BIG EAST TOURNAMENT W. Virginia boosts stock

Kevin Pittsnogle sparked win that enhanced Mountaineers NCAA hopes.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- Kevin Pittsnogle scored 24 points, including matching his career high with five 3-pointers, and West Virginia beat Providence 82-59 on Wednesday in the first round of the Big East tournament.
The eighth-seeded Mountaineers (19-9) will play top-seeded and seventh-ranked Boston College (24-3) today in the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden.
The win may have sealed an NCAA at-large berth for West Virginia, which had won seven of nine, a stretch that included two victories over Pittsburgh.
It was West Virginia's second win in the Big East tournament and gave it a 2-8 record all-time, with the lone win over Seton Hall in the first round in 1997.
Ryan Gomes had 20 points in his final game for Providence (14-17). An All-America last season, the senior forward led the Big East in scoring this season (22.3) and finished as the Friars' all-time leading scorer with 2,138 points.
The 6-foot-11 Pittsnogle, who came in shooting 37 percent from 3-point range, finished 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and the Mountaineers were 12-for-31 overall. The junior had a game-high eight rebounds for West Virginia, which beat Providence three times this season.
Tyrone Salley added 16 points for West Virginia and had five of the Mountaineers' 14 steals.
Rutgers 72, Notre Dame 65
NEW YORK -- Ricky Shields scored 21 points, including the first four of Rutgers' game-closing 8-0 run.
The win advanced 11th-seeded Rutgers (10-18) to a matchup with third-seeded and 16th-ranked Syracuse (24-6) in the quarterfinals today at Madison Square Garden.
The loss may have ended the NCAA tournament at-large hopes for Notre Dame (17-11), which has lost four of five.
Shields scored on a drive with 1:15 left to give the Scarlet Knights the lead for good at 66-65. He then stole the ball from Colin Falls and went the length of the court for a layup with 57 seconds left.
Notre Dame, which took its last lead at 65-64 on a 3-pointer by Russell Carter with 1:37 to play, missed its last seven shots and had the turnover by Falls.
Rutgers closed the game by going 4-for-5 from the free throw line over the final 32 seconds.
Quincy Douby added 15 points for Rutgers, who had lost three straight and six of seven, including a 66-56 loss at Notre Dame on March 2.
Torin Francis had a season-high 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Irish, while Chris Thomas had 17 points and Carter added a season-high 12.
Georgetown 56, Seton Hall 51
NEW YORK -- Darrel Owens scored all 14 of his points over the final eight minutes, and Georgetown snapped a five-game losing streak.
The seventh-seeded Hoyas (17-11) had to win to have any chance at an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. Their next opponent, however, is second-seeded and 12th-ranked Connecticut (21-6) in the quarterfinals tonight.
Owens, a senior averaging 5.6 points, went 4-for-4 on 3-pointers in his scoring stretch. His first 3 ended a 7:42 drought without a field goal for the Hoyas and brought them within 44-36 with 7:59 left.
His third 3 came with 3:37 left and brought Georgetown within 49-46.
His last 3-pointer gave the Hoyas the lead for good at 51-49 with 1:02 left. Brandon Bowman added two free throws with 25 seconds left to cap Georgetown's 12-0 run that made it 53-49.
Seton Hall (12-16) finally broke its 41/2-minute scoring drought with 18 seconds to go when Jamar Nutter made two free throws.