Big East tickets 2009 from www.tixx.com

DePaul shocks Cincinnati, makes case for expanded Big East tournament
BY Roger Rubin
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Tuesday, March 10th 2009, 4:14 PM


McGrath/Getty

Krys Faber (33) of DePaul celebrates as the No. 16 Blue Demons stun No. 9 Cincinnati Tuesday in the opening round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.Related News
Interactive
Live NCAA scores
Articles
NCAA bids at stake as conference tourney tips off at Garden
Breaking down the Big East tournament
The unpredictable is always a component in the Big East tournament and it didn't take long to show up this year.

DePaul lost all 18 of its conference games this season, but Tuesday stunned Cincinnati 67-57 in a first-round contest at the Garden. It's a triumph that wouldn't have happened if the Big East hadn't expanded its format to include all 16 teams this season.

"It's been so long," said Dar Tucker, who equaled Will Walker for the team high with 17 points. "Just to get a win - it's been kind of frustrating ... the hard work does pay off."

The loss is devastating for the Bearcats (18-14). Cincinnati was in the conversation for an NCAA at-large bid until about two weeks ago. It lost its last three in the regular season and now this. The 'Cats might not even warrant an NIT bid now.

Cincinnati led 38-31 with 16 minutes left when DePaul went on a 22-5 run that included 10 points from Tucker. A putback by Matija Poscic made it 53-43 with 6:12 to play. The Demons (9-23) made six of nine free throws down the stretch.

"Hopefully we proved there is a lot of value in bringing everybody," Blue Demons coach Jerry Wainwright said of the expanded format. "To have kids go through an 18-game schedule as tough as ours is and not have the reward of coming to New York - I think this is kind of ... what college basketball should be."