How do the last ten years' worth of BC basketball teams stack up against one another? We'll soon find out and crown a champion of the decade for the Eagles.
Here are the results from our BC What If Tournament opening round and quarterfinals.
Opening Round
(7) 2006-07 Eagles vs. (10) 2007-08 Eagles
(8) 2001-02 Eagles vs. (9) 2009-10 Eagles
We kick the tournament off with an ESPN Instant Classic, a 76-72 overtime victory for the 06-07 squad over the slightly more mature 07-08 squad. 07-08 Tyrese Rice missed a three pointer that would have won it for the #10 seeded Eagles in regulation. But in overtime, Sean Williams, Sean Marshall, and Tyrese Rice scored the first 7 points of the OT session, and the 2006-07 squad held on for the four point victory.
The 7th seeded Eagles were led by Jared Dudley, who finished the game with 21 points, 8 rebounds in 36 minutes of work. Sean Marshall scored 15, while the younger Rice scored 14. Rakim Sanders led the 07-08 squad with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and (proving that this is indeed a simulation), Tyrelle Blair added the rare double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The 09-10 Eagles built up a 19 point halftime lead before holding on in the second half for a 74-65 win over the 01-02 squad. Four of the 09-10 Eagles scored in double figures. Joe Trapani had a monster game, registering a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Rakim Sanders and Corey Raji scored 14, and Tyler Roche went 3-4 from behind the arc, finishing with 12 points.
Uka Agbai led the way for the 01-02 Eagles, scoring 23 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Troy Bell added 17 points in a losing effort. Rebounding was a big difference in this one, with the 09-10 crew out-rebounding the 01-02 team 47-31.
Quarterfinals
(1) 2004-05 Eagles vs. (9) 2009-10 Eagles
(2) 2000-01 Eagles vs. (7) 2006-07 Eagles
(3) 2005-06 Eagles vs. (6) 2008-09 Eagles
(4) 2003-04 Eagles vs. (5) 2002-03 Eagles
The top seeded 2004-05 squad took a 5 point lead into the half and never looked back, defeating this year's 09-10 squad by a final score of 68-59. Jared Dudley paced the 04-05 squad with 19 points on 6-11 shooting, while Craig Smith added 12 points and 8 boards. Despite shooting just 42 percent from the field, the top seed was able to hold off the 09-10 squad who finished the season with a record of 15-16.
For the second straight day, Joe Trapani led the way for the 09-10 Eagles, scoring 14 points on 6-13 shooting. For a team that lived and died by the 3 ball, they were particularly off tonight, shooting just 27.3 percent (3-11) from beyond the arc. Reggie Jackson and Trapani each had 3 misses from long range.
In a game that was much closer than experts predicted, the 7 seeded 06-07 Eagles nearly pulled off the quarterfinal upset, but ultimately fell to the 2000-2001 Big East Champion Eagles by a score of 93-90. John Oates hit a 3 as time expired, but it wasn't enough as the 06-07 squad - a team that made it to the NCAA Second Round - fell to the 2000-01 Eagles. For the 06-07 Eagles, all five starters scored in double figures. The 2000-01 team was led by Kenny Harley (23 points) and Troy Bell (19 points). Xavier Singletary registered a double-double in the victory.
In the tournament's first true upset, the 6th seeded 08-09 team led by Tyrese Rice and Rakim Sanders upset the 05-06 squad 89-86. With the game tied at 86, elder Al Skinner called a timeout with just 1 second remaining. Joe Trapani hit a three pointer at the buzzer to send the 6th seeded Eagles to the What If Tournament semifinals. Tyrese Rice finished with a team high 22 points, while Sanders (20) and Trapani (16) were also solid contributors.
Despite a game-high 28 points from Jared Dudley, the third seeded 05-06 squad couldn't pull out the victory. As 3 seeded Eagles teams are apt to do, they were again upset by the plucky 6 seed.
In the night cap, the 02-03 Eagles pulled out the 84-81 victory behind an incredible 33 points from PG Troy Bell. Bell finished the night shooting 11-17 from the field, including 4-7 from long range to lead the 5th seeded Eagles to victory. Louis Hinnant and Ryan Sidney hit clutch free throws down the stretch to preserve the 3 point victory.
Jared Dudley led the way for the 03-04 squad with 20 points, 8 rebounds, including a 3 at the buzzer that was cut the final deficit to 3. Uka Agbai scored 15 and Craig Smith added 12 in the loss.
Check back later this afternoon for results from the semifinals and the championship.