Pitino Previews This Week's BIG EAST Championship
March 09, 2010 | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2010
- BIG EAST Championship Tournament Central
- Printable BIG EAST Championship Bracket
- Interactive BIG EAST Championship Bracket
- Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Audio Clips
- All audio files require the latest version of the FREE Real Player.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino met with members of the media on Tuesday at the Yum! Center to preview this week's BIG EAST Conference Championship in New York City. The sixth-seeded Cardinals will open tournament play on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. ET in Madison Square Garden against the winner of Tuesday's Cincinnati-Rutgers game, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
U of L closed out its regular season and 54-year history in Freedom Hall with an energetic 78-68 victory over top-ranked Syracuse on Saturday to reach at least 20 wins for the eighth straight season. Sophomore forward Kyle Kuric wrote his name into Freedom Hall lore as he scored 22 points, all in the second half, off the bench. It was the most points scored in a half since Larry O'Bannon tied a school record with 26 first-half points against Charlotte on Jan. 3, 2005. Kuric added three rebounds, two assists, a steal and four dunks while connecting on 9-of-11 field goals (4-of-6 three-pointers).
Louisville (20-11, 11-7) is making its fifth BIG EAST Tournament appearance. U of L claimed its first BIG EAST Regular Season and Conference Championship a year ago. The Cards were selected to finish fifth in a preseason poll of league coaches.
2010 BIG EAST Championship presented by New York Life
Madison Square Garden - New York, N.Y. (all times Eastern)
Tuesday, March 9 - First Round (ESPN2 and ESPNU)
No. 9 USF vs. No. 16 DePaul (ESPN2) - Noon
No. 12 Connecticut vs. No. 13 St. John's (ESPN2) - 2 p.m.
No. 10 Seton Hall vs. No. 15 Providence (ESPNU) - 7 p.m.
No. 11 Cincinnati vs. No. 14 Rutgers (ESPNU) - 9 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10 - Second Round (ESPN)
No. 8 Georgetown vs. USF/DePaul winner - Noon
No. 5 Marquette vs. Connecticut/St. John's winner - 2 p.m.
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. Seton Hall/Providence winner - 7 p.m.
No. 6 Louisville vs. Cincinnati/Rutgers winner - 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 11 - Quarterfinals (ESPN)
No. 1 Syracuse vs. 8/9/16 winner - Noon
No. 4 Villanova vs. 5/12/13 winner - 2 p.m.
No. 2 Pittsburgh vs. 7/10/15 winner - 7 p.m.
No. 3 West Virginia vs. 6/11/14 winner - 9 p.m.
Friday, March 12 - Semifinals (ESPN)
Thursday afternoon winners - 7 p.m.
Thursday evening winners - 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 13 - Championship (ESPN)
Semifinal winners - 9 p.m.
