Big East Tourney: Seton Hall Eliminates Providence

Jordan Theodore put on a show of slick passing and Seton Hall routed Providence 79-47 in the first round of the Big East tournament Tuesday night, a crucial victory for the Pirates' NCAA tournament hopes.

The senior guard set a career high with 13 assists to go with 13 points, and freshman forward Brandon Mobley scored a career-high 16 off the bench as the 10th-seeded Pirates (20-11) rebounded from a 28-point blowout at last-place DePaul in their regular-season finale Saturday.

Herb Pope added 16 points for Seton Hall, which fell behind 9-0 in this one before dominating the rest of the way to reach 20 wins for the first time since 2003-04.

Next up, a much tougher test Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden against No. 7 seed Louisville.

LaDontae Henton had 14 points to lead the 15th-seeded Friars (15-17), who lost 15 of their final 19 games.