As we count down to the release of brackets on Selection Sunday, the most important thing to remember is this: Match-ups are more important than seeding.

With Notre Dame's new reduced pace, they have the ability to drive teams that play fast insane and completely take them out of their game.  Conversely, teams that are used to playing slow will gladly trade 33-second possessions with the Irish.  Here's a few of each, using KenPom's pace numbers:

POTENTIAL TOURNAMENT TEAMS THAT PLAY FAST:

10. Washington

11. BYU

12. Villanova

14. Texas

28. Kansas State

36. Xavier

39. Syracuse

40. Missouri

48. Georgia Tech

49. Wake Forest

POTENTIAL TOURNAMENT TEAMS THAT PLAY SLOW:

341. Wisconsin

333. Temple

332. Pittsburgh

331. Utah State

305. Marquette

301. West Virginia

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As an Irish fan, I'm disappointed with losing last night, but it's not a bad way to go out.  They were playing against a top ten team whose best player was hitting everything (Da'Sean Butler went 9 of 15, and I don't remember him missing those six shots) and still had a shot to win the game.  The Irish were killed on the boards, and it took a fantastic performance from Ben Hansbrough to keep them close.  This was really a worst case scenario match-up for Notre Dame - a team comfortable playing slow, a lot of athletes, capable of hitting the boards well - and they acquitted themselves quite well.  Now we sit, and we wait and pray for a good match-up. 

On the other side of the bracket, Georgetown just overwhelmed Marquette in the final quarter of the game.  The Golden Eagles' threes stopped falling and that was that, as Greg Monroe continued his surge through the Big East Tournament and up NBA draft boards with a 23/13/7.  It's a battle between him and Da'Sean Butler for winning Big East Championship MVP, and they're both very deserving candidates.  West Virginia has the advantage of playing a game less  than the Hoyas, but JT3's team is humming along right now.  Should be another classic in the Garden after four days of them.

Huge day of hoops today, so enjoy folks.  We'll be back to cover the bracket selections tomorrow.

More photos » Henny Ray Abrams - AP

COME STRONG OR DON'T COME AT ALL.

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Normally I hate it when announcers come out strongly for or against something over the course of the game, but there are a few exceptions, especially when A) the announcers we're discussing are the McDonough/Raftery/Bilas that's probably the best broadcast team we've seen in years and B) they're condemning the current Big East Championship bracket.  It's too big, it takes too long and there's no reason that they can't unprotect the top seeds or kick out the bottom seeds.  At least some of the coaches at the top will be complaining, as it took a late turnover and buzzer-beating three for the double-bye teams to fall to 0-4 yesterday and 2-6 all-time.

Tonight's games are rematches of two great regular season match-ups, as Marquette beat Georgetown by three and the Irish beat West Virginia by two when another buzzer-beating three attempt kindly rolled out.  What are these teams playing for?  Well, Marquette and Notre Dame could conceivably work their way up to a 5 or 6 seed if they keep winning, Georgetown can maybe eye a 2 and there's no reason a surging West Virginia squad couldn't grab that fourth 1 if Duke falters in the ACC.  Three more great games left in what has seemed like a fortnight-long affair most resembling the labyrinthine BASEketball postseason.

Anyway, onto some bullet points:

• This could also appear as the headline of Duh Aficionado magazine it's so obvious, but if Arinze Onuaku misses any amount of time, the Orange are in big trouble. He anchored the zone and was uber-efficient finishing around the rim, but more importantly, their bench is so thin they don't have anyone remotely seasoned to replace him. Granted, when the Cuse won the title in 2003 they were usinga Craig Forth/Jeremy McNeill combination at center, but at least those guys had played all season and knew their roles. Boeheim can probably buy time until the second weekend unless there's a particularly tough 8/9 team, but a Final Four trip seems unlikely without the big man.
• I've always considered Villanova a lock to go deep in my bracket, but do I have to abandon that idea after their cavalcade of late season losses? Or is this simply a matter of Big East teams being used to Jay Wright's style of play and being able to best him in some close games? They've gone to at least the Sweet Sixteen four of the last five years, so I'd lean towards it being similar to the Syracuse situation, where league teams are just comfortable playing them.
• Dion Dixon must be the sickest man in America, but can we all question what sort of play Mick Cronin drew up there? Or why he didn't put a man defending the inbounds pass so the Mountaineers couldn't get a clean entry right to certified assassin Da'Sean Butler? Some questionable late decisions by the Bearcats' coach wasted a huge, huge effort from Lance Stephenson. "Born Ready" has nothing to be ashamed of after that Big East Tournament run.
• Let's say Marquette loses to Georgetown tonight and settles in at a 6 or 7 seed. Can you imagine being the poor 3 or 2 that has to match up with those guards in the second round? You'd just have to pray you'd have the size to expose them, but even then, you're praying they don't shoot an absurd percentage from three like they did in the second half versus ‘Nova.
• Georgetown is going to screw up a lot of brackets, because they're as likely to lose in the first round as they are to make the Final Four. Anyone who tells you they know how they Hoyas are going to perform next weekend is a giant liar and needs to be slapped. Unless you're in love with a match-up, split the difference and put them in the Sweet Sixteen, because we are all merciless at the hands of Good Chris Wright's diabolical doppelganger Bad Chris Wright.
• I'm disappointed Cincinnati lost for a number of reasons, but perhaps highest on the list would be to see what style Mike Brey would employ against them. I assume he'd take a "Ain't Broken, Don't Fix It" approach with the slowdown offense, but with the Bearcats sporting leaden legs and playing their fourth games in four nights, you'd think there'd be at least some interest in breaking out the old up-and-down style of play and attempting to emulate the 83-65 Irish win back in early February. Sadly, we'll never know.
• SI.com's Andy Glockner, their "bracket expert," is conspiring with the front page editors to annoy me. After last night's game: "The Irish move into lock status with their win over Pitt to make the Big East tournament semifinals. Combine the late-season surge with the losses around them in other leagues, and the Irish can book their seat at the dance." Couple that with the "ND Means No Doubt," or whatever the nonsense headline was after the Irish beat Pitt and you would have thought every single other bracket projection didn't already have Notre Dame safely - and I mean safely- in. Heck, even Doug Gottlieb with his notoriously high (delusional) bubble standards had Notre Dame in the field regardless of the Pitt result.
• If Notre Dame wants to run its record against West Virginia to 2-0 this season, they're going to have to do a better job on the boards. Against Pitt, the Irish only got one offensive board, while giving up eight, although it felt like a whole lot more. I also don't think ND is going to be able to rely on four threes from Tory Jackson again, but the senior point guard has always played well in Garden come March.
• Big East fans are lucky to have New York Times writer Pete Thamel covering their tournament, simply because he's one of the best at what he does. Here's a little blogpost on Luke Harangody as he continues his 2010 redemption tour.
• I'm picking the Hoyas to win tonight, as in their first meeting with the Golden Eagles, Greg Monroe and Wright combined for only 18 points while Marquette shot 12 of 23 from 3, yet Georgetown only lost by 3 on the road. In the second half of the double-header, I'll guess Da'Sean Butler makes up for missing the late three in South Bend and hits another clutch shot to dump the Irish.

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Wow, that was an incredibly ugly second half, but the Irish made all the plays they needed down the stretch to secure the victory.  Big free throws from Luke Harangody, big block from Tim Abromaitis and an excellent effort across the board by all involved.  Notre Dame now awaits the winner of West Virginia and Cincinnati.  We'll discuss this more tomorrow, but the way this win streak is going, there isn't a way Notre Dame can win that would surprise me.  A fluid, offensively beautiful first half gave way to extended scoring droughts in the second, but the lead was never lost.  Pittsburgh showed some flaws , but this is still a huge win.

Will Arnett, what were you saying?

Joe Raymond - AP

18 days ago: Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon reacts to a call in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Notre Dame on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

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This Big East Tournament setup is awfully unwieldy, isn't it?  This is day three and some teams have just spent their time touring NYC and sight-seeing.  I don't care if they go back to the old way and the bottom teams don't make it or simply make it a straight up tournament with no byes, but I'd prefer that.  There's no reason not to have byes, when you think about it.  Sure, that's your reward for a good regular season, but it's not like the Big East is a mid-major where the top seeds have to be protected from a conference tourney upset to maintain their NCAA bid.  If you're a top four seed in the Big East Tournament, you're just playing for seeding at that point.

Anyway, onto yet another four games today, as Syracuse, Villanova, Pittsburgh and West Virginia dust off their sneakers and take the MSG floor for the first time.  With the exception of what must be a weary Cincinnati squad, all of these teams are already locks for dancing, but I have no doubt that we'll be seeing three intense games before Born Ready and the Bearcats continue fighting for their tournament lives.

12:00pm: 8) Georgetown vs. 1) Syracuse- In one of the best rivalries in the conference, the Orange went 2-0 against the Hoyas this season, but they made both wins interesting. In the first game, Georgetown jumped out to a 14-0 lead at the Carrier Dome, only to see things quickly slip away, trailing by halftime and ultimately losing 73-56.  In the rematch in DC last month, the Orange were cruising with a 21-point lead with 12 minutes remaining, but the home team rallied hard, cutting the lead to one a couple times before eventually falling.  Georgetown looked really good against South Florida, although it always helps to be defending against a team that can't shoot.  If Austin Freeman is healthy, Greg Monroe is aggressive and Good Chris Wright shows up, the Hoyas can beat anyone, so having them go against one of the top three teams in the country is quite the way to start the quarterfinals.

2:30pm: 5) Marquette vs. 4) Villanova- These two teams already played twice this season, with the Wildcats winning both games by a scant two points each.  This is a fun match-up because it's one of the few times either of these teams goes against an opponent who doesn't have a considerable advantage inside.  If Marquette loses control of the game like they did with St. John's, Nova is going to run away with it.  On the other hand, Villanova really struggled down the stretch and needs to right the ship before the NCAA's start.  Expect this to come down to Scottie Reynolds trading big shots with Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler.

7:00pm: 7) Notre Dame vs. 2) Pittsburgh - The Irish and Panthers only played once this season, and it was an Irish beatdown in South Bend that started the current winning streak.  To put things into perspective, Notre Dame had a week off while Pittsburgh was playing its third game in that same span, on the road and against a desperate team, but the Irish still led by as many as 24 in the second half.  Mike Brey's team has been playing with its back against the wall for the last three weeks, so how will they respond now that they could technically relax?  And will Jamie Dixon's club continue to do one of the things they do best and advance deep into the Big East's bracket?

9:30pm: 11) Cincinnati vs. 3) West Virginia - These two teams played just two weeks ago in Morgantown, when the Mountaineers overcame a second half deficit to overwhelm the Bearcats.  It doesn't bode well for Cincinnati that WVU won without a good game from Da'Sean Butler, who was 3 for 12 from the floor.  At this point you have to think the Bearcats' legs are just completely shot after two tough wins, but remember, Syracuse won the next game after their six overtime affair last year.  Plus, it's Bob Huggins against his old team and the only remaining Big East team that actually has to win.  Desperation + March = crazier things than an 11 over 3 upset between a pair of familiar squads.

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I think Notre Dame was in regardless of the result of tonight's game, but there would be continued rooting for the favorites to win conference tournaments and some nervous fans Sunday.  Now?  The Irish are most definitely in and just playing for seeding and maybe - just maybe - their first trip to the Big East title game.

After a really rough start to the game where Notre Dame couldn't hit a shot, were turning the ball over and looked generally lost, Luke Harangody came in and helped get the Irish a lead they never relinquished.  Harangody looked great, scoring out of the post, crashing the offensive boards and keeping the offense moving while putting up a double-double.  Tory Jackson had another big second half and Carleton Scott continued his stellar play, although he was limited by foul trouble.

Again, the Irish did not shoot well (3 for 11 from 3, 7 for 14 from the stripe), but they played great defense, were opportunistic in transition and were never really threatened down the stretch.  Notre Dame plays Pittsburgh tomorrow night at 7pm, a team they beat handily back in South Bend to start this win streak.  The Panthers will be rested and typically play very well in this Big East tournament, but it's always fun to play with house money.

WE'RE DANCING, PEOPLE.

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Even in a mega-conference like the Big East, every team plays each leaguemate at least once, so all the Big East Tournament games are rematches.  What makes today's slate interesting is that all of the higher seeds had a lot of trouble prevailing against the round one survivors, if they even managed to win at all.

12:00pm: 9) South Florida vs. 8) Georgetown - The Dominique Jones show came to DC in early February and the Hoyas had no answer for the Bulls' star guard.  Despite trailing by nine at the half, South Florida outscored their hosts by 46-29 in the second half and won comfortably.  Greg Monroe and Austin Freeman each scored 21, but got little help from Bad Chris Wright, who was 3 of 10 from the field and 0 for 6 from behind the arc.  To make things even trickier for Georgetown, South Florida won that game without Augustus Gilchrist, the big man who is averaging 15 and 6 on the season.  When you consider the desperation factor of Stan Heath's crew and their relatively easy opening victory over DePaul, Georgetown better be prepared for a battle if they want an extended stay in NYC.

2:30pm: 13) St. John's vs. 5) Marquette - Marquette went to overtime with a lot of teams this season, but the duel with D.J. Kennedy and the Johnnies was one of their most dramatic.  The Red Storm blew a late second half lead before a Malik Boothe three sent the game to overtime.  With the clock nearing zero and the score tied in the extra session, Golden Eagle late shot specialist Jimmy Butler grabbed a loose ball and connected on a baseline jumper, knocking off the hosts 63-61.  Kennedy had 20 for St. John's, bested only by the 22 of Marquette senior Lazar Hayward.  The Red Storm embarrassed UConn in the first round, which may have reminded them of last year's Big East Tournament, when they were sent home after  a 74-45 waxing from the Golden Eagles.

7:00pm: 10) Seton Hall vs. 7) Notre Dame - When the Irish and Pirates (that sounds like the best theme party ever) squared off earlier in the season, Luke Harangody went down while Jeremy Hazell blew up.  Notre Dame lost their star midway through the second half, but still came within a pair of missed threes from forcing overtime.  Tory Jackson tried (25 points, 6 assists), but there was no answer for Hazell, who scored 35 points on 12 of 16 shooting, including an absurd 8 of 11 from three.   This game is probably the most intriguing of the day, with all sorts of fun storylines, including:

• A Seton Hall win would make them 2-0 against the Irish and force ND closer to the bubble. The Fighting Irish would still probably be in, but we'd be sweating a little come early Sunday morning.
• Bobby Gonzalez attempting to not appear completely insane on the sideline after the entertaining but none-too-flattering Times profile.
• The Irish attempting to work Luke Harangody back into a fairly succesful flow. He saw limited action against Marquette and will probably get on the floor more tonight, so it's going to take an interesting balancing act from Mike Brey.
• Can the Irish find their stroke? They've shot below 25% from behind the arc the last few games, with Tim Abromaitis stuck in a 2-for-20 funk. Notre Dame has been winning without any trey barrages (with the occasional clutch shot from Carleton Scott), but it would make life easier if a few long range shots started to drop.

9:30pm: 11) Cincinnati vs. 6) Louisville - When the old Conference USA brethren squared off this season, the Bearcats held a double-digit lead halfway through the first half in Freedom Hall.  At that point, the Cards put the pedal to the floor and pulled away for a halftime lead and a second twenty minutes where they never trailed.  Reginald Delk's double-double and three threes led the Cardinals, who forced fifteen Bearcat turnovers.   Lance Stephenson came alive in the second half against the Scarlet Knights, and Born Ready will have to repeat that effort if his team is to have a shot at advancing to play Louisville.

~

Tomorrow's schedule:

12:00pm: 1) Syracuse vs. South Florida/Georgetown

2:30pm: 4) Villanova vs. Marquette/St. John's

7:00pm: 2) Pittsburgh vs. Notre Dame/Seton Hall

9:30pm: 3) West Virginia vs. Louisville/Cincinnati

More photos » Tony Tribble - AP

Born Ready Comes Home.

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Oh, woe to those who fell below the top eight and face a five game climb to a Big East Championship?  Impossible.  Maybe, but they used to say that about winning four games in a row before Pitt did it.  Fun slate today, but let's be honest: When there's Big East basketball on a weekday afternoon, how can it not be fun?

12:00pm: 16) DePaul vs. 9) South Florida - Some projections have South Florida as one of the last few teams in.  Do you know how you lose that position?  Drop a game to a team that went 1-17 in Big East play.  The Bulls have to make it to tomorrow if they even want a prayer at a NCAA bid.  I can't imagine Dominique Jones is going to let his dancing hoops die so early on.

2:30pm: 13) St. John's vs. 12) UConn - The Huskies played a tough non-conference schedule (Texas, Duke, Kentucky) and were holding their own in the Big East for a few weeks, but they stumbled all the way to 7-11 in conference.  The Red Storm actually ended the season playing better ball than their opening round opponent, finishing 4-4 in their last eight.  It's the Johnnies home floor, and considering how badly both of these teams can be at offense, expect an ugly one.

Dinner break!

7:00pm: 15) Providence vs. 10) Seton Hall: Notre Dame will play the winner of this game tomorrow evening.  A few bracket projections even have the Pirates in the tournament, but they'll have to at least make it to tomorrow to face the Irish.  Providence is a prolific offensive team, but their defense is so bad they lost their final ten games of the season, including the finale against this very same Seton Hall team.  Bobby Gonzalez is probably still upset about that New York Times profile, so expect some extra fun sideline theatrics as Jeremy Hazell and Jamine Peterson trade shots.

9:30pm: 14) Rutgers vs. 11) Cincinnati: The nightcap for the right to play Louisville late Wednesday, the Scarlet Knights will attempt to officially end the Bearcats' at-large chances.  (Those chances are very small to begin with, but hope does spring eternal.)  Cincy stumbled down the stretch, losing eight of their last eleven, but Lance Stephenson, who won four city league championships in the Garden, is coming home.

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Tomorrow's schedule:

12:00pm: 8) Georgetown vs. South Florida/DePaul

2:30pm: 5) Marquette vs. St. John's/UConn

7:00pm: 7)Notre Dame vs. Seton Hall/Providence

9:30pm: 6) Louisville vs. Cincinnati/Rutgers