NEW YORK — With a healthy Luke Harangody back in top form, Notre Dame stopped Seton Hall in its run-and-gun tracks to take another big step toward the NCAA tournament.

Harangody had 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, and the Fighting Irish shut down Seton Hall's high-octane offense for a 68-56 victory in the second round of the Big East tournament Wednesday night.

"The microwave was ready to go tonight," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said about the instant offense Harangody provided as a reserve. "It was not anything anybody in this room hasn't seen."

Tory Jackson added 13 points and six assists for the Fighting Irish (22-10) in a game with significant NCAA implications. Notre Dame, riding a five-game winning streak at just the right time, plays second-seeded and No. 16 Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals tonight.

The seventh-seeded Irish started their surge with 68-53 victory over then-No. 12 Pittsburgh on Feb. 24.

Notre Dame improved to 6-14 in the Big East tournament and ended a three-game winning streak for No. 10 seed Seton Hall (19-12), which nearly blew a 29-point second-half lead before holding off Providence 109-106 Tuesday night.

Unable to improve their resume this week, the Pirates must wait until Sunday to find out if they've done enough to sneak into the NCAAs.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, probably solidified its spot.

"There's no doubt we can beat somebody if we go to the NCAA tournament. No doubt. And especially with some rest," Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. "I think we should be on the board. I think all this talk about the bubble has burst and now we're out and we're done and we lost and that's it and it's over, I don't think people know what they're talking about. I don't think they have a clue. I think they listen to what everybody else says and they repeat what they hear."

Harangody, who entered as the nation's second-leading scorer at 23.3 points per game, was injured in a 90-87 loss at Seton Hall on Feb. 11. The senior forward missed five games with a badly bruised right knee and the Irish lost the first two by a combined three points before reeling off three straight surprising wins without him.

He had five points and two rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench Saturday in Notre Dame's 63-60 overtime win at Marquette, but looked much more like himself in this one.

"The last couple of days of practice have been great for me, just to get back in the flow. Kind of get my conditioning back up to where it has been," Harangody said. "I feel right now that I started to get a little bit of swagger I had before the injury, a little more of the confidence. I feel great with the guys out there."

Cincinnati 69, Louisville 66

Deonta Vaughn made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left then made the game-saving strip just before the buzzer to lift the Bearcats over the Cardinals.

The 11th-seeded Bearcats (18-14), who had never won a game in the tournament until Tuesday's opening-round win over Rutgers, advanced to the today's quarterfinals against third-seeded and seventh-ranked West Virginia.

Edgar Sosa had 28 points for the defending champion Cardinals (20-12), but he was stripped by Vaughn as he was headed toward a possible game-tying 3-point attempt.

Yancy Gates had 16 points for Cincinnati, which finished with a 54-33 rebound advantage, including 28-9 on the offensive end. Vaughn had 10 points

Marquette 57, St. John's 55

Lazar Hayward scored 20 points, David Cubillan hit the deciding 3-pointer with 1:11 to play to help Marquette top St. John's.

The fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (21-10) held on after losing a 14-point lead and advanced to the quarterfinals against fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Villanova today.

It was the second straight year Marquette beat the 13th-seeded Red Storm (17-15) in the second round, but this result was a far cry from last season's 74-45 romp.

Sean Evans and D.J. Kennedy each had 12 points for St. John's.

Georgetown 69, South Florida 49

Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe scored 16 points each, and No. 22 Georgetown built a big first-half lead before handling everything South Florida star Dominique Jones could offer Wednesday night.

Chris Wright also had 15 points for the eighth-seeded Hoyas (21-9), who were likely already in the NCAA tournament but now have the chance to improve their seeding with a deep run in the tourney. They'll play No. 1 seed Syracuse in the quarterfinals tonight.

The two conference heavyweights have split their 12 meetings in the Big East tournament.

Georgetown built a 14-point first-half lead relying mostly on defense, which was good even by coach John Thompson III's stringent standards. South Florida (20-12) didn't score for nearly eight minutes, and Jones couldn't find open looks as the Hoyas rotated over to guard him.