It seems like every night that the Big East Conference schedules a block of men's college hoops games something wacky happens, and Wednesday night was no exception. So, what better way to recap the drama then through the keyboards of the SB Nation blogs. Here's SB Nation New York's Thursday morning Blogging Around The Big East recap.
The top story of the night concluded around 10 p.m. Wednesday night, when the Rutgers basketball program (13-11, 4-8 Big East) used a miracle last-second, 4-point play to upset Villanova Wildcats (No. 9 in the AP poll and No. 10 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll), 77-76, at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. (Click on the score for a full-game recap.) Here's how On The Banks celebrated the victory.
"It had to happen sooner or later," wrote Dave White Thursday night.
"...This team doesn't give up, they kept battling and kept themselves in the game. Rutgers clamped down when they needed to and was able to get some stops. Jonathan Mitchell has been on fire lately, and when his three point shot wasn't falling, he went inside. And finally the three started to fall."
"Wow," reiterated White. "This has got to feel unbelievable for the team. This is the kind of win that can build confidence. This team deserves it."
The Nova Blog had different feelings about Villanova (19-5, 7-4) losing.
"A double digit advantage with 2:45 remaining seemed to make for an easy victory, but it turned into a nailbiter when the Cats forgot how to inbound the ball," wrote jhulax22. "Consecutive turnovers sparked an 8-0 run for Rutgers and all of a sudden, it was a 2 point game with ninety seconds left."
"Only 2 thoughts crossed my mind after this one- a) was this worse than the Mets collapse in 2007 (yes, I am a Mets fan) and b) if that loss doesn't get Villanova fired up for Saturday, I don't know what will."
In Syracuse, the No. 11 Georgetown Hoyas trailed 53-49 with 6:24 to go in the game, but that didn't matter. The Hoyas (19-5, 8-4) rallied to beat No. 12/13 Syracuse Orange, 64-56, in a rivalry game at the Carrier Dome. For SB Nation's Casual Hoya the win was better than Christmas.
"How should this recap start? How do you explain the unexplainable? Well, umm, ahh, THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF ALL OF OUR LIVES," wrote JGD on Thursday night.
"Austin Freeman led the Hoyas with 14 points, but this game will be remembered as Hollis "Hollywood" Thompson's Bar Mitzvah. Tonight was the night that young Hollis became a man. He scored 11 enormous points on 4-5 shooting, drilling three bombs from three point range."
"Remember how much fun Syracuse Hate Week was before the game? Can you imagine what it's going to be like tomorrow? Cuz ain't no party like a Casual Hoya Blog Party, cuz a Casual Hoya Blog Party don't stop."
Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician broke down how the Orange (20-5, 7-5) almost won without its best player.
"Despite having Rick Jackson on the bench in foul trouble for a good chunk of the second half," wrote Sean Keeley Thursday morning. "The Orange seemed to be weathering the storm. It was supposed to be the grand fear for Syracuse fans...how would we perform if we didn't have Rick keeping things in check? Improbably, it looked like we'd be okay."
"And then we weren't."
It took overtime for the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (20-4, 9-3) to beat No. 16/15 Louisville Cardinals, 89-79. ND's blog Rakes Of Mallow doesn't have much to say about the victory -- they're still probably dissecting the latest football recruiting class. However, the Card Chronicle isn't to happy with ESPN commentators Digger Phelps or Bob Knight. The Cardinals fell to 18-6 overall and 7-4 in the Big East.
In Tampa, FL, the Marquette Golden Eagles (15-9, 6-5) came from behind to earn a one-point victory, 59-58, against host South Florida Bulls (8-17, 2-10). It was a win, but the Anonymous Eagle breaks down the sloppy game'. The VoodooFive confirmed the game's ugliness with it's usual hilarity.