That big exhale came from Providence.
The Big East, which tied its own record with eight teams in the NCAA tournament field, will have just one team in the regional finals.
West Virginia, the second seed in the East, beat Washington 69-56 on Thursday night to keep the conference’s national title hopes alive.
About 30 minutes before the Mountaineers’ win in the Carrier Dome, top-seeded Syracuse, the team that calls that building home, lost 63-59 to Butler in Salt Lake City.
It was quite a difference for the Big East from last season when it had half the Elite Eight, with Connecticut and Villanova advancing to the Final Four while Louisville and Pittsburgh lost.
The 16-team league can still boast the longest streak by a conference with at least one team reaching the regional finals. Every year since 2002, the Big East has managed to get one school within a win of the Final Four. Last year and 2006, when Connecticut and Villanova reached, were the only ones with more than one.
Four of the Big East teams – Marquette, Louisville, Georgetown and Notre Dame – were gone after the first round. Pittsburgh and Villanova went out in the second round, leaving West Virginia and Syracuse as the only ones left in the round of 16.
The Big East moved offices within Providence, R.I., on Thursday, so Syracuse’s loss made a rough day a little tougher.
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NO. 1’S RECORD: Teams seeded No. 1 in a region had a record of 73-15 in the round of 16 since the field expanded to 64 schools.
That record took a quick hit Thursday when Syracuse lost 63-59 to fifth-seeded Butler in the West Regional.
The top seeds have two more chances to bring the winning percentage up with Kentucky facing Cornell later Thursday in the East Regional, and Duke going against Purdue on Friday in the South.
Overall No. 1 seed Kansas was beaten by Northern Iowa in the second round.
Two No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four last year – Connecticut and North Carolina – and the record was set a year before when all four No. 1s made it to San Antonio.
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INJURY EFFECT: Injuries have played a role in this NCAA tournament unlike any before.
The teams affected by the bug went 1-1 in Thursday night’s early games.
as redshirt junior Joe Mazzulla who played the most significant minutes there, finishing with three points, three assists and three steals.
Despite committing four of the Mountaineers’ season-high 23 turnovers, Mazzulla was a steadying force with the ball and the team’s energy leader as well, spending quite a bit of time on the court after fighting through a screen or drawing an offensive foul.
Syracuse played its third game without center Arinze Onuaku, who injured his knee in the Big East tournament and has not practiced since.
Playing without the man in the middle of the Orange’s 2-3 zone defense left coach Jim Boeheim short-handed against the Bulldogs.
On Friday, Michigan State, missing Kalin Lucas, the 2008-09 Big Ten Player of the Year, and with 3-point specialist Chris Allen limited by a sore foot, will face Northern Iowa. Purdue, still trying to recover from the loss of second-leading scorer and rebounder Robbie Hummel to a knee injury, will play Duke.
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ORANGE AID: When Syracuse fell behind Butler 10-1 in their West Regional semifinal in Salt Lake City, their fans, almost 2,000 miles away in the Carrier Dome, were stunned to say the least.
As the Orange cut into the lead and finally pulled ahead, there was one corner in the Carrier Dome that let out a cheer every time they scored, and especially when they hit a 3-pointer.
Even as the West Virginia-Washington game was going on, you could hear the one group cheer at an inappropriate time in the live game.
The long-distance cheering wasn’t enough, as Butler beat Syracuse 63-59.
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