Big East

Going into the Big East Tournament there wasn't much concern in regards to whether or not the Syracuse Orange would be a one-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Prevailing wisdom had Jim Boeheim's team doing more than enough before this weekend to wrap up the top spot in one of the other three regions (can't stay in the East since the Carrier Dome hosts a regional).

Luke Harangody was a First Team All-Big East selection and it was an honor that many questioned this week due primarily to his knee injury. The senior played just eleven minutes in Saturday's regular season finale at Marquette and the question of many was whether or not his return would hamper the surging Irish in their quest for an NCAA Tournament bid. Well, you got your answer. Harangody came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds, essentially being the difference-maker in Notre Dame's 68-54 win over Seton Hall.

Georgetown

Louisville

Marquette

Notre Dame

Pittsburgh

Syracuse

Villanova

West Virginia

Other (Cincinnati, Seton Hall, South Florida, St. John's)

Tuesday's action was supposed to focus primarily on bubble teams USF and Seton Hall. But at the end of the afternoon session all anyone could talk about is the nosedive that Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies completed with a 73-51 beating at the hands of St. John's. And the issue wasn't the fact that they lost; they were out-worked, out-toughed; whatever aspect of the game you can find the Red Storm dominated it. You hate to get to the point where you question the heart of a team but that would be appropriate for what took place in the second game of the day.

"They [St.

The 16-team brawl that is the Big East Tournament begins on Tuesday with teams nine through sixteen playing on the opening day. Similar to last season there are bubble teams playing with the hope of gaining the opportunity to bolster their resumes against stiffer competition later in the week. You've got the bubble angle for USF and Seton Hall, two teams who may be closer to working their way into the Tournament than anticipated a couple of weeks ago as the nation concentrated on Connecticut.

Speaking of the reeling Huskies, what will they bring to the table against St. John's?

For all the bubble teams not playing on Tuesday night there's really just one game they need to pay full attention to: the Horizon League final between host Butler and second-seeded Wright State. Point blank: if the Raiders find a way to knock off Gordon Hayward and company at Hinkle Fieldhouse one more bid goes off the board (if you're of the thinking that Saint Mary's wasn't a lock themselves before Monday night).

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the third straight year, Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Cincinnati

Connecticut

Louisville

Marquette

Seton Hall

A funny thing happened on the way to Connecticut's latest upset of a top-tier Big East team Monday night.

 

Bob Huggins, coach of the visiting No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers, got two technical fouls and was automatically ejected.

 

Cincinnati (15-10, 6-7, 52 RPI)

Marquette (16-8, 7-5, 59 RPI)

Notre Dame (17-10, 6-8, 78 RPI)

Seton Hall (15-9, 6-7, 57 RPI)

South Florida (16-9, 6-7, 55 RPI)

UCONN (15-11, 5-8, 50 RPI)