Big East Player Of The Year, senior guard Ben Hansbrough, scored 14 of his game-best 23 points in the second half Thursday to lead the No. 2-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a rout of No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats, 89 -51, in a 2011 Big East Tournament quarterfinal game at Madison Square Garden. The Irish (ranked No. 4 by both college basketball polls) advance to the semifinals and will play the winner of Thursday's nightcap between No. 3 Louisville Cardinals and No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles.
Senior forward Tim Abromaitis has tallied 14 of his 17 points to help Notre Dame (26-5) take a 40-30 halftime advantage. From there, the Irish, who shot 32-of-57 (56.1 percent) from the floor, never looked back. Senior Carleton Scott scored 18 points, while senior guard Scott Martin finished with 11 points.
Junior guard Dion Dixon had a team-best 15 points for Cincinnati , while junior forward Yancy Gates scored 12 points for Cincinnati (25-8), which romped No. 15 South Florida Bulls, 87-61, Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals. The Bearcats finished Thursday's game shooting just 19-of-59 (32.2) from the floor.
Here's how the 2011 Big East Tournament looks like:
Semifinals (Friday, March 11): No. 9 UConn vs. No. 4 Syracuse (7 p.m. on ESPN): No. 2 Notre Dame vs. winner of No. 3 Louisville Cardinals/No. 11 Marquette (9 p.m. on ESPN).
Championship (Saturday, March 12): Semifinal winners (9 p.m. on ESPN).
Please, check out SB Nation New York's Big East Tournament website for complete coverage.
Big East Player Of The Year, senior guard Ben Hansbrough, scored 14 of his game-best 23 points in the second half Thursday to lead the No. 2-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a rout of No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats, 89 -51, in a 2011 Big East Tournament quarterfinal game at Madison Square Garden. The Irish (ranked No. 4 by both college basketball polls) advance to the semifinals and will play the winner of Thursday's nightcap between No. 3 Louisville Cardinals and No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles.
Senior forward Tim Abromaitis has tallied 14 of his 17 points to help Notre Dame (26-5) take a 40-30 halftime advantage. From there, the Irish, who shot 32-of-57 (56.1 percent) from the floor, never looked back. Senior Carleton Scott scored 18 points, while senior guard Scott Martin finished with 11 points.
Junior guard Dion Dixon had a team-best 15 points for Cincinnati , while junior forward Yancy Gates scored 12 points for Cincinnati (25-8), which romped No. 15 South Florida Bulls, 87-61, Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals. The Bearcats finished Thursday's game shooting just 19-of-59 (32.2) from the floor.
Here's how the 2011 Big East Tournament looks like:
Semifinals (Friday, March 11): No. 9 UConn vs. No. 4 Syracuse (7 p.m. on ESPN): No. 2 Notre Dame vs. winner of No. 3 Louisville Cardinals/No. 11 Marquette (9 p.m. on ESPN).
Championship (Saturday, March 12): Semifinal winners (9 p.m. on ESPN).
Please, check out SB Nation New York's Big East Tournament website for complete coverage.