The Beast Takes Manhattan
The 2008-2009 Men’s Big East basketball season was one for the record books. Over the course of the year, the Big East made a strong claim of being the nations’ best league, with two teams, Connecticut and Pittsburgh, both achieving No. 1 rankings and several other teams, including Louisville, Marquette and Syracuse carrying high rankings all season long. With so much depth and balance, the annual conference tournament promised to deliver some unforgettable moments.
It did not disappoint.
Last week, thousand of fans descended on Manhattan and its hoops palace, Madison Square Garden, for an event that at times felt like a massive party. This year’s tournament spanned five days and was the first to include all of the league’s 16 teams. The early rounds produced some big upsets, as the might Georgetown Hoyas bowed out in a first day shocker against St. John’s and the lowest ranked team, DePaul, beat Cincinnati. However, Thursday’s quarterfinals produced an instant classic; an almost four hour, six overtime thriller between U.Conn and Syracuse. It was the second longest game in NCAA history and ended with Syracuse pulling out a hard-earned victory in the early hours of Friday morning, 127-117. Syracuse advanced to the title game after another overtime battle with West Virginia, but they ran out of gas against the well-rested Cardinals of Louisville. Rick Pitino’s team claimed its first Big East title on Saturday night in prime time against the Orange by a score of 76-66.
But the fun might just be starting for fans of the Big East. On Sunday, the league saw three of its powerhouses, Louisville, Pitt, and U.Conn, receive three of the possible four number one seeds in the Men’s NCAA tournament. The Big East landed another four teams in the field, with Marquette, Syracuse, Villanova and West Virginia also scoring invites. With the promise of so many teams playing deep into March, the next few weeks look to be full of excitement for the storied conference.
Click below to see street scenes from the first two days of the Big East tournament.