Thursday in Manhatten the Bigs of the Big East made their dubuts in Madison Square Garden.  Many experts thought that the vulnerability of the Big East would be exposed and one of the top four seeds would be going down by days end.

• After signing, sealing and delivering their bid to the NCAA's, Providence squared of against the top seeded Louisville Cardinals while you were polishing off your chicken salad on rye.  If you are a fan of the Friars, the disappointment and anguish would shortly ensue during their 15 first half turnovers.  The Cardinals could have made it embarrassing but were camping out around the arc and missing.  In the second half they turned their attention to the 240 lb. freshman Samardo Samuels and the Cards took care of business old school style to get the 73-55 victory.  The Friars were not expected to win this game and should be a lock for the tournament but the Cards continue their drive for a #1 seed.
• While you were grabbing that afternoon coffee or curling up under your desks for that afternoon nap, Villanova was seemingly cruising to an inevitable win.  The Wildcats jumped out to a 47-31 halftime victory and then took their own cat nap, allowing the Marquette Golden Eagles to sneak back into the game and eventually take the lead by one with 1:40 left.  That score remained locked until Dwayne Anderson scored his only bucket of the game with no time remaining.  Strike it up....

Villanova Marquette Big East Championship (via burns1112227)