Sixteen Deep: And Then There Was One

Luckily for the Big East, the classic Agatha Christie novel doesn't quite apply to it yet, but it's getting there.

Syracuse fell to Butler last night in what was the night's biggest upset while West Virginia won one of the most boring tournament games yet over a really flat Washington team.

So now, the pride of the so-called best conference in the country (something I have wholeheartedly stood behind all year) is down to their final team. Luckily for them, it's arguably their best team or at east the one who has played the best since March began.

Why Syracuse lost is really a mystery. They executed well, got balanced scoring from their their guards and shot better than Butler from the field. But they really missed injured center Arinze Onuaku which was pretty surprising. Rick Jackson looked pitiful sometimes and had hands of stone all night as he was unable to hold onto the ball. Turnovers proved to be most costly for the Orange - they had 18 while the Bulldogs only had 7.

Despite 18 points on 6-10 shooting and 9 rebounds, I was disappointed with Big East player of the year Wes Johnson in this game. Sure he had a nice night. But when your team is struggling and you're the only forward playing well, you have to take over. He's a top-3 pick. When Ohio State and Kentucky are losing, Evan Turner and John Wall explode for 30 points or 12 assists or do SOMETHING extraordinary to push their team over the top. Wes didn't look like he had that ability. He looked like a great talent with little desire or drive.

West Virginia handled their business pretty well. As with the other game, this was a low scoring affair in which both teams shot the ball poorly and really didn't do anything to catch much attention. The Mountaineers were down 2 at halftime and rallied back to win by 13. It was an impressive showing in the beginning of the second half and solidified WVU as a title contender. But again, they really didn't wow you. They played sloppy most of the game and coasted to a win over an uninspired Washington team that ran out of gas.

What does this mean for the Big East?

It looks like all the bruises and beatings the teams took in the regular season really did take a great toll on them. Obviously the injuries were killer even though WVU survived without their starting point guard. I think Kentucky is probably going to take them out Saturday and end the Big East's season with one Elite 8 team.

Is that a disappointment? Maybe. But right now the pride of the conference is on West Virginia's shoulders. Let's hope they don't buckle under the pressure like Vera Claythorne.

"One little Soldier boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."