The Big East Conference is considering altering the format of its men’s basketball championship for the second time in as many years.
The new format being discussed would eliminate the double-bye for the top four seeds. They would play the bottom four seeds on the first day of the event at Madison Square Garden (Tuesday), with the winners getting a day off and advancing to the quarterfinals (Thursday).
Seeds 5-12 would play first-round games on Wednesday and the survivors would move on to the quarters. The semifinals and finals would continue to take place on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.
DUKE, UCONN COULD SQUARE OFF IN PRESEASON NIT
The bracket for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Preseason NIT is out and it could feature a marquee matchup in the finals.
Top-seeded Duke and No. 2 UConn are in opposite sides of the bracket and could face off Nov. 27 for the title at Madison Square Garden.
No. 3 LSU and No. 4 Arizona State are also in the event, which opens with play in four regional sites.
Duke opens with Coastal Carolina at Cameron Indoor on Nov. 16, while UConn faces Colgate that same day in Storrs, Conn.
On Dec. 9, UConn faces Kentucky and St. John’s meets Georgia in the Big East/SEC Challenge at MSG.
CENTENARY’S ADAMS TRANSFERS TO PITT
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Chase Adams, a point guard at Centenary who was the defensive player of the year last season in the Summit League, is transferring to Pittsburgh for his senior season and will be eligible immediately.
Adams doesn’t have to sit out a season because Centenary is dropping from NCAA Division I to Division III.
The 5-foot-10 Adams averaged 14 points and shot 39 percent from 3-point range last season. He supplies depth at a position where the Panthers must replace Levance Fields, a three-year starter who helped lead the Panthers to an NCAA regional final last season.
Ashton Gibbs, a shooting guard out of Seton Hall Prep, is expected to move to point guard. The only other Pitt player at the position is redshirt freshman Travon Woodall out of St. Anthony.
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Avaricious / August 12, 2009
The Duke-UConn matchup should be a sell-out with UConn busing their fans in and all of the Duke fans and alumni in the NYC/NJ area.
It’d be nice to have an early college basketball buzz in the metro area. Hopefully, LSU and Arizona St. don’t spoil the party.
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