The Big East tournament is down to the final four teams and all have a legitimate shot to win the championship.
UConn kicked things off with a thrilling two-point win over No. 1 seed Pitt. The Panthers held double-digit leads at a few points in the game, but couldn’t hold off the Huskies. Pitt repeatedly failed to grab defensive rebounds in the second half, and with the score tied, Kemba Walker hit a jump shot at the buzzer to win the game for UConn, 76-74. UConn played its third game in three consecutive days and may run out of steam, but with Walker, you have to give them a fighting chance to win the whole thing.
After trailing St. John’s at halftime, Syracuse stormed back to win the next game, 79-73. The game was fairly sloppy and the two teams combined for 34 turnovers. Even worse than losing the game, the Red Storm may have lost D.J. Kennedy for a while as he left the game early with a knee injury. Lavin called it a “serious knee injury.” Losing Kennedy for the NCAA Tournament would be a big blow as he’s the team’s third leading scorer and the top rebounder.
Notre Dame routed Cincinnati, 89-51, in its quest for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. With Pitt’s loss in their first game of the tournament, if the Irish go on to win the conference championship, they have a compelling argument for getting a No. 1 seed over the Panthers. They would have the same number of losses (five) as Pitt, they own a road win over Pitt, and they would be fresh off of beating some pretty impressive teams.
In the day’s final game, Louisville took care of Marquette – winning handily, 81-56. Mike Marra, who averages only about six points per game, had a career game leading all scorers with 22 points. He shoots under 30% from three-point distance, but was six of ten from that range in the contest.
UConn will take on Syracuse on Friday while Louisville will play Notre Dame.