1990–91 Big East Conference men's basketball season

1990–91 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 23, 1990 through March 10, 1991
Number of teams	9
TV partner(s)	ESPN
Regular Season
Champion	Syracuse (12–4)
Season MVP	Billy Owens – Syracuse
Tournament
Champions	Seton Hall
Finals MVP	Oliver Taylor – Seton Hall
Basketball seasons
← 1989–90 1991–92 →

1990–91 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 Syracuse	12	–	4		.750			26	–	6		.813
No. 20 St. John's	10	–	6		.625			23	–	9		.719
Connecticut	9	–	7		.563			20	–	11		.645
No. 13 Seton Hall †	9	–	7		.563			25	–	9		.735
Pittsburgh	9	–	7		.563			21	–	12		.636
Georgetown	8	–	8		.500			19	–	13		.594
Providence	7	–	9		.438			19	–	13		.594
Villanova	7	–	9		.438			17	–	15		.531
Boston College	1	–	15		.063			11	–	19		.367
† 1991 Big East tournament winner As of April 1, 1991[1] Rankings from AP Poll

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.

• 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.^[2]
• 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.^[3]

School	Coach	Season	Notes
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

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 Rankings
Key: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.

AP Poll[4]	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	Final
Boston 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

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.

	First round March 7, 1991					Quarterfinals March 8, 1991					Semifinals March 9, 1991					Championship Game March 10, 1991
						1	#4 Syracuse	68
						8	Villanova	70
	8	Villanova	74
	9	Boston College	73
											8	Villanova	72
											4	#21 Seton Hall	74
						4	#21 Seton Hall	70
						5	Pittsburgh	69
																4	#21 Seton Hall	74
																6	Georgetown	62
						3	Connecticut	49
						6	Georgetown	68
											6	Georgetown	71
											7	Providence	55
						2	#20 St. John's	64
						7	Providence	72

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

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

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 (218 cm), 260 lb (118 kg), Léopoldville, Congo
• Eric Murdock, Providence, G, Sr., 6 ft 1 in (185 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), Somerville, N.J.
• Terry Dehere, Seton Hall, G, So., 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), Jersey City, N.J.
• Malik Sealy, St. John's, F, Jr., 6 ft 8 in (203 cm), 200 lb (91 kg), The Bronx, N.Y.
• Billy Owens, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6 ft 8 in (203 cm), 220 lb (100 kg), Carlisle, Pa.

All-Big East Second Team:

• Chris Smith, Connecticut, G, Jr., 5 ft 11 in (180 cm), 163 lb (74 kg), Bridgeport, Conn.
• Anthony Avent, Seton Hall, F, Sr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 235 lb (107 kg), Rocky Mount, N.C.
• Jason Buchanan, St. John's, G, Jr., 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), Syracuse, N.Y.
• Dave Johnson, Connecticut, F, Jr., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 210 lb (95 kg), Morgan City, La.

All-Big East Third Team:

• Scott Burrell, Connecticut, G, So., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 218 lb (99 kg), New Haven, Conn.
• Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, C, Jr. 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 261 lb (118 kg), Chesapeake, Va.
• Jason Matthews, Pittsburgh, G, Sr. 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
• Robert Werdann, St. John's, C, Jr. 6 ft 11 in (211 cm), 250 lb (113 kg), Queens, N.Y.
• Lance Miller, Villanova, F, So., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), Bridgewater, N.J.

Big East All-Rookie Team:

• Bill Curley, Boston College, F, Fr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 220 lb (100 kg), Boston, Mass.
• Charles Harrison, Georgetown, G, Fr., 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), 170 lb (77 kg), Washington, D.C.
• Robert Churchwell, Georgetown, F, Fr., 6 ft 6 in (198 cm), 200 lb (91 kg), South Bend, Ind.
• Jerry Walker, Seton Hall, F, So., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
• Adrian Autry, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6 ft 3 in (191 cm), 207 lb (94 kg), Monroe, N.C.

The following players were selected to the 1991 Associated Press All-America teams.

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

• 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