Big East Tournament Bracket 2012: UConn and Schools That Could Upset Syracuse

With a team like the Syracuse Orange in the 2012 Big East tournament, programs will be looking to dismantle the school that went 30-1 during the regular season.

Teams like UConn, Notre Dame and Marquette all have an inside lane at beating down the college basketball giants before the NCAA tourney even kicks off.

All of the following teams have a chance to take down a behemoth, but only one can have the glory. And that’s if any of them can finally stop the almighty Orange.

UConn

The UConn Huskies know what it takes to win the Big East tournament after stealing the show last year on an improbable run. If any team can upset Syracuse, it’s probably UConn.

Despite having one of the worst second halves of a season a team could possibly imagine, the Huskies get back their head coach Jim Calhoun after back surgery at the perfect time.

For the UConn Huskies to be successful in the Big East tournament and going forward, they need their star sophomore Jeremy Lamb to put up the kind of numbers he did all season. If Lamb gets at least 18 a game, the Big East must watch out.

No. 9 Marquette

The Marquette Golden Eagles are the most viable team to hang a loss on Syracuse in the tournament, but it would have to be in the Big East championship game. That would be epic.

The key for the Golden Eagles will be getting senior forward Jae Crowder going at both ends of the court to both breed success for Marquette as well as rattle Syracuse or any team they face.

Crowder is the big body that teams love to use down low or at 15 feet where he can pull up and drain a shot over lumbering defenders.

With Crowder playing over 30 minutes, scoring almost 18 points, adding eight rebounds and adding over two assists per game, he is Marquette’s offense.

No. 23 Notre Dame

While the Notre Dame Fighting Irish aren’t exactly what you think about when you think college basketball powerhouse, the South Bend boys are serious threats to win the Big East tournament.

If you want to find the team that handed Syracuse their one loss this season, you need to look no further then the Fighting Irish. While Notre Dame isn’t superb at any one facet of the game, they do many things well and rely on solid defensive players like Jack Cooley.

If the Irish can get Cooley going under the basket on both ends of the court, he can rebound and score his way into the hearts of America and elevate his team to a Big East tournament championship.

Big East Tournament 2012 Bracket

5 Wed, March 7-No. 8 West Virginia vs. Game 1 Winner, 12:00 p.m. ET ESPN

6 Wed, March 7-No. 5 Georgetown vs. Game 2 Winner, 2:00 p.m. ET ESPN

7 Wed, March 7-No. 7 Louisville vs. Game 3 Winner, 7:00 p.m. ET ESPN

8 Wed, March 7-No. 6 South Florida vs. Game 4 Winner, 9:00 p.m. ET ESPN

9 Thu, March 8-No. 1 Syracuse vs. Game 5 Winner, 12:00 p.m. ET ESPN

10 Thu, March 8-No. 4 Cincinnati vs. Game 6 Winner, 2:00 p.m. ET ESPN

11 Thu, March 8-No. 2 Marquette vs. Game 7 Winner, 7:00 p.m. ET ESPN

12 Thu, March 8-No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Game 8 Winner, 9:00 p.m. ET ESPN

13 Fri, March 9-Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 7:00 p.m. ET ESPN

14 Fri, March 9-Game 11 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 9:00 p.m. ET ESPN

15 Sat, March 10-Big East Tournament Championship Game:

Game 13 Winner vs. Game 14 Winner, 9:00 p.m. ET ESPN

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