The 1989–90

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

men's basketball season was the 11th in conference history, and involved its nine full-time member schools.

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of . Connecticut won the Big East tournament championship.

Season summary & highlights

and

were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of . It was Connecticut's first and Syracuse's fourth regular-season championship or co-championship. * Connecticut won its first Big East tournament championship.

Head coaches

Rankings

Georgetown and Syracuse were ranked in the Top 25 of the Associated Press poll all season: Syracuse never dropped below No. 11 and was ranked No. 1 for six consecutive weeks, and Georgetown never dropped below No. 8 and was ranked in the Top Five for most of the season, reaching as high as No. 2. Connecticut, St. John's, and Pittsburgh also appeared in the Top 25.

Regular-season statistical leaders

Postseason

Big East tournament

Seeding

Seeding The term seeding and related terms such as seeded are used in several different contexts: *Sowing, planting seeds in a place or on an object *Cloud seeding, manipulating cloud formations *Seeding (computing), a concept in computing and peer-to-pee ...

in the Big East tournament was based on conference record, with tiebreakers applied as necessary. The eighth- and ninth-seeded teams played a first-round game, and the other seven teams received a bye into the quarterfinals. The tournament's seeding was as follows:

Bracket

NCAA tournament

Six Big East teams received bids to the

NCAA Tournament NCAA tournament may refer to a number of tournaments organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association: Men's sports *NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the most common usage of this term *NCAA Division II men's basketball tourn ...

, with Connecticut seeded No. 1 in the East Region. Providence and Villanova lost in the first round and Georgetown and St. John's in the second round. Syracuse was defeated in the regional semifinals and Connecticut in the East Region final.

National Invitation Tournament

No Big East teams received bids to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

Awards and honors

Big East Conference

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

: * *

Derrick Coleman Derrick Demetrius Coleman (born June 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Coleman attended Syracuse University and was selected first overall in the 1990 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. Throughout his career, the ...

, Syracuse, F, Sr. Defensive Co-Players of the Year: *

Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year ...

, Georgetown, C, So. *

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

, Georgetown, C, Jr. Rookie of the Year: *

Nadav Henefeld Nadav Henefeld (; born June 19, 1968) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. During his playing career, he was a 2.00 m (6'6 ") tall power forward. Early career Henefeld was born in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, and he initially played pr ...

, Connecticut, F, Fr.

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

: *

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is an American former college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( ...

, Connecticut (4th season) All-Big East First Team *

, Georgetown, C, So. , ,

Chesapeake Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

, Va. *

Mark Tillmon Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, Georgetown, G, Sr. , ,

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, Ark. *

Brian Shorter Brian William Shorter (born November 28, 1968) is an American-Italian former professional basketball player. He spent two decades playing in European leagues. High school career Shorter, a Philadelphia native, grew up in a low-income neighborh ...

, Pittsburgh, F, Jr., , ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pa. *

Boo Harvey Greg "Boo" Harvey (born October 1, 1966) is an American former basketball player who is best known for his collegiate career at St. John's University between 1987–88 and 1989–90. He starred as the point guard for the Redmen, and as a senior ...

, St. John's, G, Sr., , ,

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, N.Y. *

Billy Owens Billy Eugene Owens (born May 1, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Syracuse, where he was an All-American and th ...

, Syracuse, F, So., , ,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

, Pa. *

, Syracuse, F, Sr., , , Mobile, Ala. All-Big East Second Team: * Chris Smith, Connecticut, G, So., , ,

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

, Conn. *

, Georgetown, C, Jr., , ,

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to: * Congo River, in central Africa * Congo Basin, the sedimentary basin of the river * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, sometimes referred to as "Congo-Kinshasa" * Republic o ...

* Carlton Screen, Providence, G, Sr., , ,

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, N.Y. *

Malik Sealy Malik Sealy (February 1, 1970 – May 20, 2000) was an American professional basketball player, active from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Posthumously inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, Sealy ...

, St. John's, F, So., , ,

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, N.Y. * Stephen Thompson, Syracuse, G, Sr., , ,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Calif. California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south ...

All-Big East Third Team: *

, Connecticut, F, Fr., , ,

Ramat Hasharon Ramat HaSharon (, ) is an affluent city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon, Israel, Sharon region, bordering the cities of Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon, Hod-HaSharon to the east, and Herzliya and kibbutz ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Tate George Tate Claude George (born May 29, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 22nd overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft from the University of Connecticut. A and guard, he played a ...

, Connecticut, G, Sr., , , Newark, N.J. * Dwayne Bryant, Georgetown, G, Sr., , ,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, La. * Jason Matthews, Pittsburgh, G, Jr. *

Eric Murdock Eric Lloyd Murdock (born June 14, 1968), nicknamed "Man of Steal", is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round (21st pick overall) of the 1991 NBA draft. Biography Murdock grew up ...

, Providence, G, Jr., , ,

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

, N.J. *

Marty Conlon Martin McBride Conlon (born January 19, 1968) is an Irish-American former professional basketball player whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) lasted from 1992 through 2000. Conlon started his basketball career at Archbishop S ...

, Providence, F, Sr. , , The Bronx, N.Y. Big East All-Rookie Team: *

, Connecticut, F, Fr., , , Ramat Hasharon, Israel *

Scott Burrell Scott David Burrell (born January 12, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the men's basketball head coach at Southern Connecticut State University. He has played internationally and was also a professional b ...

, Connecticut, G, Fr., , ,

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Conn. *

Terry Dehere Lennox Dominique "Terry" Dehere (born September 12, 1971) is an American former basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was an NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, All-American college player at S ...

, Seton Hall, G, Fr., , ,

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, N.J. * Michael Edwards, Syracuse, G, Fr., , Voorhees, N.J. * Lance Miller, Villanova, F, Fr., , Bridgewater, N.J.

All-Americans

The following players were selected to the 1990 Associated Press All-America teams. Consensus All-America First Team: *

, Syracuse, Key Stats: 17.9 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.9 spg, 55.1 FG%, 36.6 3P%, 591 points Consensus All-America Second Team: *

, Georgetown, Key Stats: 16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 52.5 FG%, 510 points First Team All-America: *

, Syracuse, Key Stats: 17.9 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.9 spg, 55.1 FG%, 36.6 3P%, 591 points Second Team All-America: *

, Georgetown, Key Stats: 16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 52.5 FG%, 510 points AP Honorable Mention *

, St. John's *

, Connecticut *

, Georgetown *

, Syracuse * Chris Smith, Connecticut *

, Georgetown * Stephen Thompson, Syracuse

References

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