The top four seeds in the Big East Tournament enter the fray today as the tourney moves into the quarterfinals. Regular season Big East champs Pitt, along with Syracuse, Notre Dame & Louisville all received double byes that automatically put them in the quarterfinals. Today, they'll face UConn, St John's, Cincinnati & Marquette.
Neither Marquette nor UConn received byes and have been playing since Tuesday, so this will be the 3rd game in as many days for both teams.
UConn advanced past Georgetown thanks to a 28 point effort from Kemba Walker. This comes after a 26 performance from Walker in the first round after he was snubbed for Big East player of the year in favor of Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough. After the game, Huskies coach Jim Calhoun was asked to explain how Walker was overlooked.
"I think someone took a vacation and didn't tell us and has been gone five months. That's one theory of mine," said Calhoun. "Whether we have a player of the year or not, I think he's the best player in the country, and that should be more important."
St. John's got by Rutgers in controversial fashion. You've probably already heard what happened and saw the video, but if not check it out here. The Big East has already admitted that the refs screwed up multiple times in the waning seconds of the game.
Cincinnati crushed USF 87-61, which means the Bulls luck ran out or that Villanova is even worse than we thought having lost to that team.
Finally, Marquette boosted their NCAA tournament hopes with a 67-61 win over West Virginia. The Golden Eagles came into the Big East tourney as a bubble team, but wins over Providence and West Virgina very well may have put them over the top. A win over Louisville today would likely guarantee their spot in the big dance.
Thursday, March 10
Connecticut Huskies vs. 1. Pitt Panthers, 12:00 PM ESPN
St. John's Red Storm vs. 4. Syracuse Orange, 2:00 PM ESPN
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. 2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 7:00 PM ESPN
Marquette Golden Eagles vs. 3. Louisville Cardinals, 9:00 PM ESPN