Rush The Court

Brian Otskey is the Big East Correspondent for RTC. He is reporting from the Big East Tournament all week, and will sum up his thoughts on the day’s action each evening. You can find him on Twitter @botskey.

It was all Louisville on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden as the Cardinals took home their second Big East Tournament title in four years, defeating Cincinnati 50-44.

• As was a theme in this tournament, the game wasn’t pretty. Cincinnati could only muster 14 points in the first half against a Louisville defense that made it a point to take away the Bearcats’ biggest strength, the three-point line. Cincinnati couldn’t get anything to drop in the first half and that set the tone for the entire game — UC shot just 24.1% from the floor before halftime. Louisville wasn’t much better but its performance was enough to give it the cushion it needed to withstand a late Cincinnati run. With the win, Louisville’s NCAA Tournament seed should skyrocket if prior history is any indication. The NCAA Selection Committee has made it a habit to generously reward the Big East Tournament champion.
• Cincinnati adjusted nicely in the second half but it wasn’t enough. The Bearcats shot 59.1% in the second half, primarily because they took the ball to the rim with authority. JaQuon Parker was the main man for Mick Cronin in that regard, shooting 5-of-8 after halftime. Cincinnati wasn’t afraid of Gorgui Dieng altering shots in the paint and their toughness around the basket was key to staying in the game for as long as they did. It could have easily gotten away from the Bearcats but give Cronin and his team credit for adjusting and finding a way to score against one of the toughest defenses in the country.

• While the quality of the basketball wasn’t terrific, there is nothing like the Big East Tournament. There simply isn’t another conference tournament in the world of college basketball as good as this one. The Big East and Madison Square Garden do a great job year after year in running this event and making it the best it can be. With the conference undergoing some seismic movements over the next few years with regard to its membership, this year’s Big East Tournament and the 2013 version will especially be ones to savor. While the tournament will still be fun in the years to come, it just won’t be the same. The conference can afford losing Pittsburgh and West Virginia since Temple and Memphis will be joining but the loss of Syracuse and its fan base in the New York area will be a bitter pill to swallow. Syracuse is a founding member of this conference and the loss of the Orange will make future Big East Tournaments pale in comparison to what we’ve seen over the last 30 years at MSG.