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NCAA

Big East, ‘Nova’s Jay Wright, Johnnies’ Lou Carnesecca Celebrate Milestones

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JAMAICA ESTATES, NY – (Staff report from Official News Release) – Villanova turned the tables on Creighton and gave coach Jay Wright a milestone victory, while St. John’s celebrated Lou Carnesecca’s 97th birthday with a win over DePaul.

Wright notched his 500th victory at Villanova when his team rolled past Creighton 75-41 in Finneran Paviliion. The Wildcats (10-4, 3-1 BIG EAST) had lost to the Bluejays (10-4, 2-1 BE) 79-59 on December 17. This time, Villanova held Creighton to 35.6 percent shooting from the field and allowed only 21 points in the final 27 minutes of the game. Justin Moore led the Wildcats with 22 points. Alex O’Connell had 13 points for Creighton.

On the night when legendary coach Lou Carnesecca turned 97, Julian Champagnie put on a sparkling performance to lead St. John’s (9-3, 1-0 BE) past DePaul 89-84. Champagnie scored a career-high 34 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked three shots. Dylan Addae-Wusu added a career-high 17 points, including a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute. Javon Freeman-Liberty had 24 points and seven boards for DePaul (9-4, 0-3 BE).

BIG EAST play resumes on Friday with two games between teams that met in the first round of last year’s BIG EAST Tournament. Marquette (9-6, 1-3 BE) plays at Georgetown (6-5, 0-0 BE) at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by No. 22 Xavier (11-2, 1-1 BE) at Butler (8-5, 1-1 BE) at 8:30 p.m. FS1 will carry both contests.

Last year, Marquette took the lone regular-season matchup against Georgetown before the Hoyas won 68-49 at the Big East tournament. Xavier won both regular-regular season games against Butler before the Bulldogs won 70-69 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

Big East and Big Tuesday Wins

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In Tuesday’s BIG EAST action, Marquette and Seton Hall earned their first league victories. The stories of the game, however, were hardly alike.

Marquette set a school record for the largest margin of victory against a ranked team with its 88-56 win against 16th-ranked Providence. Seton Hall, after an 0-2 league start against ranked opponents, pulled away in the second half to win 71-56 at Butler.

The Marquette Golden Eagles (9-6, 1-3 BIG EAST) raced to a 20-6 lead, then used a 20-0 run to build a 42-22 lead by halftime. Justin Lewis finished with a career-high 23 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Oso Ighodaro continued his strong play off the bench with 16 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes. Al Durham scored a team-high 16 points for the Friars (13-2, 3-1 BE), who had their eight-game winning streak end.

The Seton Hall Pirates (10-3, 1-2 BE) welcomed back center Ike Obiagu, who missed the last three games. He had eight points, two rebounds and two blocked shots in 28 minutes. Jared Rhoden scored a team-high 17 points. The Hall held the edge in bench points (16-0), rebounds (36-25) and made 18-of-19 free throws. The Pirates’ bench has not been outscored this season. Bryce Golden led four Bulldogs (8-5, 1-1 BE) in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.

Wednesday’s schedule also shows two games. FS1 will telecast DePaul at St. John’s at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by Creighton at Villanova at 8:30 p.m.

The first game features a matchup of DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty and St. John’s Julian Champagnie, who are both averaging a league-leading 20.3 points per game. Creighton and No. 19 Villanova already are meeting for the second time this season. The Bluejays beat the Wildcats 79-59 in Omaha on Dec. 17.

Joe Moore Offensive Line Award Winners Rewarded with NIL Deal

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ANN ARBOR – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Foundation for Teamwork, owners and creators of the Joe Moore Award which honors the most Outstanding Offensive Line Unit in College Football, today announced that it is believed to be the first post season college award program to launch a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) program for its recipients. Timing is everything and the Joe Moore Award is excited to create a partnership with nine members of the 2021 award winners, the offensive line at the University of Michigan. Michigan was awarded the trophy in a ceremony last week in Ann Arbor and will play the University of Georgia in the College Football Playoffs semifinal at the Orange Bowl on Dec 31.

“We have seen the great amount of exposure that both winners and finalists of all the major college football awards receive throughout the years, but the actual and immediate benefit from winning the award typically goes to the presenter, not the presentee,” said Aaron Taylor, CBS college football analyst and co-founder of the Joe Moore Award. Taylor, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, played guard and tackle at the University of Notre Dame for the Award’s namesake, the legendary offensive line coach Joe Moore.

“We want to begin to change that dynamic with the growth of NIL for these athletes, and the Joe Moore Award is proud to be what we believe to be the first of the major awards to begin a program which will have long-lasting benefits and a financial upside for our winners, and in many cases for the causes which will be tied to the program. On the field, we’ve always known that when the o-line wins, we all win, and we’re excited to help Michigan’s O-line extend that same principle in our communities.”

The members of the Michigan offensive line will receive 100% of net t-shirt sales, with a portion going to a philanthropic beneficiary. Additionally, the Joe Moore Award will match the players’ charitable gift, up to $10,000, to help further the reach of the winning unit’s impact on their communities. The t-shirts and limited edition merchandise are designed by Make Your Move, an automated digital on-demand order processing and fulfillment partner and are available starting at $20.00 at gomym.com/collections/joe-moore-award.

The charity beneficiaries for the 2021 season are: The Seal Legacy Foundation which is dedicated to providing support to families of wounded and fallen United States Navy SEALs, educational assistance for SEALs and their families, and other charitable causes benefiting the SEAL community; and The AthLife Foundation, a national platform works to ensure that deserving kids from our nation’s most challenged, yet promising communities, can achieve in their future careers beyond sport.

Under offensive line coach Sherrone Moore, Michigan’s starting O-line has featured guard/tackle Karsen Barnhart (2 starts), guard Chuck Filiaga (4 starts), left tackle Ryan Hayes (13 starts), tackle Trente Jones (1 start), left guard Trevor Keegan (10 starts), right tackle Andrew Stueber (13 starts), center Andrew Vastardis (13 starts), and right guard Zak Zinter (11 starts). In addition, tight end Joel Honigford, a converted O-lineman, warrants mention as a key contributor to Michigan’s success.

Michigan led the Big Ten and lists 10th nationally in rushing (223.8 yards per game). The unit has conceded the fewest tackles for loss (27) and third-fewest sacks (10) in the nation this season. Only Army and Air Force, with a combined 204 pass attempts, have allowed fewer sacks. Michigan’s line has paved the way for a 1,000-yard back in Hassan Haskins (1,288 yards) and have another back in range in Blake Corum (939 yards). All five positions earned all-conference honors, with four of the five starters earning first or second-team accolades: Stueber (1st team), Hayes, Vastardis and Zinter (2nd) and Keegan (honorable mention).

 

The 2021 Gutter Bowls

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BOSTON – The (Wasabi) Fenway Bowl, which was scheduled to feature Virginia and SMU, was cancelled and the Boston College Eagles will have “no contest” declared for the second time since 2018 as the 2021 Military Bowl was scrapped for the second year in a row because of concerns of COVID-19. It is the second straight year the Fenway Bowl game, which has never been played, has been canceled because of the virus.

Boston College was forced to decline participation of its matchup against East Carolina, scheduled for Monday, due to a combination of COVID-19 cases and injuries while the Fenway Bowl, featuring SMU and Virginia, was canceled Sunday after positive COVID-19 test results on its roster. The game was set to be the final one for coach Bronco Mendenhall at Virginia after he resigned from the program earlier this month. SMU had already traveled to Boston for the game.

The bowls are the second and third outright cancellations of the 2021-22 College Football bowl season, joining Hawaii pulling out of the Hawaii Bowl against Memphis on Christmas Eve. Additionally, Texas A&M was forced to pull out of the Gator Bowl due to COVID issues, but Rutgers stepped up to take the Aggies’ place as a 5-7 squad. Last season, 18 bowls were canceled by the pandemic.

The matchup is the second straight bowl game canceled for SMU, though the Mustangs would have been without a bulk of the coaching staff after former coach Sonny Dykes left for TCU. The Virginia Cavaliers were in pursuit of their third winning season in the last four years under Mendenhall before new coach Tony Elliott takes over the program.

For East Carolina, the cancellation is especially disappointing. The Pirates have not played in a bowl game since 2014 but earned a 7-5 record in Coach Mike Houston’s third season. Boston College has not won a bowl game since 2016.

Big East Alters Forfeit Policy

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NEW YORK  – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The BIG EAST Conference modified its game cancellation policy for men’s and women’s basketball for the 2021-22 season. The adjustment was the result of the recent sudden and significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases nationally and within BIG EAST programs due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Under the modified policy, a conference game will be canceled in the event a school has fewer than seven scholarship players and one countable coach available for a game.  The BIG EAST conference office will attempt to reschedule any such game(s) in accordance with parameters approved by BIG EAST Directors of Athletics. In the event the rescheduling parameters cannot be fulfilled, the canceled game(s) will be designated as a no contest.

To date, four BIG EAST men’s conference games had been designated as forfeitures under the previous COVID-19 game cancellation policy. The forfeiture classification will be removed from these games, and efforts are now underway to reschedule them at a later date.  No women’s games to date have been designated as forfeitures.

 

Villanova, UConn Bounce Back

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MILWAUKEE – (Staff Report from Official news Release) – After dropping their respective league openers, Villanova and Connecticut evened their BIG EAST records on Tuesday.

Villanova, ranked 23rd in this week’s Associated Press poll, recovered from an eight-point deficit at halftime to record a 71-58 win against No. 18 Xavier. UConn grabbed the lead midway through the first half and went on to win 78-70 at Marquette.

The Wildcats (8-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) started the second half with a 12-3 run and used a late 10-spurt in its win against the Musketeers (11-2, 1-1 BE). Justin Moore led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points. Caleb Daniels added 16. Xavier’s Dwon Odom scored a team-high 13 points.

UConn (10-3, 1-1 BE) got some offensive punch from Tyrese Martin and R.J. Cole at Marquette. Martin netted a career-high 25 points and reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Cole scored 20 points while eclipsing the 2,000-point mark. The Huskies welcomed back Adama Sanogo, who had missed four games due to injury. Justin Lewis led Marquette (8-5, 0-2 BE) with 20 points and seven rebounds.

The lone game left on the BIG EAST schedule before the Christmas holiday is Butler playing St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The teams split their two meetings last season with St. John’s winning 69-57 at home.

Xavier, Providence Continue to Roll

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CINCINNATI – (Staff report from Official News Release) – Xavier and Providence both pushed their overall records to 11-1 and won their BIG EAST openers on Saturday. St. John’s, Georgetown and Butler dropped decisions in non-league competition.

The 22nd-ranked Musketeers knocked off visiting Marquette 80-71. Xavier’s Dwon Odom came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. Nate Johnson added 17 points. Jack Nunge helped with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Marquette (8-4, 0-1 BIG EAST) cut a 10-point second-half deficit to 70-69 with 3:03 left before Xavier pulled away. Greg Elliott led the Golden Eagles with 18 points.

Providence built a 16-point lead before surviving a late rally in a 57-53 win against No. 20 UConn at XL Center. PC’s A.J. Reeves scored 16 points, which included 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Reserve Ed Croswell added 11 points in 15 minutes. R.J. Cole led the Huskies with 16 points and eight assists. The Friars limited the Huskies to 31.1 percent shooting from the field.

St. John’s (8-3) played without Julian Champagnie because of COVID protocols and lost 59-57 to Pittsburgh on a shot just before the buzzer in the Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden. Dylan Addae-Wusu scored a team-high 12 points. Posh Alexander finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Georgetown (6-5) made it close in the final minute but fell to TCU 80-73 in the final game of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. Aminu Mohammed posted his fifth double-double this season with game highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Kaiden Rice, who missed Wednesday’s win against Howard, added 14 points.  The Hoyas played without an injured Dante Harris.

No. 3 Purdue pulled away from Butler in the final minutes of the first half en route to a 77-48 victory over the Bulldogs at the Crossroads Classic. Bryce Golden led the Bulldogs (7-4) with 17 points. Chuck Harris missed the game due to illness. Butler connected on only 4-of-28 from 3-point range.

After Saturday, BIG EAST teams have an overall record of 91-27 (.771) against non-league opponents.

No games are scheduled for today and the two games on Monday were canceled due to COVID-19. Play resumes on Tuesday with Xavier visiting Villanova and Marquette hosting UConn.

Xavier, Georgetown Extend Win Streaks

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CINCINNATI – Xavier and Georgetown extended their winning streaks with victories on Wednesday. The No. 22 Musketeers have a six-game streak after powering past Morehead State 86-63 at Cintas Center. Georgetown has won three in a row after handling Howard 85-73 at Capital One Arena.

For Xavier (10-1), Jerome Hunter paced four players in double figures with 15 points. The Musketeers took control early and used an 18-0 run to lead 47-19 at halftime. Zach Freemantle started for the first time this year after suffering a leg injury in the preseason. The Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team pick had nine points and five rebounds in 19 minutes.

Georgetown (6-4) got an offensive lift from freshman Tyler Beard and Malcolm Wilson against Howard. Beard, who had seen only limited action this season, scored 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Wilson added 13 points and eight rebounds in only 25 minutes of playing time.

Going into the weekend, with still a few non-league games to play, BIG EAST teams have an overall record of 91-24 (.791).

Conference play also starts this weekend. The league opener is Villanova (7-3) at Creighton (8-3) on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

The No. 9 Wildcats have won or shared seven of the last eight regular-season league titles. Villanova is 5-3 against the Bluejays at the CHI Health Center. Villanova’s Jay Wright and Creighton’s Greg McDermott have been the coaches for all eight matchups. Each team won the meeting on its home court last season. For the Bluejays this year, Ryan Hawkins has scored 25 points in both of Creighton’s games against ranked opponents.

USA Basketball Names Pop, Staley Coaches of the Year

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COLORADO SPRINGS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In recognition of their leadership of gold-medal winning USA Basketball Teams in 2021, Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) and Dawn Staley (South Carolina) were named as co-recipients of the 2021 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year award.

This is the first such honor for Popovich, and the third time Staley has been honored as a USA Basketball National Coach of the Year (2015-shared and 2018).

Since 1996, USA Basketball has awarded its National Coach of the Year honor to a USA Basketball head coach who during the year of the award made a significant impact on the success of individual athlete and team performance at the highest levels of competition in a manner consistent with the highest ethical, professional and moral standards.

“USA Basketball is proud to celebrate Gregg Popovich and Dawn Staley for their incredible leadership and success while guiding USA teams this past summer,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “Both coaches dedicated a lot of their time to USA Basketball and the national teams, and that commitment resulted in two Olympic gold medals for the USA this past summer, as well as Dawn leading the USA to gold at the FIBA AmeriCup for Women.”

With Popovich at the helm, the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team claimed a fourth-straight Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games with a 5-1 record, while under Staley’s guidance, the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team captured a seventh-straight Olympic gold medal with a 6-0 record.

Staley also led the USA women at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup, where the USA went 6-0 to claim the gold medal and earn the U.S. women their spot in the 2022 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournaments.

The U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team shot 49.9% from the field, 39.0% from 3-point and 78.0% from the free throw line and averaged 99.0 points per game, which was second-best in the 12-team tournament.

“Participating in USA Basketball this past cycle has been an unforgettable experience, and I am grateful for the confidence shown in me,” said Popovich, who in 2004 was an assistant coach for the bronze-medal winning U.S. Olympic Basketball Team. “To compete alongside the Women’s Team under the guidance of Dawn Staley was inspiring and impactful.”

The U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team averaged a tournament-leading 84.7 ppg. and shot 50.4% from the field, 35.1% from 3-point and 79.4% from the free throw line. Staley became the first Black woman to serve as head coach of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team. Overall, she has been a part of six Olympic teams, including three as a player (1996, 2000, 2004) and two as an assistant coach (2008, 2016).

“It’s an honor to be recognized by USA Basketball and even more so to share this award with Gregg Popovich,” said Staley. “I got the best of both worlds this year with the AmeriCup team of college players and the Olympic team, who both came in with a team-first mentality that was fun to coach and help them to gold medals.

“Leading an Olympic team on the cusp of history was a responsibility I took to heart, and I appreciate the players who embraced the way we wanted to play and did what they had to in order to continue that Olympic win streak.”

Popovich and the USA Men’s National Team began training camp ahead of the Olympics on July 6, however, due to three team members competing in the NBA playoffs and the withdraw of two other team members, Popovich did not have his 12-member roster together until less than 24 hours before the USA’s first game.

He also coached the USA to a 2-2 record during exhibition play from July 10-18.

“What stood out with Coach Pop was his preparation, his attention to detail, how great he is with people,” said U.S. forward Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets/Texas/Washington, D.C.), who was named by FIBA as the men’s Olympic tournament MVP. “He put everything in perspective, and every day we worked towards our goal, which was to win the gold medal, and he made sure everybody was on the same page. So he’s the ultimate leader, and it was an honor to play for him.”

Staley led a USA National Team training camp in February 2021, and ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, she and the USA opened training camp on July 12 in Las Vegas, where the USA recorded a 1-2 exhibition record.

“I think with Dawn, obviously, what makes her unique is that she does have the player’s perspective of all of this,” U.S. guard Sue Bird (Seattle Storm/Connecticut/Syosset, N.Y.) said ahead of the Olympics, which saw her collect a record-tying fifth-straight Olympic gold medal. “She’s experienced it. She knows what it is like. I think she definitely brings her own personality to things and her own identity to things.”

With the 2021 USA AmeriCup Team, Staley led a team of collegiate athletes to a gold medal and 6-0 record against seasoned veterans at the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup from June 11-19 in Puerto Rico. The USA defeated opponents by an average of 35.2 points per game and earned a berth into the 2022 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

Four Big East Teams in Top 25

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Four BIG EAST teams are in Monday’s Associated Press poll led by Villanova’s No. 9 ranking. Seton Hall moved up seven spots to No. 16. UConn is 20th and Xavier jumped back in at No. 22.  Providence and Creighton were among other teams receiving votes.

In Sunday’s action, Seton Hall defeated Rutgers 77-63 to win the Garden State Hardwood Classic. Bryce Aiken came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points and was named the game MVP. Jared Rhoden added 16 points and nine rebounds. The Pirates (9-1) used a 13-0 run late in the first half to grab control of the contest.

St. John’s pushed its record to 8-2 after beating Colgate 82-64 at Carnesecca Arena. Julian Champagnie scored a team-high 19 points and connected on 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Posh Alexander added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Johnnies are 8-0 at Carnesecca this season.

Villanova (7-3) could never get going offensively and lost 57-36 at Baylor in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. The Bears moved into the No. 1 position in the national polls on Monday. Justin Moore was the only Wildcat in double figures, scoring 15 points. The 36 points were the fewest scored by the Wildcats in a game since Feb. 4, 1979, a 36-34 victory over Penn State.

BIG EAST conference play starts this weekend, but the schedule until then is light with many schools in final exams. Tuesday’s schedule shows two contests. Creighton (8-2) hosts Arizona State at 8 p.m. ET on FS1. The Bluejays are coming off an 83-71 neutral court win over then-No. 24 BYU. A win over UIC would give Creighton a 9-2 start (or better) after 11 games for the eighth time in the last 11 season.

DePaul plays at UIC at 8 p.m. The Blue Demons (8-1) last played on Friday, winning 62-55 at Louisville. Javon Freeman-Liberty and David Jones are ranked in the top five in the BIG EAST in scoring and rebounding. Freeman-Liberty is second in scoring (20.3) and third in rebounding (8.4). Jones is third in scoring (17.7) and fourth in rebounding (8.2).

Going into Tuesday, league teams own an overall record of 88-23 (.793).