An NCAA record 11 Big East teams qualified for the tournament this year. Throughout the regular season, most pundits considered the Big East to be the baddest league in college basketball. March Madness has told a different story.
With the Sweet Sixteen set, Connecticut and Marquette are the only two Big East squads left standing. Here is a list of those that have fallen thus far:
1 seed Pittsburgh
2 seed Notre Dame
3 seed Syracuse
4 seed Lousiville
5 seed West Virginia
6 seed Georgetown
6 seed St. John's
6 seed Cincinnati
9 seed Villanova
Here is a link to the current bracket.
Pittsburgh and Notre Dame were victimized by two of the most stunning upsets so far in the tournament. Top seeded Pitt was a heavy favorite to make at least the Final Four but they fell to 8 seed Butler by one point in the round of 32 after a heartbreaking and controversial finish. Offensive powerhouse Notre Dame was stifled by 10 seed Florida St., the best defensive team in the country. Notre Dame trailed by double digits for most of the game and ended up losing 71-57.
It is important to note that on two occasions one Big East team knocked out a fellow Big East team. Marquette downed heavily favored Syracuse and a surging Connecticut squad defeated Cincinnati with the help of another brilliant performance from godlike phenom Kemba Walker.
Despite some of the league-on-league violence, losing 9 of 11 teams in just the first two rounds is a head-scratcher. They're dropping like flies. The Big East's overall showing has been highly disappointing but all hope has not been lost. We'll see if Connecticut and Marquette can continue their runs. The pressure is on because the pride of their conference is at stake.
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