Plenty of plot lines at tourney
NEW YORK — Two teams that spent most of the season ranked in the top 25 must take part in the first-round play-in games of the Big East Tournament.
Ninth-seeded Connecticut (21-9) was scheduled to open the afternoon session against 16th-seeded De Paul (7-23) at Madison Square Garden, and 10th-seeded Villanova opens the evening session against 15th-seeded South Florida (9-22) at 7.
Here's a rundown of the key elements to watch in the nation's toughest conference tournament:
• <B>Pitt (27-4):</B> The Panthers are in the running for a No. 1 NCAA seed. Known for the guard play of Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker, but their versatile front line of center Gary McGhee and forwards Nasir Robinson and Gilbert Brown makes them tough on defense and the boards, and they shoot 46.6 percent.• <B>Notre Dame (25-5): </B>Despite the loss of All-American Luke Harangody, the Irish have established themselves in the top 10 much of the season thanks to the 1-2 scoring punch of Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis, who averaged a combined 48 points in their final four games. Not a deep team.• <B>Syracuse (25-6):</B> After starting 18-0, then losing six of eight, the Orange have righted themselves with a five-game winning streak. Power forward Rick Jackson has been a double-double machine, and coach Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone remains the best. Watch out if swingman Kris Joseph gets hot.• <B>St. John's (20-10):</B> The Red Storm fell to the fifth seed after the loss to Seton Hall, but it has won nine of 11, including four over ranked opponents, and arrive as one of the nation's hottest teams. If forward Justin Brownlee's scoring picks up, it will relieve pressure on Dwight Hardy and D.J. Kennedy.
• <B>Marquette (18-13): </B>The Golden Eagles have been falling just short of their potential all season, but they have a dependable scoring combination of Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom. A remarkable 12 of their losses have come against teams that were ranked in the top 25. They're in the weaker half of the bracket.
Third seed Louisville built its record on being perfect at home; West Virginia's Kevin Jones has been disappointing; Georgetown's Austin Freeman was the preseason player of the year pick, but after an eight-game midseason win streak, guard Chris Smith had surgery on his nonshooting hand and will miss the tournament; Cincinnati finished well, but Yancy Gates is enigmatic.
• <B>Marshon Brooks, Providence, G-F:</B> The nation's second-leading scorer with a 24.8 average. Had a conference-record 52 points vs. Notre Dame and scored 20 or more 25 times.• <B>Ashton Gibbs, Pitt, G: </B>Eighth in country with 3.2 3-pointers made per game and 27th with a .466 three-point percentage. Tough in clutch.• <B>Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame G: </B>Younger brother of former North Carolina All-American Tyler Hansbrough leads the Irish with an 18.4 average; impressive leader.• <B>Dwight Hardy, St. John's, G: </B>Former sixth man leads Red Storm with a 17.9 average, but 23.9 in the last 11 games. Won Most Improved Player Award in the Big East.• <B>Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G:</B> Tied for fourth in the nation with a 23.1 scoring average and averages 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Speed to burn.
• <B>Can Big East land record 11 NCAA bids?</B> The Big East tied a record with eight NCAA bids last season but could get up to 11 if Villanova and Marquette make runs to reach the conference quarterfinals.• <B>St. John's mastery at the Garden. </B>The Red Storm has a 7-1 MSG record, including wins over ranked Duke, Pitt, Georgetown, Notre Dame and UConn. The only loss was to Syracuse, which awaits in the quarterfinals if St. John's wins its second-round game Wednesday.• <B>Is double bye a blessing or a curse?</B> Three of the top four seeds with the double bye lost their opener in the quarters last season, and two of the top four lost the previous year. Coaches voted to keep it rather than have all 16 teams play in the first round.
