College Basketball: Big East Tournament Preview and History
A few weeks back we published our 2009 Big Ten Conference Mens Basketball Tournament Preview, which included a look at the past champions for young tournament. Last we took a look at the 2009 ACC Conference Mens Basketball Tournament and its longer and much more storied history.
Today, we are taking a look at the 2009 Big East Conference Mens Basketball Tournament, as well as the tournament history. This year, the Big East Tournament will feature all 16 teams in the conference for the first time. And with 2009 stalwarts like UCONN, Louisville, and Pitt at the top of the class, plus teams like Notre Dame, Cincinnati, and Georgetown hoping to make enough noise to earn a bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, the 2009 Big East Tournament should be the most exciting of them all.
Here is your quick preview of the 2009 Big East Tournament:
- What: 30th Big East Conference Mens Basketball Tournament
- Dates: March 10-March 14
- Site: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
- Official website: Big East Conference
- StubHub Tickets: 2009 Big East Basketball Tournament Tickets
- StubHub Tickets: 2009 NCAA Tournament Tickets
This year’s Big East Tournament actually spans the entire week, beginning on Tuesday with the first round games and then lasting all the way until Saturday night’s championship game. Below, you fill find the daily schedule for the 2009 Big East Tournament. You can also follow the link to get a printable 2009 Big East Tournament bracket.
2009 Big East Tournament Matchups and TV Schedule
| Game | Date | Matchup | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tues, March 10 | #16 DePaul def. #9 Cincinnati 67-57 | 12:00 ET | BIGEAST.tv |
| 2 | Tues, March 10 | #13 St. John's def. #12 Georgetown 64-59 | 2:00 ET | BIGEAST.tv |
| 3 | Tues, March 10 | #10 Notre Dame def. #15 Rutgers 61-50 | 7:00 ET | BIGEAST.tv |
| 4 | Tues, March 10 | #11 Seton Hall def. #14 USF 68-54 | 9:00 ET | BIGEAST.tv |
| 5 | Wed, March 11 | #8 Providence def #16 DePaul 83-74 | 12:00 ET | ESPN |
| 6 | Wed, March 11 | #5 Marquette def. #13 St. John's 74-45 | 2:00 ET | ESPN |
| 7 | Wed, March 11 | #7 West Virginia def. #10 Notre Dame 74-62 | 7:00 ET | ESPN |
| 8 | Wed, March 11 | #6 Syracuse def. #11 Seton Hall 89-74 | 9:00 ET | ESPN |
| 9 | Thu, March 12 | #1 Louisville def. #8 Providence 73-55 | 12:00 ET | ESPN |
| 10 | Thu, March 12 | #4 Villanova def. #5 Marquette 76-75 | 2:00 ET | ESPN |
| 11 | Thu, March 12 | #7 West Virginia def. #2 Pittsburgh 74-60 | 7:00 ET | ESPN |
| 12 | Thu, March 12 | #6 Syracuse def. #3 UConn 127-177* | 9:00 ET | ESPN |
| *6 overtime periods | ||||
| 13 | Fri, March 13 | #1 Louisville def. #4 Villanova 69-55 | 7:00 ET | ESPN |
| 14 | Fri, March 13 | #6 Syracuse def. #7 West Virginia 74-69 | 9:00 ET | ESPN |
| 15 | Sat, March 14 | #1 Louisville v #6 Syracuse | 9:00 ET | ESPN |
Go to the official Big East Conference Mens Basketball website and look to the right sidebar to get the updated standings if you want to know who is currently seeded where. The Big East tournament always seems to be one of the most exciting and dramatic conference tournaments each year. Some team always seems to come out of nowhere (like the Gerry McNamara-led Orangemen from a few years ago, for example) to compete for a title, and there are often #1 seeds and NCAA Tournament bubble berths on the line.
This year is no different.
In fact, UCONN, PITT, and Louisville all have pretty legitimate claims to #1 seeds this season. Based on what happens in the Big East tournament, and in the rest of the games around the country still to be played before Selection Sunday, we could see three #1 seeds from the Big East. They almost certainly will get two. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and look at the history of the Big East Tournament, including past champions and MVPs.
Big East Tournament History: Past Champions and MVPs
| Date | Big East Champion | Score | Runner-Up | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Georgetown | 87-81 | Syracuse | Craig Shelton, Georgetown |
| 1981 | Syracuse | 83-80* | Villanova | Leo Rautins, Syracuse |
| 1982 | Georgetown | 72-54 | Villanova | Eric Floyd, Georgetown |
| 1983 | St. John's | 85-77 | Boston College | Chris Mullin, St. John's |
| 1984 | Georgetown | 82-71* | Syracuse | Patrick Ewing, Georgetown |
| 1985 | Georgetown | 92-80 | St. John's | Patrick Ewing, Georgetown |
| 1986 | St. John's | 70-69 | Syracuse | Dwayne Washington, Syracuse |
| 1987 | Georgetown | 69-59 | Syracuse | Reggie Williams, Georgetown |
| 1988 | Syracuse | 85-68 | Villanova | Sherman Douglas, Syracuse |
| 1989 | Georgetown | 88-79 | Syracuse | Charles Smith, Georgetown |
| 1990 | Connecticut | 78-65 | Syracuse | Chris Smith, UCONN |
| 1991 | Seton Hall | 74-62 | Georgetown | Oliver Taylor, Seton Hall |
| 1992 | Syracuse | 56-54 | Georgetown | Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown |
| 1993 | Seton Hall | 103-70 | Syracuse | Terry Dehere, Seton Hall |
| 1994 | Providence | 74-64 | Georgetown | Michael Smith, Providence |
| 1995 | Villanova | 94-78 | Connecticut | Kerry Kittles, Villanova |
| 1996 | Connecticut | 75-74 | Georgetown | Victor Page, Georgetown |
| 1997 | Boston College | 70-58 | Villanova | Scoonie Penn, Boston College |
| 1998 | Connecticut | 69-64 | Syracuse | Khalid El-Amin, UCONN |
| 1999 | Connecticut | 82-63 | St. John's | Kevin Freeman, UCONN |
| 2000 | St. John's | 80-70 | Connecticut | Bootsy Thonton, St. John's |
| 2001 | Boston College | 79-57 | Pittsburgh | Troy Bell, Boston College |
| 2002 | Connecticut | 74-65* | Pittsburgh | Caron Butler, UCONN |
| 2003 | Pittsburgh | 74-56 | Connecticut | Julius Page, Pittsburgh |
| 2004 | Connecticut | 61-58 | Pittsburgh | Ben Gordon, UCONN |
| 2005 | Syracuse | 68-59 | West Virginia | Hakim Warrick, Syracuse |
| 2006 | Syracuse | 65-61 | Pittsburgh | Gerry McNamara, Syracuse |
| 2007 | Georgeton | 65-42 | Pittsburgh | Jeff Green, Georgetown |
| 2008 | Pittsburgh | 74-65 | Georgetown | Sam Young, Pittsburgh |
| 2009 | Louisville | 76-66 | Syracuse | Jonny Flynn, Syracuse |
| * - Overtime |
Note: Every Big East Tournament since 1983 has been played at the site of this year’s tournament, Madison Square Garden in New York. The other venues were:
- 1980: Providence Civic Center – Providence, RI
- 1981: Carrier Dome – Syracuse, NY
- 1982: Hartford Civic Center – Hartford, CT
From a Midwest perspective (since we are Midwest Sports Fans after all), this year’s Big East Tournament is huge for Notre Dame. As I write this, the Fighting Irish are 7-10 in the conference, 16-13 overall, and clinging to their last slim hope of an NCAA Tournament bid despite another outstanding season from Luke Harangody. I’ve heard a lot of the college basketball talking heads predicting the Irish as a dark horse for this year’s Big East Tournament. If they can shoot well, it certainly is not outside the realm of possibility. However, they will have to win games on five consecutive days to make it a reality.
Maybe they can do it, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.
As for Louisville and Marquette, they can obviously improve their NCAA Tournament seeding with a good showing. However, going deep into the tournament does have its drawbacks, as playing 3 or 4 days in a row right before the NCAA tournament could create some fatigue late in the season. I heard some of the ESPN analysts discussing this last night. The way I see it though, the tournament ends on Saturday and the first NCAA tourney game would not be until the next Thursday. That should be plenty of time to rest up for any team that has play 3, 4, or even 5 games to win the Big East Tournament title.
Either way, it is going to be a great week of basketball in the Big East and around the country. Enjoy the games, and get ready for one of the most glorious days of the year: Selection Sunday, now less than two weeks away!
Tags: Big east, College Basketball, Luke Harangody, march madness, notre dame fighting irish
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