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Xavier Tops Providence in O.T.

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CINCINNATI – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In a battle of ranked teams on Wednesday, No. 16 Xavier and No. 17 Providence went into overtime before the Musketeers prevailed. No. 14 Marquette, Seton Hall and Creighton also picked up victories.

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Xavier edged Providence 85-83 at Cintas Center. It was the fourth win over a ranked opponent for the Musketeers (18-5, 10-2 BIG EAST). Jack Nunge produced his seventh double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Guards Souley Boum and Colby Jones each scored 20 points. Noah Locke made 6-of-7 from 3-point range and finished with 22 points for the Friars (17-6, 9-3 BE). Jared Bynum’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer rattled out.

Marquette remained in a tie with Xavier atop the league standings with a 73-64 victory over Villanova. The Golden Eagles (18-5, 10-2) trailed 62-61 with five minutes left before outscoring the Wildcats (10-12, 4-7 BE) 12-2 to close the game. Marquette’s Tyler Kolek posted 20 points and six assists. Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels each scored 14 points for Villanova.

Seton Hall earned its fourth BIG EAST road win with an 84-72 victory over St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena. The Pirates (14-9, 7-5 BE) recovered from a 13-point deficit in the first half to win their sixth game in their last seven. Al-Amir Dawes scored a game-high 21 points and Kadary Richmond filled his stat line with 15 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. AJ Storr continued his recent strong play with 15 points for the Red Storm (14-9, 4-8 BE).

Georgetown held Creighton to its lowest scoring total in BIG EAST play, but the Bluejays still recorded a 63-53 victory, their fifth straight win. Ryan Kalkbrenner led the Bluejays (14-8, 8-3 BE) with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Baylor Scheierman added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Qudus Wahab had 14 points, seven boards and three steals for the Hoyas (6-17, 1-1 BE).

BIG EAST play returns on Saturday with four games.

BIG EAST Goes All-Access

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NEW YORK – (Staff report from Official BIG EAST news announcement) – Xavier and St. John’s will play at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday in an important, start of the conference regular season BIG EAST game, but the contest also will be broadcast as the BIG EAST’s All-Access Game on FOX Sports.

The All-Access Game will be telecast Wednesday on FS1 at 9 pm (ET). Xavier coach Sean Miller and St. John’s coach Mike Anderson will wear live microphones, giving viewers the chance to hear directly from the sidelines and locker rooms from tipoff through the final whistle with virtually no interruption. Miller is in the first season of his second stint as Xavier’s head coach. Anderson is in his fourth season at the Johnnies’ headmaster.

Xavier moved into the Top 25 national polls this week. The Musketeers are tied for No. 22 in the Associated Press poll and No. 25 in the USA Today poll. They own a 10-3 overall record and a 2-0 BIG EAST mark. St. John’s is 11-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Commercial-free presentations allow FOX Sports cameras and microphones to capture behind-the-scenes conversations not typically available to a television audience, including instant access to team huddles and locker rooms.

Play-by-play announcer Kevin Kugler and analyst Jim Spanarkel will be on site to help navigate all of the live audio for the viewer.

St. John’s Takes Temple; Will Meet ‘Cuse

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BROOKLYN – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Creighton and St. John’s won the opening games of their Thanksgiving week tournaments while Marquette lost a close one.

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Creighton, ranked 10th in this week’s Associated Press poll, survived some strong defensive pressure by No. 21 Texas Tech in the first half before a second-half turnaround produced a 76-65 victory at the Maui Invitational. The Red Raiders forced the Bluejays into 13 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, but Creighton responded by not committing a turnover in the second half and outscoring the Red Raiders 45-34. All five CU starters reached double figures led by Arthur Kaluma’s 18 points.

Creighton meets No. 9 Arkansas Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

St. John’s scored the last eight points of the game to nail down a 78-72 victory over Temple in the Empire Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Montez Mathis scored a team-high 16 points and Joel Soriano produced his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

The undefeated Johnnies (5-0) will play former BIG EAST rival Syracuse for the tourney title at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The two teams have not met since Dec. 21, 2016 when St. John’s won 93-60 in the Carrier Dome.

Marquette overcame an early 10-point deficit and led by four in the second half before dropping a 58-55 decision to Mississippi State in the Ft. Myers Tipoff. Tyler Kolek led the Golden Eagles (3-2) with 16 points and backcourt partner Kam Jones added 14. The Golden Eagles will play Georgia Tech on Wednesday in the third-place game.

Ackerman and BIG EAST Visit Vatican

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ROME – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – BIG EAST Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman was joined by representatives from four BIG EAST member schools at the recent International “Sport for All” summit held on September 29-30 in Vatican City.  More than 250 participants from 40 countries participated in the event, which brought together international federations, professional sports leagues, governmental officials, faith-based organizations, non-profits, media companies, corporations, and educational institutions.   The purpose of the Summit was to promote the social and inclusive dimensions of sport in society and to encourage sports programs that foster human, educational and spiritual growth.

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The Summit featured remarks by His Holiness Pope Francis and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, both of whom spoke to the power of sports to promote solidarity, global peace and positive social change.  In prepared remarks, Pope Francis encouraged the participants to “make sport a home for everyone, something open and welcoming” and noted that “the Church supports you in this educational and social commitment.”

The Summit concluded with the release of a “Declaration of Sport,” which outlined the goals of developing sports programs that are cohesive, accessible and tailored to each person, including the socioeconomically disadvantaged, young people, refugees and migrants, women and girls, and persons with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Ackerman, who moderated two of the Summit’s working group sessions, was joined by Marquette’s Kate Braasch (Chief of Presidential Affairs), Sarah Bobert (Executive Associate Athletic Director – Internal Operations/SWA) and Matt Mitten (Professor of Law and Executive Director, National Sports Law Institute); Seton Hall’s Renee Robinson (Interim Dean, College of Communication and the Arts) and Jane McManus (Executive Director, Center for Sports Media); Georgetown’s Debora Tonelli (the university’s representative in Rome); and Creighton’s Max Engel (Associate Professor, Department of Theology).

The Summit was an outgrowth of “Sport at the Service of Humanity: The First Global Conference on Faith and Sport” held at the Vatican in October 2016, for which Ackerman served as an advisory member.  That event was followed by three U.S.- based, invitation-only, Sport at the Service of Humanity (SSH) conferences exploring similar themes, held at Villanova University (2017), Loyola Marymount University (2018) and Georgetown University (2019).

“The BIG EAST was honored to be included in the Vatican’s Sport For All Summit, the goals of which align perfectly with the mission of our schools to develop the athletic, academic and spiritual dimensions of our student-athletes and to bring the many societal benefits of sports to our greater campus communities,” said Ackerman.

Villanova Excels for BIG EAST

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NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Villanova University was named winner of the BIG EAST Presidents’ Award for the 2021-22 academic year. The conference honor, which was established by the league’s Presidents in 2015, is awarded to the BIG EAST institution that has excelled at the highest levels in academics, athletics and citizenship during the preceding academic year.

A selection committee of athletic and academic administrators from each BIG EAST institution selected Villanova for the award. Each institution provides the selection committee with comprehensive information that highlights its accomplishments in all three areas.

“Academic and athletic success along with active involvement in local communities are trademarks of BIG EAST institutions, and we congratulate Villanova’s student-athletes for their exceptional performance in all of these areas during the 2021-22 school year,” said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman. “We commend Father Peter Donohue, Mark Jackson, and Villanova’s outstanding coaches and administrators for their leadership and commitment to develop all sides of Wildcat athletes and to equip these extraordinary young people for success in the adult world.”

“On behalf of the entire Villanova community, congratulations to our student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators on being recognized once again with the BIG EAST Presidents’ Award,” said University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. “You continue to be remarkable ambassadors for Villanova by exemplifying our University values in all you do academically, athletically and in the community. Congratulations on this deserving honor.”

“We are incredibly humbled to once again be presented with the Presidents’ Award from the BIG EAST Conference, one of the nation’s premier conferences,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics Mark Jackson. “This honor is shared by our entire campus community, from the unwavering support of President Father Peter Donohue, who steadfastly champions our success to the tireless work of the Villanova Athletics coaches, athletic administration and support staff. However, first and foremost, this award was made possible by our student-athletes, who consistently excel in athletic competition and in the classroom, while also remaining committed to serving the community.”

The following are the highlights of Villanova’s excellence in academics, athletics and citizenship.

Academics – The 2021-22 academic year marked the 18th consecutive year in which the Wildcats’ student-athletes posted a combined grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The overall student-athlete GPA for BIG EAST teams was 3.44 in the 2021 fall semester 3.47 in the 2022 spring. The Wildcats’ graduation success rate was 98 percent.

In all, 228 BIG EAST student-athletes made the Villanova Dean’s List (semester GPA 3.5 or above) in the fall semester and 227 in the spring.

The Villanova Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes with a 3.2 GPA or above, had 300 student-athletes in the fall and 308 in the spring.

Individually, the 2021-22 senior student-athlete awards presented to the top male and female student-athletes were Matt Campbell in men’s lacrosse and Maddy Siegrist in women’s basketball.

Collin Gillespie was named BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year in men’s basketball. A total of 45 student-athletes in BIG EAST sports graduated with honors.

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Other individual BIG EAST academic award recipients by sport in 2021-22 included: Maddy Siegrist in women’s basketball, Matt Campbell in men’s lacrosse and McKenna Keegan in women’s cross country/track and field.

Millicent Routledge of women’s swimming and diving won the BIG EAST’s Michael Tranghese Leadership Award.

Softball standout Paige Rauch earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America. She is a repeat winner of the accolade.

Team Athletic Accomplishments – In the final year of coach Jay Wright’s tenure, the men’s basketball team made their third NCAA Final Four appearance in the last six seasons while posting a 30-8 record. The Wildcats were also BIG EAST Tournament champions.

The women’s swimming team won its ninth consecutive BIG EAST Championship behind Kelly Montesi, who was named Most Outstanding Swimmer for the third time in her career. Coach Rick Simpson and his staff were chosen BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year for the ninth season in a row.

The men’s soccer team earned an NCAA Championship invitation for only the second time in program history and reached the second round.

Women’s basketball coach Denise Dillon was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year as she led the Wildcats to a 24-9 record. The Wildcats were the runner-up in the BIG EAST Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship.

The softball team captured its second straight BIG EAST Championship crown and made the program’s second trip to the NCAA Championship.

The women’s cross country team picked up its sixth BIG EAST title in the last seven years. The men’s and women’s teams featured seven runners who earned all-America honors. The women’s outdoor track & field team posted a top-20 finish at the NCAAs.

In all, 136 Villanova competitors were recognized with All-BIG EAST honors.

Citizenship –- During the 2021-22 academic year, Villanova’s community outreach efforts were a blend of in-person activities along with some performed virtually as the region adjusted to the changing COVID-19 landscape.

Villanova’s Signature Day of Service brought together 4,000 students, including student-athletes, coaches and staff on September 16 in the 16th year of the event. Among the notable contributions by student-athletes were: the women’s tennis team helped make memories with the residents of Divine Providence Village for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Villanova bolstered its educational programs in the areas of diversity and gender equity with a focus on student-athlete belonging and building community. UNITAS sponsored or co-sponsored events with the purpose of Creating a Culture of Belonging, Building Partnerships and Awareness and Education.

Villanova student-athletes participated in 2021 Fall Inclusion Week and co-sponsored DE&I programming with Villanova’s Campus Ministry, the Office of Disability Services and the University Counseling Center. It helped celebrate Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March.

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were gardeners at the Skunk Hallow Community Gardens while men’s and women’s basketball led the charge in packing hundreds of items for the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia.

The Special Olympics Pennsylvania Fall Festival is a signature event on the Villanova calendar. After over a year and a half pause for in-person activities for COVID, Villanova students, staff and administrators hosted the Special Olympics athletes for competition on campus.

In December, Villanova organized its annual Toy Drive and Adopt-a-Child program. Spearheaded by its SAAC, student-athletes sponsored holiday gifts for 30 children through the North Light Community Center. Toys also were collected at a women’s basketball home game and donated to North Light and other area organizations.

Although COVID-19 impacted some aspects of the annual Martin Luther King Day celebration, Villanova Athletics UNITAS leadership hosted a Winter Apparel and Toiletries Drive at a men’s basketball game. Those items were packaged on MLK Day by the women’s lacrosse team, UNITAS leadership and the MLK Day of Service Committee for a YMCA in Philadelphia that services the homeless population.

In June, Villanova took part in its second annual celebration of Juneteenth. More than 50 student-athletes, coaches and administrators performed service work at Vaux Big Picture High School in Philadelphia.

Villanova added to its programming with “Every Mind Matters,” a group of student-athletes and staff guided by Sports Psychologist Dr. Rick Neff. The meetings focused on all aspects of mental health awareness and education.

Six Big East Teams Join “Big Dance”

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Six BIG EAST Teams Going Dancin’

PHILADELPHIA – Villanova, Providence and UConn earned top-five seeds when the NCAA Selection Show was broadcast Sunday night, while Creighton, Marquette and Seton Hall are each set to compete in the NCAA Tournament beginning Thursday. Villanova, the BIG EAST Tournament champion, earned a No. 2 seed, while Providence, the regular-season champion, is a No. 4 seed. UConn claimed a No. 5 seed, followed by Creighton and Seton Hall as No. 8 seeds and Marquette as a No. 9 seed.

No. 2 Seed Villanova Wears Big East Title Crown, (Again)

The eighth-ranked and second-seeded Villanova Wildcats earned a trio of hard fought victories in the 40th BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep played at Madison Square Garden to win the sixth BIG EAST Championship in program history. After a ferocious comeback moved the Wildcats past St. John’s 66-65 in the quarterfinals, Villanova edged UConn 63-60 in the semifinals. In the finals, Villanova outlasted Creighton 54-48 in a dramatic showdown to improve to 5-1 in the tournament finals since conference realignment. The ‘Cats guard Collin Gillespie won the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player.

BIG EAST Fans Flocked to The Garden

NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Tournament was a sellout at Madison Square Garden for four of the five sessions on March 9-12. The attendance for the four sellouts was 19,812. The Garden was filled to 97.3 capacity over the four days. The BIG EAST
was playing its tournament at the World’s Most Famous Arena for the 40th straight year. It is the longest running conference tournament played at the same venue. The sight of thousands of UConn fans entering MSG brought back all the memories of years gone past.

BIG EAST Averages More Than Five Team Bids Per Year

With six NCAA bids in 2022, the BIG EAST has received a total of 42 NCAA
Tournament invitations since reconfiguration in 2013-14, averaging 5.3 per
season. That average discounts 2020 when the NCAA Tournament was not
played. Villanova won the national championship in 2018 and 2016. The BIG
EAST earned a high of seven NCAA bids in 2017.

Villanova has the Top Nine-Year Record of Teams

In the last nine seasons since conference realignment, Villanova has the best record in conference play with a 130-31 (.808) mark. The Wildcats have won or shared seven of the nine regular-season titles. Providence won outright this season and Xavier won outright in 2017-18.

Seton Hall Endures; Defeats Hoyas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

St. John’s Defeats DePaul at Big East

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missed Free Throws Cost Xavier

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gillespie Named Big East Player of Year

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

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

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

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

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