By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Big East women's tournament
When/where: Today-Tuesday; XL Center, Hartford, Conn.
Today: USF (13) vs. Pitt (12), noon; Syracuse (9) vs. Seton Hall (16), 2; West Virginia (10) vs. Cincinnati (15), 6; Providence (11) vs. Villanova (14), 8
Byes into Round 2: Marquette (5), Louisville (6), St. John's (7), Georgetown (8)
Byes into quarterfinals: Connecticut (1), De Paul (2), Notre Dame (3), Rutgers (4)
TV: Sunday's quarterfinals (noon, 2, 6, 8) and Monday's semifinals (6, 8) on ESPNU. Tuesday's final (7) on ESPN.
Favorite: UConn, the two-time defending national champ, went undefeated in league play with only two wins by fewer than 10 (three at Notre Dame, six at West Virginia). Add homecourt advantage.
Dark horse: Notre Dame is ranked No. 7, and all six of its losses were to ranked teams. It lost to UConn by three at home and by 21 on the road. So it has as good a chance as anyone to unseat UConn.
Looking at USF: The Bulls seek to build on their season-ending upset of No. 17 Georgetown. The draw lines up well for the Bulls, who lost to Pitt by four on the road. Win there, and they get No. 5 Marquette, which beat them by six in Tampa. Making it to Day 3 would provide momentum for next season, when all but two players are set to return.
Greg Auman, Times staff writer