The first day of the 2011 Big East Tournament concluded with two more games Tuesday night. In the evening's first game, South Florida, the No. 15 seed, knocked off the No. 10 seed Villanova, 70-69, on Anthony Crater's driving layup with 5.1 seconds remaining. The Wildcats were up 16 points at the half but the BUlls chipped away at that lead throughout the second half as they held Villanova to just four field goals during the final 20 minutes.
For Villanova (21-11), it's their fifth straight loss, and dropped its record to just 5-10 in the past 15 games. South Florida (10-22) advances to meet No. & Cincinnati Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST.
In the nightcap, No. 11 seed Marquette jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, routing No. 14 Providence, 87-66. Darius Johnson-Odom led the way for the Golden Eagles with a game-high 23 points. Vincent Council and Marshon Brooks added 21 and 20 points, respectively, in the loss.
Marquette, which improved to 19-13 overall with the win -- hopefully enough to get in the tournament if you're a Golden Eagles fan -- moves on to meet No. 6 West Virginia in the second round Wednesday night at 9 p.m. EST.
For more on these games, Villanova fans should join The Nova Blog and SB Nation Philly, and USF fans should join Voodoo Five and the all-new SB Nation Tampa Bay. Marquette fans should head over to Anonymous Eagle.
2011 Big East Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, March 8 - First Round (ESPN2/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut def. 16 DePaul, 97-71
No. 13 Rutgers def. 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. 8 Georgetown (21-9) vs. No. 9 Connecticut Noon
No. 5 St. John's (20-10) vs. No. 13 Rutgers 2 p.m.
No. 7 Cincinnati (24-7) vs. No. 15 USF 7 p.m.
No. 6 West Virginia (20-10) vs. No. 11 Marquette 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 10 - Quarterfinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 1 Pittsburgh (27-4) vs. 8/9/16 winner Noon
No. 4 Syracuse (25-6) vs. 5/12/13 winner 2 p.m.
No. 2 Notre Dame (25-5) vs. 7/10/15 winner 7 p.m.
No. 3 Louisville (23-8) vs. 6/11/14 winner 9 p.m.
Friday, March 11 - Semifinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Thursday afternoon winners 7 p.m.
Thursday evening winners 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 - Championship (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Semifinal winners 9 p.m.