2009–10 Big East Conference men's basketball season

2009–10 Big East Conference men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 9, 2009 through March 6, 2010
Number of teams	16
Total attendance	2,942,432[1]
Average attendance	10,898[1]
TV partner(s)	Big East Network, ESPN
Regular Season
Champion	Syracuse (15–3)
Runners-up	Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Villanova (13–5)
Season MVP	Wesley Johnson (SYR)
Tournament
Champions	West Virginia
Runners-up	Georgetown
Tournament MVP	Da'Sean Butler (WVU)

2009–10 Big East men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
#4 Syracuse	15	–	3		.833			30	–	5		.857
#6 West Virginia†	13	–	5		.722			31	–	7		.816
#9 Villanova	13	–	5		.722			25	–	8		.758
#18 Pittsburgh	13	–	5		.722			25	–	9		.735
Marquette	11	–	7		.611			22	–	12		.647
Louisville	11	–	7		.611			20	–	13		.606
#14 Georgetown	10	–	8		.556			23	–	11		.676
Notre Dame	10	–	8		.556			23	–	12		.657
South Florida	9	–	9		.500			20	–	13		.606
Seton Hall	9	–	9		.500			19	–	13		.594
Cincinnati	7	–	11		.389			19	–	16		.543
Connecticut	7	–	11		.389			18	–	16		.529
St. John's	6	–	12		.333			17	–	16		.515
Rutgers	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
Providence	4	–	14		.222			12	–	19		.387
DePaul	1	–	17		.056			8	–	23		.258
† 2010 Big East Tournament winner As of April 3, 2010[2]; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009–10 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 31st in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. Syracuse captured the regular season title, its eighth overall, and second outright.^[3] However, West Virginia won the 2010 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, their first.

Preseason

At Big East media day in October, the conference released their predictions for standings and All-Big East teams.^[4][5]

Predicted Big East results

	Big East Coaches Poll[4]	Rivals.com[6]
1.	Villanova (10*)	Villanova
2.	West Virginia (5)	West Virginia
3.	Connecticut (1)	Connecticut
4.	Louisville	Georgetown
5.	Georgetown	Louisville
6.	Syracuse	Pittsburgh
7.	Cincinnati	Syracuse
8.	Notre Dame	Cincinnati
9.	Pittsburgh	Notre Dame
10.	Seton Hall	Seton Hall
11.	St. John's	Marquette
12.	Marquette	Providence
13.	Providence	St. John's
14.	South Florida	South Florida
15.	Rutgers	Rutgers
16.	DePaul	DePaul
	*first place votes

Preseason All-Big East teams

First Team	Second Team	Honorable Mention
Luke Harangody, F., ND Deonta Vaughn, G., CIN Greg Monroe, C., GTWN Lazar Hayward, F., MARQ Scottie Reynolds, G., VILL Da'Sean Butler, F., WVU	Jerome Dyson, G., CONN Kemba Walker, G., CONN Samardo Samuels, F., LOU Jeremy Hazell, G., HALL Dominique Jones, G., USF Devin Ebanks, F., WVU	Stanley Robinson, F., CONN Arinze Onuaku, C., SYR

Big East Preseason Player of the Year: Luke Harangody, F., Notre Dame
Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year: Lance Stephenson, G., Cincinnati

Preseason national polls

	AP[7]	Coaches[8]	Athlon[9]	Lindy's[10]	Sporting News[11]	Fox Sports[12]	CBS Sports[13]	SI.com[14]	Rivals.com[15]	Blue Ribbon Yearbook[16]
Cincinnati									49
Connecticut	12	14	11		15	12	7	3	12	18
DePaul									155
Georgetown	20	21	21		11	19	24	18	18	24
Louisville	19	23	19	15			22	28	20
Marquette									83
Notre Dame	RV	RV			22		RV	RV	64
Pittsburgh	RV	RV							31
Providence									89
Rutgers									147
St. John's									124
Seton Hall									80
South Florida									144
Syracuse	RV	25					RV	RV	42	16
Villanova	5	6	7	4	9	7	6	4	4	4
West Virginia	8	9	10	18	5	6	9	8	9	12

Watchlists

On August 19, the Wooden Award preseason watch list included eleven Big East players. The watchlist was composed of 50 players who were not transfers, freshmen or medical redshirts.^[17] On October 29, the Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist of 50 players was announced, which included nine Big East names.^[18]

	Wooden[17]	Naismith[18]
Da'Sean Butler, WVU
Jerome Dyson, CONN
Devin Ebanks, WVU
Corey Fisher, VILL
Luke Harangody, ND
Lazar Hayward, MARQ
Jeremy Hazell, HALL
Greg Monroe, GTWN
Scottie Reynolds, VILL
Samardo Samuels, LOU
Deonta Vaughn, CIN
Kemba Walker, CONN

Regular season

Season summary & highlights

• Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim became the eighth Division I coach to win 800 games, when the Orange defeated Albany, 75–43, on November 9.^[19]
• Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody became the first Fighting Irish player to surpass the 2,000-point and 1,000-rebound mark, during an 80–70 victory over Idaho State on December 2.^[20]
• Syracuse won the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, upsetting #13 California in the semifinals, 95–73, and #6 North Carolina in the finals, 87–71.^[21][22]
• Villanova won the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, defeating Mississippi, 79–67.^[23]
• West Virginia won the 76 Classic, defeating Portland, 84–66.^[24]
• Connecticut was the runner-up in the NIT Season Tip-Off, losing to #7 Duke, 68–59.^[25]
• Pittsburgh was the runner-up in the CBE Classic, losing to #2 Texas, 78–62.^[26]
• Marquette was the runner-up in the Old Spice Classic, losing to Florida State, 57–56.^[27]
• On January 11, DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright was fired after a 7–8 start, and a 22-game Big East losing streak, becoming the fourth NCAA Division I coach to leave his position since the season began. Wainwright, who compiled a 59–80 record in five seasons at the school, was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Tracy Webster, who remained until a national search concluded following the end of the season.^[28]
• On January 18, Connecticut fell out of the AP Poll for the first time since January 28, 2008, after losing consecutive games, to Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Michigan.^[29][30]
• On January 20, it was announced that Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun would go on an immediate medical leave of absence, the circumstances of his condition unknown, but unrelated to his previous bouts with cancer and heart issues.^[31] UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway insisted that Calhoun's condition was not career ending, and would not affect the terms of a four-year contract extension, agreed upon in principle in December 2009, but that he did not know when Calhoun would return.^[32] Associate head coach George Blaney took over for Calhoun, and lead the Huskies to wins at home against St. John's, then-No. 1 Texas and DePaul, and four losses at Providence, home vs. Marquette, at Louisville, and at Syracuse.^{[33][34][35][36][37][38][39]} Calhoun returned on February 13 for a home loss against Cincinnati, and has since kept quiet on the circumstances of his leave.^[40]
• Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim extended his NCAA Division-I record for most 20-win seasons to 32, when then-no. 4 Syracuse rallied from a 14–0 starting deficit to defeat then-no. 7 Georgetown, 73–56, on January 25.^[41]
• On February 27, then-no. 4 Syracuse clinched its eighth Big East regular season title and a no. 1 seed in the Big East tournament by beating then-no. 8 Villanova, 95–77.^[42] The game also set the NCAA on-campus basketball attendance record, with 34,616 spectators packing the Carrier Dome.^[42] Three days later they won the title outright, with a win against St. John's, 85–66.^[3]
• On March 1, Syracuse achieved its first no. 1 ranking in the AP Poll since the 1989–90 season, and its first in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll since winning the national championship in 2003.^[43][44]
• On March 6, Louisville upset no. 1 Syracuse 78–68 in the final game at Freedom Hall in front of an arena-record crowd of 20,135.^[45]

Midseason watchlists

On January 4, the Wooden Award midseason watchlist was released, and included six Big East players—more than any other conference.^[46] The list was composed of 31 players, reduced from the preseason list of 50. Newcomers included junior forward Wesley Johnson of Syracuse. In addition, six Big East players who were on the preseason list did not appear at midseason: Devin Ebanks, Corey Fisher, Jeremy Hazell, Samardo Samuels, Deonta Vaughn, and Kemba Walker. The list was reduced to a final national ballot of about 20 players in March.^[47] On February 24, the Naismith Top 30 was announced, and included newcomers Johnson and South Florida guard Dominique Jones.^[48]

	Wooden[47]	Naismith[48]
Da’Sean Butler, WVU
Jerome Dyson, CONN
Luke Harangody, ND
Wesley Johnson, SYR
Dominique Jones, USF
Greg Monroe, GTWN
Scottie Reynolds, VILL

Rankings

2009–10 Big East Conference Weekly Rankings
Key: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV = Received Votes

AP Poll[49]	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18
Cincinnati				22	19	25	RV	RV	RV
Connecticut	12	12	13	14	14	14	11	10	13	15	RV	19
DePaul
Georgetown	20	19	18	16	15	11	14	13	12	11	12	7	7	7	10	11	19	22	14
Louisville	19	20	16	20	RV											RV	RV	RV
Marquette				RV						RV	RV		RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Notre Dame	RV	RV	23	RV	RV					RV							RV	RV	RV
Pittsburgh	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV		23	16	9	17	22	25	19	12	17	16	18
Providence
Rutgers
St. John's				RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Seton Hall					RV	RV		RV
South Florida														RV
Syracuse	RV	RV	10	8	7	5	5	5	7	5	5	4	3	2	5	4	1	3	4
Villanova	5	5	4	3	3	8	8	8	6	4	4	3	2	4	3	7	9	10	9
West Virginia	8	8	8	7	6	6	6	6	8	10	11	9	6	5	8	8	10	7	6

Statistical leaders

The regular season team, individual, and attendance figures include all conference and non-conference games played from November 9, 2009 through March 6, 2010.^[50]

Team

Scoring Offense Rk Team Games Points PPG 1 Villanova 30 2483 82.8 2 Providence 30 2448 81.6 3 Syracuse 31 2523 81.4 4 Seton Hall 29 2329 80.3 5 Notre Dame 31 2416 77.9

Scoring Defense Rk Team Games Points PPG 1 Pittsburgh 31 1914 61.7 2 Marquette 30 1907 63.6 3 West Virginia 30 1945 64.8 4 Georgetown 29 1899 65.5 5 Syracuse 31 2049 66.1

Scoring Margin Rk Team Offense Defense Margin 1 Syracuse 81.4 66.1 +15.3 2 Marquette 73.8 63.6 +10.2 3 Villanova 82.8 72.6 +10.1 4 West Virginia 74.7 64.8 +9.9 5 Georgetown 73.1 65.5 +7.6

Free Throw Percentage Rk Team FTM FTA Pct 1 Villanova 595 792 .751 2 Marquette 442 593 .745 3 Notre Dame 507 694 .731 4 Georgetown 410 579 .708 5 Louisville 478 677 .706

Field Goal Percentage Rk Team FGM FGA Pct 1 Syracuse 930 1806 .515 2 Georgetown 764 1535 .498 3 Notre Dame 835 1761 .474 4 Villanova 829 1792 .463 5 Marquette 768 1693 .454

3-Pt Field Goal Percentage Rk Team 3FGM 3FGA Pct 1 Marquette 235 589 .399 2 Notre Dame 239 600 .398 3 Georgetown 181 466 .388 4 Syracuse 204 538 .379 5 Villanova 230 618 .372

Rebounding Margin Rk Team Avg Opp Avg Marg 1 West Virginia 38.4 31.8 +6.6 2 Cincinnati 38.8 32.7 +6.1 3 Villanova 39.4 34.2 +5.2 4 Pittsburgh 37.6 32.7 +4.9 5 Notre Dame 36.4 32.4 +4.0

Offensive Rebounds Rk Team Games No. Avg/G 1 Providence 30 512 17.1 2 West Virginia 30 467 15.6 3 Louisville 31 454 14.6 4 Seton Hall 29 413 14.2 5 Villanova 30 409 13.6

Defensive Rebounds Rk Team Games No. Avg/G 1 Connecticut 31 817 26.4 2 Syracuse 31 813 26.2 3 Villanova 30 772 25.7 4 Cincinnati 30 764 25.5 5 Pittsburgh 31 781 25.2

Blocks Rk Team Games No. Avg/G 1 Connecticut 31 242 7.8 2 Rutgers 31 220 7.1 3 Syracuse 31 206 6.6 4 Seton Hall 29 155 5.3 5 Georgetown 29 142 4.9

Assists Rk Team Games No. Avg/G 1 Syracuse 31 601 19.4 2 Notre Dame 31 534 17.2 3 West Virginia 30 482 16.1 4 Pittsburgh 31 497 16.0 5 Louisville 31 481 15.5

Steals Rk Team Games No. Avg/G 1 Syracuse 31 310 10.0 2 Marquette 30 243 8.1 3 Providence 30 240 8.0 4 Villanova 30 237 7.9 5 Louisville 31 243 7.8

Individual

Scoring Rk Name GP Pts Avg/G 1 Luke Harangody, ND 26 607 23.3 2 Dominique Jones, USF 30 640 21.3 3 Jeremy Hazell, MARQ 29 615 21.2 4 Jamine Peterson, PROV 30 571 19.0 5 Scottie Reynolds, VILL 30 564 18.8

Rebounding Rk Name GP Reb Avg/G 1 Herb Pope, HALL 29 323 11.1 2 Jamine Peterson, PROV 30 299 10.0 3 Luke Harangody, ND 26 251 9.7 4 Greg Monroe, GTWN 29 278 9.6 5 Wesley Johnson, SYR 31 263 8.5

Assists Rk Name GP No. Avg/G 1 Tory Jackson, ND 31 166 5.4 2 Kemba Walker, CONN 31 161 5.2 3 Andy Rautins, SYR 31 149 4.8 4 Brad Wanamaker, PITT 31 146 4.7 5 Eugene Harvey, HALL 27 127 4.7

Steals Rk Name GP No. Avg/G 1 Andy Rautins, SYR 31 64 2.1 2 Kemba Walker, CONN 31 62 2.0 3 Lazar Hayward, MARQ 30 52 1.7 4 Wesley Johnson, SYR 31 52 1.7 5 Chris Wright, GTWN 29 48 1.7

Blocks Rk Name GP No. Avg/G 1 Hamady N'Diaye, RUT 31 140 4.5 2 Gavin Edwards, CONN 31 66 2.1 3 Rick Jackson, SYR 31 62 2.0 4 Herb Pope, HALL 29 57 2.0 5 Gary McGhee, PITT & Wesley Johnson SYR 31 58 1.9

Field Goals Rk Name FGM FGA PCT 1 Arinze Onuaku, SYR 152 227 .670 2 Rick Jackson, SYR 137 227 .604 3 Gavin Edwards, CONN 120 199 .603 4 Hamady N'Diaye, RUT 112 191 .586 5 Julian Vaughn, GTWN 96 168 .571

3-Pt Field Goals Rk Name 3PM 3PA PCT 1 Austin Freeman, GTWN 56 117 .479 2 Darius Johnson-Odom, MARQ 66 139 .475 3 Maurice Acker, MARQ 43 92 .467 4 Tim Abromaitis, ND 80 178 .449 5 Jason Clark, GTWN 57 135 .422

Free Throws Rk Name FTM FTA PCT 1 Ashton Gibbs, PITT 129 145 .890 2 Tim Abromaitis, ND 108 122 .885 3 Sharaud Curry, PROV 123 140 .879 4 Robert Mitchell, HALL 58 67 .866 5 Austin Freeman, GTWN 75 89 .843

Attendance

Rk	Team	Home Gms.	Home Att.	Avg. Home	Away Gms.	Away Att.	Avg. Away	Neut. Gms.	Neut. Att.	Avg. Neut.	Total Gms.	Total Att.	Avg.
1	Syracuse	19	420,890	22,152	9	117,425	13,047	3	40,270	13,423	31	578,585	18,664
2	Louisville	19	368,537	19,397	11	157,470	14,315	1	n/a	n/a	31	526,007	17,534*
3	Marquette	17	265,484	15,617	10	126,218	12,622	3	8,738	2,913	30	400,440	13,348
4	Connecticut	18	216,453	12,025	10	138,911	13,891	3	37,809	12,603	31	393,173	12,683
5	Villanova	14	153,105	10,936	12	167,586	13,966	4	35,581	8,895	30	356,272	11,876
6	Georgetown	16	192,638	12,040	11	138,845	12,622	2	8,975	4,488	29	340,458	11,740
7	Pittsburgh	18	185,209	10,289	10	122,085	12,208	3	24,277	8,092	31	331,571	10,696
8	West Virginia	15	185,629	12,375	11	115,704	10,519	4	18,621	4,655	30	319,954	10,665
9	Notre Dame	20	168,033	8,402	9	120,618	13,402	2	6,616	3,308	31	295,267	9,525
10	Providence	17	140,920	8,289	13	127,627	9,817	0	0	0	30	268,547	8,952
11	Cincinnati	16	136,471	8,529	11	106,192	9,654	3	7,200	2,400	30	249,863	8,329
12	DePaul	15	126,760	8,451	11	93,786	8,526	4	19,447	4,862	30	239,993	8,000
13	St. John's	15	82,166	5,478	11	122,369	11,124	4	28,873	7,218	30	233,408	7,780
14	Rutgers	19	99,476	5,236	10	122,118	12,212	2	8,780	4,390	31	230,374	7,431
15	Seton Hall	17	126,019	7,413	11	80,361	7,306	1	2,365	2,365	29	208,745	7,198
16	South Florida	15	74,642	4,976	10	109,318	10,932	5	7,037	1,407	30	190,997	6,367
	TOTALS	270	2,942,432	10,898	170	1,966,633	11,568	44	254,589	5,921**	484	5,163,654	10,691**
* - does not factor the one neutral game played, vs. Arkansas, which does not have an attendance figure on record.[51] Overall average is therefore calculated based on the 30 games with attendance figures. ** - due to game without an attendance figure, overall averages are therefore calculated based on the 43 neutral games and 483 total games with attendance figures.

Postseason

Big East Tournament

For the second straight year, all 16 teams in the conference participated in the Big East Tournament. Under this format, the teams finishing 9 through 16 in the regular season standings played first round games, while teams 5 through 8 received a bye to the second round. The top 4 teams during the regular season received a bye to the quarterfinals.^[52] The five-round tournament spanned five consecutive days, from Tuesday, March 9, through Saturday, March 13, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.^[53]

In the finals, West Virginia held of a last-minute rally by Georgetown to win the title, 60–58.^[54] Da'Sean Butler of the first-time champion Mountaineers was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Butler hit the tournament-winning field goal, and led West Virginia in a series of dramatic games, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the Quarterfinals to advance the team over Cincinnati.^[55]

2010 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament seeds and results
Seed	School	Conf.	Over.	Tiebreaker	First Round Tuesday, March 9	Second Round Wednesday, March 10	Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11	Semifinals Friday, March 12	Championship Saturday, March 13
1.	‡†Syracuse	15–3	28–4		BYE	BYE	#8 GTWN, L, 84–91[56]
2.	†Pittsburgh	13–5	24–8	2–1 vs. WVU/NOVA[57]	BYE	BYE	#7 ND, L, 45–50[58]
3.	†West Virginia	13–5	27–6	2–2 vs. PITT/NOVA	BYE	BYE	#11 CIN, W, 54–51	#7 ND, W, 53–51	#8 GTWN, W, 60–58[59]
4.	†Villanova	13–5	24–7	1–2 vs. PITT/WVU	BYE	BYE	#5 MARQ, L, 76–80[60]
5.	#Marquette	11–7	22–11	1–0 vs. LOU	BYE	#13 SJU, W, 57–55	#4 VILL, W, 80–76	#8 GTWN, L, 57–80[61]
6.	#Louisville	11–7	20–12	0–1 vs. MARQ	BYE	#11 CIN, L, 66–69[62]
7.	#Notre Dame	10–8	23–11	1–0 vs. GTWN	BYE	#10 HALL, W, 68–56	#2 PITT, W, 50–45	#3 WVU, L, 51–53[63]
8.	#Georgetown	10–8	23–10	0–1 vs. ND	BYE	#9 USF, W, 69–49	#1 SYR, W, 91–84	#5 MARQ, W, 80–57	#3 WVU, L, 58–60[59]
9.	South Florida	9–9	20–12	1–0 vs. HALL	#16 DEP, W, 58–49	#8 GTWN, L, 69–49[64]
10.	Seton Hall	9–9	19–12	0–1 vs. USF	#15 PROV, W, 109–106	#7 ND, L, 56–68[65]
11.	Cincinnati	7–11	18–15	2–0 vs. CONN	#14 RUT, W, 69–68	#6 LOU, W, 69–66	#3 WVU, L, 51–54[55]
12.	Connecticut	7–11	17–15	0–2 vs. CIN	#13 SJU, L, 51–73[66]
13.	St. John's	6–12	17–15		#12 CONN, W, 73–51	#5 MARQ, L, 57–55[67]
14.	Rutgers	5–13	15–17		#11 CIN, L, 68–69[68]
15.	Providence	4–14	12–19		#10 HALL, L, 106–109[69]
16.	DePaul	1–17	8–23		#9 USF, L, 49–58[70]
‡ – Big East regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed.[3] † – Received a double-bye in the conference tournament. # – Received a single-bye in the conference tournament. Overall records include all games through the Big East Tournament.

NCAA Tournament

The Big East secured eight bids into the NCAA tournament, tying its own Division I record, achieved in both 2006 and 2008.^[71][72][73] As the Big East Tournament champion, West Virginia received an automatic bid into the tournament, while the remaining seven teams all received at-large bids. Syracuse achieved its first #1 seed since 1980, when it lost to #5 seed Iowa in the Sweet Sixteen.^[74] These teams combined for 8 wins and eight losses, as two teams reached the Sweet Sixteen, and West Virginia reached the Final Four.^[75]

Seed	Region	School	First Round	Second Round	Sweet 16	Elite Eight	Final Four	Championship
2	East	West Virginia	#15 Morgan State, W, 77–50[76]	#10 Missouri, W, 68–59[77]	#11 Washington, W, 68–59[78]	#1 Kentucky, W, 73–66[79]	#1 Duke, L, 57–78[80]
1	West	Syracuse	#16 Vermont, W, 79–56[81]	#8 Gonzaga, W, 87–65[82]	#5 Butler, L, 68–75[83]
3	West	Pittsburgh	#14 Oakland (MI), W, 89–66[84]	#6 Xavier, L, 68–71[85]
2	South	Villanova	#15 Robert Morris, W, 73–70^OT[86]	#10 St. Mary's, L, 59–63[87]
3	Midwest	Georgetown	#14 Ohio University, L, 83–97[88]
9	South	Louisville	#8 California, L, 62–77[89]
6	East	Marquette	#11 Washington, L, 78–80[90]
6	South	Notre Dame	#11 Old Dominion, L, 50–51[91]
	8 Bids	W-L (%):	4–4 (.500)	2–2 (.500)	1–1 (.500)	1–0 (1.000)	0–1 (.000)	TOTAL: 8–8 (.500)

National Invitation Tournament

The Big East received five bids into the National Invitation Tournament, combining for 2 wins and 5 losses. Only two teams, Cincinnati and Connecticut, advanced to the second round, both losing in their respective matchups.

Awards and honors

Conference awards and teams

The following individuals received postseason honors after having been chosen by the Big East Conference coaches:

Scottie Reynolds, the unanimous First Team All-Big East selection.

2010 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards
Award	Recipient(s)
Player of the Year[92]	Wesley Johnson, F., SYRACUSE
Coach of the Year[93]	Jim Boeheim, SYRACUSE
Defensive Player of the Year[94]	Hamady N'Diaye, C., RUTGERS
Rookie of the Year[92]	Lance Stephenson, G., CINCINNATI
Scholar-Athlete of the Year[95]	Tim Abromaitis, G., NOTRE DAME
Most Improved Player[94]	Ashton Gibbs, G., PITTSBURGH
Sixth Man Award[94]	Kris Joseph, F., SYRACUSE
Sportsmanship Award[94]	Tory Jackson, G., NOTRE DAME

2010 All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams[96]
First Team	Second Team	Third Team	Honorable Mention	All-Rookie Team
Greg Monroe, C., GTWN Luke Harangody, F., ND Dominique Jones, G., USF Wesley Johnson, F., SYR Scottie Reynolds†, G., VILL Da'Sean Butler, F., WVU	Austin Freeman, G., GTWN Lazar Hayward, F., MARQ Ashton Gibbs, G., PITT Jeremy Hazell, G., HALL Andy Rautins, G., SYR	Jerome Dyson, G., CONN Kemba Walker, G., CONN Samardo Samuels, F., LOU Corey Fisher, G., VILL Devin Ebanks, F., WVU	Jimmy Butler, F., MARQ Tim Abromaitis, F., ND Jamine Peterson, F., PROV	Lance Stephenson†, G., CIN Alex Oriakhi, F/C., CONN Vincent Council, G., PROV Dane Miller†, F., RUT Brandon Triche, G., SYR Maalik Wayns, G., VILL
† - denotes unanimous selection

Awardees are chosen by a simple ballot, in which coaches are not allowed to vote for their players or themselves (in the case of the Big East Coach of the Year). Coaches voted for Big East Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year from the first team and all-rookie lists, respectively.^[96]

Notable members of the first team include Notre Dame senior forward Luke Harangody, who was named to the team for the third-straight year, Villanova senior guard Scottie Reynolds, who was the only player to receive a unanimous selection. Also of note was Syracuse junior forward Wesley Johnson, who was given no all-conference consideration prior to the start of the season, yet helped lead the Orange to a surprising eighth regular season conference title, and received both first team and Big East Player of the Year honors.^[92][96] Notably absent from all lists was preseason first-team pick Deonta Vaughn, a senior guard from Cincinnati, who led the team in assists and finished second in points.^[97]

National awards and teams

Players

Two Big East players, Wesley Johnson of Syracuse and Scottie Reynolds of Villanova were named to the 2010 Consensus All-America First Team, while Luke Harangody of Notre Dame was named to the Second Team.^[98][99] Both Johnson and Reynolds were also named to the AP, USBWA, and NABC First Team All-America selections. Reynolds was also named to the TSN First-Team, while Johnson was named to its Second-Team.

Coaches

Jim Boeheim.

Jim Boeheim, Syracuse:

• Naismith College Coach of the Year^[100]
• AP Coach of the Year^[101][102]
• NABC Coach of the Year^[103]
• Henry Iba Coach of the Year, from the United States Basketball Writers Association^[104]
• The Sporting News National Coach of the Year^[105]
• FoxSports.com National Coach of the Year^[106]
• Yahoo! Sports National Coach of the Year^[107]

See also

• 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
• 2009–10 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Providence Friars men's basketball team
• 2009–10 South Florida Bulls men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team
• 2009–10 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
• 2009–10 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team

Notes and references

1. Attendance figures account for all games played at a team's home arena. Games played away or at neutral sites are not counted.
2. "Big East Conference Standings - 2009-10." ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-25-10.
3. "Orange top Red Storm to win Big East title outright for second time". ESPN.com. Published 03-02-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010.
4. "Villanova Edges West Virginia In Preseason Poll". Bigeast.org. Published 10-21-2009. Retrieved 01-26-2010.
5. "Notre Dame's Harangody Named Preseason Player Of The Year ". Bigeast.org. Published 10-21-2009. Retrieved 01-26-2010.
6. "League preview: Big East Countdown". Rivals.com. 2009-10-29. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
7. "NCAA Division I: AP Top 25 (Oct. 29)". ESPN.com. 2009-10-29. Archived from the original on 6 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
8. "NCAA Division I: ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Oct. 29)". ESPN.com. 2009-10-29. Archived from the original on 11 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
9. 2009–10 Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25. Athlon Sports College Basketball 2009–10 Preview (Athlon Sports Communications). p. 46.
10. National Picks. Lindy's College Basketball 2009–10 (D.M.D. Publications, Inc.). p. 6.
11. DeCourcy, Mike. History for the taking. Sporting News College Basketball (Sporting News). p. 6.
12. Final preseason top 25 for 2009–10, Fox Sports. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
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14. Kansas, Michigan State are 1–2 in first Power Rankings of 2009–10, SI.com. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
15. "Rivals.com Preseason Top 347 Countdown". Rivals.com. 2009-10-22. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
16. various. National Rankings. 2009–10 Blue Ribbon Yearbook. p. 150.
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20. Notre Dame 80, Idaho St. 70, ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
21. Syracuse tops Cal to reach 2K Sports Classic final, ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
22. Syracuse opens second half with 22–1 run to topple North Carolina, ESPN. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
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37. "Sosa's 15 points, 8 assists steady Louisville as UConn drops 6th in last 8". ESPN.com. Published 02-01-2010. Retrieved 02-05-2010.
38. "Dyson's 20 points help UConn beat DePaul, end three-game slide". ESPN.com. Published 02-06-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010.
39. "Streaking Orange hold off slumping Huskies". ESPN.com. Published 02-10-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010.
40. "Cincy embarrasses UConn in Calhoun's return from leave of absence". ESPN.com. Published 02-13-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010.
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42. "Jackson, Onuaku help Orange drop Wildcats in front of record crowd". ESPN.com. Published 02-27-2010. Retrieved 02-27-2010.
43. "Syracuse No. 1 for first time in 20 years". Associated Press. Published 03-01-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010.
44. "Syracuse rises to No. 1 in coaches' poll". ESPN.com. Published 03-01-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010.
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48. "Naismith Trophy Midseason Candidates Announced: Winner to be Revealed at the Final Four in Indianapolis". Naismithawards.com. 2010-02-24. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
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50. "Big East Conference Overall Statistical Leaders". BigEast.org. Retrieved 03-07-2010.
51. "Pitino gets 750th career win as Louisville rolls past Arkansas". ESPN.com. Published 11-17-2009. Retrieved 03-07-2010.
52. "16-Team Men's Championship Format" (PDF) (Press release). Big East Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
53. "Big East Tournament Bracket – 2010". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
54. "Butler's latest game-winner gives West Virginia first Big East tournament crown". ESPN.com. Published 2010-03-13. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
55. "Butler's buzzer-beater sinks Cincy, moves West Virginia into Big East semis". ESPN.com. Published 03-11-2010. Retrieved 03-11-2010.
56. "Wright's 27 points help Hoyas past top-seeded Orange". ESPN.com. Published 03-11-2010. Retrieved 03-11-2010.
57. Tie Breaking Procedures
58. "Harangody helps Irish win sixth straight, advance". ESPN.com. Published 03-11-2010. Retrieved 03-11-2010.
59. "Butler's latest game-winner gives West Virginia first Big East tournament crown". ESPN.com. Published 03-10-2010. Retrieved 03-10-2010.
60. "Hayward helps Golden Eagles hold off Wildcats". ESPN.com. Published 03-11-2010. Retrieved 03-11-2010.
61. "Monroe, Georgetown cruise into Big East final". ESPN.com. Published 03-12-2010. Retrieved 03-12-2010.
62. "Vaughn's FTs, strip save victory as Cincy advances to Big East quarters". ESPN.com. Published 03-10-2010. Retrieved 03-10-2010.
63. "West Virginia scrapes by for Big East final berth". ESPN.com. Published 03-12-2010. Retrieved 03-12-2010.
64. "Clark, Monroe spur No. 22 Hoyas past South Florida". ESPN.com. Published 03-10-2010. Retrieved 03-10-2010.
65. "Healthy Harangody guides Notre Dame into Big East quarterfinals". ESPN.com. Published 03-10-2010. Retrieved 03-10-2010.
66. "St. John's extends UConn's Big East tourney skid to 6 games". ESPN.com. Published 03-09-2010. Retrieved 03-09-2010.
67. "Marquette shakes off St. John's, advances to Big East quarterfinals". ESPN.com. Published 03-10-2010. Retrieved 03-10-2010.
68. "Stephenson's FT gives Cincinnati first victory in Big East tournament". ESPN.com. Published 03-09-2010. Retrieved 03-09-2010.
69. "Pirates nearly blow 29-point lead when Friars, Peterson heat up". ESPN.com. Published 03-09-2010. Retrieved 03-09-2010.
70. "Jones scores 20 to lead South Florida in first-round victory". ESPN.com. Published 03-09-2010. Retrieved 03-09-2010.
71. "BIG EAST Places 8 Into NCAA Bracket ". BigEast.org. Retrieved 03-14-2010.
72. "Division 1 Men's Bracket". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 03-14-2010.
73. "2010 NCAA tournament selections". ESPN.com. Published 03-14-2010. Retrieved 03-14-2010.
74. "No. 1 seed Syracuse: Ten things to know". CBSSports.com. Published 03-14-2010. Retrieved 03-14-2010.
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76. "Jones fills West Virginia void in first-round blowout of Morgan State". ESPN.com. Published 03-19-2009. Retrieved 03-19-2010.
77. "West Virginia holds off poor-shooting Missouri". ESPN.com. Published 03-21-2009. Retrieved 03-21-2010.
78. "West Virginia wins ninth straight, headed to Elite Eight". ESPN.com. Published 03-25-2009. Retrieved 03-25-2010.
79. "Mountaineers stop Kentucky, advance to first Final Four since 1959". ESPN.com. Retrieved 07-27-2010.
80. [Duke ends West Virginia's season, advances to first national title game since '01"]. ESPN.com. Retrieved 07-27-2010.
81. "Top-seeded Syracuse uses balanced attack to bounce Vermont". ESPN.com. Published 03-19-2009. Retrieved 03-19-2010.
82. "Johnson's 31 points, 14 boards pace Syracuse in rout of Gonzaga". ESPN.com. Published 03-21-2009. Retrieved 03-21-2010.
83. "No. 2 seed Villanova falls to St. Mary's as Samhan scores 32". ESPN.com. Published 03-25-2009. Retrieved 03-25-2010.
84. "Pitt avoids upset-minded Oakland, advances to second round". ESPN.com. Published 03-19-2009. Retrieved 03-19-2010.
85. "Xavier ends Pittsburgh's run to advance to round of 16". ESPN.com. Published 03-21-2009. Retrieved 03-21-2010.
86. "No. 2 Villanova survives No. 15 Robert Morris' upset bid in OT". ESPN.com. Published 03-18-2009. Retrieved 03-18-2010.
87. "Butler shocks top-seeded Syracuse for school's first regional finals appearance". ESPN.com. Published 03-20-2009. Retrieved 03-20-2010.
88. "Bobcats upend Hoyas for first tournament win in 27 years". ESPN.com. Published 03-18-2009. Retrieved 03-18-2010.
89. "Cal finishes with 15–4 run to close out Louisville". ESPN.com. Published 03-19-2009. Retrieved 03-19-2010.
90. "Pondexter's leaner with 1.7 remaining boosts Huskies past Golden Eagles". ESPN.com. Published 03-18-2009. Retrieved 03-18-2010.
91. "Old Dominion delivers first tourney upset, knocks out Notre Dame". ESPN.com. Published 03-18-2009. Retrieved 03-18-2010.
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93. "Syracuse's Jim Boeheim Named 2010 OppenheimerFunds BIG EAST Men's Basketball Coach of the Year". Big East Conference. Published 03-09-2010. Retrieved 03-09-2010.
94. "Rutgers' Ndiaye Named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year". Big East Conference. Published 03-08-2010. Retrieved 03-08-2010.
95. "Notre Dame Forward Tim Abromaitis Named BIG EAST Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year". Big East Conference. Published 03-09-2010. Retrieved 03-09-2010.
96. "All-BIG EAST Men's Basketball Teams Announced". BigEast.org. Published 03-07-2010. Retrieved 03-07-2010.
97. "Cincinnati Bearcats Statistics – 2009–10". ESPN.com. Retrieved 03-07-2010.
98. "Vasquez Named Consensus All-American: Maryland senior honored by two other groups". CBS Interactive. 2010-04-03. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
99. "Collins, Aldrich Consensus All-American". Gray Television, Inc. 2010-04-03. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
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101. "Syracuse's Boeheim AP coach of year". ESPN.com. Published 04-02-2010. Retrieved 04-04-2010.
102. "Associated Press Selects Boeheim Coach of the Year". SUAthletics.com. Published 04-02-2010. Retrieved 04-04-2010.
103. "2010 AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show Summary". Published 04-05-2010. Retrieved 04-06-2010.
104. "SYRACUSE'S BOEHEIM WINS 2010 HENRY IBA COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD". Sportswriters.net. Published 03-23-2010. Retrieved 03-23-2010.
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107. "Yahoo! Sports All-Coaches Team". Rivals.com. Published 03-02-2010. Retrieved 03-04-2010.