Xavier has claimed at least a share of the BIG EAST regular-season championship.
MBB Minute – Xavier Grabs Share of Title; Two Other Games Go OT
Xavier became the first team other than Villanova to be champions in the BIG EAST’s current alignment after the Musketeers knocked off visiting Providence 84-74 Wednesday. Xavier has claimed at least a share of the BIG EAST regular-season championship. The other two Wednesday games both went to overtime. No. 4 Villanova outlasted Seton Hall 69-68 and it took two overtimes for St. John’s to defeat Butler 75-68.
Xavier (26-4, 14-3) can take the regular-season crown outright with a win at DePaul on Saturday. In the Providence victory, Trevon Bluiett scored a game-high 23 points and Quentin Goodin added 18 points. Reserve Maliek White led five PC players in double figures with 15 points. Providence (18-12, 9-8) is in a three-way tie for fourth place.
Not surprisingly, Villanova captains Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges played key roles in the win at Seton Hall. Bridges was strong the entire game with 23 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. After starting 1-of-7 from the field, Brunson made six of his last eight shots and finished with 14 points. To share the regular-season title with Xavier, Villanova (26-4, 13-4) must defeat Georgetown on Saturday and have Xavier lose at DePaul. Seton Hall (20-10, 9-8) is in the three-way tie for fourth with Providence and Butler.
At Carnesecca Arena, St. John’s took the floor against Butler without Shamorie Ponds, who was sidelined with an abdominal injury. But others stepped up, led by Justin Simon, who posted game highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and four steals in the double OT win. Bashir Ahmed scored 22 points and Marvin Clark II had 20 points for the Red Storm (15-15, 4-13). Butler (19-11, 9-8) shot only 35.1 percent from the floor. Kelan Martin and Paul Jorgensen led the Bulldogs with 17 points each.
There are plenty of tiebreaking scenarios going into Saturday, the final day of the regular season. Amazingly, no seeds have been determined. As an example of the possibilities, Seton Hall can finish as high as the third seed or as low as seventh.