Big East Tournament second round: Eight teams eye quarterfinal berth

When No. 4 Providence takes on No. 5 St. John’s, all eyes will be on Bryce Cotton. The senior guard for the Friars is an attacking, three-point shooting, dime-dishing handful and the Red Storm will need everything they have on the defensive end to stop him. Or, they can do what they did the last time these two teams met and shut down everyone else. The Red Storm beat the Friars in their last matchup, 86-76, on Feb. 4 with a balanced scoring attack and by forcing 15 turnovers.

Top-seeded Villanova draws Seton Hall for its first game of the tournament. The Wildcats are riding a six-game winning streak with three double-digit victories in their last four outings. Seton Hall struggled mightily in both of its outings against Nova, losing by a combined 33 points. This one shouldn’t be a problem for Jay Wright’s team, who have only lost to Creighton and Syracuse this season.

The final outcome was not indicative of how close the game was for the first 25 minutes. Seton Hall came out aggressive and hit some tough shots to keep their upset bid alive. Syracuse dominated the final minutes though, outscoring the Pirates by 14 points in the final 15 minutes.

One of the big differentials in the game was rebounding. SU brought down 25 boards, including eight on the offensive end. SHU had 18 total rebounds.

A commanding early lead for Cincinnati didn’t hold as Providence fought to make Wednesday’s first Big East game relatively tight, but the Bearcats held on for the 61-44 win. Their reward is a matchup with No. 1 Georgetown, but they’ll deal with that Thursday.

But about halfway through the first half, Providence extended its defense into a full-court press. Cincinnati tried deliberately attacking it, but the Bearcats’ offense was clearly flustered. A series of turnovers and conversions by Providence -- and actual shots falling -- allowed the Friars to cut an 18-point lead to just eight by the half.