Preston Knowles scored 20 points and No. 3 seed Louisville upset No. 2 Notre Dame in overtime, 83-77, to advance to the title game of the 2011 Big East Tournament on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Louisville (25-8) will face No. 9 seed Connecticut, which defeated No. 4 Syracuse in overtime, in the Big East Tournament title game on Saturday evening at 9 p.m. EST.
Notre Dame (26-6) jumped out to a 46-32 lead entering halftime, but the Cardinals came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Fighting Irish, 40-26, to force overtime. Louisville put up 11 points in the extra period while holding Notre Dame to five points.
Terrence Jennings had 16 points and five rebounds and Peyton Siva added 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Louisville, which made 28-of-73 field goals (38.4%) and 7-of-23 three-pointers (30.4%). Kyle Kuric also had a solid game for the Cardinals, chipping in with 14 points and six rebounds.
Scott Martin led the way for Notre Dame, scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Tim Abromaitis scored 16 points and both Tyrone Nash and Ben Hansbrough had 13 points a piece. Carleton Scott added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Fighting Irish.
Tuesday, March 8 - First Round (ESPN2/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut def. No. 16 DePaul, 97-71
No. 13 Rutgers def. No. 12 Seton Hall, 76-70
No. 15 USF def. No. 10 Villanova, 70-69
No. 11 Marquette def. No. 14 Providence, 87-66
Wednesday, March 9 - Second Round (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut def. No. 8 Georgetown, 79-62
No. 5 St. John's def. No. 13 Rutgers, 65-63
No. 7 Cincinnati def. No. 15 USF, 87-61
No. 11 Marquette def. No. 6 West Virginia, 67-61
Thursday, March 10 - Quarterfinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut def. No. 1 Pittsburgh, 76-74
No. 4 Syracuse def. No. 5 St. John's, 79-73
No. 2 Notre Dame def. No. 7 Cincinnati, 89-51
No. 3 Louisville def. No. 11 Marquette, 81-56
Friday, March 11 - Semifinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut def. No. 4 Syracuse, 76-71 (OT)
No. 3 Louisville def. No. 2 Notre Dame, 83-77 (OT)
Saturday, March 12 - Championship (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut vs. No. 3 Louisville 9 p.m.