1998 Big East men's basketball tournament

1998 Big East men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1997–98
Teams13
SiteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsConnecticut (3rd title)
Winning coachJim Calhoun (3rd title)
MVPKhalid El-Amin (Connecticut)
← 1997
1999 →
1997–98 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Big East 6
No. 6 Connecticut† 15 – 3   .833 32 – 5   .865
St. John's 13 – 5   .722 22 – 10   .688
West Virginia 11 – 7   .611 24 – 9   .727
Villanova 8 – 10   .444 12 – 17   .414
Notre Dame 7 – 11   .389 13 – 14   .481
Boston College 6 – 12   .333 15 – 16   .484
Big East 7
No. 21 Syracuse 12 – 6   .667 26 – 9   .743
Miami 11 – 7   .611 18 – 10   .643
Seton Hall 9 – 9   .500 15 – 15   .500
Providence 7 – 11   .389 13 – 16   .448
Pittsburgh 6 – 12   .333 11 – 16   .407
Rutgers 6 – 12   .333 14 – 15   .483
Georgetown 6 – 12   .333 16 – 15   .516
† 1998 Big East tournament winner
As of March 30, 1998[1][2][3]
Rankings from AP poll


The 1998 Big East men's basketball tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner received the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the three highest seeds received byes in the first round. All 13 Big East teams were invited to participate. Connecticut finished with the best record in the regular season and was awarded the top seed.

Connecticut defeated Syracuse in the final, 69–64 to earn its third Big East tournament championship.

Bracket

First round
March 4, 1998 		Quarterfinals
March 5, 1998 		Semifinals
March 6, 1998 		Championship Game
March 7, 1998
            
1 #6 Connecticut 64
8 Providence 55
8 Providence 72
9 Notre Dame 55
1 #6 Connecticut 64
12 Rutgers 50
5 #23 West Virginia 65
12 Rutgers 72
12 Rutgers 61
13 Georgetown 60
4 Miami 56
13 Georgetown 62
1 #6 Connecticut 69
2 #22 Syracuse 64
3 St. John's 91
11 Boston College 80
6 Seton Hall 87
11 Boston College 97OT
3 St. John's 67
2 #22 Syracuse 69OT
2 #22 Syracuse 69
7 Villanova 66
7 Villanova 962OT
10 Pittsburgh 93

Championship game Summary

ESPN
Saturday, March 7
8:00 pm
#1 Connecticut Huskies 69, #2 Syracuse Orangemen 64
Pts: R. Jones 17
Rebs: R. Jones 9
Asts: K. El-Amin 6		 Pts: T. Burgan 17
Rebs: T. Burgan 9
Asts: J. Hart 5
Halftime Score: Connecticut, 27-23
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
Attendance: 18,521

Awards

Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut

All-Tournament Team

References

  • "2008-09 Big East Media Guide" (PDF). pp. 136–138. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1997-98 Big East Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.
  3. ^ "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.