      		2001 BIG EAST CONFERENCE

The 2000-01 Big East basketball season was one of the most competitive years in this history of the conference. While traditional powers like Syracuse and Georgetown remained it was the year or the surprise team. Notre Dame flew to the top of the Western division, besting both the Orangemen and the Hoyas by a game led by First-Team All-Conference forward Troy Murphy.

 But it was in the Eastern division where Cinderella reigned. Boston College and Providence, teams at the bottom of the conference a year ago, battled for first place. It was the resurgent Eagles, led by the Big East Player of the Year sophomore guard Troy Bell, who claimed the top record in the conference with a 13-3 mark.  Boston College became the first team in Big East history to go from last to first in justone year. The Eagles went on to win the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden by easily dispatching Villanova, Seton Hall, and Pittsburgh to claim the crown. Five Big East teams received bids for the 2001 NCAA Tournament, Boston College, Providence, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Georgetown, but none of them advanced past the second round. 

BIG EAST FINAL STANDINGS
EAST DIVISION
Boston College 13-3   (25-4)
Providence       11-5   (21-10)
St Johns 	8-8   (14-15)
Miami 		8-8   (16-13)
Villanova 	8-8   (18-13) 
Connecticut 	8-8   (20-12)
Virginia Tech 	2-14 (8-19)

WEST DIVISION
Notre Dame	11-5   (20-10)
Georgetown       10-6   (25-8)
Syracuse 	10-6   (25-9)
West Virginia	8-8   (17-12)
Pittsburgh	7-9  (19-14) 
Seton Hall 	5-11   (16-15)
Rutgers 	3-13 (11-16)

Big East Conference Awards
Coach of the Year: Al Skinner, Boston College
Player of the Year: Troy Murphy, Notre Dame (2nd); Troy Bell, Boston College (tie)
Defensive Player of the Year: John Linehan, Providence
Most Improved Player: Calvin Bowman, West Virginia; Preston Shumpert, Syracuse (tie)
Rookie of the Year: Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall
First-Team All-Conference
Troy Bell, Boston College
Calvin Bowman, West Virginia
Michael Bradley, Villanova
Troy Murphy, Notre Dame
Preston Shumpert, Syracuse

Second-Team All-Conference
Kevin Braswell, Georgetown
Damone Brown, Syracuse
Ricardo Greer, Pittsburgh
Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall
John Linehan, Providence


Third-Team All-Conference
Todd Billett, Rutgers
Caron Butler, Connecticut
Omar Cook, St Johns
Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame
John Slamons, Miami

All-Rookie Team
Caron Butler, Connecticut
Omar Cook, St Johns
Eddie Griffin, Syracuse
Darius Rice, Miami 
Michael Sweetney, Georgetown

The2001 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament

The2001 Big East Men's Basketball Tournamenttook place atMadison Square GardeninNew York City. Its winner received theBig East Conference'sautomatic bidto the2001 NCAA Tournament. It is asingle-elimination tournamentwith four rounds and the two highest seeds in each division receivedbyesin the first round. The six teams with the best conference records in each division were invited to participate for a total of 12 teams. Teams were seeded by division.Boston Collegehad the best regular season conference record and received the East #1 seed, whileNotre Damereceived the West #1 seed. Boston College defeatedPittsburghin the championship game 7957 for its second and final Big East Tournament championship.

Dave Gavitt Trophy(Most Outstanding Player):Troy Bell, Boston College
First Round
Syracuse 86 Connecticut 75
Pittsburgh 78 Miami 69
Seton Hall 78 St. Johns 66
Villanova  82  West Virginia 71

Second Round
Boston College 93 Villanova 79 
Seton Hall 58 Georgetown 40
Pittsburgh 66 Notre Dame 54
Syracuse 55 Providence 54





Semifinals
Boston College 75 Seton Hall 48
Pittsburgh 55 Syracuse 54 (OT)

Championship Game
Boston College 79 Pittsburgh 57


All-Tournament Team
Johnathan Beerbohm, Boston College
Ricardo Greer, Pittsburgh						
Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall								          Preston Shumpert, Syracuse						
Xavier Singletary, Boston College

Dave Gavitt Trophy(Most Outstanding Player):Troy Bell, Boston College


