No. 1 Connecticut Is Upset

On Wednesday, Gerry McNamara made a three-point basket with less than a second to play to give Syracuse a win over Cincinnati in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

On Thursday, his three-point basket with 5.5 seconds left in regulation tied the score and the Orange went on to defeat No. 1 Connecticut, 86-84, in overtime at New York.

“I said yesterday’s shot was the best under the circumstances,” McNamara said Thursday. “I’d have to change that to today’s. We needed it.”

The win should help the Orange (21-11) end any talk about whether the team deserves an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

“Obviously they’re a tournament team,” Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said. “I thought they were a tournament team yesterday.”

That was a McNamara highlight show ago.

On Wednesday, his running three-point basket with less than a second to play meant a 74-73 victory over Cincinnati.

He topped that performance in the quarterfinals by scoring 17 points and handing out 13 assists, one short of the tournament record.

“He amazes me every time I see him play. He has more guts than anybody I’ve ever coached,” Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said. “As soon as he released it, there was never a doubt. There was nothing but net.

“I’d say it’s one of the best wins, if not the best, Syracuse has ever had.”

The loss ended a 10-game winning streak in the Big East quarterfinals for the Huskies (27-3), the regular-season co-champions with Villanova.

“It certainly was one of the most disappointing losses we’ve had in an awful long time,” Calhoun said.

No. 2 Villanova 87, Rutgers 55 -- Allan Ray scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half and the Wildcats (25-3) advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament.

Quincy Douby scored 31 points -- 24 in the first half -- to lead Rutgers (18-13).

No. 5 Memphis 75, Tulane 56 -- Rodney Carney scored 18 points and the Tigers (28-3) cruised to a quarterfinal round victory in the Conference USA tournament at Memphis, Tenn.

Shawne Williams added 13 points for Memphis. Chris Moore led the Green Wave (12-17) with 21 points.

No. 15 Pittsburgh 68, No. 19 West Virginia 57 -- Freshman Sam Young had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Panthers (23-6) past the Mountaineers (20-10) in a Big East quarterfinal game.

Pittsburgh will play Villanova in a semifinal tonight.

No. 21 Nevada 68, Idaho 55 -- Nick Fazekas had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Wolf Pack to a Western Athletic Conference tournament victory at Reno.

Nevada (25-5) has won 12 in a row, the second longest winning streak in the NCAA behind Gonzaga’s 18. Freshman David Dubois had 25 points for the Vandals (4-25).

No. 23 Georgetown 62, Marquette 59 -- Brandon Bowman made all six of his free throws in the final minute to help the Hoyas (21-8) advance in the Big East tournament.

Steve Novak finished with 18 points for Marquette (20-10).

No. 24 Alabama Birmingham 69, Southern Methodist 55 -- Lawrence Kinnard scored 12 points as four Blazers (23-5) finished in double-figures in the Conference USA tournament quarterfinal victory.

Bryan Hopkins led the Mustangs (13-16) with 13 points.