2002 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2002 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 2002 NCAA Tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the two highest seeds in each division received byes in the first round. The six teams with the best conference records in each division were invited to participate for a total of 12 teams. Teams were seeded by division. Connecticut and Pittsburgh had the best regular season conference records and received the East #1 seed and West #1 seed, respectively.

2002 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2001–02
Teams12
SiteMadison Square Garden
New York City
ChampionsConnecticut (5th title)
Winning coachJim Calhoun (5th title)
MVPCaron Butler (Connecticut)
2001–02 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
No. 10 Connecticut†13–3 .813  27–7  .794
No. 21 Miami10–6 .625  24–8  .750
St. John's9–7 .563  20–12  .625
Boston College8–8 .500  20–12  .625
Villanova7–9 .438  19–13  .594
Providence6–10 .375  15–16  .484
Virginia Tech*4–12 .250  10–18  .357
West
No. 9 Pittsburgh13–3 .813  29–6  .829
Notre Dame10–6 .625  22–11  .667
Georgetown9–7 .563  19–11  .633
Syracuse9–7 .563  23–13  .639
Rutgers8–8 .500  18–13  .581
Seton Hall5–11 .313  12–18  .400
West Virginia*1–15 .063  8–20  .286
† 2002 Big East Tournament winner
As of April 1, 2002[1]; Rankings from AP Poll
*Did not qualify for 2002 Big East Tournament

Connecticut defeated Pittsburgh in the championship game 74–65 in double overtime to win its fifth Big East Tournament championship.

Bracket
  First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game
                                     
       
  W1 #7 Pittsburgh 76  
    E4 Boston College 62  
W5 Rutgers 55
E4 Boston College 60  
  W1 #7 Pittsburgh 76  
  E2 #20 Miami 71  
       
       
  E2 #20 Miami 84OT
    W3 Georgetown 76  
E6 Providence 67
W3 Georgetown 68  
  W1 #7 Pittsburgh 65
  E1 #19 Connecticut 742OT
       
       
  E1 #19 Connecticut 72
    E5 Villanova 70  
E5 Villanova 78
W4 Syracuse 64  
  E1 #19 Connecticut 82
  W2 Notre Dame 77  
       
       
  W2 Notre Dame 82
    E3 St John's 63  
W6 Seton Hall 58
E3 St. John's 64  

Note: By finishing in last place during the regular season in their respective divisions, Virginia Tech and West Virginia did not qualify for the tournament.

Championship Game
ESPN
Saturday, March 9
8:00 pm
E1 Connecticut Huskies 74, W1 Pittsburgh Panthers 65 (2OT)
Pts: C. Butler 23
Rebs: E. Okafor 10
Asts: T. Brown 5		 Pts: O. Lett 17
Rebs: O. Lett 10
Asts: B. Knight 8
Halftime Score: Pittsburgh, 28-27
After Regulation: 52-52
Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
Attendance: 19,528
Referees: Jim Burr, Tim Higgins, Mike Kitts

Caron Butler, the tournament MVP, gave Connecticut the lead for good at 66–64 on a turnaround jumper with 1:59 left in the second overtime, and Pittsburgh fell to the Huskies in two overtimes, 74–65. After Ben Gordon was tied up with two seconds left on the shot clock, Taliek Brown put up a desperation heave from about thirty feet away with the shot clock running down to put the Huskies up 69–64, and they never looked back.

Brandin Knight had a chance to win it for Pittsburgh at the end of the first overtime. After slipping and injuring his right knee, just as they tied the game at 52, Knight was clearly in pain. However, with 1.7 seconds left in OT, he checked into the game and put up a 40-foot 3-point attempt that would have won the game. It bounced off the rim and the game went to double OT.

Knight's eight assists tied him at 229 for the school record in a season. He had fifteen points in the loss. Ontario Lett, who tied the game with 23 seconds left in overtime, had 17 in the loss.

Butler finished with 23 points for Uconn in the win, while Brown added 13. It was the fifth Big East Tournament championship for the Huskies, their last coming in 1999, when they went on to win the national championship. It was their sixth title game appearance in the last eight years. The game was the second-longest title game in league history. Syracuse beat Villanova 83–80 in three overtimes in 1981.[2]

Awards

Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Caron Butler, Connecticut

All Tournament Team

References
  1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/2002.html
  2. Big East Championship game recap at Pittsburghpanthers.com
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