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Demary Jr. Takes Big East Honor

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NEW YORK – UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. was named BIG EAST Player of the Week, while teammate Braylon Mullins was picked to be BIG EAST Freshman of the Week.  Demary Jr. averaged a near double-double in points and assists – 18.5 points and 9.5 assists – in a pair of wins for the Huskies.  Mullins led UConn in scoring in both games this past week, averaging 20.0 points to go along with 4.5 rebounds per outing.
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BIG EAST Player of the Week
Silas Demary Jr., UConn, G, Jr.
Demary Jr. averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.0 steals in a 2-0 week for UConn. The 6-4 guard was brilliant in an overtime win at Providence on Jan. 7, finishing with 23 points, a career-high 15 assists, and five steals.  Demary Jr. logged one turnover against the Friars – marking only the fifth time in BIG EAST history that a player had 15 assists with one or fewer turnovers. He became the first BIG EAST player since the 2017-18 season to log at least 20 points and 15 assists in a game.  Last time out against DePaul on Jan. 10, the junior from Raleigh, N.C. tallied 14 points, three boards, four assists, and three steals.  For the week, Demary Jr. connected on 61.1% of his attempts from the floor (11-18), including 6-of-9 from beyond the arc, while posting a 3.80:1 assist/turnover ratio.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Braylon Mullins, UConn, F, G.
Mullins led UConn in scoring in a pair of wins last week, averaging 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks.  His best game of the week came at Providence on Jan. 7, scoring a game and season-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.  Eight of his 24 points came in the overtime period for the Huskies.  Against DePaul on Jan. 10, the 6-6 guard registered a team-high 16 points, a season-best seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks.  Over the two games, he connected on nearly 55% (13-24) of his field goal attempts, including 8-of-15 from the perimeter.  It marks the second weekly honor for Mullins this season.
BIG EAST Honor Roll
Nigel James Jr., Marquette, G, Fr.
James Jr. averaged 20.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.5 steals in a 1-1 week for Marquette.  He poured in a career-best 31 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers, to go with six assists and three steals against Villanova on Jan. 10.  The freshman guard added 10 points, six assists, and four boards in a win over Xavier on Jan. 7.
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s, F, Sr.
Ejiofor averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 steals in two road wins for St. John’s.  His best game of the week came on Jan. 7, finishing with 18 points, five boards, two assists, and three steals at Butler.  Last time out at Creighton, the senior finished with 12 points, six assists, four boards, and four steals.
Budd Clark, Seton Hall, G, Jr.
Clark scored 22 points to go with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in a comeback win for Seton Hall at Georgetown on Jan. 10.  The junior guard scored 13 of his 22 points in the second half while connecting on 6-of-12 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free throw line on the night for the Pirates.
Acaden Lewis, Villanova, G, Fr.
Lewis averaged 20.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in a 1-1 week for Villanova.  Against Creighton on Jan. 7, the freshman guard finished with 20 points, four boards, seven assists, and three steals.  In a win at Marquette on Jan. 10, Lewis again tallied 20 points to go with eight assists.
Malik Messina-Moore, Xavier, G, Sr.
Messina-Moore averaged 22.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 steals in a 1-1 week for Xavier.  The senior guard had 22 points, three boards, three assists, and five steals at Marquette on Jan. 7.  Last time out, he finished with 23 points – including five 3-pointers – in a home win over Providence.

Big East Break – January 10th

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STORRS – (Wire Service Preview) – After a two-day break, BIG EAST men’s basketball returns with five games – and 10 of its 11 teams in action – on Saturday. The full day of action begins with a doubleheader on TNT and truTV, as DePaul visits UConn at 12:30 p.m. ET. In the second game, Villanova travels to Marquette for a 2:30 p.m. ET start. Marquette head coach Shaka Smart will be wired for sound throughout the game, adding a unique perspective to the matchup in Milwaukee.

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The first of three games airing on FS1 begins at 2 p.m. ET as St. John’s heads to Creighton. That game is followed by Providence at Xavier at 4 p.m. ET and is capped off by a 6 p.m. ET matchup as Seton Hall takes on Georgetown in Washington, D.C.

Saturday, Jan. 10

TNT & truTV
DePaul at UConn – 12:30 p.m. ET
Spero Dedes (pxp); Greg Anthony (analyst)

Villanova at Marquette – 2:30 p.m. ET
Brian Anderson (pxp); Grant Hill (analyst)

FS1
St. John’s at Creighton – 2 p.m. ET
Tim Brando (pxp); Donny Marshall (analyst)

Providence at Xavier – 4 p.m. ET
Connor Onion (pxp); Nick Bahe (analyst)

Seton Hall at Georgetown – 6 p.m. ET
Chris Vosters (pxp); Tarik Turner (analyst)

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Looking Ahead: The BIG EAST is off on Sunday, Jan. 11 and returns to action with four games on Tuesday, Jan. 13: Villanova at Providence, Marquette at St. John’s, Connecticut at Seton Hall, and Georgetown at Creighton.

Zuby Doobie, Do

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Zuby Ejiofor from St. John’s and Jamier Jones from Providence were selected to earn BIG EAST Men’s Basketball weekly honors for games played between Dec. 29 and Jan. 4.  Ejiofor averaged nearly 30 points and 13 rebounds this past week, while Jones tallied a double-double (15 points/10 rebounds) for the Friars.
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BIG EAST Player of the Week
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s, F, Sr.
Ejiofor averaged 29.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 blocked shots while connecting on 60.0% from the floor (15-25) in a 1-1 week for St. John’s.  His best performance of the week came at home on Jan. 3 against Providence, as the 6-9 forward finished with career-highs in points (33) and rebounds (15) to go with two assists, two steals, and three blocks in 34 minutes.  Ejiofor was 8-of-16 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from the perimeter.  Eleven of his 15 rebounds came on the offensive glass – tying for the most offensive boards in a game this season.  At Georgetown on Dec. 31, the senior forward posted a near triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-best seven assists.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Jamier Jones, Providence, F, Fr.
Jones posted his first collegiate double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds, in Providence’s win at St. John’s.  Five of Jones’ 10 boards came on the offensive glass, leading to nine second-chance points for the Friars – including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:59 left in the game.  The 6-6 forward was 5-for-7 from the floor and scored 10 of his 15 points over the final 20 minutes of play.  He added two assists and two steals in 25 minutes of action.  For the season, Jones is averaging 10.4 points per game and is connecting on nearly 69% of his field goal attempts (57-83).
BIG EAST Honor Roll
Solo Ball, UConn, G, Jr.
Ball led UConn this past week, averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 blocked shot while connecting on nearly 55% shooting from the floor in a pair of wins.  He scored 17 points at Xavier on Dec. 31, before tallying 17 points and eight rebounds at home vs. Marquette.
Jasen Green, Creighton, F, Jr.
Green averaged 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steal in two games last week. He tallied a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting at Butler on Dec. 30 before narrowly missing a double-double at Seton Hall – 13 points and a career-best nine rebounds.
CJ Gunn, DePaul, G, Sr.
Gunn tallied 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 block over a two-game span this past week.  He had 15 points and seven rebounds at Villanova before finishing with a game-high 22 points in a home win over Xavier.  The 6-7 guard shot 50% (14-28) from the floor on the week.
KJ Lewis, Georgetown, G, Jr.
Lewis poured in a career-high 27 points, connecting on eight field goals and a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line.  The 6-4 guard added three rebounds, an assist, three steals, and a blocked shot in 28 minutes.  It was Lewis’ third game with at least 20 points this season.
Bryce Lindsay, Villanova, G, Jr.
Lindsay was terrific in a pair of Villanova wins last week.  Against DePaul, Lindsay tallied 19 points while knocking down 5-of-10 from the perimeter.  The 6-3 guard scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half, keying a comeback for the Wildcats at Butler on Jan. 3.

Big East Brings In New Year

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CINCINNATI – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – UConn led wire-to-wire in a win at Xavier, Villanova used a second half rally to get past DePaul, and St. John’s set a new program standard for 3-point shooting at Georgetown.
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Wednesday, Dec. 31
UConn 90, Xavier 67 – Box Score 
Alex Karaban led all scorers with 19 points as UConn won its ninth straight game.  The Huskies started strong out of the gate and led for the entire game.  Xavier got within 13 points twice in the second half, but the Huskies maintained their advantage by shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes.  Karaban added seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.  Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins each added 17 points, combining to make seven of UConn’s season-high 13 3-pointers on the night.  For Xavier, Malik Messina-Moore scored a team-high 16 points while Filip Borovicanin added a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.
Of Note
Villanova 71, DePaul 66 – Box Score 
The Wildcats erased a 10-point second half deficit, using outscoring DePaul 31-16 over the final 11 minutes to move to 2-0 in BIG EAST play. A 9-0 run early in the first half for the Blue Demons gave them the lead the rest of the way, including a 32-28 edge at the break.  DePaul would grow its lead to 50-40 with 11 minutes remaining before Villanova run kickstarted its comeback.  A Tyler Perkins 3-pointer would tie it at 56-56 with six minutes and change left before a Devin Askew trifecta gave Nova the lead for good.  Perkins and Bryce Lindsay each had 19 points for Villanova, combining for nine of Nova’s 10 made 3-pointers.  DePaul was led by CJ Gunn’s 15 points and seven rebounds, while Layden Blocker added 13.
Of Note
St. John’s 95, Georgetown 83 – Box Score 
The Red Storm’s long-range shooting set the tone in their win at Georgetown.  The first three field goals for the Johnnies all came from beyond the arc as they took an 11-9 lead less than four minutes in.  But a 9-0 run by the Hoyas allowed them to retake the lead in a back and forth first half that featured four ties and seven lead changes.  SJU held a 52-47 advantage at the break and led the rest of the way.  Zuby Ejiofor posted one of his most complete stat lines of the season, finishing with 25 points, 10 rebounds, a career-best seven assists, and two steals.  Oziyah Sellers added 16 points and Ian Jackson 14 in the win.  The Hoyas’ KJ Lewis led all scorers with 27, while Malik Mack added 18 points and eight assists.
Of Note
There are no BIG EAST games on Jan. 1 and 2

Big East Round-Up: Nov. 27

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LAS VEGAS – (Wire Service Report) – Creighton earned a 76-66 victory over Oregon in its final game of the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.  Providence and Georgetown dropped their MTE openers on Thanksgiving night.  Friday features seven BIG EAST teams in action throughout the day.
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Creighton 76, Oregon 66 – Box Score 
Blake Harper led three Creighton players in double figures with 18 points and the Bluejays used a 14-3 run down the stretch to pull away from Oregon in the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas.  Harper also grabbed nine rebounds.  CU led by as many as 17 in the second half before the Ducks got within one – 60-59 – with 6:15 to play.  Owen Freeman had 14 points and seven boards and Nik Graves 12 points and five assists in the win.
Wisconsin 104, Providence 83 – Box Score
Jason Edwards scored a team-high 20 points but it was not enough as Providence dropped the opening game to Wisconsin at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.  Providence fell behind midway through the first half and could not recover, despite making 11 3FG. Stefan Vaaks had 11 while Jamier Jones and Oswin Erhunmwunse each tallied 10 points.
Dayton 84, Georgetown 79 – Box Score
Malik Mack’s 3-point attempt near the end of the overtime period rattled out as the Hoyas dropped their first game of the season to Dayton in the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando.  Trailing by 14 with just under six minutes left in regulation, GU used a 16-2 push to force an extra frame.  Mack had 24 points while KJ Lewis scored 19 and Julius Halafonua had 16.
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Friday is a busy day with seven BIG EAST teams in action.

BIG EAST Update: Nov. 23

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WASH DC – (Staff Report from Official Conference News Release) – BIG EAST teams were 3-0 on Saturday.  Georgetown moved to 5-0 with a home win over Wagner, Marquette used a strong second half to down Central Michigan, and late long-range shooting propelled Providence past Penn State at Mohegan Sun.
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Georgetown 92, Wagner 75 – Box Score
The Hoyas are now 5-0 for the first time since the 2017-18 season.  Balanced scoring efforts were in full display, tallying a season-high 92 points in a win over Wagner.  Malik Mack led Georgetown with 18 points, connecting on four 3-pointers while also tallying five assists.  Julius Halaifonua registered new career-highs in scoring (16) and rebounding (9).  GU also tallied 21 assists on 29 made field goals for the game.
Marquette 85, Central Michigan 71 – Box Score
Chase Ross was outstanding once again for the Golden Eagles, finishing with 27 points (7-8 FG; 12-14 FT), five rebounds, and seven assists.  Zaide Lowery added 12 points and five assists as seven Marquette players tallied at least six points.  For the game, MU tallied 42 of its 85 points in the paint and connected on nearly 53% of its shot attempts, while recording 21 assists on 28 field goals.
Providence 77, Penn State 65 – Box Score
Stefan Vaaks’ pair of late-game 3-pointers pushed the Friars ahead of Penn State at the Hall of Fame Showcase at Mohegan Sun.  Leading by three – 68-65 – late, Vaaks connected on a 3-pointer out of a timeout with 1:58 to play and added a second trifecta off a PSU turnover. Jason Edwards tallied 14 points and six rebounds, while Jaylin Sellers added 13 points.  Oswin Erhunmwunse narrowly missed a double-double (11 pts/8 reb) to go with four blocks.
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Sunday features four BIG EAST games, beginning with Butler and Virginia in the title game of the Greenbriar Tip-Off at 2 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.  Xavier finishes up play in the Shriners Children Charleston Classic, taking on West Virginia at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.  No. 3/3 UConn hosts Bryant in Hartford at 6 p.m. on truTV, while DePaul takes on Detroit Mercy at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
CBSSN
Butler vs. Virginia – 2 p.m.
Jack Benjamin (pxp); Anne O’Neil (analyst)
ESPN
Xavier vs. West Virginia – 3:30 p.m.
John Schriffen (pxp); Scott Williams (analyst)
truTV
Bryant at UConn – 6 p.m. ET
Brendan Glasheen (pxp); Steve Smith (analyst)
ESPN+
Detroit Mercy at DePaul – 6 p.m. ET – Watch
Evan Stockton (pxp); Jerel McNeal (analyst)

Big East Update: UConn Edges BYU

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BOSTON – BIG EAST teams were 4-2 on Saturday, highlighted by No. 3/3 UConn’s win over No. 7/7 BYU in Boston in one of the top games of the 2025-26 season.  Georgetown moved to 4-0 with a win over Clemson, while St. John’s and Villanova used their high-powered offenses to earn victories at home.

UConn 86, BYU 84 – Box Score

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In one of the best games of the non-conference slate so far, No. 3/3 UConn held off a late surge from No. 7/7 BYU at TD Garden in Boston.  UConn connected on nearly 57% from the floor – including 8-of-18 from the perimeter.  A trio of Huskies tallied 21 points apiece – Silas Demary Jr., Alex Karaban, and Tarris Reed Jr.

Georgetown 79, Clemson 74 – Box Score

Four Hoyas reached double figures, led by a career-high 26 from KJ Lewis, as Georgetown moved to 4-0.  Lewis also tallied four boards, two assists, and five steals.  In a game that saw nine ties and two lead changes, a Malik Mack 3-pointer with 14:33 remaining started a 12-3 run, putting Georgetown ahead for good.  Mack finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

St. John’s 93, William & Mary 60 – Box Score 

A 27-2 run to start the second half put the game out of reach for No. 13/13 St. John’s.  Five Red Storm players reached double digits – and 10 different players scored – in the win.  Bryce Hopkins and Joson Sanon each had 15 points for St. John’s, which has scored more than 90 points in each of its first three games for the first time since the 1971-72 season.

Villanova 87, Duquesne 77 – Box Score 

Villanova trailed by as many as six early, but used a 30-13 surge to close out the first half and never looked back.  Acaden Lewis led a trio of Wildcats in double figures, with a season-high 19 points to go along with six rebounds.  Bryce Lindsay had 18 points and Matt Hodge 15 in the win.  Duke Brennan corralled 13 boards.

SMU 87, Butler 85 – Box Score

Trailing by seven with 1:41 to play, Butler’s furious finish came up two points short on the road.  Finley Bizjack had 18 points on the night, connecting on 5-of-9 from the outside, while Michael Ajayi added 14 points. His 3-ball with 37 ticks remaining tied it at 85-85.  Butler made 13 3-pointers in the game.

Maryland 89, Marquette 82 – Box Score

A game of runs saw Marquette come up short at home.  The Golden Eagles got within five late but could not get any closer at home against Maryland.  Chase Ross scored a career-high 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting.  Ben Gold added 18 points and Zaide Lowery 14 in the loss.  Former BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and All-American Jerel McNeal had his jersey retired in a halftime ceremony.

Tip-Off: College Basketball ’25-26

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LAS VEGAS – Freshman Koa Peat scored 30 points with seven rebounds and five assists in a stirring debut and No. 13 Arizona pulled off a 93-87 upset of No. 3 Florida in the Basketball Hall of Fame Series on Monday.

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Jaden Bradley scored 27 points and Ivan Kharchenkov added 12 points with 10 rebounds as Arizona rallied from a 12-point deficit in the first half to defeat defending champion Florida.

Peat, the centerpiece of the Wildcats’ acclaimed freshman class, went 11 of 18 from the floor in a team-high 36 minutes.

Thomas Haugh scored 27 points for Florida and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee added 14 in his Gators debut. The Gators shot 36.8% from the floor in the second half to lose their opener after they dropped just four games last season on the way to the third title in program history.

No. 2 Houston 75, Lehigh 57

Kelvin Sampson earned his 800th career win as the Cougars handled the visiting Mountain Hawks.

Over a 36-year career coaching at Montana Tech, Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana and Houston, Sampson now has compiled a record of 800-354, including last season’s run to the NCAA championship game.

This win, Sampson’s 300th at Houston, featured a familiar script for a Sampson-coached squad, with Houston getting more rebounds (43-30) and shot attempts (61-51) while holding its opponent to worse than 40% shooting from the field.

Emanuel Sharp scored 24 points while making 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, pacing the Cougars in both categories.

No. 4 UConn 79, New Haven 55

Alex Karaban collected 19 points and 10 rebounds and Solo Ball added 18 points to fuel the host Huskies to a season-opening victory over the in-state Chargers.

All-Big East Preseason First Team members Karaban and Ball combined to sink six 3-pointers and all 11 of their free-throw attempts. Jaylin Stewart recorded 11 points and eight rebounds and Georgia transfer Silas Demary. Jr. had 10 points for the Huskies, who spoiled the Division I debut of the Chargers.

UConn played without All-Big East Preseason First Team member Tarris Reed Jr. (hamstring), star freshman Braylon Mullins (ankle) and classmate Jacob Furphy (ankle). New Haven’s Andre Pasha scored 17 points, Najimi George had 14 and Maison Adeleye added 13.

No. 5,  St. John’s 108, Quinnipiac 74

Zuby Ejiofor scored 17 points the Red Storm began their third season under coach Rick Pitino with a wire-to-wire victory over the outmatched Bobcats in New York.

The Red Storm lived up to their billing with a dominant showing ahead of Saturday’s game against No. 15 Alabama at Madison Square Garden. Ejiofor, the preseason Big East Player of the Year, made 7 of 10 shots from the field in 24 minutes.

Dillon Mitchell scored a game-high 18 in his St. John’s debut after transferring from Cincinnati. The guard made 7 of 9 shots and also grabbed seven rebounds to go along with four of the Red Storm’s 12 steals.

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No. 7 Michigan 121, Oakland 78

Morez Johnson scored 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting to help lead the Wolverines past the Golden Grizzlies in an intrastate matchup in Ann Arbor.

Johnson was one of seven players who scored in double figures for the Wolverines. Trey McKenney made 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range and scored 21 points off the bench and Elliot Cadeau dished out 12 assists for Michigan, which set a school record for points in a half with 69 before intermission.

Isaac Garrett scored 20 points and Tuburu Naivalurua added 18 for Oakland.

No. 8 BYU 71, Villanova 66

AJ Dybantsa scored 21 points in his college basketball debut — including 13 in the second half — to lead the Cougars over the Wildcats in the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas.

Dybantsa also grabbed six boards and shot 9 of 18 from the floor. Richie Saunders complemented the freshman phenom with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Robert Wright III notched 14 points.

Bryce Lindsay led Villanova with 22 points and Duke Brennan added 15 rebounds. The Wildcats were leading BYU by two with 6:28 remaining but could only manage two baskets over the last six minutes.

No. 11 Louisville 104, South Carolina State 45

The Cardinals’ second season in the Pat Kelsey era began in remarkable fashion as five players scored in double figures en route to a 59-point rout of the visiting Bulldogs.

Khani Rooths led the way with a career-high 20 points off the bench for the Cardinals, who led 13-0 less than four minutes into the game. The winning margin was Louisville’s largest since an 87-26 win over Savannah State on Nov. 24, 2014.

South Carolina State’s first field goal came with 10:36 left in the first half and made the score 24-4. The Bulldogs shot just 10.3% in the first half.

No. 12 UCLA 80, Eastern Washington 74

Donovan Dent scored 21 points and dished nine assists in his Bruins debut as the hosts held off the Eagles in Los Angeles.

With five scorers in double figures, UCLA led most of the way against its Big Sky Conference opponent. Each time the Bruins appeared ready to blow the game open, however, Eastern Washington cut into the deficit — including pulling to within a single-digit margin in the final minute.

The Eagles had an opportunity to pull within five with 34 seconds remaining after Emmett Marquardt rebounded Skyy Clark’s one-and-one front-end miss. Isaiah Moses then penetrated and found Johnny Radford on the wing, but his 3-point attempt rimmed off and UCLA held on from there

No. 14 Arkansas 109, Southern 77

Trevon Brazile had 25 points and 11 rebounds, heralded freshman Darius Acuff Jr. scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half of his college debut and the Razorbacks blew out the Jaguars in both teams’ season opener in Fayetteville, Ark.

Freshman wing Meleek Thomas added 21 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals off the bench for the Razorbacks, who won their 52nd straight home opener.

Michael Jacobs had 22 points and Fazl Oshodi had 15 points on five 3-pointers for Southern. The Jaguars scored on their first possession for a 2-0 lead but never led again.

No. 15 Alabama 91, North Dakota 62

Labaron Philon scored a career-high 22 points and added eight assists to lead the Crimson Tide to an easy season-opening 91-62 victory over the Fighting Hawks in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Houston Mallette added 15 points and eight rebounds and Amari Allen registered 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals for Alabama, while London Jemison scored 12 points. The Crimson Tide never trailed in the game.

Garrett Anderson had 13 points and three steals for North Dakota, while Eli King added 11 points and four steals. The Fighting Hawks managed to shoot just 5 of 20 from beyond the arc as they lost to Alabama for the second straight season.

No. 16 Iowa State 88, Fairleigh Dickinson 50

Milan Momcilovic scored 29 points on 11-for-16 shooting, including 7-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc, and the Cyclones cruised past the Knights in Ames, Iowa.

Tamin Lipsey added 18 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals for Iowa State (1-0), which is looking to build upon a 25-win campaign from a season ago. Joshua Jefferson finished with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

David Jevtic scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Fairleigh Dickinson (0-1). Eric Parnell scored 13 points, and Taeshaud Jackson added nine points and seven rebounds.

No. 17 Illinois 113, Jackson State 55

Ben Humrichous and Tomislav Ivisic scored 21 points to lead six players in double figures as the Illini rolled to a victory over the Tigers in Champaign, Ill.

Playing without starters Mihailo Petrovic (hamstring) and Andrej Stojakovic (knee), the Fighting Illini jumped to a 24-3 lead in the opening seven minutes and sprinted the distance to win their 10th straight opener and 26th in the last 27 years. Freshman David Mirkovic recorded 19 points and 14 rebounds in his college debut — achieving a double-double in the first half — while freshman Keaton Wagler added 18 points and four assists.

Devin Ree paced Jackson State with 19 points before fouling out. Point guard Daeshun Ruffin, the SWAC’s preseason player of the year, was limited to 12 points and one assist.

No. 18 Tennessee 76, Mercer 61

Prized recruit Nate Ament totaled 18 points and nine rebounds as the Volunteers opened the season with a win over the Bears in Knoxville, Tenn.

The 6-foot-10 Ament, a McDonald’s All-American last season, made 6 of 11 shots from the floor, including 1 of 4 from 3-point range. Sophomore J.P. Estrella tallied a career-high 12 points, hitting 6 of 10 from the field, and added five rebounds. Jaylen Carey, a Vanderbilt transfer, had eight points and 10 rebounds in his Tennessee debut.

Baraka Okojie led Mercer with 15 points and had four rebounds. Armani Mighty contributed 14 points and five boards, and Zaire Williams had 10 points and four rebounds.

No. 19 Kansas 94, Green Bay 51

Freshman Darryn Peterson scored 21 points in his college debut and Flory Bidunga led all scorers with 23 points as the Jayhawks cruised past the Phoenix in Lawrence, Kan.

Peterson was 7-for-11 from the field, including 3 of 7 from 3-point range, in 22 minutes for Kansas. With a comfortable margin, Kansas coach Bill Self rested Peterson, who missed the team’s last exhibition game with cramps, for most of the second half.

Bidunga went 9-for-11 from the field and made 5 of 6 free throws. He also led the Jayhawks with six rebounds. Marcus Hall led Green Bay with 17 points. The Phoenix shot just 28.6% (16-for-56) from the field.

No. 20 Auburn 95, Bethune-Cookman 90 (OT)

The Tigers needed overtime to avoid a stunning upset in Steven Pearl’s head-coaching debut before holding off the visiting Wildcats.

With Auburn leading 81-78, Elyjah Freeman fouled Bethune-Cookman’s Arterio Morris on a 3-point attempt with less than a second remaining in regulation. Morris made all three foul shots, part of his 20 points.

But Keyshawn Hall’s free throws with 3:27 left in overtime gave the Tigers an 86-85 lead and they never trailed again. Hall scored a game-high 28 points.

No. 21 Gonzaga 98, Texas Southern 43

Tyon Grant-Foster scored 15 points in his debut with the Bulldogs and Braden Huff added 14 as Gonzaga rolled to a victory over the Tigers in Spokane, Wash.

Graham Ike recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds while reserve Adam Miller also scored 13 points for the Bulldogs, who led by as many as 57.

Duane Posey and Jaylen Wysinger scored eight points apiece to lead the Tigers, who missed 16 of their final 17 field-goal attempts.

No. 22 Michigan State 80, Colgate 69

Jaxon Kohler scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds the Spartans beat the Raiders in East Lansing, Mich.

Jeremy Fears Jr. also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists, while Coen Carr contributed 12 points for Michigan State, which was 24-for-37 from the free-throw line while Colgate was 4 of 6.

Sam Wright led the Raiders with 17 points and Jalen Cox supplied 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the loss.

No. 24 Wisconsin 96, Campbell 64

John Blackwell scored 31 points and Nick Boyd added 21 as the Badgers pulled away from the Fighting Camels in Madison, Wis.

Campbell, which trailed by 15 early in the second half, rallied within 67-62 on two free throws by Chris Fields Jr. with 8:39 remaining. But Blackwell then scored eight of Wisconsin’s next 11 points to trigger a 15-0 run. Nolan Winter’s dunk put the Badgers in front 82-62 with 3:48 left.

Wisconsin has eight newcomers from the team that went 27-10 last season and lost to BYU 91-89 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin, which led the nation in free throw shooting last season with 82.6%, hit 17 of 19 free throws.

No. 25 North Carolina 95, Central Arkansas 54

Caleb Wilson scored 22 points in his collegiate debut, and the Tar Heels received contributions from a variety of sources in a season-opening victory against the Bears in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Kyan Evans, boosted by four 3-pointers, poured in 15 points, Henri Veesaar had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Seth Trimble scored 12 for North Carolina, who won its 21st consecutive season opener. The Tar Heels have also notched victories in 24 straight home openers.

Cole McCormick scored nine points for Central Arkansas, which fell into an early hole and couldn’t shoot its way back into range to make it interesting. The Bears shot 31.3% from the field, making eight of 29 attempts from 3-point range. McCormick fouled out with nearly five minutes left.

–Field Level Media

March Madness Tip-Off

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – Special NCAA Edition

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PROVIDENCE – Highly respected sports industry guru Tony Ponturo, he of multi-time nominee and winner for both the Most Powerful Man in Sports and in the theatre industry, wrote a thought-leadership book entitled, “Revenge of the C+ Student.” Ponturo, a two time TONY Award winner for his efforts on Broadway, reviving “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and producing 2010 Best Musical “Memphis,” helped make the brands “Bud” and “Bud Light” household names on a worldwide basis. Just ask The Budweiser Clydesdales.

Ponturo spent 26 years selling Bud, the exact same amount of time this columnist spent working for David Stern at the National Basketball Association. Looking at those two parallel lines, and enlightened by Ponturo’s book and his transcript, I’d love to author a similar sports business practice book and I’d call it, “At Least I Was Good at Geography.”

To wit, I give you this year’s brackets for NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball.

In the East, we have:

  • No. 2 Alabama
  • No. 3 Wisconsin
  • No. 4 Arizona
  • No. 5 Oregon
  • No. 6 BYU (Utah)
  • No. 7 St. Mary’s Moraga (California)
  • No. 14 Montana

In the West, we have:

No. 1 Florida

No. 2 St. John’s (New York)

No. 3 Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas)

No. 4 Maryland

No. 5 Memphis (Tennessee)

No. 6 Missouri

No. 8 UConn (Hartford, Connecticut area)

No. 9 Oklahoma

No. 14 UNC Wilmington (North Carolina)

No. 16 Norfolk State (Norfolk, Virginia)

There’s a few more.

In the South, there’s Michigan State (Lansing), Marquette (Wisconsin), Yale (New Haven, Connecticut), and Michigan (Ann Arbor) – four schools where you can’t get much further North, unless Canada does become the 51st State and UConn is south of Yukon.

In the Midwest, the bracket claims, UCLA (Los Angeles), Gonzaga (Spokane, Washington), Utah State (Logan, Utah), and then a slew of Southeastern or Southern schools like Wofford (Spartanburg, South Carolina), High Point (North Carolina), Clemson (South Carolina), Kentucky, McNeese (Lake Charles, Louisiana), Tennessee and Georgia.

There are other examples, but you surely get the point.

In recent years, the NCAA made adjustments to the brackets so an Eastern team such as St. John’s (full disclosure as my alma mater) can play in the West Regional but remain in Providence, Rhode Island to do so. But, success in Providence sends teams in that pod to San Francisco while a successful weekend in Seattle for Arizona or Oregon sends a team to Newark New Jersey.

The tournament itself increased from 64 to 68 teams in 2001, so we’ve been bickering about this stuff for decades. Still, there is no resolve and it’s pretty bad when there’s no Big East team in the East.

Admittedly, this is nothing new being reported. The days of a truly East vs West NCAA Tournament went out with the 16 team set-up which gave the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in New York the golden opportunity of securing a very deep field in the late ‘60s and early ‘70’s. As the times changed and the Big Dance played to a bigger ballroom of dancers, the money kicked in and TV programmers maxed-out the billions being spent.

Suffice it to say, the names of the regionals should no longer be East, West, South and Midwest, and maybe the NCAA should take a page out of the NHL’s book and rename the basketball regionals something like:

  • Lester Patrick
  • Conn Smythe
  • James Norris
  • Charles Francis Adams

Joking aside, it’s time to rid the tournament of its D- grade in Geography, as the Men’s and Women’s basketball committees divvy-up the schools with goals other than to stack them to represent a region of the USA.

May it be suggested:

  • Dave Gavitt Division (East)
  • John Wooden Division (West)
  • Ray Meyer Division (Midwest)
  • Guy Lewis Division (South-Texas-Southwest representation)

Those names, in tribute of Dave Gavitt (founder of the BIG EAST), John Wooden (the great UCLA coach), Ray Meyer (coached Chicago’s DePaul University from 1942 to 1984) and Guy Lewis (coach of University of Houston from 1956 to 1986). To pay proper respect to college basketball in the United States, the Most Outstanding Player from each division would be recognized and awarded with:

  • Gavitt MOP received the Patrick Ewing Trophy
  • Wooden MOP honored with the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy
  • Meyer MOP receives the Oscar Robertson Trophy
  • Lewis MOP honored with the Junior Bridgeman Trophy

Should the tournament choose to expand, we could very easily add:

  • Gonzaga Division (Northwest) – MOP award John Stockton Trophy
  • Coach K Division (Southeast) – MOP gets the Michael Jordan Trophy (apologies to Grant Hill, Ralph Sampson, Artis Gilmore and Len Bias).

Those two divisional mentioned do not need further explanation, I hope.

The bottom line as the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament begins, is that the famed, crack committee did a pretty good job of selecting the right teams and fairly distributing them across the four existing regional pods, sans the Group of Death they sent out West.

The West is so stacked, a hot team like Florida, after its No. 1 vs No. 16 tilt against Norfolk State, will have a rough road to the Final 4, including:

  • Winner of UConn v.Oklahoma
  • Winner of Memphis v. Colo State/or/Maryland v. Grand Canyon
  • A Regional Final against No. 2 St. John’s or others (Kansas/Texas Tech) etc

There’s gotta be a better way.
They were partying at West End Johnnies at an NCAA Regional in Boston

PICKS: Here are a few picks that are going into a combination of my two or three bracket submission with friends and family. (Note: I always bang out one bracket on Selection Sunday night and set it aside). Then with more thought and research I do another bracket for use in pools.

TEAMS CONSIDERED HOT: These teams were playing the best over the past few weeks and into their conference tournaments:

  1. Florida
  2. Duke
  3. Houston
  4. Auburn
  5. Tennessee
  6. Michigan State
  7. St John’s
  8. Alabama
  9. Texas Tech
  10. Iowa State

FACTS: In the Round of 64, the higher seed wins 71.5% and that includes No. 8 v. No. 9 which are really equal … In the Second Round, the better seeds win at a 73.1% clip. After that, the advantage for the higher seeds declines gradually:

  • Sweet 16 – 63.8% victory pace for higher seed
  • Elite 8 – 55%

In terms of vulnerable seeds since 2009, the No. 6 seeds are (29-31) against the No. 11s. In just the last 10 years, No. 11 seeds are 22-18 vs. No. 6

Applying the 6 vs 11 raw data to this particular year’s bracket set-up surfaces a few interesting upset possibilities:

  • In the East bracket, can No. 11 VCU upset No. 6 BYU in Denver where you have to figure in the travel and altitude?
  • In the South, No. 6 Ole Miss has to play the hot play-in winner of North Carolina.
  • In the West, No. 6 Missouri (22-11) has a tough draw vs. No. 11 Drake (30-3).
  • And, in the Midwest bracket, No. 6 Illinois will face play-in winner Xavier, a team that finished the Big East regular season quite strong with seven straight victories to close out the season before meeting and losing to Marquette at the Garden.

The teams entering the tournament that have executed the best in terms of both Offensive and Defensive efficiency:

  • Auburn
  • Duke
  • Florida
  • Houston
  • Arizona
  • Tennessee
  • Louisville

Not to bore anyone with a full Round-by-Round, Pick-by-Pick selection show, (see Jay Bilas’ column on ESPN.com as he does a much better job than everyone else put together), I’ll simply list my Regional Finalist predictions. Yes, they are rather high seeds.

  • East: Duke vs. Wisconsin
  • Midwest: Houston vs. Tennessee
  • South: Auburn vs. Michigan State
  • West: Florida vs St. John’s

No matter what – whether your bracket is torn up tomorrow or your favorite team survives and advances – it’s time for March Madness. Enjoy the ride. Enjoy the spectacle of the best of College Basketball (Men’s and Women’s) with a love of the game and not the X and O marks on a piece of paper, otherwise known in American culture as “your bracket.”

TL

Big East: Xavier Looking for Upset

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NEW YORK – Many March Madness bracketologists are describing Xavier with the phrases “last four in” or “first four out.”

A well-timed seven-game winning streak gives Xavier a chance at being the fifth team from the Big East to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Embed from Getty Images

The fifth-seeded Musketeers’ next chance to enhance their resume occurs Thursday afternoon in a Big East tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 25 Marquette.

Xavier (21-10) enters the tournament with the conference’s longest active winning streak and a NET ranking of 44. Despite a top 50 ranking, the Musketeers are 1-8 in Quad 1 games and are among four teams in the top 50 in the NET rankings with one win or fewer in Quad 1 games.

“I think we’re playing our best basketball of the season right now,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “I feel like we’re an NCAA Tournament team.”

Xavier is unbeaten since a 12-point loss at Villanova on Feb. 9, though six of its wins are against the combination of DePaul, Butler, Seton Hall and Providence — the bottom four in the Big East standings.

However, the Musketeers also earned a two-point win over Marquette on Jan. 18 when the Golden Eagles were ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25. Xavier also owns a four-point victory over UConn when the two-time defending national champions were ranked No. 19 in the poll on Jan. 25.

“I’ll also tell you, there’s some smart people on the committee. I know there’s a lot of worthy teams,” Miller said. “We have to be at our best in New York City. That’s when you want to play your best.”

Among those playing their best down the stretch is Zach Freemantle, who ended the regular season with 25 points in Saturday’s 76-68 win over Providence. Freemantle is averaging 24.0 points in his past three games.

Xavier is averaging 82.1 points during its winning streak, and contributions from Ryan Conwell are helping. Conwell scored 21 on Saturday and averaging 21.0 points in his past four outings.

These schools meet in the conference tournament for the first time since Marquette defeated Xavier to win the 2023 Big East title game.

Marquette (22-9) has reached the past three Big East title games, but enters Thursday after splitting its final 14 regular-season games. The Golden Eagles took five of those losses to the top three Big East seeds and ended the regular season with an 86-84 overtime loss to St. John’s on Saturday, three days after a 72-66 loss at UConn.

“Don’t have a choice,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said after his team tied a season worst by missing 10 free throws. “Response is a huge key in our program, the ability to focus on the next most important thing.”

Kam Jones scored 32 against St. John’s to follow up a 21-point showing at UConn. Jones finished third in the league in scoring at 15.3 points, and the senior guard was a unanimous pick for the All-Big East first team.

“Now’s the most important time, the postseason of your senior year,” Jones said.

– Field Level Media