Big East Tournament Results Day One: A DePaul Win is a Loss for Providence

Posted Mar 11, 2009 1:17AM By Chas Rich (RSS feed)

The biggest loser of the first game of the Big East Tournament (BET) was not Cincy. It was Providence. The Friars are a fringe bubble team. They need more than simply a deep run in the BET, they need quality wins to boost their computer numbers. Providence now gets DePaul and their 200+ RPI number tomorrow. Even if they win, they get little to show for it. On top of that, Providence swept Cincinnati. That Cincinnati loss to DePaul further drives down the value of those wins.

The only other winners are sportswriters who like DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright. Wainwright is popular because he's a good quote and media friendly. Now they can claim he is making progress and should get another year.

DePaul 67, Cinci 57: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

Apparently Georgetown really wanted to have this nightmare of a season end. The storyline that St. John's won a BET game for the first time since 2003, is nice. The fact is, that the Red Storm only made one appearance in the BET in that time. Considering how bad they have been, that really is not much of a surprise. More importantly for the Johnnies, is that it really locks in Norm Roberts for at least one more year.

St. John's 64, Georgetown 59: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

Did Notre Dame really play defense in this game? It can be hard to tell, not just because it so rarely occurs, but because Rutgers is such a bad team. One team's defense is another's typically pathetic night. The big story is that Luke Harangody was outplayed by perpetual big man project Hamady N'Diaye. Oh, and Gary Waters, the ex-coach at Rutgers fired in favor of Fred Hill, just made the NCAA Tournament with Cleveland State. Ouch.

Notre Dame 61, Rutgers 50: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

Good news for Seton Hall. They won. The bad news, the Pirates barely go six deep and four of the starters played at least 37 minutes. Now they get Syracuse a little more than 24 hours later. South Florida? Well, not much was expected in their first trip to the BET.

Seton Hall 68, USF 54: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

What to look for in Day Two:

St. John's-Marquette: Can the Golden Eagles win a game without Dominic James? How hard will they have to work at it?

DePaul-Providence: Can Providence handle a must win situation against a team that has surprised most simply by making it to day two?

Seton Hall-Syracuse: Will Seton Hall have anything left in the tank after the first half? Can Syracuse actually make it easy on themselves in a game?

Notre Dame-West Virginia: Team offense versus team defense. Completely contrasting styles. WVU really doesn't have anyone to match-up with Harangody. The Irish are not in a position to defend Da'Sean Butler.