DePaul ousted from Big East Tourney with loss

Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Posted 1:43 p.m.Updated 9:43 p.m.

Associated Press

NEW YORK -Kemba Walkerscored 26 points and Connecticut won a Big East tournament game for thefirst time in six years, beating DePaul 97-71 on Tuesday in the openerof a conference showcase loaded with NCAA contenders.Jeremy Lamb,playing on a sore knee, had 17 of his 19 points in the first half forthe 21st-ranked Huskies (22-9), who got back on track after losing fourof their final five regular-season games. No. 9 seed UConn advanced toplay Wednesday against No. 22 Georgetown, the No. 8 seed at MadisonSquare Garden.The Huskies had lost six straight BigEast tournament games since beating Georgetown in the 2005quarterfinals, a surprising streak of futility for a school that haswon two national championships and six Big East tourney titles underHall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun.
BoxscoreComplete RecapBowling Green tops Northern Illinois 74-54 in MAC

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - A'uston Calhoun had 25 points and nine rebounds as Bowling Green routed Northern Illinois 74-54 Tuesday night in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament.

The seventh-seeded Falcons (14-18) defeated the 10th-seeded Huskies (9-21) for the fifth time in a row by shooting 51.7 percent (31 for 60) in their final game at Anderson Arena. Northern Illinois, which sought its first MAC tournament win since 2003, had held its previous six opponents to 35.8-percent shooting.

Bowling Green, which will play No. 2 seed Western Michigan in the quarterfinals Thursday, broke the game open in the second half, after leading 34-32 at halftime. The Falcons scored the first seven points of the second half to open a nine-point lead and, once they expanded the lead to double-digits, went on a 14-3 run to push the lead to 21 points.
Tim Toler led Northern Illinois with 13 points.
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