Big East Conference Tournament Opening Round: No. 8 Villanova blasted No. 9 Syracuse 82-63 with a dominant 55-point second half, likely ending the Orange’s NCAA Tournament hopes. Villanova got 22 points from sophomore guard Scottie Reynolds and won the rebounding battle 39-27 despite having a significant height disadvantage. Villanova will play No. 1 Georgetown in the quarterfinals.
No. 5 West Virginia overcame a slow start against No. 12 Providence to win 58-53. The Mountaineers ended each half strongly, holding the Friars to two points in the final five minutes of the first half and seven points in the final seven minutes of the second. Junior forward Joe Alexander led West Virginia with 22 points. The Mountaineers will play No. 4 Connecticut Thursday.
No. 7 Pittsburgh won its opening-round game against No. 10 Cincinnati 70-64 to move into the quarterfinals against No. 2 Louisville. Junior forward Sam Young scored 21 points for the Panthers to help them overcome Cincinnati and sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn, who had 30 points in the loss.
No. 6 Marquette got a battle from No. 11 Seton Hall, but the Golden Eagles prevailed 67-54 by dominating in rebounding. Marquette collected 52 rebounds to Seton Hall’s 31. The Golden Eagles had 22 offensive rebounds. All those second chances helped Marquette overcome a 34.4 percent shooting night. Junior guard Jerel McNeal had 21 points and nine rebounds, and sophomore forward Lazar Hayward posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. [3/12/08]
