Game 1: The Battle of New Jersey.

At the Garden (the most famous arena, next to the Parthenon):

Rob and I think this doesn’t bode well. The battle of New Jersey—Rutgers vs Seton Hall, first round of the Big East Conference Tournament—is tied at 9, 8:00 left in the first half. The Rutgers cheerleaders have that trashy look we all like. We can smell the hairspray up here, and the Bon Jovi style lives on.

But then, as wry Rob notes: Quincy Douby is smokin’! Once Rutgers gets him the ball, the kid can motor, he moves the ball well, hits some shots, has a nice touch at the free throw line.

On Seton Hall’s side, it would be nice if someone other than Coupland scored. We like Jared Nutter’s name better than his game. Grant Billmeier is a lump of goo. And a loss like this will NOT get Seton Hall into the tournament. I’d even wager that they don’t get in. I think Cincinnati has a better shot of making the 65-team field.