Louisville and UConn both won their respective games in overtime against Notre Dame and Syracuse to advance to the Big East Tournament Final.
UConn advanced first, winning their fourth game of the tournament by defeating Syracuse 76-71 in OT. The Huskies’ Kemba Walker again played an amazing game, scoring 33 points. He also hit the free throws to put the game out of reach for the Orange. At this point, Walker is averaging 28 points per game and has all but wrapped up the Most Valuable Player honors. Even if UConn loses tomorrow, Walker still shouldn’t be beaten out by anyone as he’s put together one of the most dominant tournament performances in recent memory.
The second game was another overtime upset as Louisville fought back from 16-point first half and 13-point second half deficits to beat No. 2 seed Notre Dame, 83-77. The Cardinals were led by Peyton Siva’s 20 points. The big question out of this game is if Notre Dame has done enough to secure a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed. Winning their first game yesterday, I think the Irish will wind up with a top seed.
Saying that UConn will lose because they’ve played four games in four nights would be a silly excuse. You could have said that two games ago, yet the Huskies have found ways to win. They have the conference’s best player and they’ve got to be playing on adrenaline right now. And having a Hall of Fame head coach doesn’t hurt, either.
Tomorrow’s game should be entertaining, but in the end, I think UConn leaves as Big East champs.