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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | March 13

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By TERRY LYONS

NEW YORK – There are few things that join death and taxes as the guarantees in life. With that in mind, we add:

  1. Steph Curry’s jump shot
  2. Gregg Popovich leading NBA coaches in career victories
  3. The famed Island Green (17th) at TPC Sawgrass bringing PGA Tour pros to their knees, especially with winds at 20 mph and gusts 44+ mph.
  4. The annual BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden – the World’s Most Famous Arena – playing host to some of the best postseason college basketball any fan would want to experience in a community of like-minded opponents. Every March.

Right from the beginning this week, the BIG EAST did not disappoint. In the opening game, a 4:30pm (ET) afternoon start of a BIG EAST triple-header, Butler (14-19) upset Xavier (18-13) in a 89-82 overtime thriller. As the tournament progressed at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Providence and Butler were tied (31-all) at the half until the Friars outlasted Butler, 65-61 after a last minute 3-point FG by Providence’s Al Durham iced the victory.

With 15:38 left in the 2nd half on Thursday evening, St. John’s led Villanova 44-27. At 2:08 mark, after several lead changes, St. John’s was barely holding on, 65-64, but could not convert the win, eventually losing to ‘Nova, 66-65.

At the Friday night semifinals, No. 8-ranked Villanova took care of business against the No. 20 UConn, 63-60, in a game that had old-school BIG EAST fans lighting up The Garden with sound. But, No. 11 ranked Providence, the regular season BIG EAST Champion and tournament No. 1 seed dropped their semifinal game to an impressive Creighton team, 85-58. Included in that one-sided tally was the fact Creighton held Providence to 27 points in the first half.

After a terrible start (trailed 0-7), Creighton gave Villanova everything it could handle in the Saturday night BIG EAST Final. Villanova’s team leader, Collin Gillespie was held scoreless in the first half but finished the game with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists, including a pair of pressure three-point FGs and the game-clinching rebound with seven seconds remaining. Gillespie went to the line and hit two clutch FTs to close out the victory, 54-48, while securing Villanova’s fifth BIG EAST title in the past seven years.

The tournament brought forth an amazing sense of normalcy for the old-time BIG EAST fans, not the ultra-annoying “new-normal” spoken by talking heads, health care professionals and political talking heads. Just as the timing of the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament couldn’t have been worse, the 2022 edition, the 40th held at The Garden since the conference kicked its tires in Providence, Syracuse and Hartford to start things off in 1980-81-82, came about at a time when COVID-19 restrictions are being eased at public arenas, bars, restaurants and at schools.

There’s talk of the BIG EAST receiving seven invites to the NCAA’s Big Dance, with Xavier having a possible NIT invite awaiting after their early exit this week. What’s certain, as sure as that Curry 30-footer, is the depth and competitiveness of the BIG EAST’S men’s basketball teams.

The conference play is physical and, to the credit of the officiating staffs, the BIG EAST seems to have found the ability to call games in a ‘no harm, no foul’ professional style, rather than the annoying ticky-tack foul calls out on the perimeter. The refs have mastered the art of the non-call, to let play to continue. It has allowed an intense up & down style of play, less frequent foul trouble by the star players and better preparation for the upcoming Big Dance for Big East contenders.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The new NBA coaching record for most career victories was set Friday and mentioned above. While it’s easy to define the best coaches by the sheer number of victories, NBA coaches often chalk-it-up such honors due to longevity.

Here are the winningest coaches in the four major North American sports leagues:

NHL Ice-Hockey – Scotty Bowman – (1,244 wins, nine Stanley Cup championships)

NFL American Football – Don Shula – (347 wins, two Super bowl wins)

MLB Baseball – Connie Mack – (3,731 wins)

NBA Basketball – Gregg Popovich – (1,336 victories, five NBA titles)

NCAA Basketball – Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and coach John Wooden of UCLA both deserve mention.

In addition to this lofty list of winners, there’s also a common sense list of the greatest coaches, one that is a bit more subjective.

NHL – Al Arbour, Coach of the New York Islanders, Toe Blake of Montreal, Joel Quenneville of multiple NHL teams.

NFL – George Halas of Chicago Bears and Bill Belichick of New England Patriots

MLB – John McGraw, Tony La Russa, Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Sparky Anderson all deserve mention.

NBA – Red Auerbach, Boston Celtics.

DIAMOND DUST-UP RESOLVED: Thank goodness. Major League Baseball and its players Association came to terms this week and the baseball season will begin with players reporting today (March 13) and Spring Training games beginning March 17. As you would expect, it’ll be toughest on the pitchers stretching out, especially free agent pitchers.

Opening Day will be April 7, and MLB is planning to play a full 162-game schedule, allowing for players to make up on previously lost salary.

The MLB Postseason will expand to 12 teams.

The National League will adopt the Designated Hitter.

Free agency might be the most newsworthy item as Baseball comes back to life after its loss of three months. The lock-out began December 2 but starting this week, there will be a frenzy of free agent signings, maybe some 10-12 a day as teams re-stock.

Freddie Freeman, the Atlanta Braves star first baseman is high on the list of the potentially most valuable and sought after free agents. While some believe he will re-sign in Atlanta, there’s already talk of a mega-deal with one of the big market teams.

LA Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw already signed a one-year deal with the only club he’s played for on the major league level. The Dodgers’ California rival and neighbor to the north, the San Francisco Giants, signed left-hander Carlos Rodon to a reported two-year $44 million deal. Saturday, the Oakland A’s sent Chris Bassitt to the New York Mets in a muti-player deal to begin an Oakland roster-stripping list of expensive player sales.

For additional information, the reporters at ESPN are following the Free Agent market and post all transactions HERE.

March Madness Special: Read more of the weekly notes by subscribing HERE.

BIG EAST & The Garden Share 40 Years of Fantastic Tournament Memories

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from official News Release) – The 2022 BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden marks the 40th Anniversary of the prestigious postseason championship being staged at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” The BIG EAST Tournament first took to the famed Madison Square Garden basketball court in 1983, making it the longest-running postseason championship at the same location in college basketball.

One of college basketball’s most treasured events, the BIG EAST Tournament, first signed an agreement to bring the annual postseason classic to The Garden on October 7, 1981. Led by tournament MVP Chris Mullin, St. John’s defeated #1 seed Boston College 85-77 to win the first BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden in ’83. That weekend set the tone with sellout crowds and alumni parties up and down the Northeast corridor which quickly became a staple to circle the dates on The Garden’s yearly sports calendar.

Countless tournament memories have been made throughout the years, including Walter Berry’s block on Dwayne “Pearl” Washington in 1986; Kemba Walker’s spectacular 130 points in five games during the 2011 Tournament; Allen Iverson vs. Ray Allen in the 1996 Championship game; Doug McDermott scoring 92 total points in Creighton’s first BIG EAST Tournament in 2014; and of course Syracuse and UConn scoring 244 points over the course of 3 hours and 46 minutes in six overtimes in a wild game that ended at 1:22 a.m. in 2009.

“This year’s competition will be a fierce as ever,” said BIG EAST Commissioner, Val Ackerman. “And, we know that an electric atmosphere and the unforgettable moments that have defined the BIG EAST tournament for decades will once again await our amazing fans.”

“The BIG EAST Tournament and Madison square Garden have been synonymous with one another for 40 years,” said Joel Fisher, executive vice president, MSG Marquee Events. “Since 1983, the tournament has become a staple on The Garden calendar and has provided millions of fans with thrilling long-lasting memories. College hoops junkies will once again rush through our turnstiles this week for another four days of scintillating college basketball.”

The BIG EAST and Madison Square Garden will welcome fans back to the tournament this week for the first time since 2020 when the COVID Pandemic brought an early halt to the postseason tournament. Quarterfinal doubleheaders will be played this afternoon and evening, March 10. The semifinal doubleheader will be held Friday, March 11, followed by the title game on Saturday evening, March 12.

The first three BIG EAST tournaments were held in Providence, Syracuse and Hartford, respectively.

The BIG EAST Conference is an association of 11 nationally prominent colleges and universities that foster healthy athletic competition, community service and the pursuit of excellence in academic environments. The athletic programs of BIG EAST institutions provide national-caliber participation opportunities for more than 4,100 student-athletes on over 200 men’s and women’s teams in 22 sports. Established in 1979 and headquartered in New York City, the BIG EAST’s members are located in eight of the country’s top 37 largest media markets and include Butler University, University of Connecticut, Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University and Xavier University.

Seton Hall Endures; Defeats Hoyas

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release0 – On a night that saw the BIG EAST Tournament feel like old times, packed house of 17,163 and three gripping games with outstanding individual performances and renewed rivalries.

Georgetown travelled to the Garden knowing their last victory against a Big East opponent came in last year’s BIG EAST Tournament title game, a mere 362 days ago. During the season, the Hoyas held a halftime lead against a conference foe in just three games and never by more than three points. And last night’s three-point lead over Seton Hall was its first at the half since Feb.9 against DePaul.

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The Pirates came into the BIG EAST Tournament as the conference’s hottest team, winning their final five straight and eight of their last 10. They had just logged their sixth 20-win season in the past seven years and the Pirates kind of had the Hoyas number of late, having won 12 of the last 16 against Georgetown.

So it should have been little more than a walk in the park for the Pirates, no?

Um, no. And the Pirates should have known as much as they had just played the Hoyas a week ago and needed to rally late to take down Georgetown in a five-point win on The Hall’s Senior Night. So it should have come as no surprise that the third tilt of the season between the Pirates and Hoyas would once again go down to the wire as it did. But the Pirates used an 11-3 run over the final 4:38 to rally from a four-point deficit and pull out a hard-fought 57-53 victory.

The Pirates (21-9) move on to face No. 3 seed UConn in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Pirates and Huskies split the season series with Seton Hall winning, 90-87, in overtime on Jan. 8 before UConn evened the score with a 70-65 win on Feb. 16.

A three-pointer by Jamir Harris with 40.3 seconds to play gave the Pirates the lead for good at 55-53. But the Hoyas were not about to go quietly. With 27 seconds to play, Georgetown’s Collin Holloway had a wide open look on a three-pointer from the corner, but his shot clanged off the rim and right to teammate Donald Carey. But Carey’s attempt at a putback to tie the game was squashed when The Hall’s Ike Obiagu blocked his seventh shot of the game.

But after Seton Hall’s Alexis Yetna misfired on a free throw with 20.2 seconds to play, Georgetown had one more opportunity to either tie or win the game in the final seconds. But Carey made an errant pass to Kaiden Rice with six seconds to play and Jared Rhoden sank two free throws with two seconds left to ice the win for the Pirates.

Rhoden finished with 17 points to lead the Pirates while Myles Cale added 14. Freshman Aminu Mohammed was tops for the Hoyas with 12.

Afterwards, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard credited his team’s poise with helping to pull out the victory over a feisty bunch of Hoyas.

“What’s great about this group is that they never get rattled,” Willard said. “We got down four and they understood what we had to do and it’s nice having that veteran presence.”

That’s six straight wins for the Pirates who now turn their attention to the third-seeded Huskies, who will be coming at The Hall with BIG EAST All-First Teamers R.J. Cole and Adama Sanogo. The Huskies have also won six of their last seven coming into the tournament.

“The biggest thing is we rebounded in the second half and in the first half they really kicked our butts on the boards,” Willard said. “So going against a very physical UConn team, we’re going to have to rebound the basketball.”

St. John’s Defeats DePaul at Big East

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The crowd filled in for the first of two evening games of the BIG EAST Tournament’s opening-round triple-header as the top two scorers in the conference went head to head, representing DePaul and St. John’s University.

DePaul’s Javon Liberty-Freeman, this year’s Big East scoring champion at 21.9 points per outing, was looking to take down St. John’s and the conference’s No. 2 scorer, Julian Champagnie, and his 18.9 points per game. In their two meetings during the regular season, Champagnie scored 34 points in the Johnnies’ 88-84 victory on Jan. 5 before Freeman-Liberty got his revenge in a 99-94 victory over the Red Storm on Feb. 27 when he dropped 39 points on the Johnnies. Wednesday was the rubber match.

Liberty-Freeman helped the Blue Demons jump out to a quick 12-2 lead to open the game with six quick points in the spurt, you wondered – for a moment at least – if Champagnie was going to join in on the offensive fun. Champagnie might have been a little late out of the starting gate as St. John’s came out flat, but once he got rolling there was little DePaul could do to stop him in the first half. Champagnie scored 22 of his game-high 26 points in the opening 20 minutes and the Johnnies outscored the Demons, 47-17, through the final 16:46 of the first half to take a 20-point lead at the half before coasting to a 92-73 victory in their first-round game.

Freeman-Liberty finished with 17 points for the Blue Demons (15-16).

St. John’s (17-14) will play No. 2 seed Villanova and newly-named BIG EAST Player of the Year Collin Goillespie in Thursday’s 7 p.m. quarterfinals. The Red Storm lost both meetings with the WIldcats this year, with Nova taking a 73-62 decision on Jan. 29 before posting a 75-69 win on Feb. 8.

Those early shaky minutes by the Johnnies vs. DePaul was the only negative on an otherwise exceptional night by the Red Storm, who never let the Blue Demons get any closer than 17 points in the second half. St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson said those bumpy early minutes were just a case of a little stage fright.

“First game, you never know how they’re going to come out,” Anderson said. “But I thought once we settled down, we settled down by playing straight up defense. I thought our guys manned up and made it difficult on DePaul to get to the basket. I thought our defense really stiffened.”

The Johnnies relentless defense hounded the Blue Demons all night, forcing 17 DePaul turnovers and limiting the Demons to just 3-of-18 from three-point range. The Johnnies converted those turnovers into 24 points.

“We talked about coming out and being defensive,” Anderson said. “Last time we played them I thought we tried to beat them with offense. But our defense enabled us to get into transition with our offense.”

On the flip side the Red Storm was near flawless with the ball, posting 22 assists with just two turnovers. Posh Alexander led the Johnnies with seven assists. And while Champagnie did most of the heavy lifting on offense for the Red Storm, Anderson was quick to point out that contributions came from throughout the roster.

“Those guys coming off the bench, Stef Smith (13 points), Esahia Nyiwe (10 points), those guys deserve game balls,” Anderson said. “Obviously with Julian and Posh, you know what they’re going to bring. But I thought our bench was fantastic.”

Champagnie said his big night was brought about by both Anderson and his St. John’s teammates telling him to just be himself on the court.

“Honestly my coaches have the utmost confidence in me,” Champagnie said. “They continue to tell me to shoot the basketball and get to your spots and just be confident. My teammates do the same thing for me so I just come out and play hard for them and that’s what sealed it.”

Champagnie, who toyed with the idea of turning pro after last year, said playing in the BIG EAST Tournament was one of the reasons he returned to St. John’s this season.

“A lot of guys wish they could be here. We get to be here automatically,” Chamagnie said. “Coming back, this is definitely what I thought about, being here and playing in front of all the fans. There’s no atmosphere like it.”

WIth the win the Johnnies now turn their attention to Villanova, their opponent in the quarters Thursday night. The Johnnies were swept by the Wildcats this season but Champagnie is hoping the Red Storm can build off Wednesday night’s lopsided victory.

“They’re a good basketball team, you got to give them credit for that,” Champagnie said. “But come tomorrow we’re looking to continue our momentum and hopefully get a W.”

St. John’s is now 2-3 at Madison Square Garden this season, defeating DePaul and Georgetown but losing to Seton Hall, Villanova and Connecticut.

Missed Free Throws Cost Xavier

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – After closing out their regular season schedule with a 3-7 skid, and continuing a history of struggles in the months of February and March during the past two seasons, Xavier’s hopes of hearing its name called on Selection Sunday really needed a boost in the form of a victory over Butler in its BIG EAST Tournament opener Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

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A win and the Musketeers could sleep soundly Saturday night and wait to see who the NCAA Tournament would match them up with for next week’s Big Dance. A loss, and well, there could be night sweats. But thanks to Butler freshman Simas Lukosius’ coming out party, Xavier will now have to sweat out Sunday’s NCAA proceedings as the Bulldogs knocked Xavier out of the BIG EAST Tournament for the second straight year with an 89-82 overtime victory. Last season’s tournament win over Xavier also came via overtime.

Lukosius, who came into the game averaging a mere 6.3 points a game, erupted for a career-best 27 points while doing the bulk of his damage in overtime. With Chuck Harris and his game-high 28 points having fouled out at the end of regulation, Butler needed someone to step up with the hopes of extending the Bulldogs’ season and it was Lukosius who answered the bell. And after scoring seven points in the first half and eight more in the second, Lukosius poured in 12 points in the extra session to help the Bulldogs pull away.

But Lukosius thinks it was his final two points of regulation – a pair of free throws with 5.1 seconds to play which knotted the game at 68-68 – that were his most important of the night.

“If I don’t make those free throws we don’t have overtime,” Lukosius said. “Those were the biggest points.”

Lukosius was darn near unstoppable in the overtime with his jumper with 4:47 to play giving the Bulldogs a 70-68 lead and they would never trail again. But he was just getting started.

Lukosius followed with a three-pointer at the 3:59 mark, then added another three-ball and a free throw with 2:20 to play for a 77-72 Butler lead. At that point Lukosius had scored all nine of the Bulldogs’ points in the extra session. He would add three more free throws down the stretch with the final two coming with 20.3 seconds to play that put the finishing touches on the Butler victory.

As you might expect, Butler head coach LaVall Jordan was impressed with his freshmen’s effort in his very first BIG EAST Tournament game.

“The kid’s got a big heart and he’s got courage, man,” Jordan said. “I love him because he’s not afraid. That gets you in trouble sometimes but it also allows you to have a moment like this. He rises to the occasion and I know his teammates are excited for him.”

If Xavier does not hear its name called Sunday, the Musketeers can look to their poor foul shooting as a reason for the NCAA snub. After missing five straight free throw attempts in the final 40.4 seconds of regulation, the Musketeers sank just five of 10 in the overtime to help seal their fate.

The Muskleteers (18-13) seemingly had things in hand at the end of regulation when Paul Scruggs converted a layup and was fouled with 8.5 seconds to play for a 68-66 lead. But when Scruggs missed the ensuing free throw, it left open the door for Butler. Lukosius’ two free throws with 5.1 seconds to play sent the game to overtime and he took things from there for the Bulldogs.

While Xavier awaits its fate on Sunday, Butler will have little time to celebrate its victory as the Bulldogs need to prepare to face top-seeded Providence in Thursday’s noon quarterfinal. Butler dropped both games to the Friars this season, losing 69-62 at Providence before dropping a 71-70 overtime decision on Feb. 20.

Gillespie Named Big East Player of Year

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Villanova graduate guard Collin Gillespie was named the 2021-2022 Big East Player of the Year. Gillespie, who shared the award in 2020-2021 with his Villanova teammate Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili, is the first repeat winner of the award since Providence’s Kris Dunn in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

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Gillespie led the Wildcats to a 16-4 record in Big East play with 16.1 points and 3.1 assists per game. He was the fourth leading scorer in the league, trailing only DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty, St. John’s Julian Champagnie and Marquette’s Justin Lewis.

Gillespie led the Big East in free throw percentage, at a 91.5% clip, and three-point percentage, at 43.1%. He was sixth in the league in field goal percentage, making 44.7% of his shots. He was also named the Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year, on Wednesday, for his strong academic performance this year. He was one of two 4.0 student athletes on the Wildcat roster for the fall semester, along with fellow graduate student Jermaine Samuels.

The awards are the latest of a long list of accolades for Gillespie. Earlier this week, Gillespie was the only unanimous choice for the All-Big East First Team, and nationally he was named as a Third Team All-American by the USBWA and the NABC in 2021.

Gillespie is one of 15 finalists for the Wooden Award, given to the Most Outstanding Player in College Basketball. If chosen, Gillespie would be the first Wooden Award winner from Villanova since Jalen Brunson in 2017-2018.

BIG EAST Individual Award Winners

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The BIG EAST Conference named the winners of four individual awards for its 2021-22 men’s basketball season on Monday. Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Justin Lewis of Marquette has been selected BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Jared Bynum of Providence has won the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award. Georgetown’s Donald Carey has been named the winner of the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award.

The BIG EAST will announce the remaining individual awards: BIG EAST Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete on Wednesday, March 9.

The league’s head coaches select the award winners and they are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Kalkbrenner, a 7-1 sophomore center from St. Louis, Mo., has been the leader of a Creighton squad that has transformed into a strong defensive club. His 80 blocked shots lead the BIG EAST and his blocked shot average of 2.7 ranks second. Kalkbrenner has been the anchor of a Bluejay defense leading the BIG EAST in field goal percentage defense, allowing only 40.0 percent shooting. Creighton ranks second in scoring defense in conference play, yielding only 67.5 points per game.

Marquette’s Lewis took the leap from top reserve in 2020-21 to elite player and scoring champion this season. Last year, the 6-7 forward from Baltimore, Md., averaged 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds as a top reserve. This season, Lewis earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors after averaging 17.1 points and 8.0 rebounds. His scoring average ranked third in the league and he was fourth in rebounding. Lewis is the only player in the league to rank among the top five in both categories. On the final day of the regular season, Lewis became the scoring champion, averaging 18.2 points in BIG EAST games.

Providence’s Bynum has been the dynamic backcourt leader who has helped propel the Friars to their first regular-season BIG EAST title with a 14-3 conference mark. They are 24-4 overall. The 5-10 point guard from Largo, Md., started only three conference contests, but led the Friars in scoring in league play with a 15.6 average. He shot 46.5 percent from 3-point range and ranked third in the BIG EAST in assists with a 4.9 mark, all in league games. Bynum became the first league player in 25 years with three games of 25 or more points off the bench in the same season.

Georgetown’s Carey was the first team captain chosen in the Patrick Ewing era. The 6-5 graduate student is in his second season with the Hoyas and is known for his productive and sportsmanlike play. This year, the native of Upper Marlboro, Md., has averaged 13.6 points in all games and 14.2 points in BIG EAST play. His .909 free throw percentage ranks second in the BIG EAST.

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton 

BIG EAST Most Improved Player

Justin Lewis, Marquette

BIG EAST Sixth Man Award

Jared Bynum, Providence

BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award

Donald Carey, Georgetown

Visit BIG EAST for complete coverage of Men’s Basketball in the conference

BIG EAST Names All-Conference Teams

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – St. John’s guard-forward Julian Champagnie and Villanova guard Collin Gillespie are repeat members on the All-BIG EAST First Team.  The conference has released the All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams, Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Team.  The league’s head coaches choose the all-conference squads and are not permitted to vote for their own players.

The four other All-BIG EAST First Team honorees are: R.J. Cole and Adama Sanogo of Connecticut, Justin Lewis of Marquette and Jared Rhoden of Seton Hall.

The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from the All-BIG EAST First Team.  The conference will announce Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday, March 9, at Madison Square Garden at 2:30 p.m. ET.  Other league individual awards, including BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man Award and Sportsmanship Award will be announced Monday, March 7, at 11 a.m.

Champagnie, a 6-8 junior, leads the Johnnies with an 18.9 scoring average and ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring in league play with an 18.1 mark.  He is the league scoring champion for a second straight year. Champagnie is also averaging 6.6 rebounds.

Villanova’s Gillespie shared BIG EAST Player of the Year honors last year with former teammate Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili. This season, Gillespie ranks fourth in the league in scoring with a 16.3 average. He also ranks first in 3-point shooting, making 43.1 percent and is first in free throw shooting at 91.5 percent.

UConn’s Cole and Sanogo helped lead the Huskies to a 22-8 overall record and a third-place finish in the BIG EAST regular season. Cole, a 6-1 graduate student, ranks fifth in the league in scoring with a 15.8 average. His 2.2 assist/turnover ratio was fourth in the BIG EAST. Sanogo, a 6-9 sophomore, has averaged 15.3 points and a league-leading 8.6 rebounds. He is shooting 51.5 percent from the field, which ranks second in the league.

Marquette’s Lewis became the BIG EAST scoring champion on the last day of season, finishing with an 18.2 scoring mark in league games. In all games, he is the only player in the BIG EAST to rank in the top five in scoring and rebounding. Lewis ranks third in overall scoring at 17.1 points per game, fourth in rebounding at 8.0 and fourth in field goal shooting, connecting on 45.2 percent.

Seton Hall’s Rhoden has led his team to a 20-9 record and an 11-8 BIG EAST mark. The 6-6 senior guard-forward is averaging a team-leading 16.2 points and 6.9 rebounds. He was a Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection.

The All-BIG EAST Second Team includes two players from regular-season champion Providence, Jared Bynum and Nate Watson, along with Ryan Hawkins of Creighton, Javon Freeman-Liberty of DePaul and Justin Moore of Villanova.

Watson also earned second team honors last season. This year, the 6-10 center is averaging 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and ranks first in the league in field goal shooting, making 56.0 percent. Bynum enjoyed a strong second half of the season with his superb point guard play. He started only three league games but finished the regular season with a 12.9 scoring mark and ranked third in the league in assists with a 4.5 average.

Hawkins was the top scorer and rebounder on a Creighton team had returned no starters, but is very likely headed to the NCAA Tournament. The 6-7 transfer from Northwest Missouri State is averaging 14.3 points and 7.7 boards.

DePaul’s Freeman-Liberty led all BIG EAST players with a 21.9 scoring average in all games. He scored 20 or more points in 16 of the 23 games played. In league play, he was two games short of qualifying for the scoring crown, averaging 22.6 points.

Villanova’s Moore was seventh in the BIG EAST in scoring, averaging 15.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. He is second to Gillespie in scoring and third in rebounding for the second-place Wildcats. The 6-5 junior led Villanova in minutes played with a 34.2 average.

All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention includes four players: Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton, Darryl Morsell of Marquette, Posh Alexander of St. John’s and Jack Nunge of Xavier.

Three of the six members of the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team were unanimous picks – Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard, Georgetown’s Aminu Mohammed and Marquette’s Kam Jones. The other All-Freshman Team selections are Jordan Hawkins of UConn, and Creighton’s Trey Alexander and Arthur Kaluma.

Nembhard averaged 11.3 points and 4.4 assists for Creighton and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week six times. Mohammed was the league’s top freshman scorer (13.8) and rebounder (8.1). A sharp-shooting guard, Jones averaged 7.5 points. Of his 77 field goals made, 53 of were from 3-point range, hitting on 39.6 percent.

Hawkins was in the backcourt rotation for UConn and averaged 6.7 points. Kaluma was a freshman starter for the Bluejays. The 6-7 forward averaged 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds. Alexander was the top reserve off the bench, averaging 6.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game.

The BIG EAST Freshman of the Year will come from the All-Freshman Team.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM+

R.J. Cole, Connecticut, G, Gr., 6-1, 185, Union, N.J.

Adama Sanogo, Connecticut, F, So., 6-9, 240, Bamako, Mali

Justin Lewis, Marquette, F, So., 6-7, 245, Baltimore, Md.

Julian Champagnie, St. John’s, G-F, Jr., 6-8, 215, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Jared Rhoden, Seton Hall, G-F, 6-6, 210, Baldwin, N.Y.

*Collin Gillespie, Villanova, G, Gr., 6-3, 195, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

 

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

Ryan Hawkins, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-7, 222, Atlantic, Iowa

Javon Freeman-Liberty, DePaul, G, Sr., 6-4, 180, Chicago, Ill.

Jared Bynum, Providence, G, R-Jr., 5-10, 180, Largo, Md.

Nate Watson, Providence, F, Gr., 6-10, 260, Portsmouth, Va.

Justin Moore, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-4, 210, Ft. Washington, Md.

 

ALL-BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, So., 7-0, 256, St. Louis, Mo.

Darryl Morsell, Marquette, G, Gr., 6-5, 205, Baltimore, Md.

Posh Alexander, St. John’s, G, So., 6-0, 200, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Jack Nunge, Xavier, C, Jr., 7-0, 245, Newburgh, Ind.

 

BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Jordan Hawkins, Connecticut, G, 6-5, 175, Gaithersburg, Md.

Trey Alexander, Creighton, G, 6-4, 185, Oklahoma City, Okla.

*Ryan Nembhard, Creighton, G, 6-0, 167, Aurora, Ont.

Arthur Kaluma, Creighton, F, 6-7, 220, Glendale, Ariz.

*Aminu Mohammed, Georgetown, G, 6-5, 210, Temple Hills, Md.

*Kam Jones, Marquette, G, 6-4, 185, Cordova, Tenn.

 

*Denotes unanimous selection

Big East Honors for Final Week

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Marquette guard Justin Lewis has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week and Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma has been selected BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the final week of the regular season.

BIG EAST Player of the Week

Justin Lewis, Marquette, G, So. – Lewis averaged 27.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week. In an 85-77 win against St. John’s in the season finale, he had a game-high 28 points and seven rebounds. He became the BIG EAST scoring champion with an 18.2 average in league play. Earlier in the week, Lewis posted his sixth double-double with 26 points and 10 boards in a 91-80 loss at DePaul.

BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

Arthur Kaluma, Creighton, F, Fr. – Kaluma averaged 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Bluejays. He posted 15 points and five rebounds in a 64-62 victory against Connecticut.

The forward had nine points and five boards in a 65-60 loss to Seton Hall. Kaluma takes Freshman honors for the second time this season.

BIG EAST Honor Roll

Adama Sanogo, UConn, F, So. – In a 1-1 week, averaged 19.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks while posting a pair of double-doubles.

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, So. – Averaged 19.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in a 1-1 week. Tied his career scoring high with 22 points in a victory versus UConn (64-62).

Javon Freeman-Liberty, DePaul, G, Sr. – In a 1-1 week, averaged 24.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Had 26 points and nine rebounds in a win over Marquette (91-80).

Jared Rhoden, Seton Hall, G, Gr. – Averaged 17.5 points in a 2-0 week. Had 13 of his 19 points in the second half of a win at Creighton (65-60).

Caleb Daniels, Villanova, G, Jr. – Averaged 15.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week. Scored a season-high 20 points in a win over Providence (76-74).

 

Providence Rises in Rankings

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PROVIDENCE – In Monday’s release of the Associated Press and USA Today Polls, Providence moved up to ninth/eighth place, respectively. Villanova is 11th in both polls, while UConn moved up to No. 18/19. Marquette is receiving votes in both polls. Creighton and Seton Hall have votes in USA Today.

On Sunday, UConn held its third-place standing with an 86-77 road win over Georgetown. The Huskies (21-7, 12-5 BE) shot 11-of-20 from beyond the arc and were led by R.J. Cole’s 18 point-effort. Dante Harris scored a game-high 23 points for Georgetown (6-22, 0-17 BE).

In Sunday’s night game, DePaul outlasted St. John’s in an offensive battle, 99-94. Javon Freeman-Liberty (39 points) and David Jones (24 points and 10 rebounds) combined for 63 points, 18 rebounds, nine steals and seven assists in the victory for DePaul (14-14, 5-13 BE). Julian Champagnie led St. John’s (15-13, 7-10 BE) with 26 points, while Aaron Wheeler added 20.

The final week of the regular season begins Tuesday night at the Finneran Pavilion, when Villanova (21-7, 14-4 BE) hosts Providence (24-3, 14-2 BE) in a top-15 showdown at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. On Saturday, Providence topped Creighton to secure its first BIG EAST regular season title and the overall No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Villanova returns to the court for the first time in a week, while looking to claim the regular season series over Providence, previously beating the Friars 89-84 on Feb. 15.