Myles Powell scored 34 points in Wednesday's win over Marquette.
MBB Minute -- Wednesday Produced Comebacks, Overtime, 30-Point Scorers, But No Tourney Seeds
After three games on Wednesday, only the final day of the regular season on Saturday remains. Wednesday’s games were full of drama and top-flite scoring performances. Still, no seeds are set for next week’s BIG EAST Tournament and there is five-way tie in the middle of the standings at 8-9.
The night started with Seton Hall ending its game against No. 16 Marquette with an 18-0 run to win 73-64. The Hall’s Myles Powell poured in 34 points, 19 in the second half. Sam Hauser led the Golden Eagles (23-7, 12-5) with 25 points and nine rebounds. The Pirates, 17-12 overall, are one of the five teams at 8-9. Going into Saturday’s home game against Villanova, they are at the top of the tiebreaker as the No. 3 seed if the BIG EAST Tournament started today.
With Marquette losing, Villanova (22-8, 13-4) became at least co-champions of the regular season.
At Wintrust Arena, DePaul’s Max Strus followed his 43-point effort Sunday against St. John’s with a 30-point night in a 101-69 win over Georgetown. The senior shot 8-of-15 from 3-point range. The Blue Demons (15-13, 7-10), who never trailed in the game, also got 24 points from Eli Cain. Georgetown, 18-12 overall, are another 8-9 squad and sit as the No. 7 seed going into Saturday’s game at Marquette.
Providence battled back from a 16-point second-half deficit to force overtime, but Creighton prevailed 76-70 in the extra period. Ty-Shon Alexander, who scored a crucial five straight points in overtime, led five Bluejays in double figures with 17 points. The Friars (16-14, 6-11) got 36 points from their bench, including a season-high 21 points from Isaiah Jackson, who forced the overtime with a 3-point play with 14 seconds left in regulation. Creighton (17-13), winners of four in a row, is also 8-9 in the league and in the No. 6 tournament seed slot going into Saturday’s home game against DePaul.
Every BIG EAST team is assured of entering the BIG EAST Tournament with an overall winning record. Each BIG EAST squad has at least six conference wins. The only other time that occurred in the history of the league was in 1997-98.
Thirty-six of the 85 conference games (.424) have been decided by six points or less or gone into overtime. Home teams are 51-34 (.600) in league play.