Big East

Hype that called the ACC the greatest basketball conference in history came crashing down when their three NCAA teams lost by an average of 21 points on Saturday, leaving them as the only major conference without a Sweet 16 team. Jim Boeheim wanted his Syracuse team included as a 10th team in the tournament, to match the Big East and Big 12 with two-thirds of their teams in the conference.

Chris Mullin and John Thompson screamed at each other and the St. John’s and Georgetown players at Madison Square Garden seemed near to blows as cheer leaders scattered and referees started issuing technical fouls and a flagrant and screamed at players to separate. As the Madison Square Garden camera panned to Allen Iverson in the stands, the old Big East that launched ESPN seems to be back with 8:35 to go in a No. 8 vs. No. 9 conference championship opener led by St. John’s 59-55.

Fox Sports’ gamble on Big East basketball still results in a small fraction of ESPN’s viewership, but in addition to the defending national champion (Villanova) and Value Add player (Josh Hart), the conference boasts elite players.

Two point guards dished out seven assists each and took one step closer to joining the all-time Big East greats and getting their team into March Madness Tuesday with monster games and big wins over ranked teams.

The new Value Add Basketball rankings give two dozen Big East players high marks, and the top service used by coaches shows the conference surging near the top just two years after Fox Sports made it a lynch pin in it’s challenge to ESPN.

Al McGuire used to say you needed three-and-a-half stars to win a championship – Villanova showed Saturday that having eight really, really good players maybe the best way to win a conference championship grind with no off days between games.

At 270 pounds, Xavier’s Matt Stainbrook won the battle with the 350-pound Joshua Smith for most of the game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 9 rebounds to give Xavier a 53-33 lead. However, he did not get another point or rebound from that point on as the Hoyas turned up the pressure for a ferocious run to fall just short 65-63.

NEW YORK—If you watched North Dakota State win the Summit League in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Tuesday and then drove straight to New York (1,354 miles) with no traffic, you could have arrived at Madison Square Garden just in time

After Tuesday night’s win over Seton Hall, the DePaul University women’s basketball team captured the Big East championship for a second straight season. Two years in a row is something to be proud of for sure, but for Maureen Dillon it’s been over two decades of being a true champion.