Creighton's Martin Krampelj and DePaul's Max Strus
Creighton, DePaul Still Going
Creighton and DePaul are the two BIG EAST teams still lacing them up in the postseason. Creighton plays at TCU Tuesday night in the NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET. The winner advances to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals on Tuesday, April 2.
DePaul moved into the semifinal round of the CBI with a 97-89 victory over Longwood on Monday at McGrath-Phillips Arena on the Blue Demons’ campus. Max Strus poured in 38 points for his fourth 30-point game in his last six outings. DePaul hosts Coastal Carolina Wednesday in the CBI Semifinals.
In the NCAA Tournament, Villanova reached the second round before dropping an 87-61 decision to Purdue in a South Regional contest in Hartford, Ct. The sixth-seeded Wildcats were led, as usual, by the senior duo of Eric Paschall and Phil Booth, who scored 19 and 15 points, respectively. Booth set a school record by playing in his 148th career game. Villanova defeated No. 11 seed Saint Mary’s 61-57 in the first round. The Wildcats finished 26-10.
Marquette, the No. 5 seed in the South Region, also played in Hartford, but lost 83-64 in the first round to No. 12 seed Murray State. Markus Howard led the Golden Eagles with 25 points. The junior finished the season with a league-leading 25.0 scoring average and 120 3-pointers made. Marquette’s season ended with a 24-10 overall record.
Seton Hall, the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Regional, lost 84-68 to No. 7 seed Wofford in Jacksonville, Fla. The Pirates overcame a 16-point deficit to take the lead with 7:48 to play, but could not hold on. Myles Powell fueled the comeback, scoring 23 of his 27 points in the second half. He finished second to Marquette’s Howard in the BIG EAST scoring race with a 23.1 mark. The Pirates’ season ended with a 20-14 record.
St. John’s, returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, lost 74-65 to Arizona State in the First Four in Dayton. Shamorie Ponds tallied a game-high 25 points, his 18th game of the season with 20 or more points. Ponds is fourth in scoring with a 19.7 average. The Johnnies’ season ended at 21-13.
The BIG EAST placed five teams in the NIT. Xavier reached the second round before falling at Texas 78-76 in overtime. The Musketeers finished 19-16 with five playing averaging in double figures. Naji Marshall, who posted 20 points and 21 rebounds in a first-round win over Toledo, led the squad with a 14.7 average.
Georgetown, Providence and Butler made one-game appearances in the NIT. The Hoyas (19-14) lost 71-68 to Harvard. The Friars (18-16) were beaten 84-72 by Arkansas. The Bulldogs (16-17) lost 80-76 at Nebraska.