1987–88 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 20, 1987 through March 13, 1988
Teams	9
TV partner	ESPN
Regular Season
Champion	Pittsburgh(12–4)
SeasonMVP	Charles Smith – Pittsburgh
Tournament
Champions	Syracuse
FinalsMVP	Sherman Douglas – Syracuse
Basketball seasons
1986–87 1988–89

The1987–88Big East Conference men's basketball season was the ninth in conference history, and involved its nine full-time member schools.

Pittsburgh was the regular-season champion with a record of12–4.Syracuse won theBig East tournament championship.

Connecticut won the1988 National Invitation Tournament.

• Pittsburgh was theregular-season champion with a record of(12–4). It was Pittsburgh's second regular-season championship or co-championship.
• Syracuse won its secondBig East tournament championship.
• Connecticut won the1988 National Invitation Tournament. It was the first of two consecutiveNIT championships for Big East schools:St. John's won the1989 NIT thefollowing season.
• Connecticut juniorguard Phil Gamble was namedMost Valuable Player of the 1988 NIT.

Syracuse was ranked No. 1 preseason, Pittsburgh and Syracuse were ranked in the Top 20 of theAssociated Press poll for the entire season, and Pittsburgh was in the Top 10 in all but one week. Georgetown was in the Top 20 for most of the season until fading late in the year. St. John's and Villanova also made brief appearances in the Top 20.

Seeding in theBig 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:(1) Pittsburgh,(2) Syracuse,(3) Georgetown,(4) Villanova,(5) St. John's,(6) Seton Hall,(7) Boston College,(8) Providence,(9) Connecticut.

Six Big East teams received bids to theNCAA Tournament. St. John's lost in the first round and Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, and Syracuse in the second round. Villanova finished as the Southeast Region runner-up.

Two Big East teams received bids to theNational Invitation Tournament, which did not yet haveseeding. Playing in two different unnamed brackets, Boston College and Connecticut both advanced to the semifinals, in which Connecticut defeated Boston College. Connecticut then went on to defeatOhio State for the 1988 NIT championship. Connecticut juniorguard Phil Gamble was namedMost Valuable Player of the 1988 NIT.

Player of the Year:

• Charles Smith, Pittsburgh, F, Sr.

Defensive Player of the Year:

• Gary Massey, Villanova, G, Jr.

Freshman of the Year:

• Sean Miller, Pittsburgh, G

Coach of the Year:

• P. J. Carlesimo, Seton Hall (6th season)

All-Big East First Team

• Dana Barros, Boston College, G, Jr., 5 ft 11 in (180 cm), 163 lb (74 kg),Boston,Mass.
• Charles Smith, Pittsburgh, F, Sr., 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 250 lb (113 kg),Bridgeport,Conn.
• Mark Bryant, Seton Hall, F, Sr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 245 lb (111 kg),Glen Ridge,N.J.
• Derrick Coleman, Syracuse, F, So., 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 258 lb (117 kg),Mobile,Ala.
• Sherman Douglas, Syracuse, G, Jr., 6 ft 0 in (183 cm), 180 lb (82 kg),Washington, D.C.

All-Big East Second Team:

• Charles Smith, Georgetown, G, Jr., 6 ft 1 in (185 cm), 160 lb (73 kg), Washington, D.C.
• Jerome Lane, Pittsburgh, F, Jr., 6 ft 6 in (198 cm), 230 lb (104 kg),Akron,Ohio
• Shelton Jones, St. John's, F, Sr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 210 lb (95 kg),Copiague, N.Y.
• Rony Seikaly, Syracuse, C, Sr. 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 240 lb (109 kg),Athens,Greece
• Doug West, Villanova, G, Jr. 6 ft 6 in (198 cm), 200 lb (91 kg),Altoona,Pa.

All-Big East Third Team:

• Cliff Robinson, Connecticut, C, Jr., 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 245 lb (111 kg),Portland,Ore.
• Steve Wright, Providence, C, Sr. 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 209 lb (95 kg),Syracuse, N.Y.
• Michael Porter, St. John's, G, Jr., 6 ft 0 in (183 cm),Alexandria,Va.
• Mark Plansky, Villanova, F, Sr., 6 ft 6 in (198 cm), 210 lb (95 kg),Wakefield,Mass.
• Tom Greis, Villanova, C, So., 7 ft 5 in (226 cm), 236 lb (107 kg),Queens, N.Y.

Big East All-Freshman Team:

• Corey Beasley, Boston College, F, 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 210 lb (95 kg)
• Bobby Martin, Pittsburgh, C, 6 ft 9 in (206 cm),Atlantic City, N.J.
• Jason Matthews, Pittsburgh, G, 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
• Sean Miller, Pittsburgh, G, 6 ft 1 in (185 cm),Ellwood City, Pa.
• Eric Murdock, Providence, G, 6 ft 1 in (185 cm), 190 lb (86 kg),Somerville, N.J.

The following players were selected to the 1988 Associated Press All-America teams.

Consensus All-America Second Team:

• Jerome Lane, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 13.9 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 51.3 FG%, 431 points
• Rony Seikaly, Syracuse, Key Stats: 16.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 56.6 FG%, 569 points

Second Team All-America:

• Jerome Lane, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 13.9 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 51.3 FG%, 431 points

Third Team All-America:

• Sherman Douglas, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 18.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 8.6 apg, 54.6 FG%, 36.8 3P%, 562 points

AP Honorable Mention

• Dana Barros, Boston College
• Derrick Coleman, Syreacuse
• Charles Smith, Pittsburgh

• 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
• 1987–88 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team
• 1987–88 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team
• 1987–88 St. John's Redmen basketball team
• 1987–88 Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team
• 1987–88 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team
• 1987–88 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

• 1987–88 Big East Conference men's basketball season

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