Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

NCAA

Hoophall Names Top 10 Centers

by

SPRINGFIELD – (Staff report from official News Release) – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame named its top 10 watch list members for the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its eighth year recognizes the top centers in men’s college basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in November, which has now been narrowed to 10.

Abdul-Jabbar played for legendary coach and Hall of Famer John Wooden at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1966-1969. He is a three-time NCAA Champion who earned numerous accolades including three-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player, three-time National College Player of the Year and three-time Consensus First-Team All-American (1967-1969). As a professional, Abdul-Jabbar is a six-time NBA Champion, six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, two-time NBA Finals MVP, 19-time NBA All-Star and the league’s all-time leading scorer. In 2021 The NBA created the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award, which honors players who are making strides in the fight for social justice.

College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In late February, the watch list of 10 players for the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award will be narrowed to 5. In March those finalists will be presented to Mr. Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee where a winner will be selected.

The winner of the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on a future date, along with the other four members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Point Guard Award, Jerry West Shooting Guard Award, the Julius Erving Small Forward Award and the Karl Malone Power Forward Award.

Previous winners of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award include two-time winner Luka Garza, Iowa (2020-21), Ethan Happ, Wisconsin (2019), Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (2018), Przemek Karnowski, Gonzaga (2017), Jakob Poeltl, Utah (2016) and Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin (2015).

For more information on the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall and #KareemAward on Twitter and Instagram. Starting Five Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies will go live on February 4.

 

2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Candidates*

Walker Kessler Auburn
Adama Sanogo Connecticut
Mark Williams Duke
Drew Timme Gonzaga
Kofi Cockburn Illinois
Oscar Tshiebwe Kentucky
Hunter Dickinson Michigan
Armando Bacot North Carolina
Nate Watson Providence
Zach Edey Purdue

 

*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2021-2022 season*

St. John’s Destroys Hoyas at McDonough

by

WASH DC – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The likes of Georgetown players of yesteryear John Duren, Craig Shelton, Steve Martin and “Sleepy” Floyd would remember the feeling, along with David Russell, Reggie Carter and Frank Gilroy of St, John’s. In a game that looked like a throwback to early times in the BIG EAST, St. John’s won 90-77 at Georgetown Thursday night. The rescheduled game was played at McDonough Arena on the Hoya campus. It was the first league game played at the venue since Jan. 18, 1984.

The Johnnies (12-9, 4-6 BIG EAST), who won on the road against the Hoyas (6-14, 0-9 BE) for only the second time since 2003, led by as many as 26 points in the second half. Julian Champagnie snapped out of his scoring dip with a game-high 27 points. He made 6-of-12 from 3-point range and added six rebounds and four assists. Joel Soriano shot 6-of-6 from the floor en route to 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Georgetown’s Donald Carey scored a career-high 23 points.

Creighton at Seton Hall is the lone Friday game on the schedule. FS1 will televise at 7 p.m. ET. Both teams are 13-7 overall. The Bluejays are 5-4 in the BIG EAST while the Pirates are 4-6. Both squads picked up road wins on Tuesday. Creighton won 59-55 at Connecticut and Seton Hall posted a 70-63 victory at Georgetown.

Saturday’s slate starts with two games that tip at noon ET. No. 17 UConn battles No. 12 Villanova at Wells Fargo Center on FOX and Butler hosts St. John’s on FS1. No. 21 Xavier hosts DePaul at 2 p.m. on FS1.

Big East in the Top 25

by

NEW YORK – For the eighth consecutive week at least four BIG EAST teams are ranked among the nation’s Top-25, and for the first time at least five are represented in both the AP and USA Today polls. The conference is tied for first with the Big Ten and Big 12 with the most teams ranked in both polls.

Villanova (16-5, 9-2 BIG EAST) jumped up two positions in the AP Poll to No. 12 following a perfect 2-0 week, with wins over DePaul (67-43) and St. John’s (73-62).

Maintaining sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST standings, Providence (18-2, 8-1 BE) secured a pair of ranked wins to jump to No. 15 in the polls. Also going a perfect 2-0 last week, Connecticut (15-4, 6-2 BE) moved up three positions to No. 17.

After coming up short at home against the Friars, 65-62, on Jan. 26, Xavier (14-4, 4-3 BE) rebounded with a remarkable second half comeback at Creighton on Saturday to remain No. 21 in the AP rankings.

In its first week ranked since Feb. 17, 2020, Marquette (15-7, 7-4 BE) took care of business on the road against Seton Hall, 73-63, before losing at Providence, 65-63, snapping a seven-game winning streak. Overall, the Golden Eagles sit at No. 24 in the AP Poll.

In Sunday’s lone contest, Providence edged Marquette in a thriller at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Coming back from a 29-23 halftime deficit, the Friars’ defense prevailed in the closing seconds to win their fourth game of the season against a ranked opponent (4-0). Nate Watson led the way with a game-high 17 points, while BIG EAST Player of the Week Justin Minaya played a pivotal role on both ends of the floor, finishing with 14 points and six rebounds. Darryl Morsell led the Golden Eagles with 14 points.

BIG EAST play continues tonight with a trio of games. UConn hosts Creighton at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1, before Georgetown hosts Seton Hall at 8:30 p.m. on FS1. Closing out the night on CBSSN, St. John’s will welcome Providence to Carnesecca Arena at 9:00 p.m.

Big East Weekly Honors for Marquette

by

NEW YORK – Marquette forward Justin Lewis has been selected BIG EAST Player of the Week and Creighton guard Trey Alexander has been tabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. Lewis helped lead Marquette to wins against two ranked league opponents. Alexander also helped the Bluejays to a 2-0 week.

BIG EAST Player of the Week

Justin Lewis, Marquette, F, R-Fr. – Lewis led the Golden Eagles to a 57-54 victory at No. 11 Villanova and a 75-64 win against No. 20 Xavier. At Villanova, Lewis’ 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left was the game-winning basket. He scored a team-high 21 points.  In the triumph over Xavier, Lewis posted game highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds. For the two games, he shot 9-of-15 from 3-point range.

BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

Trey Alexander, Creighton, G, Fr. – Alexander averaged 11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the two victories for the Bluejays. He had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists in an 87-64 win against St. John’s.  Alexander scored all of his collegiate-high 12 points in the second half, helping his team rally to defeat DePaul 60-47. He also had seven rebounds and three steals.

BIG EAST Honor Roll

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, So. – Averaged 13.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in a 2-0 week. Made 9-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the foul line.

Tyrese Martin, Connecticut, F, Sr. – In two wins against Butler, he averaged 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Had a career-high 27 points and six boards in the road victory (75-56).

Nate Watson, Providence, C, Gr. – In a 2-0 week, averaged 14.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. Had 18 points and seven rebounds in a win against Butler (69-62).

Myles Cale, Seton Hall, F, Gr. – In a win against St. John’s (66-60) at MSG, had a game-high 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Collin Gillespie, Villanova, G, Gr. – Averaged 19.0 points in a 1-1 week. Scored 28 points, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range, in a win at Georgetown (85-74).

Seton Hall Takes St. John’s at MSG

by

Seton Hall, Villanova and Creighton all used strong second-half performances en route to Saturday victories.

Georgetown, in search of its first BIG EAST win, led No. 11 Villanova 47-39 early in the second half before the Wildcats recovered to take an 85-74 victory at Capital One Arena. The Wildcats (14-5, 7-2 BIG EAST) got 55 points from the trio of Collin Gillespie (28 points), Justin Moore (19) and Jermaine Samuels (18). Gilliespie made 6-of-9 from 3-point range. The Hoyas (6-10, 0-5) were led by Collin Holloway’s career-high 27 points. He made 9-of-10 from the field.

Seton Hall put the defensive clamps on St. John’s and nailed down a 66-60 victory at Madison Square Garden. The Pirates (12-5, 3-4 BE) held the Johnnies (10-7, 2-4 BE) to a season-low 29.3 shooting from the floor. Pirate Myles Cale, who led the defensive effort, also shined offensively with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. Alexis Yetna contributed 16 points and 15 rebounds. Aaron Wheeler led St. John’s with 13 points and seven rebounds. Seton Hall earned a 60-43 edge on the glass.

DePaul led Creighton by 11 in the first minute of the second half before the Bluejays went on a tear that ended with a 60-47 victory at CHI Health Center. The Bluejays (12-5, 4-2 BE) outscored the Blue Demons (10-8, 1-7 BE) 37-15 after the break. CU’s Ryan Kalkbrenner notched 18 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots. Freshman Trey Alexander added 12 points, seven boards and three steals. DePaul’s Jalen Terry had 12 rebounds and six rebounds. Creighton has defeated DePaul 15 straight times.

Sunday’s schedule shows two games, both on FS1. Butler visits Providence at noon ET. Eight of Butler’s nine losses (9-9 overall) have been against teams ranked in the top 30 of the NCAA NET metric. The first-place Friars (5-1 in the league standings) have never started 6-1. At 2 p.m., Marquette hosts No. 20 Xavier. The Musketeers won the first meeting between the two teams 80-71 on Dec. 18. The Golden Eagles are on a five-game winning streak.

Big East in the Top 25

by

NEW YORK – Providence and Connecticut, ranked 21st and 25th, respectively, in this week’s Associated Press poll, registered Thursday wins.

The Friars began their game against Georgetown with a 13-0 start, then stopped a Hoya comeback attempt in an 83-75 victory at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Ed Croswell and Al Durham each scored 15 points. Croswell shot 7-of-7 from the floor. Coach Ed Cooley registered his 209th win at Providence (15-2, 5-1 BIG EAST), tying him with former coach and BIG EAST founder Dave Gavitt. Georgetown (6-9, 0-4 BE) trimmed a 16-point deficit in the second half to four, but the Hoyas could not complete the comeback. Donald Curry scored a game-high 21 points and Kaiden Rice added 19. The duo shot a combined 10-of-16 from 3-point range.

UConn and Butler met for the second time in three days. The end result was the same with the Huskies (13-4, 4-2 BE) pulling away in the final minutes for a 75-56 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse. UConn wing Tyrese Martin scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half. Adama Sanogo added 15 points and nine rebounds. UConn won the rebounding battle 39-25. The Bulldogs (9-9, 2-5 BE), who led 28-24 at halftime, were led by Chuck Harris’ 16 points.

BIG EAST play continues Saturday with a pair of noon ET tipoffs. No. 11 Villanova will try to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss to Marquette when it plays at Georgetown on FOX. St. John’s hosts Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden on FS1. DePaul visits Creighton on CBS Sports Network at 5:30 p.m.

Big East: UConn Defeats Butler

by

HARTFORD – In the only game Tuesday, No. 25 Connecticut used balanced scoring to defeat Butler 76-59 at XL Center in Connecticut. The Huskies (12-4, 3-2 BIG EAST) built a 39-24 lead by halftime and maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half. R.J. Cole led UConn with 17 points. Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson produced double-doubles. Sanogo had 13 points and 15 rebounds while Jackson finished with 12 points and 10 boards.

 The Bulldogs (9-8, 2-4 BE) got 36 points from the freshman duo of Jayden Taylor (19 points) and Simas Lukosius (17). The game was a reschedule of a Jan. 1 contest. The two teams turn around quickly to meet at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Thursday.

FS1 has two of the three Wednesday contests. At 7 p.m. ET, St. John’s visits Creighton. The Johnnies will be aiming for their first win this season outside of New York City. Julian Champagnie leads the BIG EAST in scoring with a 21.4 average. Creighton has played only three games in the last 33 days – all on the road. At 9 p.m., DePaul hosts Xavier. The Blue Demons are coming off a 96-92 win over Seton Hall last Thursday. The Musketeers have four players averaging double figures in scoring from 11.2 points per game to 12.3.

No. 11 Villanova hosts Marquette at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The Wildcats are riding a six-game winning streak and have held two of their last four opponents to less than 43 points. The Golden Eagles have won four straight games while averaging 85.0 points in the wins.

Big East: Weekly Honors to Sanogo

by

NEW YORK – Connecticut forward Adama Sanogo has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week and Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard has been selected BIG EAST Freshman of the Week. Sanogo helped push the Huskies past St. John’s in overtime and Nembhard had a strong all-around performance in a defeat at Xavier.

BIG EAST Player of the Week

Adama Sanogo, UConn, F, So. – Sanogo powered the Huskies to an 86-78 overtime win against St. John’s with 26 points, 18 rebounds and six blocked shots. The rebound total was the highest recorded by any BIG EAST player this season. Sanogo also made 10-of-17 shots from the field. He is averaging 15.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for the season. It was UConn’s only game of the week.

BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

Ryan Nembhard, Creighton, G, Fr. – Nembhard posted 18 points, six assists and three steals in an 80-73 loss at Xavier in the Bluejays’ only game of the week. Nembhard has earned Freshman of the Week honors five times this season. For the year, he is averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 assists.

BIG EAST Honor Roll

David Jones, DePaul, F, So. – In a 1-1 week, averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals. In a win against Seton Hall (96-92), had 24 points, eight rebounds and five steals.

Darryl Morsell, Marquette, G, Gr. – Averaged 21.0 points in a 2-0 week. Registered 26 points and five rebounds in a win over Seton Hall (73-72).

Julian Champagnie, St. John’s, F, Jr. – Averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in a 1-1 week. Had 25 points, six boards and three steals in a win over Georgetown (88-69).

Collin Gillespie, Villanova, G, Gr. – Averaged 19.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week. Had 21 points in a win at Xavier (64-60) and 17 points in a victory against Butler (82-42).

Colby Jones, G, So. – Averaged 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week. Posted 16 points and nine rebounds in a win against Creighton (80-73).

 

Xavier, Marquette Win at Home

by

NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Xavier rallied in the second half to beat Creighton and Marquette slipped past Seton Hall in a back-and-forth affair in Saturday afternoon BIG EAST action.

Embed from Getty Images

The 17th-ranked Musketeers (13-3, 3-2 BIG EAST) recovered from a 34-29 halftime deficit to beat the Bluejays (10-5, 2-2 BE) 80-73. The usual balanced Xavier scoring attack had six players reach double figures. Colby Jones scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Alex O’Connell was tops for the Bluejays with 22 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Ryan Hawkins contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds.

A free throw by Greg Elliott with 1.8 seconds left gave Marquette a 73-72 win against No. 20 Seton Hall in a game where neither team led by more than five points in the second half. Darryl Morsell scored a career-high 26 points for the Golden Eagles (12-6, 4-3 BE). Justin Lewis added 18 points. Bryce Aiken scored 28 points for the Pirates (11-5, 2-4 BE). Alexis Yetna posted 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Ike Obiagu grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots.

Sunday’s slate shows two games. At noon ET on FS1, No. 14 Villanova hosts Butler at Wells Fargo Center. The first-place Wildcats (12-4, 5-1) are on a five-game winning streak. They will be playing only their sixth home game of the season. The Bulldogs (9-6, 2-2 BE), who are coming off Thursday’s 72-58 win at Georgetown, are the only team to have five wins against Villanova since the beginning of the 2016-17 season.

Today, St. John’s hosts Georgetown at Madison Square Garden at 4:30 p.m. on FOX. The Johnnies (9-5, 1-2 BE) lead the BIG EAST in scoring with an 82.1 average. The Hoyas are averaging 74.5. Both teams are giving up 74.4. St. John’s Julian Champagnie leads the league with a 21.2 scoring mark. Georgetown’s Aminu Mohammed is the BIG EAST’s top freshman scorer (13.8) and rebounder (8.3).

Big East: DePaul Defeats Seton Hall

by

CHICAGO – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – DePaul recorded its first BIG EAST win of the season on Thursday, while Butler nailed a win at Georgetown to start a three-game road trip.

The Blue Demons got a scare in the final minute, but never trailed in a 96-92 win against the 20th-ranked Pirates. Transfer Jalen Terry, in only his third start, scored a career-high 28 points. David Jones added 24 points and eight rebounds. Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 12 points before leaving with an injury in the second half.

Jared Rhoden led Seton Hall (11-4, 2-3 BE) with 25 points and seven rebounds. Bryce Aiken added 22 points. The Pirates trailed by 11 points with one minute to play before cutting the deficit to two in the final seconds.

Butler used an 18-4 run to start the second half en route to a 72-58 victory at Georgetown. The Bulldogs (9-6, 2-2 BE) were led by Jair Bolden’s 23 points. Bryce Nze helped with 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Butler plays Villanova at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

The Hoyas (6-7, 0-2 BE), who were led by Tyler Beard’s 15 points and five assists, were without regulars Donald Carey and Dante Harris along with coach Patrick Ewing.

Both games on Saturday tip at noon ET. FOX will telecast Creighton at No. 17 Xavier. Both teams lost to Villanova in their last games. The Bluejays (10-4, 2-1 BE) lost 75-41 on the road on Jan. 5. The Musketeers (12-3, 2-2 BE) dropped a 64-60 home decision on Wednesday. Both teams feature balanced scoring attacks with four players averaging in double figures.

Seton Hall will look to bounce back when it plays at Marquette on FS1. The Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-3 BE) have won three in a row after Tuesday’s 87-76 win against DePaul. Seton Hall has taken the last six meetings between the two teams.