Senior center Arinze Onuaku fell to the floor with a right knee injury with five minutes, seven seconds remaining in the game and left the arena on crutches after No. 8-seeded Georgetown upset top seed Syracuse, 91-84, in the Big East tournament quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden.

“We’re hoping it’s just a strain, but tomorrow we’ll get an MRI — It’s already scheduled,” Dr. Irving Raphael, the Syracuse team physician, said in a hallway after the game. “I expect him to play unless there’s a surprise. But we’ll get the MRI, treat what we get and then you’ll all know as soon as I know.”

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NEW YORK — Dan Hurley

Eugene Harvey and Seton Hall lost to Notre Dame in the second round, but Hurley still has plenty of horses in the race.

Six former Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep players are on Big East rosters, and five of them were active for the tournament. Cincinnati junior guard Rashad Bishop was suspended from the tournament by the team for violating team rules.

Read the full story here.

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How close is the aging and ailing Calhoun to the end of his own career? What’s left in the cupboard at UConn after this season to motivate him to stay?

Could the embattled Roberts save his job with a late-season run at Madison Square Garden? How far would he have to take the Red Storm in the Big East to do so?

Those questions became even more pronounced after the No. 13 Red Storm put a 73-51 beat-down on the No. 12 Huskies to advance to a second-round date with Marquette Wednesday.

Read the full story here.

**Click the Video Player at right for St. John’s-UConn highlights.

**Wesley Johnson and Lance Stephenson honored by the Big East. Read the story here.

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Norm Roberts

Roberts, the St. John’s coach, and Hill, the Rutgers head man, are both on the hottest of hot seats and face highly uncertain futures.

St. John’s (16-14) is the No. 13 seed in the tournament and drew a tough first-round opponent in No. 12 UConn (17-14), which hasn’t won a Big East tournament game since 2005. The Red Storm and Huskies tip at 2 p.m.

No. 14 Rutgers (15-16) faces Lance Stephenson and No. 11 Cincinnati (16-14) at 9:00 p.m., after No. 10 Seton Hall (18-11) takes on No. 15 Providence (12-18).

Read the full story here.

**Rutgers senior center Hamady N’Diaye was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Pitt sophomore Ashton Gibbs of Scotch Plains, N.J. was named Most Improved Player, Syracuse’s Kris Joseph picked up Sixth Man honors and Notre Dame’s Tory Jackson took home the Sportsmanship Award.

**Read about SNY’s expanded Big East coverage.

**Check out the Big  East tournament bracket here.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. –For the third straight year, Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Six players were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from that list. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete on Tuesday, March 9. The announcement will be made between sessions of the first day of The BIG EAST Championship Presented by New York Life at Madison Square Garden. The press conference will begin after the postgame interviews of the afternoon doubleheader have been completed. The other individual awards will be announced Monday, March 8.

The other first-team selections are: Greg Monroe of Georgetown, Dominique Jones of USF, Wes Johnson of Syracuse, Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, Da’Sean Butler of West Virginia.

Harangody, a 6-8 senior, was first in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 23.3 average and finished third in rebounding with a 9.7 mark. In league games, he compiled averages of 22.5 points and 9.4 boards. As a junior, Harangody became the first player in BIG EAST history to win the scoring and rebounding crowns in two seasons. This year, Harangody missed five games with a knee injury. He becomes only the 11th player in league history to earn All-BIG EAST First Team accolades three times.

Monroe, a 6-11 sophomore, was Georgetown’s second leading scorer, averaging 16.0 ppg. He also pulled down 9.6 rebounds, which was fourth in the BIG EAST. Last season, Monroe was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.

Jones, a 6-4 junior guard, was the key component in USF’s rise in the standings. The junior averaged 21.3 points in all games and won the BIG EAST scoring crown by averaging 23.2 points in league play. The Bulls, who had never won more than four BIG EAST games in a season, finished the year with a 9-9 conference record. Jones was second on the team in rebounding with a 6.4 rebounding mark.

Johnson was a critical addition for Syracuse. A transfer from Iowa State who sat out last season, the 6-7 junior led the Orange in scoring and rebounding with 15.7 and 8.5 averages, respectively. Syracuse won the BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 15-3 record.

Reynolds has been the cornerstone for Villanova’s success. The 6-2 senior guard was the team’s top scorer with an 18.8 average. He led the Wildcats to a 24-6 overall record and a 13-5 league mark, which tied for second place.

Butler, an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick last season, also was his team’s top scorer and leader. The 6-7 senior forward averaged a team-leading 17.2 ppg and 6.3 rebounds. WVU also finished 24-6 overall and 13-5 in the BIG EAST.

Of the 16 players on the three All-BIG EAST teams, seven are from the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area (or played high school ball here) : Da’Sean Butler, Jeremy Hazell, Ashton Gibbs, Devin Ebanks, Samardo Samuels, Corey Fisher and Kemba Walker.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM

Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, So., 6-11, 247, New Orleans, La.

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6-8, 255, Schererville, Ind.

Dominique Jones, USF, G, Jr., 6-4, 205, Lake Wales, Fla.

Wes Johnson, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6-7, 205, Corsicana, Texas

Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-2, 190, Herndon, Va. *

Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Sr., 6-7, 225, Newark, N.J.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

Austin Freeman, Georgetown, G, Jr., 6-4, 237, Mitchelville, Md.

Lazar Hayward, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-6, 225, Buffalo, N.Y.

Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh, G, So., 6-2, 190, Scotch Plains, N.J.

Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, Jr., 6-5, 185, Bronx, N.Y.

Andy Rautins, Syracuse, G, Sr., 6-5, 195, Jamesville, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM

Jerome Dyson, Connecticut, G, Sr., 6-3, 190, Potomac, Md.

Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, So., 6-1, 172, Bronx, N.Y.

Samardo Samuels, Louisville, F, So., 6-9, 260, Trelawny, Jamaica

Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-1, 200, Bronx, N.Y.

Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, F, So., 6-9, 210, Long Island City, N.Y.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION

Jimmy Butler, Marquette, F, Jr., 6-6, 215, Tomball, Texas

Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6-8, 232, Unionville, Conn.

Jamine Peterson, Providence, F, So., 6-6, 230, Brooklyn, N.Y.

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati, G, Fr., 6-5, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y. *

Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut, F/C, Fr., 6-9, 240, Lowell, Mass.

Vincent Council, Providence, G, Fr., 6-2, 180, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Dane Miller, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6-7, 210, Henrietta, N.Y. *

Brandon Triche, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6-4, 198, Jamesville, N.Y.

Maalik Wayns, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-1, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.

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After going 15-3 in conference play and finishing the Big East season as the nation’s top-ranked team, Syracuse is the No. 1 seed for the 2010 Big East championship.

Despite falling to Louisville in Saturday’s season finale, Syracuse earned its first outright BIG EAST regular-season title since the 1990-91 season, finishing two games ahead of the field in the final conference standings.

Syracuse joins Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Villanova as the top four seeds in the BIG EAST Championship, which begins Tuesday, March 9 at noon Eastern at Madison Square Garden in New York. Those four schools receive byes through two rounds of tournament and won’t play until Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The Championship begins Tuesday with four first-round matchups. USF and DePaul kick things off with a battle between the Nos. 9 and 16 seeds at noon, while No. 12 Connecticut takes on No. 13 St. John’s at 2 p.m. to complete the afternoon session. Those games will be televised on ESPN2.

The Tuesday evening session begins with No. 10 Seton Hall and No. 15 Providence at 7 p.m., followed by No. 11 Cincinnati against No. 14 Rutgers at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

No. 8-seeded Georgetown will await the USF/DePaul winner Wednesday at noon in the first of four second-round games. No. 5 Marquette has the Connecticut/St. John’s winner at 2 p.m., while No. 7 Notre Dame takes on the Seton Hall/Providence winner at 7 p.m. No. 6 Louisville – the 2009 BIG EAST champion – closes Wednesday’s action against the Cincinnati/Rutgers winner.

Friday’s semifinals are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m., while the championship game taps at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Wednesday’s second-round games, Thursday’s quarterfinals, Friday’s semifinals and the championship game Saturday will be televised on ESPN.

Georgetown has won a conference-record seven BIG EAST Championships. Connecticut has won six tournament titles, while Syracuse has won five.

2010 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY NEW YORK LIFE

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN • NEW YORK, N.Y.

Tuesday, March 9 – First Round (ESPN2)
No. 9 USF (19-11) vs. No. 16 DePaul (8-22)………………………………… Noon

No. 12 Connecticut (17-14) vs. No. 13 St. John’s (16-14)……………….. 2 p.m.

Tuesday, March 9 – First Round (ESPNU)
No. 10 Seton Hall (18-11) vs. No. 15 Providence (12-18)……………….. 7 p.m.

No. 11 Cincinnati (16-14) vs. No. 14 Rutgers (15-16)……………………. 9 p.m.

Wednesday, March 10 – Second Round (ESPN)

No. 8 Georgetown (20-9) vs. USF/DePaul winner…………………………… Noon

No. 5 Marquette (20-10) vs. Connecticut/St. John’s winner……………… 2 p.m.

No. 7 Notre Dame (21-10) vs. Seton Hall/Providence winner…………… 7 p.m.

No. 6 Louisville (20-11) vs. Cincinnati/Rutgers winner…………………… 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 11 – Quarterfinals (ESPN)

No. 1 Syracuse (28-3) vs. 8/9/16 winner……………………………………… Noon

No. 4 Villanova (24-6) vs. 5/12/13 winner…………………………………. 2 p.m.

No. 2 Pittsburgh (24-7) vs. 7/10/15 winner…………………………………. 7 p.m.

No. 3 West Virginia (24-6) vs. 6/11/14 winner…………………………….. 9 p.m.

Friday, March 12 – Semifinals (ESPN)

Thursday afternoon winners……………………………………………………. 7 p.m.

Thursday evening winners……………………………………………………… 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 13 – Championship (ESPN)

Semifinal winners……………………………………………………………….. 9 p.m.

(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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Louisville coach Rick Pitino doesn’t have any doubt.

“Certainly getting the double-bye after competing 18 games in the Big East is a major advantage. To get ready for the tournament, you need some rest….We would love to get the double-bye just to get a little rest going into the tournament,” Pitino, whose Cardinals captured Big East regular-season and tournament titles last year, said on Thursday’s Big East conference call.

Read the full story here.

**Also, read about how former UConn star Hasheem Thabeet has been sent to the D-League.

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NEWARK, N.J.

“I wanted to be in the postseason my third year, so to me, there’s self-induced pressure on myself to get the team to the postseason because we haven’t been there yet,” Gonzalez said then. “The NIT is a lot harder to get into than it used to be, but I’m not going to be satisfied with the NIT — that’s not what I want for this team. I want this team to go to the NCAA.”

With three games left in the Big East regular season, the Pirates appear to have a legitimate shot at making the Big Dance for the first time since 2006 under Louis Orr.

Read the full story here.

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Both Seton Hall and UConn are among the first four teams out of the NCAAs, along with Mississippi and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, according to Palm, who runs the highly popular and influential CollegeRPI.com.

In his latest tournament bracket, Palm has seven Big East teams headed to the Big Dance: Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Marquette and Louisville.

Read the full story here.

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“I can’t keep talking about rumors and untruths,” Pitino, whose team visits St. John’s Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, said on the Big East conference call. “All I can say is in the past nine years I’ve never had one conversation with a pro team. I had one conversation with a college team and that was Providence College. There’s absolutely no truth to it [the Nets story] and I shouldn’t address it.”

Pitino joked that if he was trying to get “rejuvenated” in the wake of the Karen Sypher sex scandal that hit last summer and the threats of a rising Kentucky team, he would take a vacation to a tropical paradise.

“If you’re going to get rejuvenated, I don’t think you take over the Nets,” he said.

Read the full story here.

And read here about how the middle-of-the-pack Big East teams are feeling the NCAA squeeze.

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