| | NEW YORK -- Although Villanova and Notre Dame don't play
each other in the opening rounds of the Big East tournament, their
names have been linked in the days leading up to it.
Both are considered among the bubble teams for the NCAA
tournament, a tag that will only go away with a solid win or two or
a first-round loss.
"I probably made the mistake of talking about it too much as
motivation for our kids," first-year Notre Dame coach Matt Doherty
said.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (17-13, 8-8) come into
tonight's first-round game against 10th-seeded Rutgers (15-14,
6-10) having lost three of four games.
"Our focus has to be on Rutgers, not anything else," he said.
"The only thing I can tell you for sure is that if we win four
games, we're going to go."
No team has ever even advanced to the Big East championship game
without having a first-round bye, and the three teams that get
opening day off this season are top-seeded and 12th-ranked Syracuse
(24-4, 13-3), second-seeded and 23rd-ranked Miami (20-9, 13-3) and
third-seeded and 19th-ranked St. John's (21-7, 12-4).
Today's other first-round matchups at Madison Square Garden had
eighth-seeded West Virginia (14-13, 6-10) against ninth-seeded
Georgetown (16-13, 6-10); fourth-seeded and 21st-ranked Connecticut
(21-8, 10-6) against 13th-seeded Boston College (11-18, 3-13);
fifth-seeded Seton Hall (19-8, 10-6) against 12th-seeded Providence
(11-18, 4-12); and sixth-seeded Villanova (18-11, 8-8) against
11th-seeded Pittsburgh (13-14, 5-11).
Rutgers beat Notre Dame 76-51 in their only meeting this season,
a game in which even conference player of the year Troy Murphy
struggled.
"They embarrassed us last time and they are one of best
defensive teams we've faced. They're very physical," Doherty said.
"We have to show we can beat them because we weren't even in the
game last time. We have to do a better job contesting their shots
and free up Troy with a little more poise than last time."
Rutgers coach Kevin Bannon, who was given a three-year contract
extension Tuesday, knows that earlier result is ancient history.
"It's a tough draw for us because we were able to play one of
our better games of the year against them and it was at home," he
said. "Our guys know that was a night where Troy and the team
didn't make shots they usually make, and we played very well. We'll
try to do that again."
The Scarlet Knights closed the season with losses in four of
their last five games, the last three by six points or less.
"This has been a season of would-haves and could-haves and
knocking on doors," Bannon said. "The tournament is a chance to
put a positive spin on the season, an opportunity to bring it all
together."
Villanova seemed assured of an NCAA bid, but a loss to Boston
College last Saturday put a damper on winning five of its previous
six games. Still, the Wildcats were No. 42 in the latest RPI
rankings.
"Over the last five years, every team with 16 wins in the top
40 has gotten in, and with the RPI, tendencies do help you,"
Villanova coach Steve Lappas said.
Connecticut has been the top seed for five of the past six Big
East tournaments, and the Huskies won it three of the last four,
including last season when they won the national championship. It's
different this year.
"This is the most wide open it's been," Syracuse coach Jim
Boeheim said. "The last couple of years Connecticut was the most
dominate team going in, and they proved that. The top couple of
seeds have won this tournament a lot, but in my mind there are
five, six teams that could legitimately win it."
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