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Big East Basketball

Johnnies’ Luis Jr. Named Big East MVP

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NEW YORK – St. John’s forward RJ Luis, Jr. was named 2024-25 BIG EAST Player of the Year. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino was chosen BIG EAST Coach of the Year and Connecticut forward Liam McNeeley was tabbed as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.

The conference’s head coaches make the selections and are not permitted to vote for their own players. The awards were presented at Madison Square Garden prior to the start of the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament Presented by JEEP. It is the 43rd consecutive year the BIG EAST is playing its postseason tournament at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

Luis, a junior wing from Miami, was a critical piece in helping St. John’s win the outright BIG EAST regular season title and earn the top seed in this week’s BIG EAST Tournament. He averaged a team-leading 18.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals. His scoring average ranked fourth in the BIG EAST and his rebounding mark was sixth.  He finished the regular season with a flourish, averaging 24.3 points over the last three games. He is the first BIG EAST Player of the Year from St. John’s since Walter Berry captured the award in 1985-86.

Pitino, the leader of St. John’s revival, is in his second season in Jamaica Estates. He became the first coach in college basketball history to lead five different schools to regular season conference crowns. This year’s St. John’s team is 27-4 overall, 18-2 in BIG EAST play and ranked sixth in this week’s Associated Press poll. Pitino is the active winningest coach in college basketball with 881 victories. This year’s St. John’s squad tied a school record with 27 regular season victories and compiled an 18-2 BIG EAST mark, which tied the league record for a regular season win total.

McNeeley is the second straight Husky to earn Freshman of the Year honors. Stephon Castle was last season’s winner. McNeeley, a forward from Richardson, Texas, was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week seven times despite missing eight games early in the league campaign due to injury. He finished second on the team in scoring with a 14.7 average and pulled down a team-leading 6.2 rebounds. McNeeley’s single-game high of 38 points in a win at Creighton on Feb. 11 was the highest point total by a UConn rookie in a BIG EAST game.

BIG EAST Player of the Year

RJ Luis, Jr., St. John’s

BIG EAST Coach of the Year

Rick Pitino, St. John’s

 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year

Liam McNeeley, Connecticut

BIG EAST: Super Match-Up

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STORRS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – While BIG EAST road wins are usually hard to come by, this past Tuesday night had all three teams in road jerseys going home with victories.

Butler rolled to an 84-54 triumph over Seton Hall at Prudential Center. Six Bulldogs (10-13, 3-9 BIG EAST) scored between 10 and 14 points while the team shot 57.9 percent from the field. Butler led 48-20 at halftime. Pierre Brooks scored 14 points with Boden Kapke and Patrick McCaffery each added 13 points. Kapke also had 11 rebounds, which was his first career double-double. The Pirates (6-17, 1-11) were led by Prince Aligbe’s 17 points and six rebounds.

Creighton ended a three-game losing streak at Providence and extended this season’s winning streak to eight games with an 80-69 victory. The Bluejays (17-6, 10-2) rode Ryan Kalkbrenner’s 35 points and 12 rebounds. His scoring total was the second highest of his career. Steven Ashworth added 23 points, six rebounds and six assists as CU moved into second place. Corey Floyd Jr. posted 16 points and 10 boards for the Friars (11-12, 5-7).

Villanova used a strong defensive effort in its 59-49 win at DePaul. The Wildcats (13-10, 6-6) led 29-26 at halftime and maintained the advantage over the Blue Demons (11-13, 2-11) in the second half. Villanova limited DePaul to 30.8 percent shooting from the field. While Eric Dixon was held to 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting, Jordan Longino stepped with a game-high 17 points. David Thomas came off the bench to score 16 points for the Blue Demons.

BIG EAST play continues Friday with a ranked vs. ranked matchup. No. 12 St. John’s meets No. 19 UConn at Gampel Pavilion at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. The Johnnies (20-3, 11-1) are in first place in the league standings and have compiled a nine-game winning streak. The Huskies (16-6, 8-3) are 3-0 this season against ranked teams, including last Saturday’s 77-69 win over then-No. 9 Marquette.

St. John’s Upends Marquette

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NEW YORK – In a battle of ranked teams in front of a boisterous crowd at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s won its ninth straight game, defeating No. 11 Marquette 70-64. In the other game Tuesday, Xavier used balanced scoring and a rebounding advantage to beat visiting Georgetown 74-69.

St. John’s (20-3, 11-1 BIG EAST) remained in first place with the victory. It marks the quickest the Johnnies have reached 20 wins since the 1985-86 season. With the game tied 55-55 and five minutes remaining, St. John’s prevailed down the stretch. The home team had double-double performances from Kardary Richmond (18 pts., 11 rebs.), RJ Luis Jr. (17 pts., 11 rebs.) and Zuby Ejiofor (13 pts., 13 rebs.). Chase Ross led Marquette (18-5, 9-3) with 16 points.

Xavier (14-9, 6-6) moved into fifth place with its victory over Georgetown (14-9, 5-7). The Musketeers have won five of their last seven games. They were led by Dailyn Swain, who posted 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Marcus Foster and Zach Freemantle each had 17 points. Foster added a career-high 13 rebounds. Micah Peavy matched his career scoring high with 27 points. Thomas Sorber finished with 17 points.

The Wednesday schedule includes three games. FS1 has a doubleheader that starts withButler at Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Bulldogs (9-13, 2-9) won the first meeting 82-77 on Jan. 15. The nightcap has Creighton playing at Providence. The Bluejays (16-6, 9-2) are alone in second place and have a seven-game winning streak. The Friars (11-11, 5-6) have won four of their last seven. Two of the three losses have come by two-points each.

Villanova travels to DePaul for a 9 p.m. tipoff on CBSSN. The Wildcats (12-10, 5-6) want to end a three-game losing streak. Eric Dixon still leads the nation in scoring, averaging 24.2 points. The Blue Demons (11-12, 2-10) are coming off a 74-57 home win versus Seton Hall.

Marquette No. 11, St John’s No. 12

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CHICAGO – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In Sunday’s lone BIG EAST action, DePaul was able to defeat Seton Hall, 74-57, on their home court.
DePaul (11-12, 2-10 BIG EAST) jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the opening six minutes and never looked back, securing its largest win in league play since March 6, 2019. NJ Benson led the team with his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah Coleman paced Seton Hall (6-16, 1-10 BE) with 18 points.

In Monday’s rankings, No. 11 Marquette holds one position over No. 12 St. John’s in the AP Poll, while the Red Storm jumped to No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, just ahead of No. 11 Marquette. The pair are set to meet up Tuesday at Madison Square Garden at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Also making a move back into the top 20, No. 19/18 UConn will host St. John’s on Friday at 8 p.m. on FOX.

Also on Tuesday, Georgetown travels to Ohio to take on Xavier at 8:30 p.m. on FS1.

On Wednesday, Seton Hall hosts Butler at 6:30 p.m. on FS1, followed by Creighton at Providence at 8:30 p.m. on FS1. At 9 p.m. on CBS Sports Network, Villanova hits the road against DePaul.

Big East: End of Non-Conference Games

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JAMAICA ESTATES – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The BIG EAST non-conference schedule ended Saturday with all three league teams in action notching comfortable homecourt victories. St. John’s, Georgetown and DePaul were the winners.

St. John’s put six players in double figures in a 97-76 victory over Delaware. Deivon Smith led the assault with a season-high 20 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and eight assists. Zuby Ejiofor contributed 16 points and seven rebounds. The Johnnies (11-2) shot 60.9 percent from the field.

Georgetown had three players post double-doubles in an 83-53 victory against Coppin State. Thomas Sorber had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Drew Fielder registered career highs with 20 points and 13 boards. Malik Mack, who had missed the previous two games with an injury, finished with 15 points and 11 assists. The Hoyas (11-2) outscored the Tigers 46-23 in the second half.

DePaul never trailed in an 84-65 triumph over Loyola Maryland. N.J. Benson led the Blue Demons (9-4) with 22 points, 17 rebounds and two blocked shots. His rebound total was the highest by a BIG EAST player since Dec. 20, 2022. Jacob Meyer, the team’s top scorer at 14.5 ppg, added 12 points.

The BIG EAST ended its non-league schedule with a (84-37) .694 record.

Conference play resumes on New Year’s Eve afternoon with a doubleheader on Peacock.Seton Hall visits Xavier at 2 p.m. ET followed by St. John’s at Creighton at 4 p.m.

Providence hosts Marquette at 6 p.m. on FS1.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | A Memorial Tribute to Coach Lou Carnesecca

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | Paying Tribute to Coach
A wreath and flowers in memory of the great St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca (St.John’s Photo)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk

JAMAICA ESTATES – If you attended St. John’s University in New York anytime between 1958 and 1992, chances are you knew Coach Lou Carnesecca. With the exception of a three year stint (1970-1973) with the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association (ABA), Carnesecca roamed the Hillcrest Queens campus of St. John’s much to the delight of the athletics department, the basketball players, the student bosy, faculty and administration.

Simply put: Everyone Loved Louie.

He was so great, you’d have thought he’d last forever.

This columnist first set eyes on Carnesecca at a Niagara College at St. John’s game held on Thursday, February 13, 1969 – a school night I might note. St. John’s thumped Niagara 97-60 and sent All-American guard Calvin Murphy back to the Falls after placing quite a hurtin’ on the longtime rivals with games that date back to 1909. I can vividly remember Murphy conducting a “Globetrotters-like” warm-up stationed on the free throw line, tossing fancy passes to his teammates as they made lay-ups in entertaining fashio, all decked out in 1960-70s stylish warm-ups. It was quoite a sight and quite a show.

Then the game started and the show shifted to the sidelines, as Carnesecca marched up and down, legs kicking, arms tossing, hands gesturing on every field goal, free throw and every single call made by a referee.

Of course, Carnesecca lived by the adage of “Peacock Today, Feather-duster Tomorrow,” so the side show was not about the legend of Little Louie. It was Carnesecca’s very own way of coaching his players, living the game with his players, protecting his players, rooting his players on to victory. After all, what could a little body English hurt when the Italian language was accompanying every shot or challenging every single call.

At Louie’s side was assistant coach John Kresse, an able sidekick who tried-out for the St. John’s varsity but was cut. Carnesecca spotted the basketball genius of the then 21-year old and basketball history was made, both at St. John’s (1965-1970 and 1973-1979) and at the College of Charleston where Kresse became the fifth highest winning coach by percentage (.797) of any Division 1 NCAA college basketball coach, registering 560 wins and 143 losses during his 23 years as head coach.

Before Kresse left Louie’s side, Carnesecca was well on his way to a (526-200) regular season record of his own, establishing a yearly 20-win season back when college programs played 27 or 29 games maximum in a single basketball season. In doing so, St. John’s basketball became “New York’s Team,” outshining big time college programs and rivals at NYU, Fordham, Columbia, City College or Manhattan.

The key was a combination of Carnesecca’s roots at St. Ann’s Academy where he won two Catholic High School titles and his following the legendary Joe Lapchick who decided to leave St. John’s in 1947 to coach the New York Knickerbockers of the (Basketball Association of America (BAA), the predecessor or the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Through his work at St. Ann’s (now Archbishop Molloy) and his network of Catholic High school coaches, Carnesecca claimed all he needed were some subway tokens to recruit the best basketball players in the world. Carnesecca, Kresse and third assistant Ron Rutledge combed the city schools, even coaxing many of the public school’s best to stay home in NYC rather than play in front of strangers in Carolina (North and South), Florida or California.

After all, at that time, only St. John’s could offer a regular schedule of games at the MECCA of basketball, Madison Square Garden – the World’s Most Famous Arena – which Louie tagged as, “MACY*s window.”

One of the players, Frank Alagia, from St. Agnes Cathedral High School on Long Island, took Carnesecca up on his offer to play in front of friends and family. Alagia reflected back on his coach and mentor from some 50 years ago saying, “The thing that he really taught us, most of all, was he led by his example and he was a very humble man. He was a very giving man and he gave everybody the same time, whether you were from a big network, a small network, a big newspaper, a small newspaper. He was very good with everybody, and that was a great lesson to me.

“He’s such a part of the fabric of New York,” added Alagia. “Don’t forget, he followed a legend in Joe Lapchick and became bigger than that legend. When you think about it in sports, how many times can you remember when a legend follows a legend like that? So, I mean, that kind of speaks for itself.”

The undaunted following of a legend, the sideline exhuberance, and the subway token approach put Carnesecca in gyms all over Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Long Island with an occasional trip to Staten Island, Jersey or Connecticut. It also allowed Carnesecca to be reacquainted with players he met and coached at his legendary summer camps, as he maintained a stable of local high school coaches who were employed each and every summer to help run the camps.

Let St. John’s and Golden State Warriors Hall of Famer Chris Mullin explain: “Obviously, Coach spent his whole life here, right? That alone, just the longevity alone, but it was more his infectious personality,” noted Mullin. “His warmth, his care, his love, his protection, I always felt like he protected us.

“He gave us praise for wins and he took the losses. He burdened the losses for us, and he gave us the wins, let us celebrate the wins. With that, he just treated everyone with respect.

“I’ve known him for over 50 years. I met him when I was 11 years old. Just looking back, he was always gracious, very humble. He won with class and lost with grace.”
St. John’s Billy Goodwin Celebrates the 1983 BIG EAST title

Mullin, the ‘92 Dream Team shooter extraordinaire and possibly New York City’s best collegiate player of all-time (if you think of Power Memorial’s Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a Los Angeles collegian) met Carnesecca in 1974 as an 11 year old. By 1981, Mullin was shooting jumpers and owned a set of keys to Alumni Hall (now Carnesecca Arena). By 1985, Mullin and Carnesecca were headed for the Final Four in Lexington, Kentucky. By 2011, the duo stood center stage at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts as Mullin asked Carnesecca (Hall of Famer as of 1992) to be his honorary presenter to the all-time greatest players assembled.

After Coach Carnesecca’s funeral service celebration this week at St. Thomas More on campus, former Seton Hall and NBA coach P. J. Carlesemo summed it up quite nicely, quoting words mentioned during the Mass of Christian Burial, “When you think back to the BIG EAST, I think Father Shanley said it, but I mean, the BIG EAST would never have been the BIG EAST without Lou, and I can’t think of St. John’s without him.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: For this special column, how about a few other notes and quotes about Lou Carnesecca, all from those in attendance at the funeral Mass on Friday?

St. John’s center-forward Walter Berry, College Player of the Year in 1986: “We were here playing, and some of the things he instilled in me as a man, forget about basketball.

“It’s about Lou today. He did a lot for a lot of people and he was one of the greatest people I’ve known. You know, I don’t want to break down, but, this is a hard day for everybody. Coach was my guy, man. He helped me in ways that nobody else could.”

Alagia: “There’s just so many memories I have with him. Just playing for him, but later on, going to visit him and talking about old times because I can go back with Coach to the 60s and even 50s and talk about guys, and Coach loved that. He loved his days when he coached at St. Ann’s, like his gradual rise and how he came to St. John’s. There’s just so many memories that I have. It would be hard to pick one.”

St. John’s guard Mark Jackson on the first time he met Carnesecca: “I remember Coach sitting there, and his presence in the gym, almost like a spotlight was just on him. Any room or gym he walked into, you can tell there was something special about him, and from that moment on, I wanted to be a member of St. John’s basketball team.”

St. John’s phenom Felipe Lopez on getting calls from Coach Carnesecca long after he turned pro and long after his retirement from the NBA: “He would still call me sometimes. I was like, ‘Lou Carnesecca is calling me? That’s amazing’. That was the type of human being he was. Someone who really cared about his players, his family, his community, his college, and obviously he built such a great legacy in basketball.”

St. John’s guard turned highly competent broadcaster, Tarik Turner, on Carnesecca’s legend at the school even when Brian Mahoney took over as head coach: “I knew about just the legend, watching him coach on the sidelines and coach great players like Mark (Jackson) and Chris (Mullin) and Walter (Berry), but I knew I was going to get a chance to play for Brian Mahoney, his long term assistant, so I knew I had a connection to him, but I didn’t know what kind of man he was until I met him and sat down with him.”

St. John’s center Bill Wennington, a three-time NBA champion who grew up in Montreal, Canada but knew of the St. John’s coaching legend: “When you come to New York, playing at The Garden – The Mecca – Coach Carnesecca’s name is a part of the legacy. He got kids in off the street from the city to come and play here, and molded them into men and taught us life lessons, made us better basketball players, but made us better people and better men in our lives.”

TIDBITS: St. John’s tribute to Coach Carnesecca will continue into 2025. On January 4, one day prior to what would’ve been his 100th birthday, St. John’s will host Lou Carnesecca Day for the Johnnies’ matchup vs. Butler. Fans in attendance will receive a replica of the Lou Carnesecca statue, a fixture in the arena’s lobby. In addition, throughout the game, St. John’s will celebrate Coach Carnesecca with several video board features and messages. … This week’s edition of “The St. John’s Red Storm Podcast” will feature a never-heard-before sit down interview with Coach Carnesecca and fellow Hall of Famer and St. John’s legend Jack Kaiser. To listen to “The St. John’s Red Storm Podcast,” To listen, visit HERE.

THIS JEST IN: Things are looking up for the Arizona Bowl. They went from being the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl in 2023 to the Snoop Dog Arizona Bowl for 2024. Of course, dating back to 2020, we had the Offerpad Arizona Bowl, a sponsorship from the California-based home sales joint.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: The BIG TEN fined both Michigan and The Ohio State University a cool $100,000 for their parts in the wild post game melee that took place in Columbus, Ohio last week. … The on-field fight took place when Ohio State defensive linebacker Jack Sawyer took exception to Michigan’s edge rusher Derrick Moore deciding to plant a blue Michigan flag on the midfield Buckeye logo.

The melee broke out from there, with reports of Michigan Wolverine players being maced by attending police officers.

Dueling statements accompanied the fines.

The BIG TEN tried to close ranks and put the issue to bed saying, it “considers this matter concluded and will have no further comment.” But, the conference said the teams violated the league’s sportsmanship policy, noting: “Not only did the actions of both teams violate fundamental elements of sportsmanship such as respect and civility, the nature of the incident also jeopardized the safety of participants and bystanders.”

Ohio State countered: “What happened post-game (Saturday) was unfortunate,” the statement read. “Good sportsmanship is always important in everything we do at Ohio State. Moving forward, we will continue to examine and address our post-game protocols to ensure our student-athletes, coaches, visiting teams and staff safely exit the field.”

The fisticuffs came immediately after time ran out and players met-up at midfield after Michigan’s 13-10 win at Columbus.

To the BIG TEN’s proclamation, considering the matter over, WWYI notes the all-American line from the motion picture, Animal House, “What? Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is.”

In other words, “was it over when the Astros were banging on Gatorade coolers? Was it over when Tom Brady said the footballs were properly inflated? Was it over when Gil Hodges looked at the the baseball with J.C. Martin’s shoe polish?

Surely, if that melee happened after an NBA game on Thanksgiving Weekend, they’d still be showing the fight’s lowlights and seeking a Federal investigation on the pepper spraying of athletes.

St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca, 99

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JAMAICA ESTATES – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca ‘50C, ‘60Ged, ‘00HON, who led the St. John’s men’s basketball team for 24 seasons and endeared himself to generations of New Yorkers with his wit and warmth, passed away on Saturday surrounded by family. He was 99 years old.

The legendary head coach leaves behind his beloved wife of 73 years, Mary, as well as his cherished family – daughter Enes, son-in-law Gerard (Jerry), granddaughter Ieva and her fiancé Frank, his dear niece and nephew, Susan Chiesa, John Chiesa and his wife, Nancy – as well as his extended family and his closest friends join them in their loss.

A 1992 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, “Looie” led St. John’s to 24 winning campaigns in 24 seasons at the helm from 1965-70 and 1973-92. His teams advanced to the postseason each year, appearing in the NCAA Tournament 18 times while registering six National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances. Those postseason berths were highlighted by an appearance in the 1985 Final Four and the program’s fifth NIT title in 1989. His teams also recorded an additional pair of Elite Eight appearances in 1979 and 1991.

Carnesecca was named the National Coach of the Year twice, BIG EAST Coach of the Year three times and Metropolitan Coach of the Year six times during his storied career. He led St. John’s to a pair of BIG EAST titles in 1983 and 1986 and his teams produced a 112-65 regular-season record against tough BIG EAST competition, tying for three regular-season titles and winning one outright.

Overall, Carnesecca registered a 526-200 mark, winning at least 20 games 18 times in 24 seasons as the head coach at St. John’s with a career winning percentage of .725, good enough for one of the top 100 marks in Division I history. His teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for 161 weeks during his career, including more than 70 as one of the top 10 teams in the nation.

A native New Yorker, Carnesecca graduated from St. Ann’s Academy in Manhattan (now Archbishop Molloy) before enlisting the United States Coast Guard during World War II. Upon returning home from the Pacific, Carnesecca enrolled at St. John’s, graduating in 1950. As an undergraduate, Carnesecca played on the St. John’s baseball team that advanced to the 1949 College World Series. Also on that team was Jack Kaiser, Carnesecca’s lifelong friend who would also go on to dedicate his professional life to St. John’s as both its baseball coach and athletic director.

Upon graduation, Carnesecca took over the reins at St. Ann’s and built the team into a powerhouse, winning two CHSAA titles. In 1958, Carnesecca handed over the program to another coaching legend, Jack Curran, in order to take a position on the staff of his mentor, Joe Lapchick, at St. John’s.

Over the next eight seasons on Lapchick’s staff, Carnesecca helped lead St. John’s to a pair of NIT titles in 1959 and 1965. Following Lapchick’s retirement in 1965, Carnesecca was named the 12th head coach in St. John’s men’s basketball history. His first five seasons at the helm were highlighted with trips to the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals in 1967 and 1969, as well as advancing to the NIT Championship game in 1970.

In 1970, Carnesecca left St. John’s for three years to coach the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association. During his tenure in the professional ranks, he took the Nets to the playoffs in each of his three seasons, reaching the finals of the league championship in 1972.

Carnesecca returned to his alma mater in 1973, beginning a transformative period in the history of the program that featured the birth of the BIG EAST Conference, of which St. John’s remains a charter member. In addition to his sweaters providing the sartorial highlights of the league’s early heyday, Carnesecca was also an early cornerstone of the league alongside its founder, Dave Gavitt.

Carnesecca once said, “at St. John’s, it’s all about the players.” In his four decades coaching at his alma mater, Carnesecca coached more than 40 NBA Draft picks including first rounders LeRoy Ellis (1962), Sonny Dove (1967), John Warren (1969), Mel Davis (1973), George Johnson (1978), Chris Mullin (1985), Bill Wennington (1985), Walter Berry (1986), Mark Jackson (1987), Jayson Williams (1990) and Malik Sealy (1992). Carnesecca remained an integral part in the lives of his former players, as his annual reunions drew hundreds of them to Queens.

UConn, 31-3, Might Run the Table

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Saturday’s results broke exactly how they needed to for the defending national champions. Those results caused a 180-degree opposite turn for St. John’s, Providence and Seton Hall – all the BIG EAST rivals who are likely to miss the big dance at the NCAA men’s basketball tournament which starts Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio.

No. 3 Purdue lost to Wisconsin in overtime in the Big Ten tournament semifinals while No. 7 Iowa State pasted No. 1 Houston for the Big 12 championship. Big East No. 1 and national No. 2 UConn took care of business in a hot-shooting second half to beat 10th-ranked Marquette 73-57, sweeping the Big East regular-season and postseason titles.

On the other end of the bracket spectrum, NC State upset Carolina, Oregon and Colorado will play for the PAC-12 title, Temple surprised all in the A-10 and the clouds settled over St. John’s coach Rick Pitino‘s home on a golf course he’ll soon be using daily.

At 31-3, UConn now could be in prime position to receive the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. Coach Dan Hurley claimed that no team at the top of college basketball combined a successful nonconference stretch, a regular-season conference title and a tournament run the way the Huskies have.

“We’ve been the best team in college basketball,” Hurley said. “Obviously March Madness next week, who knows what goes on there, but we’ve clearly been the best program in the country this year.”

How did they do it? Contributions from up and down the roster — some returnees from last year’s championship team, some newcomers, all pulling on the same rope.

All five starters — Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan — have taken turns leading the attack, and all five had double-figure scoring averages on the season. It was Clingan’s time on Saturday, pairing 22 points with 16 rebounds as he carried the team through a first half of cold perimeter shooting.

The 7-foot-2 Clingan filled the starting center role after Adama Sanogo went to the NBA. Now Clingan is a projected lottery pick this June along with Castle, while Karaban is projected to go in the second round by reputable mock drafts.

That’s to say nothing of Newton and Spencer, who both made the All-Big East first team.

“We’re deep, and we’re deep with NBA players that are unselfish and about winning,” Hurley said.

The Huskies rely on more than their starting five, though, and they needed to dig deep Saturday. Backup big man Samson Johnson provided a much-needed dunk after they went scoreless for the first 6:33 of the game. And with UConn hampered by a 2-for-15 start from 3-point range, freshman Jaylin Stewart delivered.

Stewart subbed in just before the midpoint of the second half and promptly buried a 3-pointer that gave UConn its first lead larger than four all night. Newton drilled a trey less than a minute later, and the floodgates burst.

Spurred on by the pro-UConn crowd at Madison Square Garden, Stewart made two more triples to finish the night with nine points, his second-best total this season. He hadn’t made a 3-pointer since Valentine’s Day.

“Our league is especially tough on freshmen because the league is so physical,” Hurley said. “But we see on a daily basis what he displayed out there on the court. … He’s a future star. You’re looking at a future star at UConn.”

Newton had 10 assists one night after going for 25 points and nine assists in the semifinals against St. John’s. UConn racked up 73 assists over its three-game stay in New York.

“Everybody runs and everybody can score,” Newton said. “Just share the ball, and it’ll be like that for a long time.”

If that adds up to a No. 1 overall seed for UConn, it would set the Huskies up with the simplest path back to the Final Four, as they try to become the first team to win back-to-back national championships since Florida in 2006-07.

“I know we’ve never gotten a No. 1 overall seed in program history,” Hurley said, “so this is a group that seems to be making history in a place that it’s hard to make history.”

–Field Level Media

Old Foes Re-Unite at BIG EAST Semis

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) While UConn is dominating most opponents during its five-game winning streak, no other Big East team may be hotter than St. John’s.

In the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since 2000, fifth-seeded St. John’s will put its six-game winning streak on the line and will attempt to improve its standing for an NCAA Tournament berth on tonight when it faces the top-seeded Huskies.

UConn, in turn, is seeking its first trip to the Big East tournament championship game since Kemba Walker’s magical run in 2011.

The second-ranked Huskies (29-3) probably are a lock to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they have been foiled in the conference semifinals in the three seasons since returning to the Big East. UConn’s three semifinal losses were by a combined eight points, including last year’s 70-68 setback to Marquette.

Since absorbing an 85-66 setback at Creighton on Feb. 20, the Huskies are winning their games by an average of 20.4 points. The closest margins were a 74-67 victory at Marquette on March 6 and a 14-point win at Providence three days later.

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UConn heads into Friday’s game after dominating the second half of its 87-60 win over ninth-seeded Xavier in the tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. The Huskies gave up the first 10 points and held a one-point lead at halftime before outscoring Xavier 53-27 in the final 20 minutes.

“A little bit of it was like raise your intensity level,” UConn coach Danny Hurley said. “This is a playoff game. When you’re trying to end the other team’s — either like their Big East career or their Big East season or you’re trying to end a team’s season, period, you’ve got to be absolutely on point.

Donovan Clingan scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime. Tristen Newton also scored 13 points as six players reached double figures for UConn, which shot 58.3 percent from the field.

St. John’s (20-12) is unbeaten since squandering a 12-point halftime lead against Seton Hall on Feb. 18. After the loss, Red Storm coach Rick Pitino singled out his players by name and bemoaned the school’s facilities while saying: “This is the most unenjoyable experience of my lifetime.”

Pitino apologized to his players a few days later.

St. John’s is averaging 88.8 points during its best run of the season.

“We told the guys, you gotta play your best basketball going into March,” Pitino said after a 91-72 win over Seton Hall on Thursday. “And we knew we had seven now, I think, six or seven, elimination games. And these guys rose to the occasion.”

St. John’s only win over a ranked team this season was 80-66 vs. Creighton on Feb. 25. The Red Storm hope to produce another strong showing after six players scored in double figures on Thursday.

RJ Luis Jr. scored 18 points, Jordan Dingle added 14 and Joel Soriano collected 14 points and 12 rebounds for St. John’s. The Red Storm shot 51.6 percent from the field, marking the fourth time they have shot at least 50 percent in the winning streak.

“It’s unbelievable feeling, man,” Soriano said. “We play on Friday night.”

The last time St. John’s played a conference tournament semifinal game was 2000. The Red Storm slipped past now-ACC school Miami 58-57 and then recorded an 80-70 victory over UConn for the title.

–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media

Providence Needs a “W” or Two

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NEW YORK  – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Providence is two wins from assuring itself of an NCAA Tournament bid.

But in case they don’t win the Big East Conference tournament and the automatic NCAA entry that comes with it, the seventh-seeded Friars (21-12) are making a strong case for the selection committee. And they’ll get another chance at enhancing an already solid resume Friday night when they play third-seeded Marquette (24-8) — the nation’s 10th-ranked team — in the conference semifinals.

The winner will meet either top-seeded and No. 2-ranked UConn or streaking St. John’s, the fifth seed, in Saturday’s championship game.

Providence won the tournament title in 1994 and 2014, and Marquette is the defending champion.

Two years ago, Providence was the top seed and took a 27-point loss to Creighton in the semis. This time, the Friars are in the semifinals after earning a 78-73 victory over Creighton in Thursday’s quarterfinals that marked their sixth Quad 1 victory.

“This time of the season some teams are playing for their lives,” Providence coach Kim English said after the win over Creighton. “(We had) ups and downs all season, adversity, less-than-ideal mindset and moments, bad shots, bad plays, bad turnovers, bad responses, (but) we got 40 minutes to be our most locked-in selves. That was one of our best efforts of the season.”

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Devin Carter has fueled Providence’s two tournament wins after claiming Big East Player of the Year honors. He followed a 19-point showing in Wednesday’s win over Georgetown by collecting 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals while playing the entire 40 minutes against Creighton.

“I think it was a must-win game,” said Carter, who played at least 40 minutes for the fifth time this season and averages 35.4 minutes per game. “We want to keep our tournament dreams alive, and we also want to get a Big East championship.”

Providence is in the semifinals after ending the regular season with three losses in four games, including a 91-69 setback at then-No. 5 Marquette on Feb. 28.

On Thursday, Marquette advanced to the semifinals via an overtime win for the second straight season. Last year the Golden Eagles moved on by beating St. John’s in the quarterfinals and later defeated Xavier to win the conference title, and this time they outlasted Villanova 71-65.

Marquette nearly won it in regulation, but officials ruled Kam Jones’ basket did not beat the buzzer. Jones scored 18 points and David Joplin added six of his 14 in overtime to help the Golden Eagles withstand the absence of All-Big East guard Tyler Kolek due to an oblique injury.

Kolek is expected to remain out Friday, though he has been practicing. On Friday, the Golden Eagles hope to get clutch performances again from Jones and Joplin while getting help from Oso Ighodaro, whose lone basket occurred late in overtime.

“Obviously we’d love to win the Big East tournament,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “We’d love to win tomorrow night. I think what our guys are showing these last couple of games and even the two games we lost without Tyler is that we can compete with anyone, even while he’s recovering.”

– Field Level Media