Mar 9, 2007, 18:20 GMT
New York, NY - The top-seeded Georgetown Hoyas and the fourth- seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish will meet this evening in the semifinal round of the Big East Conference Tournament. The winner of this tilt will move on to the championship game to face off with second-seeded Louisville or third-seeded Pittsburgh.
Notre Dame is on a major roll, as it has won six consecutive games, including an 89-83 decision over Syracuse in Thursday's quarterfinal round. The Fighting Irish have never won the Big East Tournament, and they are 4-11 all-time at this event.
Georgetown jumped out to a huge lead over Villanova yesterday and held on for a 62-57 victory. The Hoyas are in search of their seventh Big East Tournament championship, as they are currently tied with UConn for the most among league members with six. Unfortunately, it has been 18 years since the last title was captured.
Georgetown crushed Notre Dame by a 66-48 final back on January 6th, and the Hoyas hold a 12-9 edge in the all-time series between the teams.
Notre Dame got outstanding performances from a number of players in the win over Syracuse yesterday. Russell Carter scored 24 points to pace the Irish, and Colin Falls was close behind with 23 points. Falls also dished out five assists against zero turnovers, and Tory Jackson finished with nine assists and four steals. Luke Harangody posted 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Fighting Irish, who shot 22-of-26 from the foul line and limited the Orange to 39.7 percent shooting from the floor. Carter, a First-Team All-Big East performer, leads Notre Dame with 17.1 ppg. Falls adds 15.4 ppg, and both players are shooting 40.3 percent from three-point range.
Georgetown has been a balanced offensive team this entire season, and four players reached double figures for the club in the win over Villanova. Roy Hibbert scored 14 points to lead the way, but the center finished with only two rebounds in 28 minutes of action. Jeff Green tallied 12 points and nine rebounds, while both Jonathan Wallace and DaJuan Summers contributed 10 points apiece. Georgetown posted 18 assists in the contest, 10 more than Villanova. Green is the Big East Conference Player of the Year, and he scored 15.1 ppg against league opponents during the regular season. Hibbert netted 13.3 ppg against conference foes prior to this tournament, and he is a better rebounder than he showed against 'Nova.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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