First off, here is the great Ken Pomeroy's log5 predictions.
Seed Rd1 Qtrs Semis Final Champ 1 Syracuse 100 100 69.7 48.9 29.8 3 West Virginia 100 100 75.1 48.6 27.3 4 Villanova 100 100 52.5 33.0 15.5 2 Pittsburgh 100 100 70.7 18.6 7.7 8 Georgetown 100 80.9 27.9 15.4 7.1 5 Marquette 100 66.7 35.1 13.3 5.8 6 Louisville 100 73.0 21.0 9.1 3.2 7 Notre Dame 100 61.4 20.0 6.1 1.9 12 UConn 66.0 25.2 10.2 2.8 0.9 10 Seton Hall 63.6 27.6 7.4 1.9 0.5 11 Cincinnati 78.1 24.6 3.8 1.0 0.2 9 South Florida 78.6 17.6 2.3 0.6 0.1 13 St. John's 34.0 8.2 2.1 0.4 0.07 15 Providence 36.4 11.1 1.9 0.3 0.05 14 Rutgers 21.9 2.5 0.1 0.01 0.000816 DePaul 21.4 1.6 0.06 0.006 0.0004
Day 1
9 South Florida v. 16 DePaul (TV: ESPN2 12 pm) - DePaul pulled a stunner against Cincinnati last season, and South Florida is coming off a big win against UConn. South Florida won by 4 at DePaul on the 2nd, and like that time, I think Dominique Jones and co will be too much.
Prediction: South Florida 71 DePaul 60
12 Connecticut v. 13 St John's (TV: ESPN2 20 minutes after first game 2:25 est) - St John's has been playing pretty well as of late, and the Huskies had a rough week, losing to Notre Dame and USF blowing their tournament chances. I think UConn pulls this one off though. Like they did in January, when UConn won by 16 at home.
Prediction: Connecticut 76 St John's 61
10 Seton Hall v. 15 Providence (TV: ESPNU 7pm) - Providence has really fallen off lately, slipping all the way down to 15, while Seton Hall has won 6 of 8. The teams just played Saturday, with Seton Hall winning 92-80 at Providence. I expect more of the same.
Prediction: Seton Hall 88 Providence 76
11 Cincinnati v. 14 Rutgers (TV: ESPNU 20 min after first game 9:25 est) - There will be a more proper preview up tomorrow morning, but I'll give you something here. Cincinnati beat Rutgers by 7 at Rutgers in January. Cincinnati has never won in the Big East tournament, nor has Mick Cronin won in March. I think that changes tomorrow.
Prediction: Cincinnati 70 Rutgers 68
Day 2
9 South Florida v. 8 Georgetown (TV: ESPN 12pm) - Georgetown has been wildly inconsistent lately, but when they are on, they are tough. South Florida took down Georgetown once already, and I am going with the upset here.
Prediction: South Florida 73 Georgetown 67
12 Connecticut v. 5 Marquette (TV: ESPN 20 min after first game 2:20 est) - I expect this to be a great game. Marquette won at UConn with a shot by Jimmy Butler as the clock ran out. I really like Marquette, and UConn's tournament chances will hang in the balance. I don't see it going their way.
Prediction: Marquette 76 Connecticut 71
10 Seton Hall v. 7 Notre Dame (TV: ESPN 7pm) - The defensively charged Irish have played great as of late. They lost to Seton Hall in Jersey, but at Madison Square Garden, I think the Irish's run to the NCAAs continues.
Prediction: Notre Dame 78 Seton Hall 73
11 Cincinnati v. 6 Louisville (TV: ESPN 20 min after first game 9:20 est) - Louisville dispatched Cincinnati in their only meeting. The Cardinals are coming off a magical win in the last game at Freedom Hall over Syracuse. Although they haven't played well on the road, Cincinnati has faded. Both teams are unpredictable, but I gotta go with the Cards.
Prediction: Louisville 72 Cincinnati 63
Day 3
9 South Florida v. 1 Syracuse (TV: ESPN 12pm) - I see South Florida's run ending here, as the Orange are too tough. Syracuse won by 20 in their only meeting, however USF wasn't playing that well. Running the gauntlet is next to impossible, and I don't think USF can pull it off.
Prediction: Syracuse 78 South Florida 66
5 Marquette v. 4 Villanova (TV: ESPN 20 min after first game 2:20 est) - These foes matched up twice early in Big East play, with Villanova taking home a couple of 2 point victories. The Wildcats have dropped 4 of 6 and look like they might have peaked, while Marquette would have won 5 of 6. I think we'll see another close one, but Marquette's legs will be a little too tired from the UConn game.
Prediction: Villanova 80 Marquette 77
7 Notre Dame v. 2 Pittsburgh (TV: ESPN 7 pm) - The teams matched up once a couple weeks ago in South Bend, and Notre Dame worked Pitt over and won by 30. That probably won't happen on Thursday. I do think that result will be the same though. I dig this Notre Dame team as is, but it'll be interesting if Luke Harangody throws off Notre Dame's streak.
Prediction: Notre Dame 67 Pittsburgh 62
6 Louisville v. 3 West Virginia (TV: ESPN 20 min after first game 9:20 est) -Louisville went to West Virginia and lost a highly controversial game. Louisville was worked over by the refs, but also blew a big lead. I don't think that they match up that well with the Mountaineers.
Prediction: West Virginia 79 Louisville 72
Day 4
4 Villanova v. 1 Syracuse (TV: ESPN 7 pm) - The clubs met last Saturday, with over 30,000 Syracuse faithful in attendance, and the Orange won going away. I like the Syracuse team a whole lot, and they always seem to play well in the Big East Tournament. I initially was leaning towards Nova, but I think Syracuse is too big for them.
Prediction: Syrcause 85 Villanova 78
7 Notre Dame v. 3 West Virginia (TV: ESPN 20 min after first semi-final 9:20 est) - These clubs met in South Bend, where Notre Dame rushed out to a huge lead, only for the Mountaineers to rally and lose by 2. I don't think that West Virginia will wait so long to get the offense going in this one. I see Notre Dame's run ending here.
Prediction: West Virginia 77 Notre Dame 69
Day 5 Big East Tournament Finals
1 Syracuse v. 3 West Virginia (TV: ESPN 9pm) - The teams played a great game in Morgantown, that saw West Virginia hold off the Orange by 2. I expect a similarly played game Saturday night. I am going to roll the dice and say that Da'Sean Butler, Devin Ebanks and Bob Huggins take the tournament title to Morgantown.
Prediction: West Virginia 72 Syracuse 67
All Big East Teams and other awards
Player of the year - Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
First team
Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia
Dominique Jones, South Florida
Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
Greg Monroe, Georgetown
Jamine Peterson, Providence
Second team
Austin Freeman, Georgetown
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Lazar Hayward, Marquette
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall
Coach of the Year
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
Most Improved Player
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh and Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame
Rookie of the Year
Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
I hope you're wrong about the Pitt/ND match-up. Last game Notre Dame shot ridiculously well from behind the arc and Pitt just seemed to give up after that. I'm hoping Harangody isn't 100% and that the Irish try to work the ball inside. Hopefully McGhee is able to step up his defense. Pitt will need him to go from good to great in order to slow down Harangody (injured or otherwise).
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