Once 20-0 and on track for a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament, Boston College needs to right the ship, and fast.
On Thursday, the top-seeded Eagles could not overcome a lethargic first half and fell to No. 8-seeded West Virginia, 78-72, in the quarterfinal round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.
With momentum no longer on the Eagles' side, their prospects to advance deep into the NCAA tournament have never looked shakier.
PHOTO: AFP
"There are no magic buttons," Boston College Coach Al Skinner said. "The guys just have to take a little pride in themselves and their team. They have to go out and work harder. It's just that simple. Our preparation and our focus has got to be there, and I'm talking about the whole team. Individuals may be ready, but before, it was everybody that was ready. We're at a point where it's one and done, and guys have to get themselves ready to play."
In the second game of the quarterfinals, No. 19 Villanova, among the hottest teams in the nation, defeated No. 22 Pittsburgh, 67-58. Villanova and West Virginia will meet Friday night in the first semifinal.
Entering the Big East tournament as a bubble team, West Virginia (20-9) seems a certainty to be invited to the NCAA tournament. Ninety-four of the 96 previous Big East teams that compiled 20 victories have made the tournament.
"Obviously I am biased, but the selection committee will choose the right teams, and there's no doubt in my mind that we're one of the right teams," West Virginia Coach John Beilein said.
Boston College (24-4) played without a sense of urgency during a first half that ended with West Virginia leading by 44-22. Facing little defensive pressure, the Mountaineers shot 65.4 percent from the field in the half and hit 8 of 11 3-point attempts.
"We didn't come out and play the way we're capable of playing," said Eagles forward Jared Dudley, who scored 17 points. "West Virginia came out more aggressively and executed their offense. We didn't defend them at all. People have to suck it up and get back to work."
West Virginia played without its leading scorer, Tyrone Salley, who had an intestinal disorder. The sophomore Frank Young, who replaced Salley, had a strong game with 14 points, including the first successful free throw of his college career.
Mike Gansey led the Mountaineers with a career-high 21 points.
After West Virginia's lead grew to 25 points in the opening minute of the second half, Boston College finally found its stride. The Eagles, relentless with their defensive pressure, cut the West Virginia lead to 62-58 on a 3-pointer by Sean Marshall with 4 minutes 40 seconds left and seemed to have a realistic chance of pulling off what would have been the largest second-half comeback in Big East tournament history.
But after a layup by West Virginia's J.D. Collins, Kevin Pittsnoggle hit what might have been the biggest shot of the game. Pittsnoggle, a 6-foot-11 center, made a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to increase the Mountaineers' lead to 9 points. Boston College, running out of time, could not catch up.
Craig Smith led Boston College, which was playing in its last Big East game before joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, with 20 points.
Villanova (22-6) has won eight in a row and 10 of its past 11. The Wildcats dominated the first half and held a 31-19 halftime lead. They were never seriously challenged over the final 20 minutes.
Pittsburgh made an early exit from the Big East tournament after appearing in the finals for four consecutive years.
Villanova won this game with defense. Pittsburgh (20-8) was held to 20 percent shooting in the first half while falling hopelessly behind, and the Wildcats shut down the Panthers' best interior player, the all-Big East selection Chevon Troutman, who did not have a field goal and finished with 8 points.
"We've tried to build this team on defense," Villanova Coach Jay Wright said. "All great teams in the Big East have done that. In this league, you're playing against great players and you've got to be able to stop them."
Randy Foye led Villanova with 23 points. Allan Ray had 18 and Curtis Sumpter 17. The three accounted for 58 of Villanova's 67 points. Carl Krauser led Pittsburgh with 18 points.
Although Pittsburgh seems assured of heading to the NCAA tournament, the Panthers have to be concerned about their inconsistent play. They have won at Connecticut and Syracuse but have lost to Bucknell and St. John's, and they endured a three-game losing streak in late February. Unable to solve the Villanova defense or find any scoring threat besides Krauser, Pittsburgh did not put in the type of performance that will win too many games in the NCAA tournament.
No. 12 Connecticut 66,
Georgetown 62
All season long, in a gravelly, Boston-tinged growl, Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun rides his team in pursuit of perfection.
Calhoun's players do not so much play a season under him as endure one. But the dividends of all that barking come in March, when the Huskies play with a distinct bite.
Once again, Calhoun has Connecticut playing its best basketball at the most important time of the year. The defending national champions won their seventh consecutive game Thursday night, a 66-62 victory over Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The victory did not come easily. Georgetown put forth a furious second-half comeback that fell just short. With Connecticut leading by 2 points, Ashanti Cook's jump shot bounced off the left side of the rim with four seconds remaining.
Connecticut's Denham Brown hit two free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining to seal the victory. The freshman Rudy Gay led Connecticut (22-6) with 17 points.
A Connecticut team playing galvanizing ball at this time of year has become expected. In the last two seasons, the Huskies are 13-1 after March 1. Over the past four seasons, they are 22-6 in that span.
Connecticut, 3-0 this month, has won 18 of its past 21 Big East tournament games.
The best news for Connecticut was the return of its leading scorer, Rashad Anderson, for his first game since Feb. 7. Anderson was hospitalized with a skin abscess on his leg that temporarily put him in intensive care.
Anderson, who lost more than 15 pounds, returned early in the first half and got an assist on a Marcus Williams 3-pointer on his first touch of the basketball. Although he did not score a point, Anderson's presence alone will strengthen an already potent lineup.
Connecticut's late surge this season has coincided with the strong play of Williams, a point guard. A silky left-hander from Los Angeles, Williams sat out the last 14 regular-season games last season and the entire championship run because of academic problems.
But soon after Connecticut won the national title last year, Calhoun called Williams and told him that with the graduation of Taliek Brown, it would be Williams's team to run this season.
Williams responded with aplomb. He entered the game tied for the nation's lead in assists, averaging 8 a game.
Williams's lob led to a dunk by Denham Brown for Connecticut's first basket of the game Thursday night, and he showed a deft touch on his jump shot. Williams scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer in transition that helped Connecticut break out to a 21-13 lead with 8 minutes 14 seconds remaining in first half.
No Husky was named to the All-Big East first team, but Williams may be playing as well as any point guard in the country.
Eight of his 10 assists came in the second half, including a sweet dish to center Josh Boone with just over one minute remaining that bumped Connecticut's lead to 8 points.
Besides those talented players, in Gay the Huskies have a player who is regarded so highly by NBA scouts that he could be one the of the top three picks if he enters the draft this spring.
The Connecticut forward Charlie Villanueva scored only 11 points, 2 of which came after halftime. Villanueva had been deemed unstoppable by Calhoun the past few weeks, but he attempted just three shots in the second half and never was a factor.
The loss may keep Georgetown out of the NCAA tournament. The Hoyas are 17-12 and had lost five straight games before coming from behind to beat Seton Hall in the opening round on Tuesday.
The Hoyas have a Ratings Percentage Index of 67, which means they'll be awaiting their fate from the selection committee on Sunday.
Even if the Hoyas reach the National Invitation Tournament, it will be a marked improvement from last season under Craig Esherick. The Hoyas went 13-15 last season, which led to the firing of Esherick and the hiring of John Thompson III, son of the university's longtime basketball coach, John Thompson.
The Huskies will have no worries on Sunday. If they finish strong here, they could get a No. 2 seeding. Considering that the Huskies had dipped as far as No. 23 in the AP poll in late January, it has been a meteoric ascent.
Ohio State has reportedly signed men's basketball coach Thad Matta to an eight-year contract.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Matta will be paid US$1.1 million in total salary this season, which includes a US$350,000 bonus he received to satisfy his Xavier buyout. He could also increase his pay next year by reaching any or all of 10 incentive clauses that total US$290,000.
The 37-year-old Matta was initially given a seven-year contract upon his hiring on July 7 last year and then had a one-year extension added on.
However, the agreement between Matta and the university was preliminary after the school imposed a one-year ban on postseason play.
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