Three games were played yesterday, and the losers for the most part had their hopes for a NCAA tournament bid dashed away.  Syracuse beat Cincinnati by 1 point on Gerry McNamarra’s three-pointer with less than a second to play.  What is their reward?  Playing #1 seed Connecticut today at noon.  This is such a brutal tournament with tough opponents, and it has the strength of a third round in the NCAA tournament.  Rutgers beat Seton Hall last night and will face off against #2 Villanova later today.  Other marquee match-ups today are #16 Pittsburgh versus #21 West Virginia, #23 Georgetown versus Marquette.  For Big East College Basketball fans it doesn’t get any better than this.  Hopefully the winner of this tournament won’t be too exhausted by the time the NCAA tournament comes.