NEW YORK (AP) -- Kelly Whitney had 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting and Seton Hall took advantage of 62 percent shooting in the first half to beat Miami 67-52 Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

The Pirates (17-11), who many people felt needed one win in this tournament to ensure an at-large berth in the NCAA field of 65, will play Connecticut (19-8) in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.

Andre Sweet had 16 points for Seton Hall, which snapped a two-game losing streak that followed a nine-game winning streak. John Allen had 15 points and Andre Barrett added 13 points and 10 assists.

Paulo Coelho had 12 points for the Hurricanes (11-17), who finished the season losing seven of their last eight games.

The Pirates combined their torrid first-half shooting (15-for-24) with holding Miami's 21.7 percent (5-for-23) to take a 38-19 lead.

The lead reached 55-34 on a free throw by Allen with 7:34 left, and Miami didn't get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

The Pirates finished at 48 percent for the game (25-for-52), while the Hurricanes shot 33 percent (17-for-51).

Seton Hall lost to St. John's in the opening round of last year's tournament, while Miami reached the semifinals, losing to Pittsburgh.

NEW YORK -- Ryan Gomes had 26 points and 15 rebounds as Providence snapped a five-game losing streak in the Big East tournament with a 73-50 victory over West Virginia on Wednesday.

The Friars (16-12) will play No. 5 Pittsburgh (23-4) in Thursday's quarterfinals.

Providence, which came into the tournament having won five of its last six, had a 20-point lead in the first half and was up 44-27 at the break.

West Virginia (14-15) never got closer than 15 points in the second half, losing its sixth straight Big East tournament game and for the eighth time in 10 games overall.

Gomes, who leads the Friars in scoring and rebounding with averages of 18.4 and 9.4, dominated the first half, getting 18 points and seven rebounds.

The Friars shot 48 percent in the first half, outrebounded the Mountaineers 22-12 and forced eight turnovers.

Rob Sanders had 17 points for the Friars, who last won a Big East tournament game in 1998, a first-round win over Notre Dame.

Chaz Briggs had 12 points and Drew Schifino added 11 for the Mountaineers, who won't be eligible for postseason play with the sub-.500 record.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Villanova came close to a second stunning victory in as many days.

One day after the women's team snapped Connecticut's 70-game winning streak, the men's team -- with five players going all but two minutes -- stayed with Georgetown until the final minute, losing 47-41 Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

Using a zone to try and contain Georgetown's Mike Sweetney and trying to milk as much of every 35-second possession as possible, the suspension-strapped Wildcats were still within two points with 1:07 to play.

But Gerald Riley hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left on the shot clock to give the Hoyas (15-13) a 46-41 lead and they added one more point the rest of the way in the lowest scoring game in the history of the Big East tournament.

Georgetown, which kept alive its streak of reaching the quarterfinals in every Big East tournament, will face No. 11 Syracuse (23-4) on Thursday.

Villanova (15-15), which gave then-No. 7 Pittsburgh a scare before losing 56-54 Sunday with the same seven-man roster, had 12 players suspended last week for various lengths for unauthorized use of a school telephone access code.

The suspensions were staggered so the Wildcats would have seven players for every game and the five starters of Randy Foye, Curtis Sumpter, Marcus Austin, Allan Ray and Derrick Snowden were almost enough. Those players were also suspended and will sit out either in the NIT -- the Wildcats are eligible with a .500 record -- or next season.

The loss was the fifth straight for Villanova and its sixth in the last seven game. It also snapped a string of eight tournament-opening wins for the Wildcats.

Villanova led 23-20 at halftime, but the Wildcats managed just two points over the first 91/2 minutes of the second half and the Hoyas took the lead for good.

Sweetney had 12 points, two on a follow of a missed drive by Tony Bethel that gave Georgetown a 41-35 lead with 3:36 left. Ray's three-point play with 2:43 left made it 41-38, but Sweetney made two free throws after he was fouled grabbing an offensive rebound with 2:20 left.

Sweetney, who entered the game averaging 22.7 points, was 3-for-9 from the field as the packed-in zone limited his touches.

Bethel had 12 points and Riley finished with 10 for the Hoyas, who shot 30.8 percent (16-for-52).

Snowden had 12 points for Villanova, while Foye and Ray each added 10.

The Wildcats were able to stay even with Georgetown on the boards as each had 31 rebounds. Sweetney had nine for the Hoyas and Sumpter had eight for Villanova.

The previous record for fewest points in a game was 92 when St. John's beat Providence 48-44 on Feb. 28, 1980 in the first Big East tournament.