The 2011 Big East Tournament heads into the semi finals today as its bracket has been whittled down to the final four. #9 Connecticut will take on #3 Syracuse, while #2 Notre Dame will face #3 Louisville for the right to go to the Big East finals.
The big question for Connecticut will be how much they have left in the tank playing their 4th game in 4 days. They certainly didn't show any fatigue in knocking off the tournament's top seed, Pitt yesterday.... but they'll be facing another well rested team in the Orange. That said, the best player on the floor (it's Kemba Walker) will be wearing a UConn jersey, which means they've always got a pretty good chance.
Syracuse advanced after knocking off St. John's in what was billed as a battle for the title of "Team of New York." The Garden was abuzz about a guy named Melo after the game, but it wasn't the guy on the Knicks they were talking about. Much hyped Syracuse freshman Fab Melo had a career high 12 points, including four in the last two minutes.
Notre Dame absolutely took apart Cincinnati 89-51 in a game that, along with Pitt's loss, likely cemented a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the Irish. Given the way they ended the season and they way they looked against the Bearcats, you'd have to say that they're the odds on favorite to win this thing. Notre Dame will be looking to make their first ever Big East tournament final.
Finally, Louisville cruised past an upstart Marquette squad 81-56. By the way, while watching that game I called Louisville "the Denver Nuggets of NCAA" thanks to how tatted up that team is. I know tattoos are pretty common in college basketball, but Louisville really seemed to have a lot. Arguably their most tatted up guy, Mike Mara, scored 22 points on the back of 6 three pointers as Rick Pitino's boys looked really good.
Friday, March 11
Connecticut Huskies vs. Syracuse Orange, 7:00 PM ESPN
Notre Dame Fighting Irish game vs. Louisville Cardinals, 9:00 PM ESPN
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