# 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament

The 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Its winner received the Big East Conference's automatic bid to the 1999 NCAA tournament. It is a single-elimination tournament with four rounds and the three highest seeds received byes in the first round. All 13 Big East teams were invited to participate. Connecticut finished with the best record in the regular season and was awarded the top seed.
Connecticut defeated St. John's in the final, 82–63 to earn its second consecutive Big East tournament championship, and fourth overall.

## Bracket

| First round March 3, 1999 | First round March 3, 1999 | First round March 3, 1999 | Quarterfinals March 4, 1999 | Quarterfinals March 4, 1999 | Quarterfinals March 4, 1999 | Semifinals March 5, 1999 | Semifinals March 5, 1999 | Semifinals March 5, 1999 | | Championship game March 6, 1999 | Championship game March 6, 1999 | Championship game March 6, 1999 |
| | | | 1 | #3 Connecticut | 57 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Seton Hall | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 69 | 9 | Seton Hall | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Seton Hall | 79 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Seton Hall | 79 | | | | 1 | #3 Connecticut | 71 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Syracuse | 50 | | | | |
| 5 | Villanova | 73 | | | | | | | 4 | Syracuse | 50 | |
| 12 | West Virginia | 61 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | West Virginia | 61 | 5 | Villanova | 62 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Syracuse | 70 | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Syracuse | 96 | 4 | Syracuse | 70 | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Boston College | 55 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Boston College | 55 | | | | | | | | 1 | #3 Connecticut | 82 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | #10 St. John's | 63 |
| | | | 3 | #10 St. John's | 77 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Rutgers | 62 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Rutgers | 64 | 6 | Rutgers | 62 | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Pittsburgh | 51 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Pittsburgh | 51 | | | | 3 | #10 St. John's | 62 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | #9 Miami | 59 | | | | |
| | | | 2 | #9 Miami | 65 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Georgetown | 54 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Providence | 66 | 10 | Georgetown | 54 | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Georgetown | 68 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Game summaries
#### Quarterfinals

* espn2
* Thursday, March 4 12:00 pm
#1 Connecticut Huskies 57, #9 Seton Hall Pirates 56 :
| Scoring by half: 22–21, 35–35 |||
| Pts: Kevin Freeman 22 Rebs: K. El-Amin, R. Hamilton 6 Asts: K. El-Amin 7 | Pts: Gary Saunders 18 Rebs: Reggie Garrett 7 Asts: Gary Saunders 6 |
* Madison Square Garden - New York, NY Attendance: 17,540 Referees: John Cahill, Curtis Shaw, Donnee Gray

#### Semifinals

* ESPN
* Friday, March 5 7:00 pm
#1 Connecticut Huskies 71, #4 Syracuse Orangemen 50 :
| Scoring by half: 38–18, 33–32 |||
| Pts: Kevin Freeman 21 Rebs: Rashamel Jones 7 Asts: K. El-Amin 5 | Pts: Damone Brown, Jason Hart 12 Rebs: E. Thomas 10 Asts: Damone Brown 5 |
* Madison Square Garden - New York, NY Attendance: 19,548 Referees: Tim Higgins, Jody Silvester, Ed Corbett

#### Championship game

* ESPN
* Saturday, March 6 8:00 pm
* Box Score
#1 Connecticut Huskies 82, #3 St. John's Red Storm 63 :
| Scoring by half: 40–29, 42–34 |||
| Pts: R. Hamilton 23 Rebs: R. Hamilton 7 Asts: Ricky Moore 6 | Pts: E. Barkley 18 Rebs: R. Artest 7 Asts: E. Barkley 4 |
* Madison Square Garden - New York, NY Attendance: 19,548 Referees: Jim Burr, John Cahill, Bob Donato

## Media coverage
### Television

ESPN and ESPN2

### Commentary teams

* Mike Tirico/Len Elmore – first round (Providence–Georgetown, Rutgers–Pittsburgh), quarterfinals (Miami–Georgetown, St. John's–Rutgers), semifinals, and championship game
* Dan Shulman/Bill Raftery – first round (Notre Dame–Seton Hall, Syracuse–Boston College, Villanova–West Virginia) and quarterfinals (Connecticut–Seton Hall, Syracuse–Villanova)

## Awards

Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player): Kevin Freeman (basketball), Connecticut
All-Tournament Team
* Erick Barkley, St. John's
* Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut
* Kevin Freeman, Connecticut
* Richard Hamilton, Connecticut
* Tim James, Miami
* Etan Thomas, Syracuse