Connecticut opened the 2011 Big East Tournament with a 97-71 victory against lowly, though feisty DePaul. The Huskies were hammering the Blue Demons early on and led by 18 points at the half, but it was a seven-point game late, even as DePaul played without Cleveland Melvin.

Then the Huskies scored 17 of the next 20 points and ran away and hid. It’s their largest margin of victory in Big East Tournament play. That’s good news. UConn had lost six in a row in this event, which shocked me. In fact, I was more or less desensitized to this: WVU has the best winning percentage in the past three Big East Tournaments and is the only team to win two or more games in the past three.

Only one other Big East team has avoided a first-game loss in each of the past three tournaments. That’d be Marquette, which plays Providence tonight and can extend its streak and give itself a shot to end WVU’s tomorrow.