3 things to look out for at the Big East Tournament

By Tyler Dunne

Managing Editor

Breakout performers

Every year, a new hero emerges. Credit the Madison Square Garden spotlight, the last-chance urgency to crack the NCAA Tournament or the utter absence of the hopeless New York Knicks. Whichever the case, a new star always seems to steal the show and will his team to the Big East title game.

Last year it was Jonny Flynn. With a tournament for the ages, Flynn earned himself a sixth overall pick in the NBA Draft. This year? There are plenty of players capable of taking their teams the distance.

It's hard to tell who the Clark Kent is right now, but a handful of players have had their clutch moments this season in the Big East. West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler scored the winning bucket with 5.8 seconds left in overtime to beat Villanova recently. ‘Nova's Scottie Reynolds has taken over at times. If healthy, 2007-08 Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody could carry Notre Dame to Saturday night. He tallied 20 points and 10 rebounds in the Fighting Irish's win over Seton Hall Wednesday night. There's also Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs, who has shown the ability to catch fire from deep. Gibbs has four games with six 3-pointers, including one in a win over Syracuse.

Syracuse? It's been a different player every night. Unlike recent years, the Orange hasn't been dependent on one player shouldering the scoring load. That being said, maybe Andy Rautins' experience at MSG helps. Rautins scored 20 points in SU's six-overtime win over Connecticut last season. And with Wes Johnson still hampered by injury, Rautins has been the Orange's most reliable scorer. His outbursts in Georgetown and Providence proved crucial. If Syracuse needs to ride a hot hand to the title game, it'll probably be Rautins. Before a clunker in Louisville, the senior made 27 treys in his last seven games.

In the early goings of the tournament, a few players have provided appetizers. Lazar Hayward, Marquette's 6-foot-6 jack of all trades, scored 20 points to avoid an upset against St. John's. And in the matinee, Jason Clark hit four 3s to help the Hoyas pull away from South Florida.

Only time will tell, but chances are somebody in a wide-open field will duplicate Jonny Flynn this year and recharge MSG into a frenzy again.

thdunne@sye.edu

By Matt Ehalt

Staff Writer

The possible bracket

There is no easy path to a title in the Big East tournament. Yet there might not be a more entertaining trio of games, presuming the top seeds win out, than the slate which could start today at noon for top-seeded Syracuse. It will be the type of rematches that make this tournament so exciting for fans. Or horrifying if you're Jim Boeheim.

"Big East tournament, every game will be tough, it will be a nightmare," Boeheim said. "A nightmare, that's what it is."

Today's quarterfinal match might be the juiciest of the whole tournament. Thirty years of hate. Two traditional Big East powerhouses. Goliath A vs. Goliath B. No. 8 seed Georgetown against No. 1 seed Syracuse. You won't find a sexier matchup in the quarterfinals of any other conference tournament.

Syracuse has already bested the Hoyas twice this season, including a dominating 73-56 victory at the Carrier Dome and a narrow 75-71 triumph at the Verizon Center. Rarely in this series is there a clean sweep in two games, so trying to get the trifecta will be quite the challenge for Syracuse. Georgetown looked particularly impressive in its 69-49 dismantling of ninth-seeded South Florida.

"We played them twice already. It's Georgetown-Syracuse," Hoyas head coach John Thompson III said in an interview with BigEast.tv after his team defeated USF. "We know what they're going to do. They know what we're going to do. We don't need to go through any major strategy sessions, we know how we want to attack them and we know how they are going to attack us."

With two wins, Syracuse would make the finals, where one of four teams await (Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Notre Dame). If the bracket plays out, that could leave Pittsburgh opposing SU. The team that has had the Orange's number over the years. The one opponent that Syracuse can never beat. Pittsburgh has won seven of the last eight games, and if it could upset the top-seeded Orange, that would make the streak even sweeter. For Syracuse, what a better way to end the past six years of frustration against the Panthers than a victory in the Big East tournament finals.

While these games will whet your appetite, there are no guarantees that Syracuse, Villanova or Pittsburgh will make it past the quarterfinals. That's what the beauty of this tournament is. Any team can win, regardless the regular-season outcome. And Syracuse has some potential rematches that could be more than worth the price of admission.

mrehalt@syr.edu

By Conor Orr

Sports Editor

Conference depth

Big East players and coaches repeat the same old line all season: This is the toughest league in the country and winning any game — regardless of an opponent — should be considered a "good" win.

But that was considered mindless coach and athlete speak during the regular-season competition, which presents the opportunity for some quality sleepers to leak through the cracks and shake up the conference and national picture.

This season, more than ever, the difference from the top seed to the bottom has never been tighter. Consider, for example, Notre Dame at the No. 7 spot. The Fighting Irish have rattled off wins against the No. 5 seed Marquette and the No. 2 seed Pittsburgh in convincing fashion, without the help of its best player.

Syracuse, in its own right, has lost twice to the tournament's No. 6 seed in Louisville, destroyed the No. 4 seed Villanova at home and edged the No. 3 seed Mountaineers on the road.