Donte DiVincenzo and the Wildcats Celebrate Win over Virginia
MBB Minute -- Villanova, Xavier Post Sunday Victories
In front of the largest college basketball crowd ever in Philadelphia, 20,907 at Wells Fargo Center, Villanova rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat No. 12/13 Virginia 61-59. A tip-in by Donte DiVincenzo at the buzzer – his only basket of the game – gave the Wildcats the victory. Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson each scored 15 points for Villanova, which improved to 20-2. Under coach Jay Wright, the Wildcats have posted at least 20 wins in 12 of the last 13 seasons.
On Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Musketeers past St. John’s 82-77. The win pushed Xavier’s record to 15-6 overall and 5-3 in the BIG EAST. St. John’s, which fell to 10-12 overall and 4-6 in league play, was led by Shamorie Ponds’ 23 points.
Villanova’s win over Virginia completed non-conference play in the regular season for BIG EAST teams. The league’s overall record is 98-29 (.772). BIG EAST teams are 10-6 against top-25 teams in the Associated Press poll.
BIG EAST action is back on Tuesday with an FS1 doubleheader. At 7 p.m. ET, No. 22/22 Creighton and No. 16/15 Butler square off at Hinkle Field House. The Bluejays won the first meeting 75-64 on Jan. 11 in Omaha. Butler is in second place in the league standings with a 7-3 record. The Bluejays are third at 6-3.
In FS1’s second game, Georgetown visits DePaul at 9 p.m. The Hoyas knocked off Creighton and Butler last week with L.J. Peak averaging 21.0 points in the victories. DePaul will be trying to end a four-game losing skid. Billy Garrett Jr. leads the team in scoring at 15.1 ppg and is first in the BIG EAST in free throw shooting, making 91.3 percent.