The 2000–01 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 22nd in conference history, and involved its 14 full-time member schools.
Boston College was the regular-season champion of the East Division with a record of , and Notre Dame won the West Division with a record of . Boston College won the Big East tournament championship.
Season summary & highlights The Big East expanded for the first time since the 1995–96 season, adding Virginia Tech as its 14th member. For the second time in its history, the Big East adopted a divisional structure, with an East Division and a West Division, each composed of seven teams.For three seasons, from the 1995–96 season through the 1997–98 season, the Big East played with two divisions, the Big East 6 and Big East 7 divisions. The divisional structure lasted through the 2002–03 season. The Big East reduced its regular-season schedule from 18 to 16 games. Boston College won the East Division regular-season championship with a record of . It was Boston College's fourth regular-season championship or co-championship. It also was Boston College's second division championship or co-championship and first outright division title.Boston College won the Big East 6 Division co-championship in the 1996–97 season. Notre Dame won the West Division regular-season championship with a record of . It was Notre Dame's first conference championship or co-championship and first division title. Boston College won its second Big East tournament championship. St. John's later had nine of its regular-season wins this season vacated due to sanctions imposed on the program for the use of an ineligible player.
Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Al Skinner 4th Big East Coach of the Year Connecticut Jim Calhoun 15th Georgetown Craig Esherick 3rd Miami Perry Clark 1st Notre Dame Mike Brey 1st Pittsburgh Ben Howland 2nd Providence Tim Welsh 3rd Rutgers Kevin Bannon 4th Fired March 20, 2001 St. John's Mike Jarvis 3rd Seton Hall Tommy Amaker 4th Resigned March 21, 2001 Syracuse Jim Boeheim 25th Villanova Steve Lappas 9th Resigned March 24, 2001 Virginia Tech Ricky Stokes 2nd West Virginia Gale Catlett 23rd
Rankings Boston College, Connecticut, Georgetown, Notre Dame, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Syracuse all spent time in the Associated Press poll Top 25 during the season. Boston College finished the season ranked No. 7.
+ 2000–01 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 FinalBoston College 24 25 23 20 17 9 10 11 10 7 Connecticut 14 13 12 16 15 11 11 10 10 13 15 24 Georgetown 24 23 21 19 12 9 10 14 15 18 21 21 18 21 Miami Notre Dame 15 16 14 11 10 21 21 22 21 25 23 20 14 18 13 19 19 Pittsburgh Providence Rutgers St. John's 24 23 19 24 Seton Hall 10 10 10 8 7 9 8 11 11 15 18 16 22 Syracuse 20 13 12 12 15 14 11 8 11 12 9 10 17 19 17 17 Villanova Virginia Tech West Virginia
Regular-season statistical leaders
ScoringNameSchoolPPG Troy Murphy ND 21.8 Michael Bradley Vill 20.8 Troy Bell BC 20.4 Preston Shumpert Syr 19.5 Eddie Griffin SHU 17.8
ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Eddie Griffin SHU 10.8 Michael Bradley Vill 9.8 Calvin Bowman WVU 9.7 Rashod Kent RU 9.3 Troy Murphy ND 9.2
AssistsNameSchoolAPG Omar Cook SJU 8.7 Allen Griffin Syr 6.5 Martin Ingelsby ND 6.4 Kevin Braswell GU 6.1 Brandin Knight Pitt 5.5
StealsNameSchoolSPG John Linehan Prov 3.1 Kevin Braswell GU 2.8 Troy Bell BC 2.6 Omar Cook SJU 2.3 Brandin Knight Pitt 2.2
BlocksNameSchoolBPG Eddie Griffin SHU 4.4 Ryan Humphrey ND 2.7 Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje GU 2.4 Karim Shabazz Prov 2.4 SHU 2.1
Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Michael Bradley Vill .692 Calvin Bowman WVU .541 Ryan Humphrey ND .505 Anthony Glover SJU .494 Damone Brown Syr .492
3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Brian Chase VT .458 Todd Billet RU .406 Darius Lane SHU .395(no other qualifiers)
Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Gary Buchanan Vill .942 Albert Mouring Conn .889 Troy Bell BC .857 John Linehan Prov .896 John Salmons Mia .793
Postseason
Big East tournament
Seeding Two teams — the seventh-place finishers in each division based on conference record, after the application of tiebreakers as necessary — did not qualify for the Big East Tournament, the first time in history that some teams were excluded from the tournament. The remaining six teams in each division were seeded No. 1 through No. 6 by division based on conference record, again applying tiebreakers as necessary. Four teams — the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each division — received a bye into the quarterfinal round. Eight teams — the No. 3 through No. 6 seeds in each division — played in the first round. In the first round the No. 3 East seed played the No. 6 West seed, the No. 4 East seed played the No. 5 West seed, the No. 5 East seed played the No. 4 West seed, and the No. 6 East seed played the No. 3 West seed.
Seeding in the East Division was and Seeding in the West Division was and The two seventh-place finishers that did not qualify for the tournament were Virginia Tech in the East Division and Rutgers in the West Division.
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Five Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Providence lost in the first round and Boston College, Notre Dame, and Syracuse in the second round. Georgetown was defeated in the West Region semifinals.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Georgetown West 10 Boston College East 3 Syracuse Midwest 5 Notre Dame Midwest 6 Providence South 10
National Invitation Tournament
Six Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. They played in three of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Miami, Seton Hall, Villanova, and West Virginia all lost in the first round. Connecticut and Pittsburgh lost in the second round.
School Round 1 Round 2 Connecticut Pittsburgh Miami Seton Hall Villanova West Virginia
Awards and honors Big East Conference Co-Players of the Year: Troy Bell, Boston College, G, So. Troy Murphy, Notre Dame, F, Jr. Defensive Player of the Year: John Linehan, Providence, G, Jr. Rookie of the Year: Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall, F, Fr. Co-Most Improved Players: Calvin Bowman, West Virginia, C, Sr. Preston Shumpert, Syracuse, F, Jr. Coach of the Year: Al Skinner, Boston College (4th season)
All-Big East First Team Troy Bell, Boston College, G, So., , , Minneapolis, Minn. Troy Murphy, Notre Dame, F, Jr., , , Morristown, N.J. Preston Shumpert, Syracuse, F, Jr., , , Muncie, Ind. Michael Bradley, Villanova, C, Jr., , , Worcester, Mass. Calvin Bowman, West Virginia, C, Sr., , , Brooklyn, N.Y.
All-Big East Second Team: Kevin Braswell, Georgetown, G, Jr., , , Baltimore, Md. Ricardo Greer, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., , , New York, N.Y. John Linehan, Providence, G, Jr., , , Chester, Pa. Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall, F, Fr., , , Philadelphia, Pa. Damone Brown, Syracuse, F, Sr., , , Buffalo, N.Y.
All-Big East Third Team: Caron Butler, Connecticut, F, Fr., , , Racine, Wis. John Salmons, Miami, G, Jr., , , Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame, F, Jr., , , Tulsa, Okla. Todd Billet, Rutgers, G, So., , , Middletown, N.J. Omar Cook, St. John's, G, Fr., , , Queens, N.Y.
Big East All-Rookie Team: Caron Butler, Connecticut, F, Fr., , , Racine, Wis. Michael Sweetney, Georgetown, F, Fr., , , Oxon Hill, Md. Darius Rice, Miami, F, Fr., , , Jackson, Miss. Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall, F, Fr., , , Philadelphia, Pa. Omar Cook, St. John's, G, Fr., , , Queens, N.Y.
All-Americans The following players were selected to the 2001 Associated Press All-America teams.
Consensus All-America First Team: Troy Murphy, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 21.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.7 bpg, 47.1 FG%, 34.9 3P%, 653 points
Consensus All-America Second Team: Troy Bell, Boston College, Key Stats: 20.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.6 bpg, 45.9 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 652 points Michael Bradley, Villanova, Key Stats: 20.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 bpg, 69.2 FG%, 35.3 3P%, 645 points
First Team All-America: Troy Murphy, Notre Dame, Key Stats: 21.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.7 bpg, 47.1 FG%, 34.9 3P%, 653 points
Second Team All-America: Troy Bell, Boston College, Key Stats: 20.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.6 bpg, 45.9 FG%, 39.1 3P%, 652 points Michael Bradley, Villanova, Key Stats: 20.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 bpg, 69.2 FG%, 35.3 3P%, 645 points
AP Honorable Mention Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall Preston Shumpert, Syracuse
Notes
See also 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 2000–01 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team 2000–01 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 2000–01 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team 2000–01 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 2000–01 Providence Friars men's basketball team 2000–01 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 2000–01 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team
References