1984–85 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 1984–85 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the sixth in conference history, and involved its nine full-time member schools.

St. John's won its third regular season championship. Georgetown won its third Big East tournament championship. St. John's, Georgetown, and Villanova all advanced to the Final Four, and Villanova defeated Georgetown for the national championship in a major upset.

Season summary & highlights Georgetown and St. John's met four times, in each case with one team ranked No. 1 and the other No. 2 or No. 3. In the first meeting on January 26 at a sold-out Capital Centre, No. 2 St. John's upset the No. 1 Hoyas, breaking a 29-game Georgetown winning streak with St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca wearing an old sweater to keep warm while suffering from a common cold. It became his "lucky sweater," and he wore it at every game that followed as the Redmen won another ten games in a row. With their rivalry at its peak, the two teams then met at a sold-out Madison Square Garden on February 27 with St. John's ranked No. 1 and the Hoyas No. 2. When Carnesecca — wearing his sweater — and Georgetown coach John Thompson, Jr., met courtside for a pregame handshake, Thompson opened his coat to reveal that he was wearing a replica T-shirt of Carnesecca's sweater, drawing a roar of laughter from the crowd. Georgetown went on to end the Redmen's winning streak with an 85–69 victory in a nationally televised game that went down in the history of both schools as "The Sweater Game." In a game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, on January 28, Syracuse upset the No. 1-ranked Hoyas 65–63 on a game-winning jumper by Pearl Washington with seven seconds left. prompting celebrating Syracuse fans to rush the court. It was Syracuse's first-ever victory over a No. 1-ranked team. St. John's won its third regular season championship with a 15–1 record. Georgetown won its third Big East tournament championship. St. John's, Georgetown, and Villanova all advanced to the Final Four. It was the first Final Four appearance for St. John's since 1952. Georgetown reached the national championship game for the fourth time in school history and third time in four years. Georgetown was the heavy favorite to defeat Villanova in the national championship game and win a second-straight national championship. Exceeding expectations, Villanova had a storybook tournament, advancing from a No. 8 seed in the Southeast Region and upsetting Michigan, Maryland, and North Carolina to reach the championship game. Georgetown shot 29-for-53 (55%) from the field, probably enough to win most games, but Villanova set an NCAA record for team shooting percentage from the field in a single game, shooting 22-for-28 (78.6%) from the field and 22-for-27 (81.5%) from the free-throw line. After halftime, the Wildcats shot 90% from the field, missing only one field goal attempt in the entire second half. The record-breaking performance earned Villanova a two-point victory, defeating the Hoyas 66–64 in what many observers regard as perhaps the biggest upset in American sports history. St. John's senior forward Chris Mullin was the 1985 NCAA Tournament's top scorer. Villanova senior forward Ed Pinckney was the 1985 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Georgetown finished the season ranked No. 1 and set a new school record for victories in a season with 35 wins, breaking the record of 34 set the previous season.

Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Gary Williams 3rd Connecticut Dom Perno 8th Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 13th Pittsburgh Roy Chipman 5th Providence Joe Mullaney 18th Retired March 7, 1985 St. John's Lou Carnesecca 17th Big East Coach of the Year (2nd award) Seton Hall P. J. Carlesimo 3rd Syracuse Jim Boeheim 9th Villanova Rollie Massimino 12th

Rankings Georgetown was ranked No. 1 in the Top 20 of the Associated Press poll for the entire season except for a five-week stretch when St. John's took the No.1 spot and Georgetown fell to No 2. St. John's never fell below No. 8 all season and spent all but two weeks in the top five, and Syracuse also spent the entire season in the Top 20, reaching as high as No. 7. Boston College and Villanova also appeared in the Top 20.

+ 1984–85 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Poll 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 12 15 20 Connecticut Georgetown 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 Pittsburgh Providence St. John's 7 3 3 4 8 5 4 3 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 Seton Hall Syracuse 12 14 12 10 9 6 5 7 7 11 9 6 8 7 12 13 15 Villanova 16 18 14 19 18 16

Regular-season statistical leaders

ScoringNameSchoolPPG Andre McCloud SHU 20.8 Chris Mullin SJU 22.1 Rafael Addison Syr 18.4 Walter Berry SJU 17.0 Earl Kelley Conn 16.8

ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Patrick Ewing GU 9.2 Ed Pinckney Vill 8.9 Walter Berry SJU 8.7 Charles Smith Pitt 8.0 Harold Pressley Vill 7.9

AssistsNameSchoolAPG Michael Jackson GU 6.7 Pearl Washington Syr 6.1 Michael Adams BC 5.2 Earl Kelley Conn 4.8 Chris Mullin SJU 4.3

StealsNameSchoolSPG Michael Adams BC 2.3 Chris Mullin SJU 2.1 Pearl Washington Syr 2.0 Harold Starks Prov 2.0 Dominic Pressley BC 1.7

BlocksNameSchoolBPG Patrick Ewing GU 3.6 Charles Smith Pitt 2.2 Rony Seikaly Syr 1.9 Ed Pinckney Vill 1.8 Ray Knight Prov 1.8

Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Patrick Ewing GU .625 Ed Pinckney Vill .600 Dwayne McClain Vill .574 Walter Berry SJU .558 Ray Broxton Conn .552

Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Earl Kelley Conn .856 Chris Mullin SJU .824 Bill Wennington SJU .816 Pearl Washington Syr .784 Dwayne McClain Vill .774

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

NCAA tournament

Six Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament, with Georgetown seeded No. 1 in the East Region and St. John's No. 1 in the West region. Pittsburgh lost in the first round, Syracuse in the second round, and Boston College in the regional semifinals, but Georgetown, St. John's, and Villanova all advanced to the Final Four. Georgetown defeated St. John's in the national semifinals and played in the championship game for the fourth time in school history and the third time in four seasons. In a major upset, Villanova defeated Georgetown for the national championship. St. John's senior forward Chris Mullin was the tournament's top scorer with 110 points, and Villanova senior forward Ed Pinckney was the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Final 4 Final Villanova Southeast 8 9 Dayton, 1 Michigan, 9 Maryland, 9 MW2 E1 Georgetown, Georgetown East 1 16 Lehigh, 9 4 2 W1 SE8 Villanova, St. John's West 1 16 Southern, 9 Arkansas, 12 Kentucky, 3 E1 Georgetown, Boston College Midwest 11 6 3 2 Syracuse East 7 10 DePaul, 2 Pittsburgh Midwest 12 5

National Invitation Tournament

No Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament.

Awards and honors Big East Conference Co-Players of the Year: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, C, Sr. Chris Mullin, St. John's, F, Sr. Defensive Player of the Year: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, C, Sr. Freshman of the Year: Charles Smith, Pittsburgh, F Coach of the Year: Lou Carnesecca, St. John's (17th season)

All-Big East First Team Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, C, Sr., , , Cambridge, Mass. Chris Mullin, St. John's, F, Sr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Pearl Washington, Syracuse, G, So., , , Brooklyn, N.Y. Rafael Addison, Syracuse, F, Jr., , , Jersey City, N.J. Ed Pinckney, Villanova, F, Sr., , , The Bronx, N.Y.

All-Big East Second Team: Michael Adams, Boston College, G, Sr., , , Hartford, Conn. Earl Kelley, Connecticut, G, Jr., , , New Haven, Conn. Bill Martin, Georgetown, F, Sr., , , Washington, D.C. Bill Wennington, St. John's, C, Sr., , , Montreal, Quebec, Canada Walter Berry, St. John's, F, So., , , New York, N.Y.

All-Big East Third Team: David Wingate, Georgetown, G, Jr., , , Baltimore, Md. Michael Jackson, Georgetown, G, Jr., , , Fairfax, Va. Charles Smith, Pittsburgh, F, Fr., , , Bridgeport, Conn. Andre McCloud, Seton Hall, F, So., , , Washington, D.C. Mike Moses, St. John's, G, Sr., , , New York, N.Y. Dwayne McClain, Villanova, G, Sr., , , Worcester, Mass.

Big East All-Freshman Team: Skip Barry, Boston College, F, , , Nashua, N.H. Charles Smith, Pittsburgh, F, , , Bridgeport, Conn. Mark Bryant, Seton Hall, F, , , Glen Ridge, N.J. Michael Brown, Syracuse, G, , , Baltimore, Md. Rony Seikaly, Syracuse, G, , , Athens, Greece

All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1985 Associated Press All-America teams.

Consensus All-America First Team: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, Key Stats: 14.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 62.5 FG%, 542 points Chris Mullin, St. John's, Key Stats: 19.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 52.1 FG%, 694 points

Consensus All-America Second Team: Pearl Washington, Syracuse, Key Stats: 15.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 6.1 apg, 49.9 FG%, 476 points

First Team All-America: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown, Key Stats: 14.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 62.5 FG%, 542 points Chris Mullin, St. John's, Key Stats: 19.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 52.1 FG%, 694 points

Third Team All-America: Pearl Washington, Syracuse, Key Stats: 15.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 6.1 apg, 49.9 FG%, 476 points

AP Honorable Mention Michael Adams, Boston College Rafael Addison, Syracuse Walter Berry, St. John's Bill Martin, Georgetown Ed Pinckney, Villanova

See also 1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1984–85 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team 1984–85 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1984–85 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1984–85 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1984–85 St. John's Redmen basketball team 1984–85 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team 1984–85 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

References