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Big East Roundup: WVU rallies to edge Villanova in OT
Sunday, March 07, 2010

Some situations conjure up great images. Even if they don't happen.

West Virginia had just played its worst half of the season Saturday against Villanova. Those who know the coaching techniques of Bob Huggins would expect him to put on a tremendous display in the locker room as he tries to right his team in the last game of the regular season.

Wrong. There was no chair throwing, no wild tirade discussing the horrible offensive effort of the first half. There wasn't even a raised voice.

"He didn't go nuts. I was surprised," Da'Sean Butler said of his coach.

There might be a new halftime attitude in Morgantown as the 10th-ranked Mountaineers rallied from that ugly first half to beat No. 9 Villanova (14-6, 13-5), 68-66, in overtime Saturday at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

The turnaround was quick.

Trailing, 29-16, at halftime after a poor shooting trifecta of 24 percent from the field (6 of 25), 16.7 percent on 3s (2 of 12) and 20 percent from the free-throw line (2 of 10), the Mountaineers (24-6, 13-5) opened the second half with an 18-5 run to tie the score. They managed to score as many points as they did in the first half by 6:23 into the second.

Butler scored 21 points, including the decisive basket with 5.8 seconds left in overtime, grabbed 10 rebounds and finished 13 of 14 from the free-throw line for the Mountaineers, who will be the No. 3 seed in the Big East Conference tournament. Villanova, which has lost four of its previous six games, is the No. 4 seed.

Other games

• Louisville 78, Syracuse 68: Kyle Kuric scored a career-high 22 points, all in the second half, and host Louisville upset No. 1 Syracuse to provide one more highlight at Freedom Hall. Louisville (20-11, 11-7) also might have earned a return trip to the NCAA tournament by sweeping the season series from the Orange (28-3, 15-3), whose only other loss came to Pitt. Kuric made 9 of 11 shots -- including four 3-pointers -- to make for a happy ending at Freedom Hall, before Louisville moves from its 54-year-old home into a new downtown in the fall.

• South Florida 75, Connecticut 68: Dominique Jones scored 20 points and South Florida (19-11, 9-9) held off struggling Connecticut (17-14, 7-11) to remain in contention for the Bulls' first berth in the NCAA tournament in 18 years.

• Georgetown 74, Cincinnati 47: Six days after being diagnosed with diabetes, Austin Freeman scored 24 points to help No. 19 Hoyas (20-9, 10-8) clinch a first-round bye in the Big East tournament with a victory against visiting Cincinnati (16-14, 7-11).

• Notre Dame 63, Marquette 60: Luke Harangody returned from injury, and visiting Notre Dame (21-10, 10-8) put a stop to Marquette (20-10, 11-7), which had won four in a row. Tim Abromaitis had 18 points and hit enough late free throws to save the game for the Irish. Harangody had 5 points and 2 rebounds in 11 minutes after missing five games with a bone bruise.

• Seton Hall 92, Providence 80: Jordan Theodore had 19 points as Seton Hall (18-11, 9-9) downed Providence (12-18, 4-14). Seton Hall will make its case for an NCAA berth in a rematch Tuesday, when the 10th-seeded Pirates face the 15th-seeded Friars in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

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First published on March 7, 2010 at 12:54 am