When the top-seeded Xavier Musketeers rolled into the Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament this week, they had already accomplished quite a bit this season.
The Musketeers captured the BIG EAST regular-season title for the first time since joining the league, they achieved an all-time high when they were ranked No. 3 in the nation by the AP, they logged the most regular-season wins in school history with 27 and head coach Chris Mack topped it all off when he was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year.
So with all that already accomplished, the next item on Xavier’s To-Do List would be winning the BIG EAST Tournament championship for the first time. And if Thursday’s quarterfinal-round victory over St. John’s was any indication, that box could get checked in another couple of days.
Trevon Bluiett, who recently became the second all-time leading scorer at Xavier, scored 27 points and the Musketeers used a 28-12 run midway through the second half that broke the game open as Xavier rolled into Friday night’s semifinals with a convincing 88-60 victory over the Red Storm.
Xavier (28-4) will take on either Creighton or Providence Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET. St. John’s, which took down Georgetown in the first-round Wednesday night, saw its season come to a close and finished the year 16-17.
So where does this win rate in Xavier’s season so far?
“The mountaintop for us was winning the BIG EAST regular season championship,” Mack said. “And now hopefully we’ve got some more mountains to climb.”
St. John’s, which came into the game having won six of its last nine games, looked like they were going to take Xavier to the wire again after playing the Musketeers in two tightly contested games during the regular season. Xavier won both of those games but by just a combined 11 points. The Red Storm trailed just 33-29 at the half and was still hanging around early in the second half when a 3-pointer by Marvin Clark II pulled the Johnnies within 39-34.
But that’s when Xavier began to flex the muscle of the No. 3 team in the nation.
A jumper by Keram Kanter followed by a 3-pointer from Bluiett kick started the decisive Musketeers run that also included a pair of three-balls by Kaiser Gates, one from J.P Macura and another by Bluiett. And when the dust settled Xavier was holding a commanding 67-46 lead and the Johnnies hopes of an upset were long gone.
Xavier, which shot a pedestrian 35.7% in the first half, shot a scorching 58.1% after halftime, sinking 7-of-11 from beyond the arc while also out-rebounding St. John’s, 42-30, in the game. Gates finished with 16 points and Kanter added 12 for Xavier while Clark II led St. John’s with 18 points with Justin Simon adding 14 and Shamorie Ponds logging 15 but on 4-of-14 shooting.
It was just the latest superlative outing for Bluiett, who became just the 13th player in BIG EAST history to be named to the conference’s First Team three straight years.
Bluiett was asked if he was planning on using Madison Square Garden as his stage to prove he is one of the best players in the country. Bluiett, a team-first guy, gave a team-first answer.
“I don’t think I’m really trying to prove anything,” Bluiett said. “I feel like who I am is who I am. (We’re) trying to win one goal and that’s just trying to win the BIG EAST championship. And if my work for me team comes out and (people) say. ‘Hey, Trevon has proven himself,’ so be it. But I’m not necessarily trying to prove myself. Just trying to come down here and win games.”
Xavier remains unbeaten in the BIG EAST quarterfinals and has now reached the semifinals all five seasons they have been in the BIG EAST. St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin was asked whether the quick turnaround from their game versus Georgetown played a part in the Johnnies wilting in the second half against Xavier.
Spoiler alert: It did not, according to Mullin.
“They’re a tough team to play under any conditions,” Mullin said. “They just are a really good team through and through. The turnaround is what it is. It’s scheduled out and that’s what you get for coming in ninth.”