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Archives for March 13, 2024

Villanova Squeaks Past DePaul

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Justin Moore hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.8 seconds remaining to lift sixth-seeded Villanova past 11th-seeded DePaul 58-57 in the nightcap of the opening round of the Big East tournament Wednesday.

The Wildcats (18-14) will play third-seeded Marquette in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.

Eric Dixon had 21 points and nine rebounds, Mark Armstrong added 11 points, and Moore scored eight of his 10 in the second half.

Jalen Terry led DePaul with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

The Blue Demons (3-29) lost their final 20 games of the season. They had one last possession but Armstrong stole the ball.

Moore hit a tough shot in the lane with 7:06 left for a 47-45 Villanova lead.

Terry responded with a deep 3-pointer from the wing with 6:17 remaining for a 48-47 DePaul advantage.

Later, Da’Sean Nelson converted a three-point play with 1:52 remaining for a 55-52 lead for the Blue Demons.

Then Dixon came back with a 3-pointer with 1:31 left to equalize at 55.

Terry answered for DePaul with a pullup jumper with 1:13 left to give the Blue Demons a two-point lead and setting the stage for Moore’s winning basket.

Dixon posted up and scored for a 12-9 Villanova lead with 10:24 left in the first half, then Jordan Longino dropped in a 3-pointer from the corner with 8:38 remaining for a 15-9 advantage.

DePaul kept it close, however, and got within 19-14 on Elijah Fisher’s layup — the Blue Demons’ first 2-pointer of the game — with 4:13 left. Back-to-back 3’s by K.T. Raimey and Terry gave DePaul the lead at 20-19 with 2:02 left.

Villanova led 27-25 at halftime thanks in large part to nine points on three made 3-pointers from Longino.

DePaul, on the other hand, shot just 8 of 29 in the opening half.

DePaul increased the lead to 40-32 with 12:57 remaining in the second half when Terry hit a 3 after Villanova went more than five minutes without scoring.

But the Wildcats went on a quick 8-0 run after the drought to tie the game at 40-40 with 9:41 to go.

–Field Level Media

Providence Romps in Big East

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Josh Oduro posted 20 points and nine rebounds as seventh-seeded Providence defeated 10th-seeded Georgetown 74-56 in the first round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday.

Providence’s Devin Carter, who was named Big East Player of the Year hours before the game, tallied 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Ticket Gaines shot 4-for-7 from 3-point range on his way to 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Friars (20-12) made 12 of 32 attempts from deep as they kept their faint NCAA Tournament hopes alive. They will face No. 8 Creighton, the second seed, in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Georgetown (9-23) saw its first season under coach Ed Cooley come to an end in ignominious fashion. Cooley, Providence’s coach for 12 years, finished the season 0-3 against the Friars.

Jayden Epps poured in 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting to power the Hoyas’ offense.

Georgetown turned an 18-point deficit into a 64-56 game with 3:40 left after Drew Fielder contributed eight points, including two 3-pointers, and Epps made a driving layup.

Oduro made two free throws, and after Epps missed a pair of his own, Carter pulled up for a long 3-pointer that rattled around the rim and dropped to give the Friars a 13-point lead with 2:51 to go. From there, they were not seriously threatened.

Georgetown finished the game 4-of-19 from the foul line, with Epps shooting 3-of-11 there.

Providence was ahead 9-7 when Rich Barron knocked down a transition 3-pointer to spark a 11-0 run. Gaines hit a trey to make it 20-7 Friars, and Cooley called a timeout to stem the tide.

Another triple by Gaines gave Providence a 14-point lead. Epps kept the Hoyas in the game by making a 3-pointer while being fouled to the ground and finishing the four-point play.

Epps brought Georgetown within 28-21 with 9:25 left in the half, but Garwey Dual and Corey Floyd Jr. joined Providence’s 3-point party. Oduro’s free throws in the final minute gave the Friars a 40-27 halftime lead.

The Hoyas fell behind 45-27 early in the second half before forging a comeback. Rowan Brumbaugh set up Dontrez Styles for a reverse dunk, but less than a minute later Oduro tossed it to Carter and he elevated in the lane for an alley-oop of his own.

Georgetown drew within 49-40 while Providence went scoreless for a 4:50 stretch. Oduro knocked down a 3-pointer with 11:22 left to end that drought.

Carter deflected a pass near halfcourt and took it in for a dunk to make it 61-46 with 7:53 left.

–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media

BIG EAST Names Providence’s Devin Carter as Conference Player of Year

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Providence guard Devin Carter was named BIG EAST Player of the Year. Connecticut coach Dan Hurley wasnBIG EAST Coach of the Year and Hurley’s freshman guard standout Stephon Castle was been selected unanimously BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.

The conference’s head coaches make the selections and are not permitted to vote for their own players. The awards are presented at Madison Square Garden prior to the start of the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament Presented by JEEP. It is the 42nd consecutive year the BIG EAST is playing its postseason tournament at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

Carter, a 6-3 junior guard, is the BIG EAST scoring champion with a 21.4 average in league games. Overall, he ranks second in scoring at 19.4, third in rebounding at 8.6, fourth in 3-point shooting, making 38.5 percent and fourth in steals at 1.9. Carter, whose hometown is Miami, Fla., has posted 12 double-doubles this season, which ranks third in the league. In addition to his outstanding offensive production, he is also considered one of the BIG EAST’s top defensive players. Carter has helped lead the Friars to a 19-12 overall record and a 10-10 league mark. He is only the second Providence player to earn BIG EAST Player of the Year. Kris Dunn won in 2015-16 and shared the award in 2014-15 with Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono.

Hurley, in his sixth season at UConn, has guided the Huskies to an overall record of 28-3 and an 18-2 BIG EAST mark, which is the highest conference victory total in league history. Included in the 18 victories was a 14-game BIG EAST winning streak.  The Huskies are outright regular season BIG EAST champions for the first time since 1999. Hurley’s UConn career record is 132-58 (.695). In BIG EAST regular season play, he is 55-21 (.724). This week, the Huskies are ranked second in both national polls. Hurley’s Huskies are 27-1 against non-conference opponents over the last two seasons with all 27 wins coming by double digits. During that stretch, they set the D-I record with 24 straight.

Castle’s selection as Freshman of the Year should not be a surprise since he was the Preseason Freshman of the Year as chosen by the coaches and earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors a record 11 times during the season, including the last seven weeks. Unlike most college freshmen, Castle also excels defensively and is customarily given difficult defensive assignments. He leads all league freshman with an 11.2 scoring average, but also makes all-around contributions, with averages of 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists. The last UConn player to be named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year was Rudy Gay in 2004-05. Gay shared the honor with Jeff Green of Georgetown.

BIG EAST Player of the Year
Devin Carter, Providence

BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Dan Hurley, Connecticut

BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Stephon Castle, Connecticut

Xavier Opens Big East with W

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Desmond Claude scored 26 points and ninth-seeded Xavier earned a 76-72 victory over Butler in the opening round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

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Claude and the Musketeers (16-16) advance to the conference tournament quarterfinals against No. 1 seed UConn. Voted the league’s most improved player, Claude scored at least 25 for the fourth time this season and hit 11 of his 20 shots.

Xavier made winning plays down the stretch. The Musketeers led for the final 11:12 and pulled away in the final minutes, taking a 75-68 lead on Dayvion McKnight’s strong drive to the rim and bucket with 53 seconds left.

Butler had a chance thanks to DJ Davis’ 3, cutting the deficit to 75-71 with 45 seconds left.

Posh Alexander split a pair at the line with 13 seconds remaining. After Alexander missed the second free throw, Butler got the offensive rebound after a lengthy review. But Davis lost the ball in the lane with four seconds to go.

McKnight scored 16 of his 20 in the second half and Xavier shot 51.5 percent in the final 20 minutes and 46.3 percent overall. Quincy Olivari hit three of Xavier’s seven 3s and contributed 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Pierre Brooks scored 21 to lead Butler (18-14), which entered with a NET rating of 65 and likely needed at least one win in the tournament and some outside help to be invited to the NCAA Tournament.

Jalen Thomas and Posh Alexander, who appeared to suffer a scary right knee injury with about five minutes left in the first half, added 14 points apiece.

Xavier withstood Butler’s charge and held a 32-31 lead at halftime after Claude hit a floater in the lane with 28 seconds left.

After missing their first eight 3s, the Musketeers heated up with four 3s in the opening minutes of the second half to take a 46-43 lead on Claude’s triple just inside of the 16-minute mark.

Olivari’s 3 snapped a 54-54 tie with 11:12 left and his fastbreak layup made it 61-56 with 8:46 remaining.

–By Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media

Philly’s Jensen Honored by USBWA

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association honored Mike Jensen, longtime college basketball writer and columnist for the Phildelphia Inquirer, as winner of the Jim O’Connell Award for excellence in beat reporting. Jensen will be recognized April 8 at the association’s annual awards luncheon in Glendale, Arizona, site of the Men’s Final Four.

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Originally from Peekskill, N.Y., Jensen covered basketball for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 35 years, first on the high school beat, then colleges for 30 years as a beat writer and then a columnist. His 2017 Year of Philly Hoops Inquirer series spanned 55 parts with roughly 2,000 words appearing every Sunday in the Inquirer. He left the paper at the end of 2023 and now is writing a book on Philadelphia basketball.

“I’m way beyond honored by this,” Jensen said. “Jim O’Connell was a special man and a guiding light for how to conduct yourself in this business, in addition to being one of the funnier people on the planet.”

Jensen, a Vanderbilt graduate, won first-place Eclipse Awards for best enterprise or feature story in 2004 and ’06 for the sport of horse racing in a newspaper or magazine. He also covered soccer for the paper from 1989-2002, traveling to nine countries on five continents. Jensen recalls his best assignment, covering Temple under John Chaney for nine seasons, calling it “stealing money.”

“Mike is an original,” said USBWA President Brendan Quinn of The Athletic. “He arrived in Philadelphia as an outsider and ended up as a definitive voice on the city’s most parochial sport. No small task. Mike’s career combined dogged reporting with incredible writing and a high-level understanding of the game. He’s not only one of the best in the business, but also a better friend.”

The USBWA has annually recognized exemplary beat reporting each year since 2020 in the name of the late legendary Associated Press writer Jim O’Connell. The award is part of the association’s annual Best Writing Contest. Affectionately known as “Oc,” O’Connell was a USBWA president, is a member of the USBWA Hall of Fame and earned the Curt Gowdy Print Media Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s award given to media.

O’Connell served as the AP’s national college basketball writer from 1987 until shortly before his passing in 2018. He was a fixture at all the sport’s major events, from the Final Four to the Big East Tournament to the Maui Invitational. He covered eight Olympics and worked as a desk supervisor, overseeing the entire sports operation for the world’s largest news-gathering organization.

Jensen joins a list of other outstanding writers as a winner of this award that includes the late Terry Hutchens, Mike Waters, Emily Giambalvo and Geoff Grammer.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 900 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at 814-574-1485.

USBWA JIM O’CONNELL AWARD WINNERS
2020: Terry Hutchens
2021: Mike Waters
2022: Emily Giambalvo
2023: Geoff Grammer
2024: Mike Jensen

Scheffler to Defend at PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will begin his defense at The Players Championship paired alongside fellow Americans Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas for the first two rounds.

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Coming off a dominating victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he beat the entire field by two strokes on Sunday, Scheffler is the first defending champion to arrive at TPC Sawgrass as the top-ranked player in the world since Rory McIlroy in 2020. The event was ultimately canceled that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scheffler will begin his quest for a repeat in the afternoon wave on Thursday, teeing off in at 1:40 p.m. ET in one of the marquee pairings released Monday. The trio will tee off at 8:35 a.m. on Friday. Fowler won the Players in 2015 while Thomas claimed the trophy three years ago.

Thursday’s afternoon wave will include other marquee groups comprised of defending U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark playing with fellow former champions Collin Morkikawa and Brian Harman, while young American stars Tony Finau and Will Zalatoris will play with former Open champion Shane Lowry.

McIlroy is coming off a disappointing Sunday at Bay Hill, where he stumbled to a final-round 76. Rather than grab his opportunity to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, McIlroy saw the distance between him and Scheffler grow further with a tie for 21st.

The 2019 champion finished T33 at last year’s Players. He will tee off at 8:35 a.m. on Thursday in a featured group along with Jordan Spieth and Norway’s Viktor Hovland.

Also teeing off in the morning wave of the opening round will be the group of Patrick Cantlay, 2004 Players champion Adam Scott and rising Swedish star Ludvig Aberg.

They will all be looking to get off to a fast start to put pressure on Scheffler, the +500 pre-tournament favorite at DraftKings and +550 favorite at BetMGM.

“Everybody, I guess, now is kind of looking up at me at the top of the rankings and trying to take me down, so in order to stay up there, you got to put in a lot of work,” Scheffler said on Sunday.

–Field Level Media