The 10 Greatest Moments in Big East Tournament History

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Date: 3/11/1984
Game: Georgetown vs. Syracuse (Championship)

If you come across an older Syracuse fan or alum, do not bring up the 1984 Big East Tournament. It may still be a sore subject. With 'Cuse up by three late in the regulation, a battle for the loose ball turned into Georgetown's Michael Graham throwing what looked an awful lot like a punch at Andre Hawkins. Even referee Dick Paparo thought the same thing when he initially made a gesture that suggested he was throwing Graham out for his actions.

The result would've been two additional free throws for a technical foul, but the crew chief came in and seemed to overrule Paparo's call, deeming it as a simple two-shot penalty. The change kept the Hoyas in the game and on the Orange's ensuing possession, they were called for a five-second violation. Georgetown responded with a game-tying basket and turned to the tide for the rest of the game. The Hoyas won in overtime, 82-71.

Date: 3/9/2002
Game: UConn vs. Pittsburgh (Championship)

Caron Butler may have won the Dave Gavitt Trophy for being the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament, but if it wasn't for Taliek Brown, who knows how it all would've played out. With only 38 seconds remaining, UConn was inbounding the ball, up by two and only two seconds left on the shot clock. That's when Brown knocked down a three-pointer from deeeeeeeeeep to give the Huskies a five-point lead that Pittsburgh was never able to recover from. Oh, if you're wondering how far that shot was, it's from 35-feet away. Cue the collective "damn!"

Date: 3/8/1985
Game: Georgetown vs. Syracuse (Semifinals)

What's the Big East Tournament without some tempers flaring? In the semifinals of the 1985 tourney, Patrick Ewing and Pearl Washington were running down the court when the Hoyas center caught Washington with an elbow to the ribs. Shortly after that incident, Pearl retaliated with an elbow of his own to Ewing's midsection. Pat tried to end their little cheap shot affair by attempting to deliver a right-handed haymaker that barely missed Washington. The referees stepped in, giving both guys technical fouls. Neither one of them was ejected. Georgetown went on to beat the Orange, 74-65.

Date: 3/8/1986
Game: St. John's vs. Syracuse (Championship)

With only 30 seconds left in regulation of the 1986 Big East Championship Game between St. John's and Syracuse, Pearl Washington missed the front end of a one-and-one which was then rebounded by a Red Storm player, keeping the Orange ahead by a slim 69-68 margin. On St. John's ensuing possession, Ron Rowan dribbled toward the baseline, launching an off-balance floater that went through the hoop and gave the Johnnies a one-point lead with only eight seconds left. 'Cuse quickly inbounded the ball to Washington who sped up the court. It looked like Pearl was going to come away with a game-winning layup until Walter Berry, who was nicknamed "The Truth," swooped in and blocked Washington from behind and sealing a St. John's victory.

Date: 3/7/1981
Game: Syracuse vs. Villanova (Championship)

With only two minutes remaining in the first overtime of the Big East final, Syracuse was down by six to a Villanova squad who beat them twice in the regular season. The Orange managed to come back and force another overtime. And another. In the third overtime, Leo Rautins came through, tipping the ball into the basket with only three seconds remaining. 'Nova head coach Rollie Massimino immediately called a timeout, but he had none left. The Orange's Danny Schayes shot a technical free throw and the game was over since there was no three-point line at the time. 'Cuse squeaked by with an 83-80 win.

Date: 3/8-11/2006
Game: Entire Tournament

Gerry McNamara is a legend in Syracuse. If you're wondering why, look no further than his incredible performance in the 2006 Big East Tournament. After losing nine of their last 13 regular season contests, Syracuse needed to win the tourney if they wanted to battle it out in March for the national championship. That's when McNamara single-handedly willed the Orange to one victory after another. First, it was his floater of a three-point shot that gave the Orange a 74-73 win over Cincinnati. Then, Gerry struck again, knocking down a game-tying three in the quarterfinals against UConn with only seconds left in regulation. In the semifinals against Georgetown, McNamara stroked five three-pointers in the second half to cut a sizable Hoyas lead to one with only a minute left. After winning the Big East Championship Game versus Pittsburgh, McNamara was given the Dave Gavitt award for the tourney's Most Outstanding Player. A well deserved honor.

Date: 3/9/1996
Game: Georgetown vs. UConn (Championship)

When Georgetown squared off against Connecticut for the Big East Championship in 1996, the game instantly became known as the Battle of the Allens. Allen Iverson and Ray Allen, that is. And while the matchup didn't quite live up to its billing since Ray went AWOL for nearly the entire second half, the UConn guard came up clutch when the game was on the line. Down by 13 points with three minutes left, the Huskies scored the final 14 points of the game and their improbable run was capped off by this miraculous floater by Jesus Shuttlesworth (get it?) which gave UConn the lead and eventually, the win after Iverson failed to knock down a long midrange jumper in the final seconds.

Date: 3/8-12/2011
Game: Entire Tournament

This is essentially Gerry McNamara's Big East run on steroids. As the No. 9 seed in the 2011 conference tournament, UConn needed to come away victorious in five games over five days to win it all and they did just that. After making quick work of DePaul and Georgetown, Connecticut moved onto a more difficult matchup in Pittsburgh. However, Kemba Walker was up to the task, knocking down the game-winning shot after breaking the ankles of Gary McGhee to create some space for a wide-open stepback jumper. In the end, Walker who scored 130 points in five games, setting a BET record as well as establishing a new high for most points scored in any conference tournament over the last 15 seasons, carried that momentum to the NCAA Tournament where the Huskies won the national title over Butler.

Date: 3/12/2009
Game: Syracuse vs. UConn (Quarterfinals)

What else was going to be No. 1? It's hard to top a contest that saw two teams battle it out for three hours and 46 minutes under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. This game had it all: buzzer-beaters (Kemba Walker), waved off buzzer-beaters (Eric Devendorf) and the type of battles in the paint that became synonymous with the Big East style of play. Following the game, Syracuse's Johnny Flynn, who played 67 minutes, scored 34 points and dished out 11 assists, reflected on the contest which didn't end until 1:24 A.M., saying, "'Lord, just get this game over with. Whoever wins the game, let's just get it over with.'" Ironically, we were all probably saying the same thing because we didn't know how much more our hearts could take.