It was a day to remember in the Big East tournament when both Syracuse and Villanova ended up losing. Not that they need an automatic bid because they are locks to get in as an at-large teams.
Syracuse was upset by Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. It was a back and forth game with Cuse leading by 9 at one point but that lead soon evaporated when Georgetown-led Chris Wright, who scored 27 points and had 6 boards and 6 dimes. The Orange was led by Wes Johnson who scored 24 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Orange senior center Arinze onuaku, who fell to the floor with about 5 minutes remaining in the second half, has a knee strain. The Orange lost 84 to 91. Georgetown will face off against Marquette in the semis tonight at 7 p.m.
Nova was upset by Marquette in another quarterfinal game in the Big East tournament. The Golden Eagles in the Big East this year have been in 13 games decided by 4 points or less. Eagles senior forward Lazar Hayward hit a 3-pointer with about 2 minutes remaining to give the Eagles the lead that they never surrendered. Hayward ended the game with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Nova guard Corey Stokes had 22 points and 5 boards. The Eagles won 76 to 80.
Everyone in Madison Square Garden and maybe even New York knew who was going to receive the ball on the inbound with 3.1 seconds remaining. The Mountaineer’s senior forward Da’Sean Butler got the inbound and shot with the buzzer sounding. The ball banked off the backboard and in to give West Virginia a win. He still found a way to get open and stepped up to win the game over Cincinnati. Butler ended the game with 15 points. West Virginia held the lead for most of the game but held off a late surge to win, 51 to 53.
In a game were the Irish held the lead for most of the game, Brad Wanamaker scored 16 points in the loss to Notre Dame. The Irish held on late to face the Mountaineers in the semis tonight at 9pm.
The championship will be decided this weekend. Watch selection Sunday to see what seed each team is and then fill out some brackets. But get ready for some upsets, disappointments and a Cinderella story or two and for only one team will cut down the nets.
By Sam Valentin