Louisville wins Big East title (Photo: Big East) |
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| University of Louisville 2008-09 |
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Louisville's sweep of its first Big East titles ended Syracuse's overtime run
in regulation.
Earl
Clark (6'9''-G/F-88) had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the fifth-ranked
Cardinals to a 76-66 victory over Syracuse (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) on
Saturday night, giving the regular-season champs their first Big East tournament
title.
The conference's first five-day tournament will be remembered as well for the
Orange and their run to the final game that included the epic six-overtime win
over Connecticut in the quarterfinals and a more mundane one-overtime victory
over West Virginia in the semis.
Louisville's pressure defense is tough on a team with plenty of rest. It was
really troubling for a team that had played nearly an extra game of overtime in
a four-day span.
The conference title in their fourth season in the Big East will probably
translate into a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the Cardinals (28-5).
Syracuse guard
Jonny
Flynn (6'0''-G-89), who played 67 minutes in the marathon win over
Connecticut (No. 4, No. 3) and all 45 in the victory over West Virginia, was
selected the tournament MVP. He had 11 points and six assists in a mere 34
minutes against the Cardinals, but that followed three games where he averaged
22 points and 10 assists, including 34 and 11 against the Huskies.
The win was the 10th straight for Louisville, which will be making its second
straight NCAA appearance and 34th overall.
Eric
Devendorf (6'4''-G-87) had 20 points for Syracuse (26-9), which had won
seven straight and went from a team that was being talked about in bubble terms
to one deserving of seeding around No. 4. The Orange will return to the NCAA
tournament after missing it for two straight years.
Syracuse was going for a sixth Big East title in its 14th championship game. Its
last title came in 2006, when Gerry McNamara led an overachieving team on a
memorable run of last-second wins.
The Cardinals made sure there was no great story for Syracuse this time.
Syracuse closed the first half on a 13-2 run to take a 38-30 lead. But the
Cardinals opened the second half on a 13-3 run that included two 3-pointers and
during which Syracuse turned the ball over three times. The Cardinals led 43-41
on a reverse layup by freshman
Samardo Samuels (6'8''-F-89), who finished with 15 points, just 3:05 in.
Suddenly, the Syracuse players did look a little tired. They didn't seem to have
their legs as they came up empty on six straight possessions after tying the
game at 43.
Louisville scored eight straight points, the last four by Clark, and it seemed
like another game with a chance of going overtime was not going to happen.
One possession in that stretch, Syracuse missed four 3-pointers. They managed to
corral three long rebounds in the sequence, but none produced any points.
A 3 by
Andre McGee (5'10''-G-87) gave Louisville a 68-56 lead with 4:04 to play,
and the Syracuse fans in the sellout crowd of 19,375 at Madison Square Garden
only had two more reasons to cheer: when coach
Jim
Boeheim took the starters out with 1:19 to go and when Flynn was announced
as the MVP.
Terrence Williams (6'6''-F-87) had 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists
for the Cardinals, who finished 10-for-28 from 3-point range and forced Syracuse
into 17 turnovers, 10 in the second half.
Andy Rautins, whose 3 at the start of the sixth overtime gave Syracuse the lead
for good two nights earlier, finished 2-for-10 from behind the arc as the Orange
went 5-for-18.
Louisville won 15 conference titles before joining the Big East, 11 in the
Metro, and two each in Conference USA and the KIAC.
Flynn was the first MVP from a losing team since
Victor
Page (6'3''-G-75) of Georgetown in 1996.
Courtesy of Big East
Tournament Final: Louisville - Syracuse 76-66
Tournament Semifinals:
Louisville - Villanova 69-55
Syracuse - W.Virginia 74-69
Big East All-Tournament MVP:
Jonny
Flynn of Syracuse
Big East All-Tournament Team
Jonny
Flynn of Syracuse
A.J.
Price (6'2''-G-86) of UConn
Devin
Ebanks (6'9''-F) of West Virginia
Eric
Devendorf of Syracuse
Earl
Clark of Louisville
Terrence Williams of Louisville
| All-Big East 1st Team 2008-09 |
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All-Big East 1st Team
Hasheem Thabeet (7'3''-C-87) of Connecticut
Terrence Williams of Louisville
Jerel
McNeal (6'3''-G-87) of Marquette
Luke
Harangody (6'8''-F-88) of Notre Dame
DeJuan Blair (6'7''-F-89) of Pittsburgh
Sam
Young (6'6''-F-85) of Pittsburgh
All-Big East 2nd Team
A.J.
Price of Connecticut
Wesley
Matthews (6'5''-G-86) of Marquette
Jonny
Flynn of Syracuse
Dante
Cunningham (6'8''-F-87) of Villanova
Da'Sean Butler (6'7''-F-88) of West Virginia
All-Big East 3rd Team
Deonta Vaughn (6'1''-G-86) of Cincinnati
Jeff
Adrien (6'7''-F-86) of Connecticut
Earl
Clark of Louisville
Levance Fields (5'10''-G-87) of Pittsburgh
Jeremy Hazell (6'5''-G-86) of Seton Hall
All-Big East Honorable Mention
Weyinmi Efejuku (6'5''-G-86) of Providence
Dominique Jones (6'4''-G-88) of USF
Scottie Reynolds (6'2''-G-87) of Villanova
Alex
Ruoff (6'6''-G) of West Virginia
Big East All-Rookie Team
Yancy
Gates (6'9''-F) of Cincinnati
Kemba
Walker (6'1''-G-90) of Connecticut
Greg
Monroe (6'11''-C-90) of Georgetown
Samardo Samuels of Louisville
Mike
Rosario (6'3''-G-90) of Rutgers
Devin
Ebanks of West Virginia
Big East Co-Player of the Year:
Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut and
DeJuan Blair of Pittsburgh
Big East Rookie of the Year:
Greg
Monroe of Georgetown
Big East Sixth Man of the Year:
Corey
Fisher (6'1''-G-88) of Villanova
Big East Most Improved Player of the Year:
Dante
Cunningham of Villanova
Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Alex
Ruoff of West Virginia
Big East Sportsmanship Award:
Alex
Ruoff of West Virginia
Big East Coach of the Year:
Jay Wright
of Villanova
Pitino
