Josh Hart, Darryl Reynolds, Kris Jenkins Celebrate Regular-Season Title
MBB Minute -- Villanova Clinches Outright Regular-Season Title
Villanova nailed down a record fourth-straight outright BIG EAST title with a 79-63 victory over visiting Creighton on Saturday. Eric Paschall led the Wildcats with 19 points. Josh Hart added 16 points and seven points. The Bluejays’ Marcus Foster led all scorers with 25 points. The VU senior class, which includes Kris Jenkins, Hart and Darryl Reynolds, has won 124 games and not lost consecutive contests in their careers. Villanova is 14-3 in league play, while Creighton dropped to 9-7.
The results of two other games created a three-way tie for fifth place at 8-8 among Providence, Seton Hall and Marquette.
Providence has a four-game winning streak – the longest active streak in the league – after rallying to defeat Marquette 73-69. The Friars made up a 12-point deficit in the final 7:20. Rodney Bullock led the way with his third straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kyron Cartwright added 16 points. Marquette’s Markus Howard scored a game-high 24 points, which included 6-of-8 from 3-point range.
Seton Hall survived a late rally by DePaul and prevailed 82-79 at Allstate Arena. The Pirates led 49-29 before the Blue Demons closed the deficit to 77-76 in the final minute. The Hall’s Desi Rodriguez scored 19 points and Angel Delgado produced his 10
th straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Khadeen Carrington had 18 points and six assists. DePaul’s Billy Garrett Jr. matched his career high with 26 points. Backcourt partner Eli Cain had 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.
St. John’s won its third straight game at Madison Square Garden, holding off Georgetown 86-80 and improving to 7-9 in the BIG EAST. Freshman Shamorie Ponds led the Red Storm with 24 points. Federico Mussini and Bashir Ahmed each added 16 points. St. John’s helped force 22 Hoya turnovers, while committing only nine. Rodney Pryor and L.J. Peak scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, for the Hoyas.
On Sunday, Butler takes the short trip from Indianapolis to Cincinnati for a game at Xavier, a 3:30 p.m. tip on FS1. The Bulldogs are in second place with an 11-5 mark after knocking off Villanova 74-66 on Wednesday. They can lock up the No. 2 seed for The BIG EAST Tournament with a victory. The Musketeers, 8-7 in league play, are aiming to end a four-game losing streak. They are 12-2 overall at Cintas Center.