By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SAN ANTONIO - Less than two years before the Big East is poised to become a basketball super conference with the addition of several Conference USA teams, the league already looks pretty strong.

Connecticut's National Championship Monday at Alamodome was the third in the last six years for the Big East. Connecticut also won in 1999 and Syracuse won last year.

The league has a 24-8 record in the NCAA Tournament in the last two seasons, a .750 winning percentage that is the best in the nation.

In 25 years of existence, the conference has won five National Championships in men's basketball.

DOUBLING UP: If Connecticut's women's team wins the National Championship tonight against Tennessee, it would mark the second straight year of winning both championships for the Big East. Syracuse's men and Connecticut's women won the titles last year.

"We're hoping they can win it so we can make history," Connecticut guard Ben Gordon said.

RELYING ON STARTERS: It was a seemingly non-essential free-throw late in the first half that gave Connecticut a 39-26 lead, but Hilton Armstrong's free throw was the only point scored by a Connecticut bench player the entire game.

Georgia Tech, meanwhile, got 34 points from its bench.

OVERMATCHED: The much-hyped low-post matchup between Connecticut's Emeka Okafor and Georgia Tech's Luke Schensher(cq) turned out to be no contest.

Okafor more than doubled Schenscher's point total 24 to 9 and outrebounded Schenscher 15 to 11.

FREE THROW FAILURE: Georgia Tech made just 12 of 21 free throws while Connecticut made 25 of 39. The Yellow Jackets missed several front ends of one-and-ones that proved costly at halftime and at the end of the game.

"The free throws?" Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "It just happens like that some nights."

Georgia Tech also shot just 38 percent from the field, 29.4 percent in the first half.

"A lot of teams have bad shooting nights against us," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "There's probably a reason. It's a guy named Gordon and a guy named Okafor."

---

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com