When it comes to predicting the early favorites for next season, the usual approach is to look at which teams appear to be coming back loaded with talent and ended the season playing well. Syracuse seemed to fit that bill.
They were poised to bring back their entire starting line-up, one of their top recruits from last year -- Mookie Jones -- was injured so he will be able to help, plus another top-20 recruiting class. Of course that depended on no one leaving early. With the encouragement of coach Jim Boeheim, point guard Jonny Flynn will be checking his status in the NBA draft -- without hiring an agent. Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf, at first blush, appear to just be leaving.
When it comes to predicting the early favorites for next season, the usual approach is to look at which teams appear to be coming back loaded with talent and ended the season playing well. Syracuse seemed to fit that bill.
They were poised to bring back their entire starting line-up, one of their top recruits from last year -- Mookie Jones -- was injured so he will be able to help, plus another top-20 recruiting class. Of course that depended on no one leaving early. With the encouragement of coach Jim Boeheim, point guard Jonny Flynn will be checking his status in the NBA draft -- without hiring an agent. Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf, at first blush, appear to just be leaving.
There was not going to be an answer for Blake Griffin. Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku did everything they could. Jackson in particular player a very tough first half, but Griffin was just too much, as he has been for everybody all year, and Jim Boeheim doubtless knew he would be before the game ever began.
Thing is, Syracuse could have survived an unstoppable Griffin if it had been able to do something else exceptionally well. Something they'd done all year. Something that takes place far away from the spot on the court where Griffin spends most of his time. Yeah, that's right. We're talking about 3-point shooting.
Last night's action had one tight game, a blowout that tightened near the end, a walloping, and a game that never became a blowout though the outcome was never in doubt.
Tonight, Louisville takes on that, uh, Cinderella team from the desert in Arizona. Syracuse and Oklahoma should be a lot of fun in the early games. Later tonight Kansas and Michigan State looks like it should be gem. Also North Carolina gets Gonzaga, the original West Coast Cinderella that has not been that for some time.
Stop on by around 6:30 PM ET to talk about the action from yesterday and the games tonight. Plus, there is always the coaching carousel and what happens next at Kentucky.
It would be easy to just chalk this up to Syracuse running out of energy in the second half. That's not to say it didn't play a role, but at the same time, it would be a disservice to Louisville.
Comparatively well rested and with a much deeper bench, the Cardinals came in waves at the Orange, and the results were almost predictable given the circumstances Syracuse endured to even make it to the conference final.
You have to admire and respect what the Orange are doing. Not content with playing 30 extra minutes Thursday, they decided that for an encore they would do one more overtime before knocking off West Virginia. Now all Syracuse has to do is face a Louisville team that has had a much easier path to the Big East Tournament championship game.
The big question for Syracuse after the Thursday night/Friday morning game was, "How much will Syracuse have left when they play West Virginia?" They had enough, but the question is no longer "how much," but "what."
The difference between a Big East tournament record-setting, epic, sextuple-overtime win for Syracuse and a regulation win for Syracuse was something less than a tenth of a second. Eric Devendorf appeared to hit a buzzer-beating three to give Syracuse a 74-71 win. Once the officials started looking at the replays, though, it became clear that the ball was just on the tips of his fingers as the clock struck zero.
By the time Syracuse and UConn got through six overtimes, the depth of UConn and not having to play on Wednesday should have made the difference. Instead, it is Syracuse that has less than 20 hours to get ready for West Virginia in the semifinals.
Chalk ruled the day. The teams having a bye all advanced. Sandwiched between some reasonably competitive games were a couple games that never had the outcome in doubt.
DePaul spent most of the game looking like they were going to take care of any bubble talk in the Big East by putting Providence out of the Big East Tournament (BET). Ultimately, Providence managed to play some defense while DePaul maintained their stance on no defense if at all possible.
It was a foul-filled, trash-talking, generally unpleasant game to watch. Jay Bilas seemed just about ready to throw down his headset in disgust, spit on the court, and walk out of Madison Square Garden in protest at one point. In a ten second stretch in the second half, there were four technical fouls issued.
Ultimately the sequence ignited Syracuse on an 18-2 run, and seemed to take the fight from Seton Hall. What had been a close game became a complete blowout for the Orange.
The Big East Tournament gets underway Tuesday, and this year the Big East Tournament (BET) matches the construction of the conference -- oversized, a bit confusing and very clearly divided.
The Big East at this point has seven teams that are definitely going to the NCAA tournament and one team that lies way out on the fringe of the bubble. This year, the BET is all about teams trying to improve or maintain their projected seeding for the Big Dance.
When it comes to predicting the early favorites for next season, the usual approach is to look at which teams appear to be coming back loaded with talent and ended the season playing well. Syracuse seemed to fit that bill.
There was not going to be an answer for 
Last night's action had one tight game, a blowout that tightened near the end, a walloping, and a game that never became a blowout though the outcome was never in doubt. 
It would be easy to just chalk this up to Syracuse running out of energy in the second half. That's not to say it didn't play a role, but at the same time, it would be a disservice to Louisville. 
You have to admire and respect what the Orange are doing. Not content with playing 30 extra minutes Thursday, they decided that for an encore they would do one more overtime before knocking off West Virginia. Now all Syracuse has to do is face a Louisville team that has had a much easier path to the Big East Tournament championship game. 
The difference between a 
Chalk ruled the day. The teams having a bye all advanced. Sandwiched between some reasonably competitive games were a couple games that never had the outcome in doubt.
It was a foul-filled, trash-talking, generally unpleasant game to watch. 
The Big East Tournament gets underway Tuesday, and this year the Big East Tournament (BET) matches the construction of the conference -- oversized, a bit confusing and very clearly divided. 
