2008 BIG EAST Championship presented by Aeropostale
Madison Square Garden - New York, N.Y. (all games televised by ESPN)

Wednesday, March 12 (First Round)
Game 1 - (8) Villanova vs. (9) Syracuse Noon ET
Game 2 - (5) West Virginia vs. (12) Providence 2:00 p.m. ET
Game 3 - (7) Pittsburgh vs. (10) Cincinnati 7:00 p.m. ET
Game 4 - (6) Marquette vs. (11) Seton Hall 9:00 p.m. ET

Thursday, March 13 (Quarterfinals)
Game 5 - Villanova/Syracuse winner vs. (1) Georgetown Noon ET
Game 6 - West Virginia/Providence winner vs. (4) Connecticut 2:00 p.m. ET
Game 7 - Pittsburgh/Cincinnati winner vs. (2) Louisville 7:00 p.m. ET
Game 8 - Marquette/Seton Hall winner vs. (3) Notre Dame 9:00 p.m. ET

Friday, March 14 (Semifinals)
Game 9 - Thursday afternoon winners 7:00 p.m. ET
Game 10 - Thursday evening winners 9:00 p.m. ET

Saturday, March 15
Game 11 - Championship Game 9:00 p.m. ET

My Predictions for BET
Game 1/Syracuse over Villanova
Game 2/West Virginia over Providence
Game 3/Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Game 4/Marquette over Seton Hall

BET Quarter Finals
Game 5/Georgetown over Syracuse
Game 6/UConn over West Virginia
Game 7/Louisville over Pittsburgh
Game 8/Marquette over Notre Dame

BET Semifinals
Game 9/UConn over Georgetown
Game 10/Louisville over Marquette

BET Finals
Game 11/Louisville over UConn in a classic and truly a tossup.

BIG EAST Teams in the NCAA Tournament
Georgetown 3 Seed
Louisville 3 Seed
UConn 4 Seed
Notre Dame 5 Seed
Marquette 6 Seed
Pittsburgh 6 Seed
West Virginia 7 Seed
Syracuse 10 Seed

Quote:Game 1 - (8) Villanova vs. (9) Syracuse Noon ET

-- This is going to be a great game. I wish it was on in prime time and not at noon

Jackson

shoot I just knew were going to bre matched up with Villanova. I hate it that Syracuse will have the Noon game again and we have to play a real blood fued rival in Nova in the 1st round. I would have rather SU finished in 10th and played Pitt then Villanova a team trying to get in the NCAAs too. G'town waiting up next for Syracuse in another noon game shucks. I would prefere these games were Prime time affairs.


I still think Syracuse is going to win the Big East Tourny again

PusherT Wrote:shoot I just knew were going to bre matched up with Villanova. I hate it that Syracuse will have the Noon game again and we have to play a real blood fued rival in Nova in the 1st round. I would have rather SU finished in 10th and played Pitt then Villanova a team trying to get in the NCAAs too. G'town waiting up next for Syracuse in another noon game shucks. I would prefere these games were Prime time affairs.


I still think Syracuse is going to win the Big East Tourny again

It is actually really funny how close the situation is for Syracuse this year as it was 2 years ago.

BcatMatt13 Wrote:

PusherT Wrote:shoot I just knew were going to bre matched up with Villanova. I hate it that Syracuse will have the Noon game again and we have to play a real blood fued rival in Nova in the 1st round. I would have rather SU finished in 10th and played Pitt then Villanova a team trying to get in the NCAAs too. G'town waiting up next for Syracuse in another noon game shucks. I would prefere these games were Prime time affairs.


I still think Syracuse is going to win the Big East Tourny again

It is actually really funny how close the situation is for Syracuse this year as it was 2 years ago.

Yeah we were a 9th seed that year too. I think all syracuse needs is for some newspaper to call Paul Harris "Overrated" and have coach Boeheim drop a few F bombs at a new conference.

Ugh, why does Syracuse ALWAYS end up playing the early game? It wasn't so bad the past few years when I was in school and usually on spring break, but now that I'm working this just sucks. I'm going to have to try and hit a bar for lunch, but I'll only be able to see an hour of it.

I like that our first two games would match us up against old rivals who we've beaten this season (well, and also lost to). I like Syracuse in the first two games...but then again this team is so unpredictable.

Orange Eagles Wrote:

Ugh, why does Syracuse ALWAYS end up playing the early game? It wasn't so bad the past few years when I was in school and usually on spring break, but now that I'm working this just sucks. I'm going to have to try and hit a bar for lunch, but I'll only be able to see an hour of it.

I like that our first two games would match us up against old rivals who we've beaten this season (well, and also lost to). I like Syracuse in the first two games...but then again this team is so unpredictable.

I think ESPN and the MSG people hate it too. SU usually bring a large fanbase to the BET and games like that Nova-Cuse are really big draws for ESPN too. It will only get worst next season when all 16 teams enter the tourny

PusherT Wrote:I think ESPN and the MSG people hate it too. SU usually bring a large fanbase to the BET and games like that Nova-Cuse are really big draws for ESPN too. It will only get worst next season when all 16 teams enter the tourny

I actually think it will be better next year for several reasons. If this were next year, the schedule would be:

First round (Tuesday games)

Game 1 - (12) Providence vs. (13) DePaul 12 pm
Game 2 - (9) Syracuse vs. (16) Rutgers 2 pm
Game 3 - (11) Seton Hall vs. (14) St. Johns 7 pm
Game 4 - (10) Cincinnati vs. (15) USF 9 pm

Second round (Wednesday games)

Game 5 - (5) West Virginia vs. Providence/DePaul winner 12 pm
Game 6 - (8) Villanova vs. Syracuse/Rutgers winner 2 pm
Game 7 - (6) Marquette vs. Seton Hall/St. Johns winner 7 pm
Game 8 - (7) Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati/USF winner 9 pm

Third round (Thursday games)

Game 9 - (1) Georgetown vs. Game 6 winner 12 pm
Game 10 - (4) UConn vs. Game 5 winner 2 pm
Game 11 - (2) Louisville vs. Game 8 winner 7 pm
Game 12 - (3) Notre Dame vs. Game 7 winner 9 pm

How is this a good thing? Well, if the games played out by seeding, it gives BOTH Syracuse AND Villanova a chance to get to 20 wins and it gives Providence a legitimate chance to go to the NIT. Frankly, I wish it were in place this year already.

Then again, my alma mater's never qualified for MSG, so take that for what it's worth...

USFFan

I like the Mountaineers chances of getting to the semis.

After that, who knows?

ALL the games are on ESPN too.