BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

The Butler did it… again.

For the fourth time this season, West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler sank a game-winning basket, this time a 3-pointer banked in from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded, to oust the Cincinnati Bearcats from the Big East Tournament, 54-51, on Thursday night. Incredibly, Butler did indeed call the shot. "He called it,'' said Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson. "He said, 'Bank.' I said, 'What?' I turned around and saw it go in.''

In spite of the dramatic finish, the game had the look of a Mountaineer rout in the opening minutes. West Virginia ran out to an 18-4 lead, as Cincinnati failed to score from the field in the first 10 minutes of the game. In that stretch, Cincinnati was a staggering 0-of-10 from the floor. The Bearcats then converted on eight of their next 15 shots, responding with a 16-3 run to cut the Mountaineer lead to 21-20. The Bearcats tied the game at 23 with just 32 seconds remaining in the half when West Virginia’s Johnnie West, son of West Virginia and Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West, drained a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Mountaineers a 26-23 lead going into the break.

Inexplicably, Cincinnati went cold... very cold... to begin the second half. Mick Cronin’s eleventh-seeded Bearcats failed to score from the field in the first 7:30 of the half, but West Virginia was unable to capitalize on UC's futility and extend the lead. In fact, it was not until the four-minute mark that Cincinnati converted three consecutive field goals. West Virginia temporarily opened up a nine-point lead but a 9-0 run from Cincinnati tied the game with less than three minutes remaining.

After Devin Ebanks airballed a potential go-ahead shot under the basket with 6.4 seconds remaining, Cincinnati was left with an opportunity for a game-winner on the final possession. It was not to be.