No more contest: Big East tops ACC in Tournament

‘ ‘ ‘ Is there even a debate now? ‘ ‘ ‘ The Big East and ACC have had a season-long battle… ‘ ‘ ‘ Is there even a debate now? ‘ ‘ ‘ The Big East and ACC have had a season-long battle for men’s basketball supremacy. But there’s no doubt the Big East is asserting itself in the Tournament, while the ACC seems to be wilting away from the madness. ‘ ‘ ‘ Big East teams went a whopping 11-2 through the first two rounds of the Tournament. For the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament, five teams from one league advanced to the Sweet 16. ‘ ‘ ‘ Big East members Connecticut, Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse and Villanova will play in the region semifinals, making up nearly one-third of the remaining field when games begin again on Thursday evening. ‘ ‘ ‘ ACC teams went 5-5 in the opening rounds, only putting traditional powers North Carolina and Duke in the Sweet 16. Boston College, Wake Forest, Clemson and Florida State all lost their opening-round games. ‘ ‘ ‘ Surprisingly, two of the Big East’s best teams had the most trouble advancing to the round of 16 this past weekend. Ironically, both edged-out wins on the same court in Dayton, Ohio. ‘ ‘ ‘ Louisville needed to rally late to edge Siena 79-72 to advance to the Sweet 16. The Cardinals survived probably the biggest scare of the Tournament, thanks to senior forward Terrence Williams’ 24-point, 15-rebound performance. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Cardinals uncharacteristically committed 17 turnovers, compared to just nine from Siena, which kept the Saints sniffing upset late in the game. ‘ ‘ ‘ With 7:52 left in the game, Siena led Louisville 63-57.Louisville coach Rick Pitino called a timeout to talk to his clearly rattled Cardinals. ‘ ‘ ‘ He gathered his players together as they trudged to the huddle, heads down, some glancing at the vastly out-numbered Siena faithful on their feet. ‘ ‘ ‘ Whatever Pitino said in the huddle, his players got the message, and the easy-going Williams responded. ‘ ‘ ‘ Williams made two layups and knocked down a 3-pointer to help Louisville gain control, 66-63, with just more than three minutes left ‘ ‘ ‘ It never relinquished the lead from then on. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Cardinals secured their third trip to the Sweet 16 in the last five years. They play surprise 12-seeded Arizona on Friday at 7:07 p.m. ‘ ‘ ‘ Meanwhile, prior to Louisville’s scare, top-seeded Pitt managed to avoid an early exit on the same floor, defeating Oklahoma State 84-76. ‘ ‘ ‘ It was the opposite story for the rest of the Big East teams advancing last weekend. Villanova easily dispatched UCLA, 89-69, on Saturday in a virtual home game for the Wildcats, which was played at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Wildcats will make their fourth Sweet 16 appearance in five years under coach Jay Wright, who earned Big East coach-of-the-year honors. The Wildcats advance to Boston to take on Duke in a much-anticipated matchup tipping off at 9:57 on Thursday night. ‘ ‘ ‘ There’s also a task on hand for Syracuse. ‘ ‘ ‘ After containing the Pac-10 player of the year in James Harden of Arizona State, the Orange now must do the same to player-of-the-year finalist Blake Griffin of Oklahoma. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Orange shut down Harden and the Sun Devils, winning 78-67 to clinch a date with the Sooners in Memphis, Tenn. ‘ ‘ ‘ Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf hit two late 3-pointers on his way to 21 points to lead the Orange in the game. ‘ ‘ ‘ Finally, the team giving its fans the most confidence is arguably Connecticut. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Huskies routed Chattanooga and then easily dispatched Texas A’amp;M 92-66 on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006. ‘ ‘ ‘ Guard A.J. Price stole the spotlight in head coach Jim Calhoun’s return. ‘ ‘ ‘ Price led the Huskies with 27 points and dished out eight assists in the game. ‘ ‘ ‘ Connecticut faces fifth-seeded Purdue at 7:07 on Thursday. ‘ ‘ ‘