1980 Big East men's basketball tournament

The inaugural Big East men's basketball tournament took place at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island, in March 1980. It is a single-elimination tournament with three rounds.

1980 Big East men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1979–80
Teams7
SiteProvidence Civic Center
Providence, Rhode Island
ChampionsGeorgetown (1st title)
Winning coachJohn Thompson (1st title)
MVPCraig Shelton (Georgetown)
1981 →
1979–80 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Syracuse 5 1   .833 26 4   .867
No. 13 St. John's 5 1   .833 24 5   .828
No. 11 Georgetown 5 1   .833 26 6   .813
Connecticut 3 3   .500 20 9   .690
Boston College 2 4   .333 19 10   .655
Seton Hall 1 5   .167 14 13   .519
Providence 0 6   .000 11 16   .407
1980 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll[1]

Georgetown, St. John's and Syracuse finished tied for the regular-season championship at 5–1. In head-to-head matchups, Georgetown defeated Syracuse, Syracuse defeated St. John's, and St. John's defeated Georgetown, giving each team a 1–1 head-to-head record. The conference conducted a coin flip to determine to no. 1 seed in the tournament. The no. 2 seed would be determined by the head-to-head result.[2] Syracuse won the coin flip and was seeded first, receiving a bye into the semifinals; St. John's received the no. 2 seed by virtue of its victory over Georgetown.[3]

Georgetown defeated Syracuse in the championship game 87–81.

Bracket

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game
         
1 #3 Syracuse 92
4 Connecticut 61
4 Connecticut 79
5 Boston College 68
1 #3 Syracuse 81
3 #20 Georgetown 87
2 #8 St. John's 48
7 Providence 44
2 #8 St. John's 66
3 #20 Georgetown 76
3 #20 Georgetown 60
6 Seton Hall 47

Awards

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Most Valuable Player: Craig Shelton, Georgetown

All Tournament Team

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1979-80 Big East Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ Burton, Rick (February 14, 1980). "Big East Meetings Over". Syracuse Post-Standard. p. B-4. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  3. ^ Burton, Rick (February 25, 1980). "Are Orangemen Special?". Syracuse Post-Standard. p. B-3. Retrieved August 9, 2024.