1990–91 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season April 2025 1990–91 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball Big East Conference primary logo 1979-1998.png 250px November 23, 1990through March 10, 1991 9 ESPN Regular Season Syracuse (12–4) Champion Billy Owens – Syracuse Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 1991 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Seton Hall Oliver Taylor – Seton Hall Most Valuable Player Basketball 1989–90 1991–92 The 1990–91 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 12th in conference history, and involved its nine full-time member schools. Syracuse was the regular-season champion with a record of 12–4. Seton Hall won the Big East tournament championship. Season summary & highlights Syracuse was the regular-season co-champion with a record of 12–4. It was Syracuse's fifth regular-season championship or co-championship and first outright championship. Seton Hall won its first Big East tournament championship. The Georgetown-Syracuse game at the Carrier Dome on the campus of Syracuse University on March 3, 1991, drew 33,048 people, the largest on-campus crowd to witness a basketball game in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history at the time.Official Basketball Box Score Georgetown vs Syracuse 3/3/91 12:00 p.m. at Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY Syracuse lost to Richmond in the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament, becoming the first No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 15 seed in the tournament's history.http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2010/Rules.pdf Playing Rules History ncaa.org NCAA June 25, 2024 12 Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Jim O'Brien 5th Connecticut Jim Calhoun 5th Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 19th Pittsburgh Paul Evans 5th Providence Rick Barnes 3rd St. John's Lou Carnesecca 21st Seton Hall P. J. Carlesimo 9th Syracuse Jim Boeheim 15th Big East Coach of the Year (2nd award) Villanova Rollie Massimino 16th Rankings Syracuse was ranked in the Top 25 of the Associated Press poll all season, debuting at No. 13 preseason but after that never dropping below No. 8 and spending four weeks at No. 3. St. John's also was in the Top 25 all season. Connecticut, Georgetown, and Pittsburgh were in the Top 25 for most of the year until fading in the final weeks, and Seton Hall and Villanova also appeared in the Top 25. + 1990–91 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Pollhttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/1991.html 1980-91 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary April 2, 2025 sports-reference.com Pre 11/26 12/3 12/10 12/17 12/24 12/31 1/7 1/14 1/21 1/28 2/4 2/11 2/18 2/25 3/4 FinalBoston College Connecticut 17 15 14 16 15 13 12 9 13 19 Georgetown 9 9 6 5 12 16 15 15 19 21 18 20 18 25 Pittsburgh 12 13 11 15 14 11 11 17 16 17 19 24 22 22 22 Providence St. John's 25 21 17 14 13 9 9 10 10 10 5 8 13 18 17 20 20 Seton Hall 25 25 24 20 21 13 Syracuse 13 7 4 3 3 3 3 8 8 6 8 7 7 5 6 4 7 Villanova 24 Regular-season statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPG Eric Murdock Prov 25.6 Billy Owens Syr 23.2 Malik Sealy SJU 22.1 Terry Dehere SHU 19.8 Dave Johnson Syr 19.4 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Dikembe Mutombo GU 12.2 Billy Owens Syr 11.6 Anthony Avent SHU 9.9 Marques Bragg Prov 8.8 Rod Sellers Conn 8.0 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPG Jason Buchanan SJU 5.9 Adrian Autry Syr 5.3 Darelle Porter Pitt 5.1 Sean Miller Pitt 4.8 Eric Murdock Prov 4.6 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPG Scott Burrell Conn 3.6 Eric Murdock Prov 3.5 Billy Owens Syr 2.4 Jason Buchanan SJU 2.2 Malik Sealy SJU 2.1 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPG Dikembe Mutombo GU 4.7 LeRon Ellis Syr 2.5 Robert Werdann SJU 1.9 Conrad McRae Syr 1.3 Scott Burrell Conn 1.3 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Marques Bragg Prov .596 Dikembe Mutombo GU .586 Anthony Avent SHU .577 Billy Owens Syr .509 Dave Johnson Syr .499 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Jason Matthews Pitt .442 Terry Dehere SHU .429(no other qualifiers) 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Jason Matthews Pitt .860 Terry Dehere SHU .839 Greg Woodard Vill .835 Eric Murdock Prov .812 Jason Buchanan SJU .788 end Postseason Big East tournament 1991 Big East men's basketball tournament Seeding Seeding in the Big East tournament was based on conference record, with tiebreakers applied as necessary. The eighth- and ninth-seeded teams played a first-round game, and the other seven teams received a bye into the quarterfinals. The tournament's seeding was as follows: (1) Syracuse, (2) St. John's, (3) Connecticut, (4) Seton Hall, (5) Pittsburgh, (6) Georgetown, (7) Providence, (8) Villanova, (9) Boston College. Bracket First roundMarch 7, 1991 QuarterfinalsMarch 8, 1991 SemifinalsMarch 9, 1991 Championship GameMarch 10, 1991 8 Villanova 74 9 1990-91 Boston College Eagles Boston College Boston College 73 1 1990-91 Syracuse Orange Syracuse University #4 Syracuse 68 8 Villanova 70 4 #21 Seton Hall 70 5 Pittsburgh 69 3 Connecticut 49 6 Georgetown 68 2 #20 St. John's 64 7 1990-91 Providence Friars Providence College Providence 72 8 Villanova 72 4 #21 Seton Hall 74 6 Georgetown 71 7 Providence 55 4 #21 Seton Hall 74 6 Georgetown 62 NCAA tournament 1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Seven Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse lost in the first round and Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Villanova in the second round. Connecticut was defeated in the regional semifinals and Seton Hall and St. John's in the regional finals. School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Seton Hall West 3 14 Pepperdine, W 71–51 11 Creighton, W 81–69 2 Arizona, W 81–77 1 UNLV, L 77–65 St. John's Midwest 4 13 Northern Illinois, W 75–68 5 Texas, W 84–76 1 Ohio State, W 91–74 2 Duke, L 78–61 Connecticut Midwest 11 6 LSU, W 79–62 14 Xavier, W 66–50 2 Duke, L 81–67 Pittsburgh Southeast 6 11 Georgia, W 76–68(OT) 3 Kansas, L 77–66 Georgetown West 8 9 Vanderbilt, W 70–60 1 UNLV L 62–54 Villanova East 8 9 Princeton, W 50–48 1 North Carolina, L 84–69 Syracuse East 2 15 Richmond, L 73–69 National Invitation Tournament 1991 National Invitation Tournament Providence received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. The Friars lost in the quarterfinals. School Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Providence James Madison, W 98–93 West Virginia, W 85–79 Oklahoma, L 83–74 Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: * Billy Owens, Syracuse, F, Jr. Defensive Player of the Year: Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown, C, Sr. Rookie of the Year: Bill Curley, Boston College, F, Fr. Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (15th season) All-Big East First Team Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown, C, Sr., 7 ft 2 in cm 0, 260 lb 0, Léopoldville, Congo Eric Murdock, Providence, G, Sr., 6 ft 1 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Somerville, N.J. Terry Dehere, Seton Hall, G, So., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Jersey City, N.J. Malik Sealy, St. John's, F, Jr., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, The Bronx, N.Y. Billy Owens, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 220 lb 0, Carlisle, Pa. All-Big East Second Team: Chris Smith, Connecticut, G, Jr., 5 ft 11 in cm 0, 163 lb 0, Bridgeport, Conn. Anthony Avent, Seton Hall, F, Sr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 235 lb 0, Rocky Mount, N.C. Jason Buchanan, St. John's, G, Jr., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, Syracuse, N.Y. Dave Johnson, Connecticut, F, Jr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 210 lb 0, Morgan City, La. All-Big East Third Team: Scott Burrell, Connecticut, G, So., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 218 lb 0, New Haven, Conn. Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, C, Jr. 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 261 lb 0, Chesapeake, Va. Jason Matthews, Pittsburgh, G, Sr. 6 ft 3 in cm 0 Robert Werdann, St. John's, C, Jr. 6 ft 11 in cm 0, 250 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. Lance Miller, Villanova, F, So., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, Bridgewater, N.J. Big East All-Rookie Team: Bill Curley, Boston College, F, Fr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 220 lb 0, Boston, Mass. Charles Harrison, Georgetown, G, Fr., 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 170 lb 0, Washington, D.C. Robert Churchwell, Georgetown, F, Fr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, South Bend, Ind. Jerry Walker, Seton Hall, F, So., 6 ft 7 in cm 0 Adrian Autry, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 207 lb 0, Monroe, N.C. All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1991 Associated Press All-America teams. 1991 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans Consensus All-America First Team: Billy Owens, Syracuse, Key Stats: 23.3 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.4 spg, 50.9 FG%, 39.7 3P%, 744 points Consensus All-America Second Team: Eric Murdock, Providence, Key Stats: 25.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.5 spg, 44.5 FG%, 35.0 3P%, 818 points First Team All-America: Billy Owens, Syracuse, Key Stats: 23.3 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.4spg, 50.9 FG%, 39.7 3P%, 744 points Second Team All-America: Eric Murdock, Providence, Key Stats: 25.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.5 spg, 44.5 FG%, 35.0 3P%, 818 points Third Team All-America: Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown, Key Stats: 15.2 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 4.7 bpg, 58.6 FG%, 487 points AP Honorable Mention Anthony Avent, Seton Hall Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown Malik Sealy, St. John's Chris Smith, Connecticut See also 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1990–91 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1990–91 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1990–91 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1990–91 St. John's Redmen basketball team 1990–91 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team 1990–91 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team 1990–91 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team References