A storied rivalry to open things up, a No. 1 seed NOT named Villanova and Myles-Markus III highlight the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep, which is set to tip off Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden.
The BIG EAST’s annual showcase event commences at 7 p.m. when a pair of conference originals square off with No. 8 Georgetown taking on No. 9 St. John’s before seventh-seeded Xavier faces No. 10 DePaul in Wednesday’s nightcap.
Thursday’s quarterfinals will kick off with No. 1 Creighton meeting the Georgetown-St. John’s winner at noon. Thursday’s second game will see No. 4 Providence going up against No. 5 Butler at 2:30 p.m.
Thursday’s evening session will pit No. 2 Villanova against the winner of Xavier-DePaul at 7 p.m. before BIG EAST fans get one last taste of Myles Powell vs. Markus Howard when No. 3 Seton Hall tangles with No. 6 Marquette in the 9:30 p.m. finale.
The semifinals will be Friday at 6:30 and 9 p.m. with the championship game slated for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
“There is no greater tournament in the country than the BIG EAST,” Providence head coach Ed Cooley said. “The nostalgia of it, the history of it, the coaching in it, the players in it, the excitement around it. If any team is fortunate to get to Friday night to try and get to Saturday, it’s so much fun. The bright lights of playing on that stage, there’s nothing greater.”
Georgetown and St. John’s will get the Garden party started Wednesday night in the opener.
The Hoyas swept the season series from the Johnnies with Georgetown routing the Red Storm 87-66 in their first meeting on Jan. 3 in D.C. when Mac McClung poured in 24 points. But the second meeting was the more memorable affair.
Georgetown trailed by 17 points with 16 minutes to play and it appeared St. John’s was about to square the season series. But a furious rally by the Hoyas, fueled in part by 12 second-half turnovers by the Johnnies, helped Georgetown climb back into the game. Omer Yurtseven’s layup with 10.2 seconds to play gave the Hoyas a 73-72 lead. But with a chance to win the game in the final seconds, the Johnnies fumbled the ball for the 12th - and final - St. John’s turnover of the game.
Jahvon Blair led the Hoyas with a career-high 23 points.
“It’s going to be hard to beat St. John’s three straight times,” Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing said. “I’ve learned that from experience. So we have to come out and bring our ‘A’ game. We have to compete, we can’t take any lows, take any minutes off. We just have to continue to scratch and claw and hopefully come away with a win.”
Xavier also swept the season series from DePaul, knocking off the Blue Demons 67-59 in Chicago on Jan. 4 before posting a 78-67 victory at the Cintas Center on Feb. 25.
Freshman KyKy Tandy led four Musketeers in double figures with 14 points in the first meeting while senior Tyrique Jones posted a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds. But the second meeting was all about the long ball.
Xavier pumped in 12 three-pointers in the game with Jason Carter, Naji Marshall and Paul Scruggs dropping a trio of three-balls apiece.
“DePaul will be a big challenge,” Xavier coach Travis Steele said. “They’re a team that’s led by Charlie Moore who is as quick as any point guard in our league. They’re going to push the pace (and) they’re going to be really good on the glass. We’re going to have our hands full and we’re looking forward to playing.”
Creighton, which is coming off a 77-60 over Seton Hall in its regular-season finale, will open up Thursday’s quarterfinal-round action as the Bluejays come in as the top seed for the first time. The Jays won’t know whether their first opponent will be the Hoyas or the Johnnies until sometime around 9 p.m. Wednesday night. The Bluejays and Hoyas split their season series with the Hoyas winning 83-80 in the first meeting in D.C. on Jan. 15 when Yurtseven posted 20 points and 13 rebounds while Mac McClung scored 19.
Creighton exacted some revenge in the second meeting with a 91-76 win in Omaha on Mar. 4. Neither Yurtseven nor McClung played in the second meeting due to injuries but it probably wouldn’t have mattered as the Bluejays drained 17 three-pointers in the win. Mitch Ballock led the charge with six three-balls.
Creighton also split with St. John’s this season with the Jays rolling to a 94-82 victory in Omaha on Feb. 8 before the Johnnies shocked Creighton in the return match at Carnesecca Arena on Mar. 1. Marcus Zegarowski led the Jays’ charge in the first game with 23 points as six different Creighton players scored in double figures.
But the second meeting saw St. John’s, among the worst three-point shooting teams in the country, drop 14 three-balls on the Jays with seven of them coming from Greg Williams Jr. in a 91-71 Red Storm win. The Johnnies came into the game ranked 307th out of 351 Division I teams in 3-point shooting.
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is excited to get his top-seeded Bluejays to the Big Apple for tourney play.
“First of all, Madison Square Garden, I think, is part of what makes our tournament as special as it is,” McDermott said. “And secondly, the quality of the teams in the BIG EAST, and when you put those two together it’s a recipe for an incredible four-day event. I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the league for six or seven years and I have a son (Doug) in the NBA who tells me everybody in the NBA, their favorite place to play is Madison Square Garden. It’s a unique experience to be able to play in that facility and it’s always great competition.”
Providence and Butler also split their two meetings this season with each team posting road wins.
Butler toppled the Friars 70-58 at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Jan. 10 when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 6 in the country, the highest ever for the program. Kamar Baldwin and Jordan Tucker each scored 17 points in the win.
In the rematch on Feb. 1, Providence got six free throws from Luwane Pipkins in the final minute for the Friars’ first win over a Top 25 team since March 19, 2018. The Bulldogs came into the game ranked No. 16. It was also the first of five wins by Providence over ranked teams in the month of February,
The Friars, who are currently the conference’s hottest team with a six-game winning streak, will be looking to enhance their resume for the NCAA Tournament with a strong showing at the Garden this week.
“I believe that when you’re playing well and you happen to go into your conference tournament and win some games, a game or two, it’s only going to give you more confidence for that next tournament that you’re in,” Cooley said. “And hopefully Providence College is playing in that tournament when they announce the field of 68.”
Villanova, which has been the top seed in five of the past six BIG EAST Tournaments, will await the winner of Xavier-DePaul. The Wildcats swept the season series from both the Musketeers and Blue Demons.
Collin Gillespie scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to propel the Wildcats to a 68-62 win over Xavier in their first meeting on Dec. 30. The second game was won by Nova’s defense, which limited the Musketeers to their lowest scoring total of the season in a 64-55 Wildcats’ win.
Nova needed overtime to take down DePaul in their first encounter on Jan. 4. The Wildcats squandered an 11-point lead with 2:14 to play, but Gillespie sank four clutch free throws in OT to help pull out the win.
The return matchup at DePaul saw Villanova overwhelm the Demons with 18 3-pointers as the Wildcats won for the 20th straight time against DePaul.
The BIG EAST saved perhaps its best Thursday matchup for last when Seton Hall will battle Marquette in the day’s finale. The Pirates took both regular-season decisions and both Powell and Howard put on their typical offensive shows each time.
In their first encounter at The Rock in Newark on Jan. 11, Howard won the battle with 27 points but Powell won the war with a 69-55 Pirates’ victory. Powell dropped 23 points in the win.
In the return engagement on Marquette’s Senior Day on Feb. 29, Howard again topped Powell, scoring 37 points to Powell’s 28. But the Hall again got the win with an 88-79 victory in Howard’s final home game.
“We just played them a week ago at Marquette with obviously one of the best players in the country in Markus Howard,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “(But) we got to try and make sure we rebound the basketball better against them. It’s going to be a great matchup but every game in the BIG EAST Tournament always is. It’s electric. It’s just one of those things that you know it’s going to be a great contest.”
So buckle up BIG EAST fans, it’s going to be a fun four-day ride beginning Wednesday.
“I believe this to my core. When you get to the NCAA Tournament, there are experiences, there is a vibe, there’s a tension, distractions that make the games different,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “I really believe playing in Madison Square Garden in New York City with the history of the BIG EAST Conference and the history of that tournament, I believe there is the same effect. It’s so big and I don’t know of any conference tournament in the country that has that, where you’re on Broadway, you’re in the Mecca, you’re in the Garden, the World’s Greatest Arena. (And) with the history of a tournament that has been played in the same place every year for close to 40 years. It affects you and it’s an experience as a basketball player that you never forget. I really think it matches the vibe and the uniqueness of the NCAA Tournament.”