The 1991–92 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 13th in conference history, and involved its ten full-time member schools.
Georgetown, , and were the regular-season co-champions with an identical records of Syracuse won the Big East tournament championship.
Season summary & highlights The Big East expanded to 10 teams, adding Miami as a member. The expansion of the conference lengthened the conference regular season from 16 to 18 games. Georgetown, , and finished as the regular-season co-champions with identical records of It was the fifth regular-season championship or co-championship for Georgetown, the fifth for St. John's, and the first for Seton Hall. Syracuse won its third Big East tournament championship. It was Syracuse's first victory over Georgetown in a Big East Tournament game in four tries.
Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Jim O'Brien 6th Connecticut Jim Calhoun 6th Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 20th Big East Coach of the Year (3rd award) Miami Leonard Hamilton 2nd Pittsburgh Paul Evans 6th Providence Rick Barnes 4th St. John's Lou Carnesecca 22nd Retired April 12, 1992 Seton Hall P. J. Carlesimo 10th Syracuse Jim Boeheim 16th Villanova Rollie Massimino 17th Resigned April 1, 1992
Rankings Connecticut, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Syracuse were ranked in the Top 25 of the Associated Press poll for most of the season, with Connecticut peaking at No. 5. Pittsburgh also made a brief appearance in the Top 25.
+ 1991–92 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Poll Pre 11/25 12/2 12/9 12/16 12/23 12/30 1/6 1/13 1/20 1/27 2/3 2/10 2/17 2/24 3/2 3/9 FinalBoston College Connecticut 15 15 12 8 7 5 5 5 8 7 6 10 18 21 24 Georgetown 16 17 18 23 23 24 22 22 25 18 17 21 22 Miami Pittsburgh 24 Providence St. John's 10 8 7 11 10 18 18 17 17 22 24 20 25 Seton Hall 9 7 6 12 11 12 12 18 21 25 22 22 15 19 Syracuse 23 20 20 13 12 13 10 17 22 24 21 Villanova
Regular-season statistical leaders
ScoringNameSchoolPPG Malik Sealy SJU 22.6 Alonzo Mourning GU 21.3 Chris Smith Conn 21.2 Dave Johnson Syr 19.8 Terry Dehere SHU 19.4
ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Alonzo Mourning GU 10.7 Michael Smith Prov 10.3 Chris McNeal Pitt 9.1 Rod Sellers Conn 8.9 Bill Curley BC 8.1
AssistsNameSchoolAPG Sean Miller Pitt 6.6 Jason Buchanan SJU 6.2 Joey Brown GU 5.4 Howard Eisely BC 4.4 Bryan Caver SHU 4.3
StealsNameSchoolSPG Scott Burrell Conn 2.5 Jerome Scott Mia 2.4 Chris Walker Vill 2.0 Malik Sealy SJU 2.0 Howard Eisley BC 2.0
BlocksNameSchoolBPG Alonzo Mourning GU 5.0 Donyell Marshall Conn 2.6 Conrad McRae Syr 2.5 Constantin Popa Mia 2.0 Robert Werdann SJU 1.8
Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Alonzo Mourning GU .595 Bill Curley BC .577 Lawrence Moten Syr .497 Chris McNeal Pitt .492 Malik Sealy SJU .472
3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Chris Smith Conn .420(no other qualifiers)
Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Sean Miller Pitt .873 Terry Dehere SHU .830 Greg Woodard Vill .819 Joey Brown GU .807 Chris Smith Conn .800
Postseason
Big East tournament
Seeding Seeding in the Big East tournament was based on conference record, with tiebreakers applied as necessary. Teams seeded seventh through tenth played a first-round game, and the other six teams received a bye into the quarterfinals.
The tournament's seeding was as follows:
Bracket
NCAA tournament
Five Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. St. John's lost in the first round, Connecticut, Georgetown, and Syracuse in the second round, and Seton Hall in the regional semifinals.
School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Seton Hall East 4 13 5 Missouri, 1 Duke, Georgetown West 6 11 3 Syracuse East 6 11 Princeton, 3 UMass, Connecticut Southeast 9 8 Nebraska, 1 St. John's Southeast 7 10 Tulane,
National Invitation Tournament
Three Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. Playing in three different unnamed brackets, Villanova lost in the first round to eventual tournament champion Virginia, Boston College suffered a double-overtime loss in the second round, and Pittsburgh also lost in the second round.
School Round 1 Round 2 Boston College Pittsburgh Florida, Villanova Virginia,
Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: * Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, C, Sr. Defensive Player of the Year: Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, C, Sr. Rookie of the Year: Lawrence Moten, Syracuse, G, Fr. Coach of the Year: John Thompson Jr., Georgetown (20th season)
All-Big East First Team Chris Smith, Connecticut, G Sr., , , Bridgeport, Conn. Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, C Sr. , , Chesapeake, Va. Terry Dehere, Seton Hall, G, Jr., , , Jersey City, N.J. Malik Sealy, St. John's, F, Sr., , , The Bronx, N.Y. Dave Johnson, Connecticut, F Jr., , , Morgan City, La.
All-Big East Second Team: Bill Curley, Boston College, F, So., , , Boston, Mass. Scott Burrell, Connecticut, G, Jr., , , New Haven, Conn. Sean Miller, Pittsburgh, G, Sr., , Ellwood City, Pa. Jerry Walker, Seton Hall, F, Jr., Lance Miller, Villanova, F, Jr., , Bridgewater, N.J.
All-Big East Third Team: Rod Sellers, Connecticut, C, Sr., , , Florence, S.C. Joey Brown, Georgetown, G, So. , , Morgan City, La. Darren Morningstar, Pittsburgh, C Sr., , , Stevenson, Wash. Marques Bragg, Providence, F, Sr., , , East Orange, N.J. Michael Smith, Providence, F, So., , , Washington, D.C. Lawrence Moten, Syracuse, G, Fr., , , Washington, D.C.
Big East All-Rookie Team:
Donyell Marshall, Connecticut, F, Fr., , , Reading, Pa. Irvin Church, Georgetown, G, Fr., , , Riverdale, Md. Orlando Antigua, Pittsburgh, F, Fr. , , The Bronx, N.Y. Michael Smith, Providence, F, So., , , Washington, D.C. Lawrence Moten, Syracuse, G, Fr., , , Washington, D.C.
All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1992 Associated Press All-America teams.
Consensus All-America First Team: Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, Key Stats: 21.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 5.0 bpg, 59.5 FG%, 681 points
Consensus All-America Second Team: Malik Sealy, St. John's, Key Stats: 22.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.0 spg, 47.2 FG%, 30.2 3P%, 679 points
First Team All-America: Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown, Key Stats: 21.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 5.0 bpg, 59.5 FG%, 681 points
Third Team All-America: Malik Sealy, St. John's, Key Stats: 22.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.0 spg, 47.2 FG%, 30.2 3P%, 679 points
AP Honorable Mention Terry Dehere, Seton Hall Chris Smith, Connecticut
See also 1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1991–92 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1991–92 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1991–92 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1991–92 St. John's Redmen basketball team 1991–92 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team 1991–92 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team
References