face Rutgers Tuesday

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –  After going 15-3 in conference play and finishing the BIG EAST season as the nation’s top-ranked team, Syracuse has earned the No. 1 seed for the 2010 BIG EAST Championship presented by New York Life.

Despite falling to Louisville in Saturday’s season finale, Syracuse earned its first outright BIG EAST regular-season title since the 1990-91 season, finishing two games ahead of the field in the final conference standings.

Syracuse joins Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Villanova as the top four seeds in the BIG EAST Championship, which begins Tuesday, March 9 at noon Eastern at Madison Square Garden in New York. Those four schools receive byes through two rounds of tournament and won’t play until Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The Championship begins Tuesday with four first-round matchups. USF and DePaul kick things off with a battle between the Nos. 9 and 16 seeds at noon, while No. 12 Connecticut takes on No. 13 St. John’s at 2 p.m. to complete the afternoon session. Those games will be televised on ESPN2.

The Tuesday evening session begins with No. 10 Seton Hall and No. 15 Providence at 7 p.m., followed by No. 11 Cincinnati against No. 14 Rutgers at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

No. 8-seeded Georgetown will await the USF/DePaul winner Wednesday at noon in the first of four second-round games. No. 5 Marquette has the Connecticut/St. John’s winner at 2 p.m., while No. 7 Notre Dame takes on the Seton Hall/Providence winner at 7 p.m. No. 6 Louisville – the 2009 BIG EAST champion – closes Wednesday’s action against the Cincinnati/Rutgers winner.

Friday’s semifinals are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m., while the championship game taps at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Wednesday’s second-round games, Thursday’s quarterfinals, Friday’s semifinals and the championship game Saturday will be televised on ESPN.

Georgetown has won a conference-record seven BIG EAST Championships. Connecticut has won six tournament titles, while Syracuse has won five.

 

2010 BIG EAST championshiP PRESENTED BY NEW YORK LIFE

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN • NEW YORK, N.Y.

Tuesday, March 9 – First Round (ESPN2)
No. 9 USF (19-11) vs. No. 16 DePaul (8-22)....................................... Noon

No. 12 Connecticut (17-14) vs. No. 13 St. John’s (16-14).................... 2 p.m.

Tuesday, March 9 – First Round (ESPNU)
No. 10 Seton Hall (18-11) vs. No. 15 Providence (12-18).................... 7 p.m.

No. 11 Cincinnati (16-14) vs. No. 14 Rutgers (15-16)......................... 9 p.m.

Wednesday, March 10 – Second Round (ESPN)

No. 8 Georgetown (20-9) vs. USF/DePaul winner................................. Noon

No. 5 Marquette (20-10) vs. Connecticut/St. John’s winner.................. 2 p.m.

No. 7 Notre Dame (21-10) vs. Seton Hall/Providence winner............... 7 p.m.

No. 6 Louisville (20-11) vs. Cincinnati/Rutgers winner........................ 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 11 – Quarterfinals (ESPN)

No. 1 Syracuse (28-3) vs. 8/9/16 winner............................................. Noon

No. 4 Villanova (24-6) vs. 5/12/13 winner........................................ 2 p.m.

No. 2 Pittsburgh (24-7) vs. 7/10/15 winner........................................ 7 p.m.

No. 3 West Virginia (24-6) vs. 6/11/14 winner................................... 9 p.m.

Friday, March 12 – Semifinals (ESPN)

Thursday afternoon winners............................................................. 7 p.m.

Thursday evening winners............................................................... 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 13 – Championship (ESPN)

Semifinal winners.......................................................................... 9 p.m.