The 2006–07 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 28th in conference history, and involved its 16 full-time member schools.
Georgetown was the regular-season champion with a record of . Georgetown also won the Big East tournament championship.
Season summary & highlights Georgetown was the regular-season champion with a record of . It was Georgetown's eighth conference championship or co-championship and third outright championship. Georgetown won its seventh Big East tournament championship and first since 1989. Syracuse became the first team with at least 10 wins in Big East Conference play to not receive an invitation to the NCAA tournament. Selection Committee Chairman Gary Walters said that some of the factors in not inviting Syracuse included the Orange playing an uneven in-conference schedule and having a weak non-conference schedule.FanHouse West Virginia won the 2007 National Invitation Tournament championship. Due to NCAA sanctions imposed in March 2015 because of the Syracuse University athletics scandal, all 22 of Syracuse's wins from this season, including two postseason victories, later were vacated.
Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Cincinnati Mick Cronin 1st Connecticut Jim Calhoun 21st DePaul Jerry Wainwright 2nd Georgetown John Thompson III 3rd Louisville Rick Pitino 6th Marquette Tom Crean 8th Notre Dame Mike Brey 7th Big East Coach of the Year Pittsburgh Jamie Dixon 4th Providence Tim Welsh 9th Rutgers Fred Hill 1st St. John's Norm Roberts 3rd Seton Hall Bobby Gonzalez 1st South Florida Robert McCullum 4th Fired March 9, 2007 Syracuse Jim Boeheim 31st Villanova Jay Wright 6th West Virginia John Beilein 5th Resigned April 3, 2007
Rankings Pittsburgh was ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 25 all season, reaching No. 2 in three weeks and finishing at No. 12. Marqueette spent all but one week in the Top 25 and finished at No. 20. Georgetown, Louisville, and Notre Dame also appeared in the Top 25 and finished the season as ranked teams, with Georgetown ranked No. 8. Connecticut, Syracuse, and West Virginia also spent time in the Top 25.
+ 2006–07 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Poll Pre 11/13 11/20 11/27 12/4 12/11 12/18 12/25 1/1 1/8 1/15 1/22 1/29 2/5 2/12 2/19 2/26 3/5 Final Cincinnati Connecticut 18 21 18 20 19 14 14 12 18 24 DePaul Georgetown 8 8 14 18 22 14 12 9 9 8 Louisville 20 16 12 16 Marquette 16 16 13 8 17 20 19 18 15 24 15 14 11 12 16 20 18 20 Notre Dame 21 20 19 17 22 20 22 21 22 20 17 Pittsburgh 4 4 3 2 2 2 7 10 10 7 6 9 7 7 7 10 12 13 12 Providence Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall South Florida Syracuse 20 18 17 15 21 23 23 Villanova West Virginia 25 21 23 22
Regular-season statistical leaders
ScoringNameSchoolPPG Demetris Nichols Syr 18.9 Herbert Hill Prov 18.1 Curtis Sumpter Vill 17.4 Russell Carter ND 17.1 Brian Laing SHU 16.5 Eugene Harvey SHU 16.5
ReboundingNameSchoolRPG USF 11.4 Jeff Adrien Conn 9.7 Aaron Gray Pitt 9.5 Geoff McDermott Prov 9.1 Herbert Hill Prov 8.8
AssistsNameSchoolAPG Eugene Lawrence SJU 5.6 Alex Ruoff WVU 5.3 Geoff McDermott Prov 5.1 Dominic James Mar 4.9 Darris Nichols WVU 4.6
StealsNameSchoolSPG Paul Gause SHU 3.1 Jerel McNeal Mar 2.6 Alex Ruoff WVU 2.0 Dominic James Mar 1.9 Geoff McDermott Prov 1.9 Jerome Dyson Conn 1.9
BlocksNameSchoolBPG Conn 3.8 McHugh Mattis USF 3.6 Darryl Watkins Syr 3.4 Herbert Hill Prov 2.9 Roy Hibbert GU 2.4
Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Roy Hibbert GU .671 Herbert Hill Prov .640 USF .577 Aaron Gray Pitt .565 McHugh Mattis USF .553
3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Frank Young WVU .433 Syr .417 Colin Falls ND .396 Russell Carter ND .394 Melvin Buckley USF .346
Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Sharaud Curry Prov .901 USF .884 Demetris Nichols Syr .850 Darris Nichols WVU .843 Eugene Harvey SHU .839
Postseason
Big East tournament
Seeding Teams were seeded in the Big East tournament based on conference record and tiebreakers. The No. 5 through No. 12 seeds played in the first round, and the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds received byes into the quarterfinal round. Teams which finished below 12th place in the conference after the application as necessary of tiebreakers did not qualify for the tournament
Seeding was and By finishing below 12th place, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and South Florida did not qualify for the tournament.
The NCAA later vacated all of Syracuse's wins during the season, including its Big East Tournament victory, because of the use of an ineligible player.
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Six Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Marquette, Notre Dame, and Villanova lost in the first round, Louisville in the second round, and Pittsburgh in the regional semifinals. Georgetown reached the Final Four for the first time since 1985 and lost to Ohio State.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Final 4 Georgetown East 2 15 Belmont, 7 Boston College, 6 Vanderbilt, 1 North Carolina, S1 Ohio State, Pittsburgh West 3 14 Wright State, 11 VCU, 2 UCLA, Louisville South 6 11 Stanford, 3 Texas A&M, Notre Dame Midwest 6 11 Winthrop, Marquette East 8 9 Michigan State, Villanova West 9 8 Kentucky,
National Invitation Tournament
Four Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, with West Virginia seeded No. 1 in the East Region. Providence lost in the first round and DePaul and Syracuse in the quarterfinals. West Virginia won the tournament championship.
The Syracuse–San Diego State game played at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, on March 19, 2007, drew 26,752, setting a new attendance record for an NIT game. It surpassed the crowd of 23,522 that attended a game at Kentucky during the 1979 NIT.
The NCAA later vacated all of Syracuse's wins during the season, including its NIT victories, because of the use of an ineligible player.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final West Virginia East 1 8 Delaware State, 4 UMass, 6 NC State, N1 Mississippi State, S1 Clemson, South 2 7 South Alabama, 6 San Diego State, 1 Clemson, DePaul West 3 6 Hofstra, 2 Kansas State, 1 Air Force, Providence North 5 4 Bradley,
Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: Jeff Green, Georgetown, F Jr. Defensive Player of the Year: Jerel McNeal, Marquette, G, So. Rookie of the Year: Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Fr. Most Improved Player: Herbert Hill, Providence, F Sr. Coach of the Year: Mike Brey, Notre Dame (7th season)
All-Big East First Team Russell Carter, Notre Dame, g, Sr., , , Paulsboro, N.J. Frank Young, West Virginia, F Sr., , , Tallahassee, Fla. Curtis Sumpter, Villanova, F Sr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Demetris Nichols, Syracuse, F Sr., , , Barrington, R.I. Lamont Hamilton, St. John's, F Sr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Herbert Hill, Providence, F Sr., , , Kinston, N.C. Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh, C Sr., , , Emmaus, Pa. Colin Falls, Notre Dame, G Sr., , , Park Ridge, Ill. Dominic James, Marquette, G, So., , , Richmond, Ind. Roy Hibbert, Georgetown, C Jr., , , Adelphi, Md. Jeff Green, Georgetown, F Jr., , , Hyattsville, Md.
All-Big East Second Team: Jerel McNeal, Marquette, G, So., , , Chicago, Ill. Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, F, So., , , Brookline, Mass. Terrence Williams, Louisville, F, So., , , Seattle, Wash. Levance Fields, Pittsburgh, G, So., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. David Padgett, Louisville, C Jr., , , Reno, Nev. Brian Laing, Seton Hall, G Jr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Kentrell Gransberry, South Florida, C Jr., , , Baton Rouge, La. Wilson Chandler, DePaul, F, So., , , Benton Harbor, Mich. Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Fr., , , Herndon, Va. Sammy Mejía, DePaul, G Sr., , , The Bronx, N.Y.
Big East All-Rookie Team: Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, G, Fr., , , Indianapolis, Ind. Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Fr., , , Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Jerome Dyson, Connecticut, G, Fr., , , Potomac, Md. DaJuan Summers, Georgetown, F, Fr., , , Baltimore, Md. Édgar Sosa, Louisville, G, Fr., , , New York, N.Y. Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Fr., , , Schererville, Ind. Tory Jackson, Notre Dame, G, Fr., , , Saginaw, Mich. Eugene Harvey, Seton Hall, G, Fr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Paul Harris, Syracuse, F, Fr., , , Niagara Falls, N.Y. Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Fr., , , Herndon, Va. Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Fr., , , Newark, N.J.
All-Americans The following players were selected to the 2007 Associated Press All-America teams.
Third Team All-America: Jeff Green, Georgetown, Key Stats: 14.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.2 bpg, 51.3 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 528 points
AP Honorable Mention Roy Hibbert, Georgetown Dominic James, Marquette Demetris Nichols, Syracuse Curtis Sumpter, Villanova
See also 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 2006–07 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team 2006–07 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 2006–07 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 2006–07 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team 2006–07 Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team 2006–07 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 2006–07 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 2006–07 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 2006–07 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team 2006–07 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team 2006–07 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team
References