The 1983–84 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the fifth in conference history, and involved its nine full-time member schools.
Georgetown won its second regular season championship with a 14–2 record. Georgetown also won its second Big East tournament championship and went on to win the national championship.
Season summary & highlights Georgetown won its third regular season championship with a 14–2 record. Georgetown also won its second Big East tournament championship. Georgetown reached the national championship game for the third time in school history and second time in three years and defeated Houston to win its first national championship. Georgetown junior center Patrick Ewing was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Georgetown finished the season ranked No. 2 and set a new school record for victories in a season with 34 wins.
Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Gary Williams 2nd Connecticut Dom Perno 7th Georgetown John Thompson Jr. 12th Pittsburgh Roy Chipman 4th Providence Joe Mullaney 17th St. John's Lou Carnesecca 16th Seton Hall P. J. Carlesimo 2nd Syracuse Jim Boeheim 8th Big East Coach of the Year Villanova Rollie Massimino 11th
Rankings Georgetown was ranked No. 6 or higher in the Top 20 of the Associated Press poll for the entire season. and Georgetown was ranked in all but one weekly poll. Boston College, St. John's, and Syracuse also were ranked in the Top 20 during the season.
+ 1983–84 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Poll Pre 11/28 12/5 12/12 12/19 12/26 1/2 1/9 1/16 1/23 1/30 2/6 2/13 2/20 2/27 3/5 FinalBoston College 15 15 12 8 6 12 17 18 16 Connecticut Georgetown 4 3 3 5 5 5 4 4 6 4 4 3 2 2 4 2 2 Pittsburgh Providence St. John's 19 16 13 12 8 13 10 14 Seton Hall Syracuse 20 13 19 16 16 16 18 Villanova
Regular-season statistical leaders
ScoringNameSchoolPPG Chris Mullin SJU 22.1 Clyde Vaughan Pitt 20.3 Jay Murphy BC 19.8 Rafael Addison Syr 17.7 Michael Adams BC 17.3
ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Otis Thorpe Prov 10.3 Patrick Ewing GU 10.0 Clyde Vaughan Pitt 8.3 Ed Pinckney Vill 7.9 Tim Coles Conn 7.9
AssistsNameSchoolAPG Mike Jones SHU 6.6 Karl Hobbs Conn 6.4 Pearl Washington Syr 6.2 Bill Culbertson Pitt 5.5 Gary McLain Vill 5.3
StealsNameSchoolSPG Michael Adams BC 2.9 Pearl Washington Syr 2.4 Bill Culbertson Pitt 2.2 Chris Mullin SJU 2.1 Harold Pressley Vill 1.9
BlocksNameSchoolBPG Patrick Ewing GU 3.2 Ed Pinckney Vill 1.9 Keith Armstrong Pitt 1.8 Otis Thorpe Prov 1.5 Ray Knight Prov 1.3
Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Patrick Ewing GU .658 Ed Pinckney Vill .604 Dwayne McClain Vill .591 Otis Thorpe Prov .580 Chris Mullin SJU .571
Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Chris Mullin SJU .904 Rafael Addison Syr .836 Michael Jackson GU .816 Frank Dobbs Vill .808 Jay Murphy BC .800
Postseason
Big East 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:
Bracket
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Four Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament, with Georgetown seeded No. 1 in the West Region. Georgetown played in the championship game for the second time in three seasons and defeated Houston to win the first national championship in school history. St. John's lost in the first round, Villanova in the second round, and Syracuse in the East Region semifinal. Georgetown junior center Patrick Ewing was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Final 4 Final Georgetown West 1 Bye 9 SMU, 5 UNLV, 10 Dayton, ME1 Kentucky, MW2 Houston, Syracuse East 3 Bye 6 VCU, 1 Virginia, Villanova Mideast 7 10 Marshall, 2 Illinois, St. John's East 9 8 Temple,
National Invitation Tournament
Two Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. Playing in the same unnamed bracket, Boston College and Pittsburgh both lost to Notre Dame, Boston College in the second round and Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals.
School Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Pittsburgh La Salle, W 95–91 Florida State, W 66–63 Notre Dame, L 72–64 Boston College Saint Joseph's, W 75–63 Notre Dame, L 66–52
Awards and honors Big East Conference Co-Players of the Year: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, C Jr. Chris Mullin, St. John's, F Jr. Defensive Player of the Year: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, C Jr. Freshman of the Year: Pearl Washington, Syracuse, G Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (8th season)
All-Big East First Team Jay Murphy, St. John's, F Sr., , , Meriden, Conn. Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, C Jr., , , Cambridge, Mass. Chris Mullin, St. John's, F Jr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Otis Thorpe, Providence, F Sr., , , Boynton Beach, Fla. Pearl Washington, Syracuse, G, Fr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y.
All-Big East Second Team: Michael Adams, Boston College, G Jr., , , Hartford, Conn. David Wingate, Georgetown, G, So., , , Baltimore, Md. Clyde Vaughan, Pittsburgh, F Sr., , , Mount Vernon, N.Y. Rafael Addison, Syracuse, F, So., , , Jersey City, N.J. Ed Pinckney, Villanova, F Jr., , , The Bronx, N.Y.
All-Big East Third Team: Karl Hobbs, Connecticut, G Sr., , , Roxbury, Mass. Michael Jackson, Georgetown, G, So., , , Fairfax, Va. Andre McCloud, Seton Hall, F, So., , , Washington, D.C. Bill Wennington, St. John's, C Jr., , , Montreal, Quebec, Canada Dwayne McClain, Villanova, G Jr., , , Worcester, Mass. Harold Pressley, Villanova, F, So., , , The Bronx, N.Y.
Big East All-Freshman Team: Michael Graham, Georgetown, F, Fr., , , Washington, D.C. Reggie Williams, Georgetown, F, Fr., , , Baltimore, Md. Mark Jackson, St. John's, G, Fr., , , Queens, N.Y. Willie Glass, St. John's, F, Fr., , , Atlantic City, N.J. Pearl Washington, Syracuse, G, Fr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y.
All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1984 Associated Press All-America teams.
Consensus All-America First Team: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, Key Stats: 16.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 65.8 FG%, 608 points
Consensus All-America Second Team: Chris Mullin, St. John's, Key Stats: 22.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.0 apg, 57.1 FG%, 619 points
First Team All-America: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, Key Stats: 16.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 65.8 FG%, 608 points
Second Team All-America: Chris Mullin, St. John's, Key Stats: 22.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.0 apg, 57.1 FG%, 619 points
AP Honorable Mention Jay Murphy, Boston College Otis Thorpe, Providence Clyde Vaughan, Pittsburgh Pearl Washington, Syracuse
See also 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1983–84 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1983–84 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1983–84 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1983–84 St. John's Redmen basketball team 1983–84 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team 1983–84 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
References