After winning the regular season Big East title, the Louisville Cardinals were still not looked at as the best team in the best conference in the country. That label stayed with the likes of Pitt and UConn.
That was until Saturday night.
The No. 5 Cardinals (28–5, 16–2) overcame an eight-point half time deficit to the No. 20 Syracuse Orange (26–9, 11–7) to win the Big East championship 76–66.
Louisville’s sweep of both the Big East regular season and the tournament titles is an incredible feat considering the talent and depth in the conference this season. The Big East is considered by many as not only the best conference in the country, but the best Big East conference ever.
“We did it in the toughest year in the history of the Big East to sweep both” said head coach Rick Pitino as reported by the Associated Press (AP). “I'm gushing with pride.”
After closing out the regular season with a tough three-point victory in Morgantown over West Virginia to win the Big East regular season title, the Cardinals won three more games in the tournament over Providence, Villanova, and Syracuse en route to the tournament championship.
The Cardinals starting five all had big games in the final as each scored in double- figures, headed by freshman forward Samardo Samuels’s 15 points. Senior forward Terrance Williams had a solid all-around game with seven rebounds, seven steals, and six assists to go along with 11 points.
Long Mileage Takes Toll on Orange
This season’s tournament hosted all 16 teams in the conference for the first time in the tournament’s history, extending the tournament to a grueling five days.
The Orange played four games in four days as they were awarded a bye for the first round, but their four-game stretch was more grueling than the conference tournament had ever seen.
After easily handling Seton Hall, Syracuse defeated UConn in a wire-to-wire six-overtime thriller. The following night the Orange needed overtime to take care of WVU.
Junior forward Eric Devendorf continued his excellent tournament play with a game high 20 points, but it was not enough for the Orange. The 20 points did help Devendorf set the conference record for most points scored in a single tournament at 84.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim would not say if fatigue had gotten the best of his team.
“We were fine tonight in the first half,” said Boeheim. “If we got a little tired, we got a little tired. Louisville played better than us in the second half. That's it.”
Louisville did play better, but it is hard to say the fatigue was not a factor in that.
With less than eight minutes remaining in the game the wear of the week at the Garden was really starting to take its toll on the Syracuse players.
The always energetic Jonny Flynn was seen playing the 2–3 zone with his hands on his hips while his teammates were slowly shuffling their feet on defense.
Despite only 11 points and six assists against the Cardinals, Flynn ended the tournament averaging 22 points and 10 assists on his way to a new tournament record of 37 assists. The mark breaks Mark Jackson’s record of 36 from the 1986 tournament.
Flynn’s play throughout the tournament, including the 34 points and 11 assists in 67 minutes against UConn and 15 points and nine assists in 45 minutes against WVU earned him the tournament MVP.
As for the MVP award, Flynn said “I would trade the trophy to win the Big East tournament any day. The team awards are way better.”
Flynn’s play may not have awarded his team the Big East championship, but their run in the tournament earned them a No. 3 seed in the tournament, which is much higher than they were projected coming into the Big East tournament.
Louisville’s victory earned them a No.1 seed in the tournament, and more importantly some much needed respect.
Duke Wears ACC Crown for Ninth time in 12 Years
With their tobacco road rivals North Carolina eliminated and one seed already locked up, the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils made their final case to the selection committee in a 79–69 victory over No. 22 Florida State.
The ten-point victory is misleading as the Blue Devils (28–6) handled the Seminoles (25–9) all game long, which included a 35–21 halftime lead.
Duke was led by ACC tournament MVP, junior guard John Scheyer’s 29 points and junior guard/forward Gerald Henderson’s 27 points to go along with four assists.
When talking about the victory, Henderson discussed the long journey to the title over the last couple years.
“We put in a lot of work to build this team to where it is today,” Henderson said. “This is such an accomplishment for us. We've waited a long time for it. It feels good.”
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was pleased that his team’s hard work finally paid off.
“I'm really, really happy for these guys, especially the guys in the junior class. They had to go a couple of years without any upperclassmen. I'm really pleased they were able to win their championship. Hopefully it's just their first championship.”
The ACC championship helped earn the Blue Devils a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Seminoles were led by senior guard Tony Douglas’s 28 points in the losing effort. The team’s run to the final, which included an upset victory over No. 1 North Carolina, helped them earn a No. 5 seed in the tournament.
Matt Sugam also writes for The Daily Targum at Rutgers University.
