# 2012–13 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2012–13 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2012 and ended with the 2013 Big East men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden March 12–16, 2013 in Manhattan, New York. The regular season began in November, with the conference schedule starting on December 31, 2012. 2012-13 marked the 34th year of the Big East, and the 2013 men's basketball Championship marked the 31st anniversary of the Big East at Madison Square Garden, the longest-running conference tournament at one venue in the country. With West Virginia now in the Big 12, the 2012-13 Big East Conference schedule included 4 repeat games.
UConn was ineligible for postseason tournament participation due to low APR scores, The Huskies were also ineligible for the 2013 Big East tournament; the school unsuccessfully appealed the ruling.
The 2012–13 season was the last for the Big East in its original form. In December 2012, the seven Big East schools that do not sponsor Division I FBS football—DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Villanova, collectively called the "Catholic 7"—announced they would leave the Big East to start a new conference of their own. On March 8, 2013, the "Catholic 7" and the remaining Big East schools announced a separation agreement. Under the agreement, the "Catholic 7" purchased the Big East name and the contract with Madison Square Garden for the conference tournament, and began operating under the Big East name beginning on July 1, 2013. The remaining schools, which kept the charter of the original Big East, announced on April 3 that they would operate as the American Athletic Conference (The American). This was also the final season for Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, all of which left for the ACC on July 1, 2013. On the same day, SMU, UCF, Memphis, Houston, and Temple became full members of The American.

## Preseason
### Coaching changes

Jim Calhoun of Connecticut announced his retirement on September 13, 2012. Kevin Ollie, an assistant under Calhoun for the previous two years, was named Calhoun's successor.

### Predicted Big East results

At Big East media day on October 17, the conference released their predictions for standings and All-Big East teams.
| | Big East Coaches | Big East Writers |
| T-1. | Louisville (14) | Louisville (15) |
| 2 | Syracuse | Syracuse |
| 3. | Notre Dame (1) | Notre Dame |
| 4. | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
| 5. | Georgetown | Pittsburgh |
| 6. | Pittsburgh | Georgetown |
| 7. | Marquette | Marquette |
| 8. | South Florida | South Florida |
| 9. | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| 10. | St. John's | St. John's |
| 11. | Rutgers | Rutgers |
| 12. | Villanova | Villanova |
| 13. | DePaul | Providence |
| 14. | Seton Hall | Seton Hall |
| 15. | Providence | DePaul |
first place votes

### 2012-13 Preseason All-Big East Teams

| First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention |
| Sean Kilpatrick, G., CIN Otto Porter, G., GTWN Gorgui Dieng, C., LOU Jack Cooley, F., ND Vincent Council, G., PROV | Shabazz Napier, G., UCONN Cleveland Melvin, F., DEP D'Angelo Harrison, G., STJ Anthony Collins, G., USF Brandon Triche, G., SYR | Chane Behanan, F., LOU Jerian Grant, G., ND Tray Woodall, G., PITT C. J. Fair, F., SYR |
Big East Preseason Player of the Year: Peyton Siva, Louisville Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year: Steven Adams, Pittsburgh

### Preseason Watchlists

| Naismith | John Wooden Award |
| Chane Behanan, LOU Michael Carter-Williams, SYR Jack Cooley, ND Gorgui Dieng, LOU Sean Kilpatrick, CIN Otto Porter, GTWN Peyton Siva, LOU | Chane Behanan, F., LOU Jack Cooley, F., ND Vincent Council, G., PROV Gorgui Dieng, C., LOU Sean Kilpatrick, G., CIN Otto Porter, F., GTWN Peyton Siva, G., LOU |

## Regular season
### Head coaches

    Mick Cronin, Cincinnati
    Kevin Ollie, Connecticut
    Oliver Purnell, DePaul
    John Thompson III, Georgetown
    Rick Pitino, Louisville
    Buzz Williams, Marquette
    Mike Brey, Notre Dame
    Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh
    Ed Cooley, Providence
    Mike Rice, Rutgers
    Steve Lavin, St. John's
    Kevin Willard, Seton Hall
    Stan Heath, South Florida
    Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
    Jay Wright, Villanova

### Composite matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. (x) indicates games scheduled this season.
| | Cincinnati | Connecticut | DePaul | Georgetown | Louisville | Marquette | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh | Providence | Rutgers | St. John's | Seton Hall | South Florida | Syracuse | Villanova |
| vs. Cincinnati | – | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0-1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Connecticut | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1) | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. DePaul | 1–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| vs. Louisville | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Marquette | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Notre Dame | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Pittsburgh | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Providence | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Rutgers | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. St. John's | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. South Florida | 1-0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Syracuse | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. Villanova | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 9–9 | 10–8 | 2–16 | 14-4 | 14–4 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 3–15 | 3–15 | 11–7 | 10–8 |
As of completion of games on March 6th

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Improvement in ranking. |
| | Drop in ranking. |
| RV | Received votes, but were not ranked. |
| AP | AP Poll |
| C | ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll |
2012–13 Big East Conference Weekly Rankings :
| | | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | FINAL |
| Cincinnati | AP | 24 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 21 | RV | 21 | 24 | 17 | RV | RV | | | | |
| Cincinnati | C | RV | 24 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 20 | 23 | 17 | RV | RV | | | | |
| Connecticut | AP | | 23 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | RV | | | RV | | | |
| Connecticut | C | | RV | 23 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | RV | | | | | | RV | | | |
| DePaul | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DePaul | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | AP | RV | | | 20 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | 20 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 5 (2) | 5 (2) | 8 |
| Georgetown | C | | | | 25 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | 21 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| Louisville | AP | 2(20) | 2 (18) | 2 (19) | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 (36) | 5 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 2 (20) |
| Louisville | C | 2 (5) | 2 (4) | 2 (5) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 (18) | 5 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 6 (1) | 6 (1) | 2 (1) |
| Marquette | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | RV | 25 | RV | 25 | 24 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Marquette | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | 20 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| Notre Dame | AP | 22 | 20 | RV | RV | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 20 | 24 | RV | 25 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 23 |
| Notre Dame | C | 23 | 21 | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 23 | RV | RV | 21 | 25 | 20 | 24 | 24 | RV |
| Pittsburgh | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 20 |
| Pittsburgh | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | RV | | RV | RV | 25 | 17 | 22 | RV | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Providence | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Providence | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rutgers | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rutgers | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seton Hall | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seton Hall | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| South Florida | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Syracuse | AP | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 (8) | 6 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| Syracuse | C | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 (2) | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| Villanova | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Villanova | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Weekly honors

Throughout the conference regular season, the Big East names a player of the week and rookie of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the week | Rookie of the week |
| November 19, 2012 | Shabazz Napier, G, Connecticut | Ryan Arcidiacono, G, Villanova |
| November 26, 2012 | Sean Kilpatrick, G, Cincinnati | JaKarr Sampson, F, St. John's |
| December 3, 2012 | James Southerland, G, Syracuse | James Robinson, G, Pittsburgh |
| December 10, 2012 | Fuquan Edwin, G, Seton Hall | JaKarr Sampson, F, St. John's |
| December 17, 2012 | Chane Behanan, F, Louisville | JaKarr Sampson, F, St. John's |
| December 23, 2012 | Victor Rudd, F, South Florida | Omar Calhoun, G, Connecticut |
| December 31, 2012 | Russ Smith, G, Louisville | Ryan Arcidiacono, G, Villanova |
| January 7, 2013 | Brandon Triche, G, Syracuse | Ryan Arcidiacono, G, Villanova |
| January 14, 2013 | | |
| January 21, 2013 | | |
| January 28, 2013 | | |
| February 4, 2013 | | |
| February 11, 2013 | | |
| February 18, 2013 | | |
| February 25, 2013 | | |
| March 3, 2013 | | |

## Postseason
### Big East tournament

* March 12–16, 2013– Big East Conference Basketball Tournament, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NY.
2013 Big East men's basketball tournament seeds and results :
| Seed | School | Conf. | Over. | Tiebreaker | First Round March 12 | Second Round March 13 | Quarterfinals March 14 | Semifinals March 15 | Championship March 16 |
| 1. | Georgetown † | 14–4 | 24–5 | 2-1 vs. LOU and MARQ | Bye | Bye | vs. Cincinnati W 43–62 | vs. Syracuse L 58–55 | |
| 2. | Louisville † | 14–4 | 26–5 | 1-1 vs. GTWN and MARQ | Bye | Bye | vs Villanova W 74–55 | vs Notre Dame W 69–57 | vs Syracuse W 78–61 |
| 3. | Marquette † | 14–4 | 23–7 | 1-2 vs. GTWN and LOU | Bye | Bye | vs Notre Dame L 73–65 | | |
| 4. | Pittsburgh † | 12–6 | 24–7 | | Bye | Bye | vs Syracuse L 59–62 | | |
| 5. | Syracuse# | 11–7 | 23–8 | 1-0 vs ND | Bye | vs Seton Hall W 75–63 | vs Pittsburgh W 62–59 | vs Georgetown W 58–55 | vs Louisville L 61–78 |
| 6. | Notre Dame# | 11–7 | 23–8 | 0-1 vs SYR | Bye | vs Rutgers W 69–61 | vs Marquette W 73–65 | vs Louisville L 57–69 | |
| 7. | Villanova# | 10–8 | 19–12 | | Bye | vs St. John's W 66–53 | vs Louisville L 55–74 | | |
| 8. | Providence# | 9-9 | 17–13 | 1-0 vs CIN | Bye | vs Cincinnati L 44–61 | | | |
| 9. | Cincinnati | 9-9 | 21–10 | 0-1 vs. PROV | Bye | vs Providence W 61–44 | vs Georgetown L 43–62 | | |
| 10. | St. John's | 8–10 | 16–14 | | Bye | vs Villanova L 53–66 | | | |
| 11. | Rutgers | 5–13 | 14–15 | | vs DePaul W 76–57 | vs Notre Dame L 61–69 | | | |
| 12. | Seton Hall | 3–15 | 14–17 | | vs South Florida W 46-42 OT | vs Syracuse L 63–75 | | | |
| 13. | South Florida | 3–15 | 12–18 | | vs Seton Hall L 42-46 OT | | | | |
| 14. | DePaul | 2–16 | 11–20 | | vs Rutgers L 57–76 | | | | |
| ‡ – Big East regular season champions, and tournament No. 1 seed. † – Received a double-bye in the conference tournament. # – Received a single-bye in the conference tournament. Overall records include all games played in the Big East tournament. Connecticut is ineligible due to Academic Progress Rate violations. ||||||||||

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | Second Round | Third Round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 1 | Midwest | Louisville | #16 North Carolina A&T - Mar. 21, Lexington - W, 79–48 | #8 Colorado State - Mar. 23, Lexington - W, 82–56 | #12 Oregon - Mar. 29, Indianapolis - W, 77–69 | #2 Duke - Mar. 31, Indianapolis - W, 85–63 | #9 Wichita State - Apr. 6, Atlanta - W, 72–68 | #4 Michigan - Apr. 8, Atlanta - W, 82–76 |
| 2 | South | Georgetown | #15 Florida Gulf Coast - Mar. 22, Philadelphia - L, 68–78 | | | | | |
| 3 | East | Marquette | #14 Davidson - Mar. 21, Lexington - W, 59–58 | #6 Butler - Mar. 23, Lexington - W, 74–72 | #2 Miami - Mar. 28, Washington, D.C. - W, 71–61 | #4 Syracuse - Mar. 30, Washington, D.C. - L, 39–55 | | |
| 4 | East | Syracuse | #13 Montana - Mar. 21, San Jose - W, 81–34 | #12 California - Mar. 23, San Jose - W, 66–60 | #1 Indiana - Mar. 28, Washington, D.C. - W, 61–50 | #3 Marquette - Mar. 30, Washington, D.C. - W, 55–39 | #4 Michigan - Apr. 6, Atlanta - L, 56–61 | |
| 7 | West | Notre Dame | #10 Iowa State - Mar. 22, Dayton - L, 58–76 | | | | | |
| 8 | West | Pittsburgh | #9 Wichita State - Mar. 21, Salt Lake City - L, 55–73 | | | | | |
| 9 | South | Villanova | #8 North Carolina - Mar. 22, Kansas City - L, 71–78 | | | | | |
| 10 | Midwest | Cincinnati | #7 Creighton - Mar. 22, Philadelphia - L, 63–67 | | | | | |
| | 8 Bids | W-L (%): | 3–5 .375 | 3–0 1.000 | 3–0 1.000 | 2–1 .667 | 1–1 .500 | TOTAL: 13–7 .650 |

### National Invitation tournament

| Seed | Bracket | School | First Round | Second Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 4 | Kentucky | Providence | #5 Charlotte - Mar. 20, Providence - W, 75–66 | #8 Robert Morris - Mar. 25, Providence - W, 77–68 | #2 Baylor - Mar. 27, Waco - L, 68–79 | | |
| 5 | Virginia | St. John's | #4 St. Joseph's - Mar. 19, Philadelphia - W, 63–61 | #1 Virginia - Mar. 24, Charlottesville - L, 50–68 | | | |
| | 2 Bids | W-L (%): | 2–0 1.000 | 1–1 .500 | 0–1 .000 | 0–0 – | TOTAL: 3–2 .600 |

## Awards and honors
### Conference awards and teams

The Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Scholar Athlete of the Year awards are announced, after the conclusion of the first session of the Big East tournament. The remainder of the individual awards are announced at the conclusion of the regular season.
2013 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Otto Porter, Georgetown |
| Coach of the Year | John Thompson III, Georgetown |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Gorgui Dieng, Louisville |
| Rookie of the Year | JaKarr Sampson, St. John's |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Peyton Siva, Louisville |
| Most Improved Player | Kadeem Batts, Providence; Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse |
| Sixth Man Award | Davante Gardner, Marquette |
| Sportsmanship Award | Junior Cadougan, Marquette |
2013 All-Big East Men's Basketball Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Honorable Mention | All Rookie Team |
| Shabazz Napier, G., CONN Otto Porter†, F., GEO Gorgui Dieng, F./C., LOU Russ Smith, F., LOU Jack Cooley, F./C., ND Bryce Cotton, G., PROV | Sean Kilpatrick, G., CINC Vander Blue, G., MAR Jerian Grant, G., ND Michael Carter-Williams, G., SYR C. J. Fair, F., SYR | Markel Starks, G., GTWN Peyton Siva, G., LOU Tray Woodall, F./C., PITT Brandon Triche, G., SYR JayVaughn Pinkston, F., PRI | Davante Gardner, F., MARQ Kadeem Batts, G., PROV JaKarr Sampson, F., SJU Fuquan Edwin, G., SET | Omar Calhoun, G., CONN D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, G., GTWN Steven Adams, C., PITT Chris Obekpa, C., SJU JaKarr Sampson†, F., SJU Ryan Arcidiacono†, G., VILL |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||

### National awards and teams
#### Players
##### Award finalists

| Wooden | Naismith |

### NBA draft

Several players from the conference declared early for the NBA draft. Several players were among the 60 players invited to the 2013 NBA Draft Combine.
The following list includes all Big East players who were drafted in the 2013 NBA draft.
| Player | Position | School | Round | Pick | Team |
| Otto Porter | SF | Georgetown | 1 | 3 | Washington Wizards |
| Michael Carter-Williams | PG | Syracuse | 1 | 11 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Steven Adams | C | Pittsburgh | 1 | 12 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Gorgui Dieng | C | Louisville | 1 | 21 | Utah Jazz |
| Ricky Ledo | SG | Providence | 2 | 43 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Peyton Siva | PG | Louisville | 2 | 56 | Detroit Pistons |