1993–94 Big East Conference men's basketball season
{{short description|American college basketball season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox sports season
| title =1993–94 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
| color =#072E67
| color text =#EFE3BB
| league =NCAA Division I
| sport =Basketball
| logo =Big East Conference primary logo 1979-1998.png
| pixels =250px
| caption =
| duration =November 17, 1993
through March 13, 1994
| no_of_teams =10
| attendance =
| TV =ESPN
| draft =
| draft_link =
| top_pick =
| picked_by =
| season = Regular Season
| season_champs = Connecticut {{nowrap|(16–2)}}
| season_champ_name= Champion
| second_place =
| MVP = Donyell Marshall – Connecticut
| MVP_link = Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year
| top_scorer =
| top_scorer_link =
| promote =
| promoted_from =
| relegate =
| relegate_to =
| playoffs =
| playoffs_link =
| conf1 =
| conf1_link =
| conf1_champ =
| conf1-runner-up =
| conf2 =
| conf2_link =
| conf2_champ =
| conf2-runner-up =
| playoffs_MVP =
| playoffs_MVP_link=
| finals = Tournament
| finals_link = 1994 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
| finals_champ = Providence
| finals_MVP = Michael Smith – Providence
| finals_MVP_link = Most Valuable Player
| seasonslist =
| seasonslistnames =Basketball
| prevseason_link =
| prevseason_year =1992–93
| nextseason_link =
| nextseason_year =1994–95
}}
{{1993–94 Big East men's basketball standings}}
The 1993–94 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 15th in conference history, and involved its ten full-time member schools.
Connecticut was the regular-season champion with a record of {{nowrap|(16–2)}}. Providence won the Big East tournament championship.
Season summary & highlights
- Connecticut finished as the regular-season champion with a record of {{nowrap|(16–2)}}. It was the second regular-season championship or co-championship and first outright championship for Connecticut.
- Providence won its first Big East tournament championship.
- Villanova won the 1994 National Invitation Tournament championship.
Head coaches
| class="wikitable" | |||
| School
!Coach !Season !Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | Jim O'Brien | 8th | |
| Connecticut | Jim Calhoun | 8th | Big East Coach of the Year (2nd award) |
| Georgetown | John Thompson, Jr. | 22nd | |
| Miami | Leonard Hamilton | 4th | |
| Pittsburgh | Paul Evans | 8th | Fired March 10, 1994 |
| Providence | Rick Barnes | 6th | Resigned March 31, 1994 |
| St. John's | Brian Mahoney | 2nd | |
| Seton Hall | P. J. Carlesimo | 12th | Resigned June 23, 1994 |
| Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | 18th | |
| Villanova | Steve Lappas | 2nd |
Rankings
| class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:90%;"
|+ 1993–94 Big East Conference Weekly Rankings | ||||||||||||||||||
| AP Poll{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/1994.html|title=1993-94 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary |accessdate=April 9, 2025 |date= |work=sports-reference.com}} | Pre | 11/22 | 11/29 | 12/6 | 12/13 | 12/20 | 12/27 | 1/3 | 1/10 | 1/17 | 1/24 | 1/31 | 2/7 | 2/14 | 2/21 | 2/28 | 3/7 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:center;"
! style="text-align:left;"|Boston College | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#bfb;"| 20 | style="background:#bfb;"| 18 | style="background:#fbb;"| 23 | style="background:#bfb;"| 20 | style="background:#fff;"| 20 | style="background:#fbb;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#bfb;"| 21 | style="background:#fbb;"| 23 | style="background:#fbb;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Connecticut | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#bfb;"| 21 | style="background:#bfb;"| 16 | style="background:#bfb;"| 15 | style="background:#bfb;"| 14 | style="background:#fbb;"| 16 | style="background:#bfb;"| 14 | style="background:#bfb;"| 10 | style="background:#bfb;"| 6 | style="background:#bfb;"| 5 | style="background:#fbb;"| 6 | style="background:#bfb;"| 3 | style="background:#fbb;"| 5 | style="background:#bfb;"| 4 | style="background:#bfb;"| 2 | style="background:#fbb;"| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Georgetown | style="background:#fff;"| 15 | style="background:#fff;"| 15 | style="background:#fbb;"| 25 | style="background:#fbb;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Miami | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Pittsburgh | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Providence | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! St. John's | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Seton Hall | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Syracuse | style="background:#fff;"| 20 | style="background:#fff;"| 20 | style="background:#bfb;"| 18 | style="background:#bfb;"| 13 | style="background:#fbb;"| 21 | style="background:#fff;"| 21 | style="background:#bfb;"| 19 | style="background:#bfb;"| 18 | style="background:#bfb;"| 16 | style="background:#fff;"| 16 | style="background:#bfb;"| 14 | style="background:#fbb;"| 15 | style="background:#bfb;"| 14 | style="background:#fff;"| 14 | style="background:#fbb;"| 18 | style="background:#bfb;"| 14 | style="background:#bfb;"| 13 | style="background:#fbb;"| 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| style="text-align:center;"
! Villanova | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| | style="background:#fff;"| |
Regular-season statistical leaders
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Scoring | ||
| Name
!School !PPG | ||
|---|---|---|
| Donyell Marshall | Conn | 25.1 |
| Lawrence Moten | Syr | 21.5 |
| Bill Curley | BC | 20.0 |
| Kerry Kittles | Vill | 19.7 |
| {{nowrap|Artūras Karnišovas}} | SHU | 18.3 |
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Rebounding | ||
| Name
!School !RPG | ||
|---|---|---|
| Michael Smith | Prov | 11.5 |
| Shawnelle Scott | SJU | 9.2 |
| John Wallace | Syr | 9.0 |
| Bill Curley | BC | 9.0 |
| Donyell Marshall | Conn | 8.9 |
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Assists | ||
| Name
!School !APG | ||
|---|---|---|
| Abdul Abdullah | Prov | 8.0 |
| Jerry McCullough | Pitt | 7.0 |
| Joey Brown | GU | 6.5 |
| Kevin Ollie | Conn | 6.1 |
| Adrian Autry | Syr | 6.1 |
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Steals | ||
| Name
!School !SPG | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jerry McCullough | Pitt | 2.8 |
| Kerry Kittles | Vill | 2.7 |
| Doron Sheffer | Conn | 2.3 |
| Lawrence Moten | Syr | 2.0 |
| Jonathan Haynes | Vill | 2.0 |
{{Col-end}}
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Blocks | ||
| Name
!School !BPG | ||
|---|---|---|
| Donyell Marshall | Conn | 3.3 |
| Jason Lawson | Vill | 2.8 |
| Eric Mobley | Pitt | 2.8 |
| Constantin Popa | Mia | 2.2 |
| Eric Williams | Prov | 1.8 |
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Field Goals | ||
| Name
!School !FG% | ||
|---|---|---|
| Eric Mobley | Pitt | .568 |
| John Wallace | Syr | .566 |
| Bill Curley | BC | .557 |
| Shawnelle Scott | SJU | .530 |
| Donyell Marshall | Conn | .512 |
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable"
|colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | 3-Pt Field Goals | ||
| Name
!School !3FG% | ||
|---|---|---|
| Howard Eisley | BC | .484 |
| colspan=3|(no other qualifiers) |
{{Col-4}}
| class="wikitable" | ||
| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Free Throws | ||
| Name
!School !FT% | ||
|---|---|---|
| {{nowrap|Artūras Karnišovas}} | SHU | .833 |
| Bill Curley | BC | .793 |
| Adrian Autry | Syr | .784 |
| Chris Gant | Pitt | .776 |
| Donny Marshall | Conn | .774 |
{{Col-end}}
Postseason
=Big East tournament=
{{Main|1994 Big East men's basketball 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: {{nowrap|(1) Connecticut,}} {{nowrap|(2) Syracuse,}} {{nowrap|(3) Boston College,}} {{nowrap|(4) Providence,}} {{nowrap|(5) Villanova,}} {{nowrap|(6) Georgetown,}} {{nowrap|(7) Seton Hall,}} {{nowrap|(8) Pittsburgh,}} {{nowrap|(9) St. John's,}} {{nowrap|(10) Miami.}}
==Bracket==
{{4RoundBracket-Byes
|RD1=First round
March 10, 1994
|RD2=Quarterfinals
March 11, 1994
|RD3=Semifinals
March 12, 1994
|RD4=Championship Game
March 13, 1994
| RD1-seed03=8
| RD1-team03=Pittsburgh
| RD1-score03=72
| RD1-seed04=9
| RD1-team04=St. John's
| RD1-score04=80
| RD1-seed15=7
| RD1-team15=Seton Hall
| RD1-score15=69
| RD1-seed16=10
| RD1-team16={{cbb link|year=1993-94|team=Miami Hurricanes|school=University of Miami|title=Miami}}
| RD1-score16=51
| RD2-seed01=1
| RD2-team01=#2 Connecticut
| RD2-score01=97
| RD2-seed02=9
| RD2-team02=St. John's
| RD2-score02=77
| RD2-seed03=4
| RD2-team03=Providence
| RD2-score03=77
| RD2-seed04=5
| RD2-team04=Villanova
| RD2-score04=66
| RD2-seed05=3
| RD2-team05=Boston College
| RD2-score05=58
| RD2-seed06=6
| RD2-team06=Georgetown
| RD2-score06=81
| RD2-seed07=2
| RD2-team07=#13 Syracuse
| RD2-score07=80
| RD2-seed08=7
| RD2-team08=Seton Hall
| RD2-score08=81OT
| RD3-seed01=1
| RD3-team01=#2 Connecticut
| RD3-score01=67
| RD3-seed02=4
| RD3-team02=Providence
| RD3-score02=69
| RD3-seed03=6
| RD3-team03=Georgetown
| RD3-score03=76OT
| RD3-seed04=7
| RD3-team04=Seton Hall
| RD3-score04=71
| RD4-seed01=4
| RD4-team01=Providence
| RD4-score01=74
| RD4-seed02=6
| RD4-team02=Georgetown
| RD4-score02=64
}}
=NCAA tournament=
{{Main|1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament}}
Six Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Providence and Seton Hall lost in the first round and Georgetown in the second round. Connecticut and Syracuse were defeated in the regional semifinals and Boston College in the regional finals.
| class="wikitable" |
| School
! Region ! Seed ! Round 1 ! Round 2 ! Sweet 16 ! Elite 8 |
|---|
| {{nowrap|Boston College}}
| East | 9 | style="background:#bfb;"| {{nowrap|8 Washington State, W 67–64}} | style="background:#bfb;"| 1 {{nowrap|North Carolina,}} {{nowrap|W 75–72}} | style="background:#bfb;"| 5 Indiana, {{nowrap|W 77–68}} | style="background:#fbb;"| {{nowrap|3 Florida, L 74–66}} |
| Connecticut
| East | 2 | style="background:#bfb;"| 15 Rider, {{nowrap|W 64–46}} | style="background:#bfb;"| {{nowrap|12 George Washington, W 64–59}} | style="background:#fbb;"| 3 Florida, {{nowrap|L 69–60(OT)}} | |
| Syracuse
| West | 4 | style="background:#bfb;"| 13 Hawaii, {{nowrap|W 92–78}} | style="background:#bfb;"| 12 {{nowrap|UW–Green Bay,}} {{nowrap|W 75–63}} | style="background:#fbb;"| {{nowrap|1 Missouri, L 98–88(OT)}} | |
| Georgetown
| Midwest | 9 | style="background:#bfb;"| 8 Illinois, {{nowrap|W 84–77}} | style="background:#fbb;"| 1 Arkansas, {{nowrap|L 85–73}} | | |
| Providence
| Southeast | 8 | style="background:#fbb;"| 9 Alabama, {{nowrap|L 76–70}} | | | |
| Seton Hall
| Southeast | 10 | style="background:#fbb;"| 7 {{nowrap|Michigan State,}} {{nowrap|L 84–73}} | | | |
=National Invitation Tournament=
{{Main|1994 National Invitation Tournament}}
Villanova received the Big East's only bid to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. The Wildcats won the tournament championship.
| class="wikitable" |
| School
! Round 1 ! Round 2 ! Quarterfinals ! Semifinals ! Final |
|---|
| Villanova
| style="background:#bfb;"| Canisius, {{nowrap|W 103–79}} | style="background:#bfb;"| Duquesne, {{nowrap|W 82–66}} | style="background:#bfb;"| Xavier, {{nowrap|W 76–74}} | style="background:#bfb;"| {{nowrap|Kansas State,}} {{nowrap|W 82–76}} | style="background:#bfb;"| Vanderbilt, {{nowrap|W 80–73}} |
Awards and honors
=Big East Conference=
- * Donyell Marshall, Connecticut, F, Jr.
- Donyell Marshall, Connecticut, F, Jr.
- Doron Sheffer, Connecticut, G, Fr.
- Jim Calhoun, Connecticut (8th season)
All-Big East First Team
- Donyell Marshall, Connecticut, F, Jr., {{cvt|6|ft|9|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|245|lb|0}}, Reading, Pa.
- Bill Curley, Boston College, F, Sr., {{cvt|6|ft|9|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|220|lb|0}}, Boston, Mass.
- Kerry Kittles, Villanova, G, So., {{cvt|6|ft|5|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|179|lb|0}}, Dayton, Ohio
- Lawrence Moten, Syracuse, G, Jr., {{cvt|6|ft|5|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|185|lb|0}}, Washington, D.C.
- Adrian Autry, Syracuse, G Jr., {{cvt|6|ft|4|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|207|lb|0}}, Monroe, N.C.
All-Big East Second Team:
- Michael Smith, Providence, F, Sr., {{cvt|6|ft|8|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|230|lb|0}}, Washington, D.C.
- Othella Harrington, Georgetown, C, So., {{cvt|6|ft|9|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|240|lb|0}}, Jackson, Miss.
- Artūras Karnišovas, Seton Hall, F, Sr., {{cvt|6|ft|8|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|227|lb|0}}, Klaipėda, Lithuania
- John Wallace, Syracuse, F, So., {{cvt|6|ft|8|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|225|lb|0}}, Rochester, N.Y.
- Howard Eisley, Boston College, G, Sr., {{cvt|6|ft|2|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|185|lb|0}}, Detroit, Mich.
All-Big East Third Team:
- Donny Marshall, Connecticut, F, Jr., {{cvt|6|ft|7|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|230|lb|0}}, Detroit, Mich.
- Doron Sheffer, Connecticut, G, Fr., {{cvt|6|ft|5|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|200|lb|0}}, Ramat Efal, Israel
- Eric Mobley, Pittsburgh, C, Sr., {{cvt|6|ft|11|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|235|lb|0}}, The Bronx, N.Y.
- Shawnelle Scott, St. John's, C, Sr., {{cvt|6|ft|10|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|250|lb|0}}, New York, N.Y.
- Jerry McCullough, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., {{cvt|5|ft|11|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|175|lb|0}}, New York, N.Y.
Big East All-Rookie Team:
- Danya Abrams, Boston College, F, Fr., {{cvt|6|ft|7|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|251|lb|0}}, Westchester, N.Y.
- Doron Sheffer, Connecticut, G, Fr., {{cvt|6|ft|5|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|200|lb|0}}, Ramat Efal, Israel
- Ray Allen, Connecticut, G, Fr., {{cvt|6|ft|5|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|205|lb|0}}, Merced, Calif.
- Otis Hill, Syracuse, C, Fr., {{cvt|6|ft|8|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|290|lb|0}}, White Plains, N.Y.
- Jason Lawson, Villanova, C, Fr., {{cvt|6|ft|11|in|cm|0}}, {{cvt|240|lb|0}}, Philadelphia, Pa.
=All-Americans=
The following players were selected to the 1994 Associated Press All-America teams.
{{Main|1994 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans}}
Consensus All-America First Team:
- Donyell Marshall, Connecticut, Key Stats: 25.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 51.2 FG%, 31.1 3P%, 855 points
First Team All-America:
- Donyell Marshall, Connecticut, Key Stats: 25.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 51.2 FG%, 31.1 3P%, 855 points
AP Honorable Mention
- Adrian Autry, Syracuse
- Bill Curley, Boston College
- Lawrence Moten, Syracuse
- Michael Smith, Providence
See also
- 1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
- 1993–94 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team
- 1993–94 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team
- 1993–94 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
- 1993–94 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team
- 1993–94 Providence Friars men's basketball team
- 1993–94 St. John's Redmen basketball team
- 1993–94 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team
- 1993–94 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team
- 1993–94 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team