has lost nine of 11 and their thin roster has definitely hurt in the last month. On the other hand Kevin Willard looks to have his Pirates figuring things out of late as they closed the regular season last week with a pair of double-digit wins over St. John’s and Marquette, two teams with a lot to play for. With Jeremy Hazell looking as healthy as he has all season and some other distractions behin them, hopefully, look for SHU to continue their solid play with a comfortable win over their Garden State rivals.
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-No. 15 South Florida vs. No. 10, Villanova 7 PM.
-No. 14 Providence vs. No. 11 Marquette, 9 PM.

Session two is the home of Jay Wright’s club, which has faded down the stretch from a BIG EAST contender to the 10th seed. Once 4-0 in the BIG EAST, the Wildcats lost their last four to finish 9-9. Injuries have not helped their cause and Corey Stokes missed the regular season finale at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Still, this is a game they should have little problem with as their guard play should take advantage of the inconsistent backcourt of the Bulls. ‘Nova won by 12 in Tampa earlier in the season with some lights-out shooting. Look for Villanova to get healthy, at least for one night, against the Bulls.

Another team sliding backwards into the postseason is the Golden Eagles. Buzz Williams’ crew dropped their last two games and fell to the 11th seed with a 9-9 conference mark. It is do-or-die time for their NCAA Tournament chances as another loss here in NYC on Tuesday night could make Selection Sunday much more nerve wracking than it needs to be. MU plays with enough effort on defense and the boards to be able to handle the Friars, although Marshon Brooks is capable of keeping PC in the game. In the end, it will be the effort defensively as a team and the ability to score easy transition buckets that carries MU into Wednesday.
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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.

You have to feel for Georgetown. Since Chris Wright broke a bone in his hand in a Feb. 23 loss to Cincinnati, the Hoyas have finished with 46, 51 and 47 points in three losses. After an eight-game winning streak, JTIII’s club has dropped four of their last five, including a 78-70 decision at UConn that snapped the winning streak. On Wedneday it is looking like a rematch with the Huskies and without Wright there is a strong doubt that the Hoyas will get enough offense to win.

Wednesday afternoon’s second contest will have the (host) Red Storm taking on a rival from New Jersey, which we expect to be SHU. Last week the Pirates broke open a close game with a late 11-0 run in an 84-70 win in Newark. While the Pirates are playing well and will certainly cause Steve Lavin a sleepless night, the veteran line-up of SJU and the recent Garden magic should be enough to carry St. John’s into the quarterfinals.
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-15/10 Winner vs. No. 7 Cincinnati, 7 PM.
-14/11 Winner vs. No. 6 West Virginia, 9 PM.

Props to Mick Cronin and the Bearcats for turning it on down the stretch. I was waiting for their annual swoon that has become an annual tradition the last few years and when Yancy Gates was suspended and benched off and on for a couple weeks it looked to be starting again. However, UC came together and won five of six to close the regular season and finish in 7th place. Their projected opponent is Villanova, assuming the Wildcats get past USF the day before. Jay Wright’s club won at home, 72-61 earlier in the season. This is a tough match-up for the Bearcats and if Villanova gets a little healthier and a shot of confidence with a Tuesday win, look for them to get past the Bearcats and into the quarters.

The defending BIG EAST Tournament champion Mountaineers hit the court to defend their title late Wednesday night with a likely match-up with Marquette. The Golden Eagles won their only previous meeting this season back on New Year’s Day, 79-74, behind big outings from Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom. WVU had been struggling but rebounded to win their last three and four of five to finish 11-7 in the BIG EAST. Besides in a win at Rutgers recently, Bob Huggins’ club has really stuggled scoring points. MU is the type of club that can score and will also defend with every ounce of effort they have, look for Marquette to pull the mild upset.
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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.

Things get really interesting, potentially on Thursday. A Pitt-Uconn, Syracuse-St. John’s matinee is as good as any conference’s final four, and this would be the quarterfinal pairings in our projection. Pitt was a double-digit winner over the Huskies in the league opener for both clubs. While Jim Calhoun’s team has come along way from that time, playing a third game in three days against the physical and rested Panthers would likely be too much for the young pups from the Nutmeg State. The game will likely be close for 30 minutes, but in the end Pitt is too tough.

The second game promises to be primetime worthy in the middle of the afternoon. The Garden will likely be as full as anytime for a BET game and the Red Storm will look to continue their Garden magic. While the Orange have been playing well, it will be a road game and this is the chance for the Red Storm senior class to shine. Look for SJU to pull off an inspired victory.
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-15/10/7 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 7 PM.
-14/11/6 vs. No. 3 Louisville, 9 PM.

We are expecting Notre Dame-Villanova and Marquette-Louisville in the other half of Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Irish unloaded on the Wildcats last week in a 93-72 Senior Night victory in South Bend. The emotion and energy of the evening sparked ND as they tied a BIG EAST record with 20 made three-pointers. What are the chances they are that hot again? Not very good. While the Irish have recently had some success in Madison Square Garden, it has not been a very friendly place for Mike Brey’s club over the years. While a banged up ‘Nova squad might find it difficult to play three games in three nights, this was a team expected to challenge for the BIG EAST regular season title. Instead, we will go with them to challenge for the BIG EAST Tournament title and pull a surprising upset.

Marquette and Louisville played one of the most memorable games of the regular season where a frantic Cardinal comeback dealt MU a devastating defeat. Now the Golden Eagles will try to get revenge on a neutral site. Right now Rick Pitino has his surprising Cards locked in defensively and find just enough offense with Preston Knowles, Kyle Kuric and Peyton Siva to get the job done. Expect more of the same here…
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SEMIFINALS: FRIDAY MARCH 11th:

There really is no night in college basketball like Friday night of the BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden. If our projections hold up it will be St. John’s against Pittsburgh and Louisville against Villanova. The regular season winners in these match-ups were SJU, by one on a last second Dwight Hardy bucket and ‘Nova, who used a big 2nd half in an 88-74 win over UL. We would expect a similar game between Pitt and the Red Storm as we saw in the Garden last month, but this time giving the edge to Jamie Dixon’s crew and expect them to make the plays needed down the stretch.

A fourth game in four days would be a little too much for Villanova, especially against a defense that will push you to the limit physicaly and mentally. Rick Pitino is certainly doing more with (what is perceived to be) less this year and that will continue into the BIG EAST Tournament championship game.
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CHAMPIONSHIP: SATURDAY, MARCH 12th:

Our championship game prediction: Pittsburgh vs. Louisville. The Cards recently won in overtime at the KFC Yum! Center against the Panthers in a memorable finish. This game would be expected to be played as close. However, Pitt has been the conference’s best team from start to finish and in this season and in the end, we project the Panthers to be the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament Champions!

In all honesty, we expect ANYTHING to happen over the course of the next five afternoons and evenings. It should be great basketball throughout and many surprises along the way. I am sure in 24 hours we will be making our alternate predictions as surprising results will occur each and every session. With that…enjoy the action. let the Madness Begin!!

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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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