2010 Big East Tournament Results and Previews
Posted by admin in Big East News, tags: 2010 Big East Tournament Predictions, 2010 Big East Tournament Previews, 2010 Big East Tournament Results and Previews, Big East Basketball Tournament predictions, big east tournament, Big East tournament results, college basketball results, March Madness, March Madness PredictionsThursday was a crazy day in the Big East tournament. It was almost like we had an “Opposite day today with 3 of the top 4 seeds in the tournament losing and a “blessed” bank shot going in at the buzzer for West Virginia being the only thing to keep it from being all 4 tops seeds. #1 Syracuse, #2 Pittsburgh, and #3 Villanova all lost in their opening round games. The following are the results from today’s Big East games and short previews for Friday’s games.
2010 Big East Tournament Quarterfinal Results
#8 Georgetown (22-9) 91 #1 Syracuse (28-4) 84
Syracuse big-man Arinze Onauaku had to leave the game with a knee sprain and status is now under question for the NCAA tournament. Georgetown was able to win the third matchup between the two teams led by Chris Wright who scored 27 points and Greg Monroe who had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Austin Freeman added 18 and Justin Clark 17 for the Hoyas who will play Marquette in the Big East semifinals on Friday night. The loss was the first 2 game losing streak for Syracuse this season. Wes Johnson led his team with 24 points and 7 rebounds after being named the 2010 Big East player of the year. The loss was the 6th time that a Big East Tourney #1 seed has lost their first game of the tourney but is not necessary equated to losing the number one seed for Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
#5 Marquette (22-10) 80 #4 Villanova (24-7) 76
Villanova was the 2nd team of the day in the Big East Tournament to go home early after getting the double-bye. Marquette would take the lead for good in the third matchup between the two teams this season with 1:51 to go. Villanova won the previous two games between the schools by 2 points in each contest. Marquette previously beat St. John’s 57-55 to make it to the quarterfinal matchup against the Wildcats. Darius Johnson-Odom hit 5 of 7 3 point shots and had a career high 24 points for Marquette. Villanova was led by Corey Stokes who had 22 points. Scottie Reynolds who was recently named to the All Big East first team, had 10 points on 5 of 16 shooting from the field.
#7 Notre Dame (23-10) 50vs. #2 Pittsburgh (24-8) 45
Notre Dame may be boring us to death with their slowed down play, but it has been proving to be an effective tactic in the 2010 Big East tournament as they pulled the upset of #2 seed Pitt tonight. Luke Harangody scored 12 points coming off of the bench as he works his way back into shape after his injury, and helped give the Irish their first back-to-back wins in the Big East tourney since joining the conference in the mid-90’s. Brad Wanamaker led Pitt with 16 points. Notre Dame will play West Virginia in the Big East semifinals and is not considered to be a lock for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
9 PM #11 Cincinnati (18-15) 51 vs. #3 West Virginia (25-6) 54
It was closer than Bob Huggins would like, but the Mountaineers finally put an end to “Opposite Day” in the Big East and prevailed in the quarterfinals on a last second 3 point shot by Da’Sean Butler made on the bank. Cincy had the ball with 6 seconds left to go, but Dion Dixon lost the ball out of bounds with 3.1 seconds to go in regulation that set up Butler’s game winning shot. Lance Stephenson led the Bearcats with 19 points and Butler led the Mountaineers with 15 points. Cincinnati’s wins over Rutgers and Louisville are probably not going to be enough to get them off of the bubble and into the NCAA tournament, but they are definitely in a stronger position than they were prior to the Big East Tourney.
2010 Big East Tournament Semifinals Preview
7:00 PM #5 Marquette (22-10) vs #8 Georgetown (22-9)
Marquette won the previous matchup against the Hoyas this season by 3 points 62-59 just after the New Year at home. The Hoyas have a slight edge with a 3 game winning streak compared to a 2 game streak for Marquette. Will Georgetown healthy, look for us to see the Hoya Team that was a Top Ten team earlier in the season with Georgetown winning by more than 5 points.
9:30 PM #3 West Virginia (25-6) vs #7 Notre Dame (23-10)
Unfortunately for West Virginia, Notre Dame has become one of the hottest teams in the Big East with having won their last 6 games. West Virginia has won their last 4, but also dropped their game on the road at Notre Dame earlier in the season, 70-68. Look for the Irish to stay hot, try to control the clock, and work a low scoring game in their favor. Notre Dame should win by less than 5 points.
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