Big East Conference Tournament Recaps
New York, NY (Sports Network) – Fuquan Edwin knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining in overtime as the Seton Hall Pirates captured a 46-42 win over the South Florida Bulls in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Edwin finished with a game-high 17 points for the 12th-seeded Pirates (15-17), while Eugene Teague registered a double-double for the squad with 14 points and a team-best 10 rebounds. With the victory Seton Hall advances to the second round on Wednesday to take on fifth-seeded Syracuse.
The Bulls (12-19) were paced by Zach LeDay with 13 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals, followed by Victor Rudd with 11 points for the 13th seed in the tourney. Anthony Collins posted just four points on 2-of-12 shooting from the floor, but was still an integral part of the action with nine assists.
Both teams had trouble finding the basket in the first half as Seton Hall converted 36.8 percent from the floor and USF just 33.3 percent, yet it was the latter that held a slim 20-17 advantage at the break.
In the second half the Bulls completely fell apart, connecting on a grand total of just five field goals (5-of-28), including 2-of-11 beyond the arc. The Pirates put together an 8-0 late in order to erase their deficit and send the meeting into overtime knotted at 37-37. South Florida had a chance to win the game in regulation, but had a layup blocked, an open jumper miss the mark and a tip-in at the rim come up short all in the final seconds.
In addition to converting a layup in the final minute of the bonus frame, Edwin sank a couple at the charity stripe within the final second in order to seal the win for the Pirates.
South Florida, which shot an abysmal 24.2 percent from the field, including 5- of-26 (.192) on the perimeter, held a 47-33 advantage on the glass and logged 27 offensive rebounds in the setback.
Final Score: Rutgers 76, DePaul 57
New York, NY (Sports Network) – Wally Judge registered a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights ran away with a 76-57 win over the DePaul Blue Demons in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Judge tied a tournament record by shooting a perfect 9-of-9 from the floor for 11th-seeded Rutgers (15-15) which will now contend against sixth-seeded Notre Dame in the second round of the event on Wednesday night.
Myles Mack accounted for 19 points and Jerome Seagears 15 and seven boards for the Knights in the triumph.
The 14th-seeded Blue Demons (11-21) were paced by Cleveland Melvin who scored a game-high 25 points, while Brandon Young pitched in with 15 points, but only one other player on the roster was able to make more than a single field goal.
A closely-played contest through the first half, Rutgers connected on an impressive 60.9 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes yet led by just a single point at the break, 32-31.
In the second half the Scarlet Knights again found the basket relatively easily (.613), while holding DePaul to just 10 total field goals and 0-of-8 shooting beyond the arc, en route to the 19-point victory.
Rutgers shot 6-of-11 beyond the arc and held a 36-20 advantage on the glass in order to overcome 15 turnovers and just 4-of-7 shooting at the free-throw line.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball