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One half of the Big East semifinal is set as Syracuse Orange and Georgetown Hoyas both advanced Thursday afternoon. The Orange narrowly avoided a second-half collapse, holding off the Pittsburgh Panthers 62-59 at Madison Square Garden.
The Orange took a 13-point lead into halftime and held on to it for a good part of the second half before the Panthers made their run with about 10 minutes to go in the game, getting as close as one point in the final minutes before Michael Carter-Williams iced it with four free throws.
Syracuse will take on a Georgetown Hoyas team they've lost to twice in the last month, the most recent one coming last Saturday. The Hoyas defeated Cincinnati 62-43 in the first game of Thursday's action. The Big East quarterfinals continue at 7 p.m. ET with Louisville and Villanova, followed by Marquette and Notre Dame.
Syracuse and Georgetown tip off Friday at 7 p.m. ET. It will be followed by the winner of Louisville/Villanova and Marquette/Notre Dame. Both games, as well as tonight's quarterfinal action, can be seen on ESPN. The full tournament bracket is available at the Big East's official website. Click here for more on the Big East tournament.
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