Tuesday started off slow, but Prime Time was fantastic.

Noon Session

Big East: #9 UConn defeated #16 DePaul

The game was 15-14 with 10 minutes left in the first half. But that’s when Connecticut’s Jeremy Lamb decided to take over. He demonstrated some great passing and a few great finishes around the basket and suddenly UConn was up 30-14. The announcers also praised Shabazz Napier’s play at point guard.

Fran Fraschilla, “UConn is often better with the ball in someone else’s hands. When Kemba Walker has the ball, it is human nature to stand around and watch him and wait to see what he will do. But when Napier runs the point, everyone works harder to run the offense.” 

Alex Oriakhi did not start for the second game in a row, but he responded by grabbing 19 rebounds in the easy win over DePaul. 

2:30pm Session

Big East: #13 Rutgers defeated #12 Seton Hall in OT

If this is how Jeremy Hazell goes out, he is going out with a bang. Hazell scored 27 points against Rutgers on Tuesday. He started with a few jump shots, then he padded his total with some nice backdoor cuts. Then he started driving the lane and getting to the free throw line. And then Hazell did what he has done throughout his career. He hit an off-balance, low trajectory, NBA three to tie the game and send it into overtime. And were it not for Seton Hall’s Jeff Robinson refusing to pass up open three pointers (0-7 from deep), Seton Hall might have won the game.

But give Rutgers a lot of credit for beating a Seton Hall team that was playing well late in the year. Mike Rice has found away to make his team competitive, and this game was a perfect example. Rutgers could not hit a jump shot early, but they kept pounding it inside and drawing free throw attempts. And down the stretch, Rutgers simply had more energy. While Seton Hall ended the game on a 1 for 10 streak from three point range, Rutgers made 5 of their final 8 threes at the end of regulation. And then Rutgers grabbed five steals in overtime to seal the win.

5pm Session

Atlantic 10: #10 La Salle defeated #7 St. Bonaventure in 2OT 

On paper, there was no reason to watch this A10 first round game. There were no bubble implications. There were no star players or sleeper teams. But at 5pm on Tuesday Night this was the only game on TV (on CBS College Sports Network). And boy did this game deliver. With time running down in regulation, La Salle senior Ruben Guillandeaux snuck to the basket for the game tying layup. Then in OT, Guillandeaux banked in a three pointer to tie the game and send it to a second overtime.

Then with 30 seconds left in OT and trailing by two, La Salle senior Steve Weingarten hit a three to take a one point lead. But as much as Weingarten looked like a hero, he looked like a goat moments later. St. Bonaventure missed a jumper and when Weingarten could not grab the ball, he fouled St. Bonaventure’s Da’Quan Cook with just three seconds left. Cook went to the line with a chance to win the game with two free throws. But Cook missed the first free throw. Still, the second free throw could tie the game. But Cook missed that free throw too. And after a rebound and free throw shot, St. Bonaventure hung on for the double overtime win.

7pm Session

Big East: #15 USF defeated #10 Villanova

Atlantic 10: #12 St. Joseph’s defeated #5 George Washington in OT

Sun Belt Title Game:  UALR defeated North Texas

The only way to do this session justice is to jump to the end of the games. Despite trailing 31-20 at halftime, George Washington had the ball with a chance to win at the end of regulation. GW’s Tony Taylor took a shot with about five seconds left, which is perfect timing because it gives the offense a chance for a tip in. And when the ball rimmed off, GW’s Jabari Edwards grabbed the rebound and had a clean look at the put back. Edwards shot went up and was on line, but it somehow rimmed off too. The game went to overtime.

Now we flip over to the Sun Belt title game. This is all-or-nothing. One of these teams is going to the NCAA tournament, and the other stays home. And with 1.5 seconds left, Arkansas-Little Rock’s Soloman Bozeman hits a step back three pointer for the one point win!

And now we head to Madison Square Garden for the real drama. South Florida trails by three, but USF’s Anthony Crater turns the ball over. The chance for a comeback seems over. Villanova is 20-for-20 from the charity stripe. But somehow Villanova misses the front end of the one-and-one giving South Florida one more chance down three. Now Shaun Noriega slips on the Reese’s sticker on the floor, and again South Florida has blown its chance. But Villanova goes back to the line and misses the front end of the one-and-one again. The Cats are now 20 of 22 from the line. This time South Florida cashes in, cutting the lead to one point with 25 seconds left. But it still looks like a long shot.

Then Anthony Crater steals the inbounds pass directly under the basket, and puts it in for a lay-up. South Florida leads! But the lead is short lived. Villanova’s Maalik Wayns drives the length of the court and gets fouled and makes both free throws to take the lead back! 

And that’s when Anthony Crater makes the play of the game. He dribbles the ball to the top of the key, fakes using the screen, and drives the lane for a lay-up. South Florida leads again with just five seconds left. And after a desperation jumper by Maalik Wayns, the game is over.  Villanova has lost its fifth game in a row.

Meanwhile, back in our A10 game, St. Joseph’s went on a 12-0 run to start OT, and has hung on for the upset road victory.

A note on St. Joseph’s:

St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli’s track record has fallen substantially in the last eight years:

Phil Martelli

Year

Adj Off

Adj Def

Eff Margin

Pomeroy Rank

2003

108.6

87.7

20.9

20th

2004

118.0

87.6

30.4

6th

2005

107.8

91.4

16.4

47th

2006

108.4

91.3

17.1

29th

2007

107.4

98.8

8.6

97th

2008

115.5

98.1

17.4

54th

2009

104.7

97.8

6.9

100th

2010

100.4

100.7

-0.3

175th

2011 (prior to Tuesday)

102.6

107.2

-4.6

204th

The days when Phil Martelli had one of the best efficiency margins in the nation are long gone. And some people in Philadelphia think Martelli might be fired at the end of the year.

But, Martelli has an extremely young team this year. St. Joseph’s has only one upperclassman in the rotation. So some signs of progress might be enough for the once-great coach to save his job. And by winning Tuesday night, Martelli has a few more days to develop his young team. St. Joseph’s continues in action on Friday Night against a swooning Duquesne team.

There were a couple of other notable games at 7pm. Princeton defeated Penn to force a one game playoff against Harvard for the Ivy league bid. The game will be played at Yale on Saturday. Also, one of the A10 opening round games was not televised. But #6 Rhode Island defeated #11 St. Louis.

9pm Session

Big East:  #11 Marquette defeated #14 Providence

Atlantic 10: #9 Dayton defeated #8 UMass

Horizon League Title Game:  Butler defeated Milwaukee

Summit League Title Game:  Oakland defeated Oral Roberts 

Probably the most amusing thing about the opening Big East games was hearing Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery react to seeing South Florida and Providence for the first time. Neither team was featured on Big Monday.

Were Bilas and Raftery really that surprised at South Florida’s size? This has been mentioned in multiple Big East games. Really, if South Florida’s guards could make some plays like Anthony Crater did tonight, they would be a good team. But more often then not, the guards have been horrific and the big men have not been put in position to succeed.

Also, were Bilas and Raftery really that disappointed in Providence’s defense? We all know the Providence “D” is bad, but the announce team has spent the last two Big East tournaments thinking of synonyms for the word “disastrous”.

As exciting as the 7pm session had been, the 9pm session was filled with blowouts. 500 sports writers typed out a line about how bubble teams rejoiced when Butler beat Milwaukee. (Butler will now not need to take one of the at-large bids to the tournament.)

And like Kenneth Faried of Morehead St. on Saturday, we can now talk about Keith Benson of Oakland making the tournament. But I’ve come to the conclusion that sports fans like one piece of trivia about a team, not two. Everyone likes to talk about Keith Benson of Oakland. But what about his teammate, point guard Reggie Hamilton? Hamilton has the same ORtg, a fabulous assist rate, and uses a higher volume of shots for the team. Why does he not receive more publicity? Oh, because he is 5’11” tall and is not a prospective NBA pick.

Monday’s Dance Card

Old Dominion – CAA
Gonzaga – WCC
Wofford – Southern Conference
St. Peter’s – MAAC

I have already discussed ODU and Gonzaga. But if you are looking for the “one piece of trivia” about Wofford, it is that the team has a star forward named Noah Dahlman. Dahlman had Jordan Taylor like usage and efficiency numbers this year. But somehow Wofford snuck under the radar because Wofford trailed the College of Charleston in the standings for much of the year. But keep in mind that Wofford beat George Mason on a neutral floor earlier this season. (Oh wait, that exceeds the one piece of trivia rule.)

The piece of trivia about St. Peter’s is that they play great defense but have horrific offense. Would you rather see them play a team like Washington (great offense) in a case of worlds colliding, or a team like Cincinnati (great defense) so we can officially have our ugliest game of the tournament?