NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – UConn’s Donovan Clingan put up 22 points and 16 rebounds, Tristen Newton and Jaylin Stewart each drilled three critical 3-pointers and the BIG EAST’s top team and national No. 2 Connecticut Huskies  pulled away from No. 10 Marquette to win the Big East championship game 73-57 on Saturday night.

The top-seeded Huskies claimed their first Big East tournament title since 2011, before the university left the conference from 2013-2020. After sweeping third-seeded Marquette during the regular season, UConn avenged a semifinal loss to the Golden Eagles in last year’s tournament.

UConn is likely to receive the No. 1 overall bid in this week’s NCAA tournament.

Newton had 13 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for UConn (31-3), which will be in the mix for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Stewart — a freshman who came in averaging 2.4 points per game — scored all nine of his points in the second half, when the Huskies overcame another slow start to shoot 63 percent from the floor.

UConn came out cold on offense, similar to its starts in the previous rounds against Xavier and St. John’s. A 19-5 second-half run powered by Newton and Stewart broke the game open.

Kam Jones tallied 13 points and eight rebounds and David Joplin added 12 points and six boards for the Golden Eagles (25-9), the defending conference tournament champions, who reached this year’s tournament final despite star guard Tyler Kolek sitting out all week with an oblique injury.

UConn missed its first eight attempts from the floor, including three layups, before Samson Johnson subbed in and dunked at the 13:27 mark. Marquette hardly took advantage at the other end, starting 2-for-11 from the floor.

Neither side led by more than four throughout the first half. The Huskies missed their first eight 3-point tries before going ahead 19-15 when Newton finally connected with 3:41 remaining.

Joplin deflected a pass for a steal and score, then blocked a shot that led to Jones’ 3-pointer at the other end to give Marquette a 22-21 advantage with 1:39 left.

After the teams traded baskets, Newton collected his dribble and knocked down another 3-pointer with three seconds left for a 26-24 UConn lead at the break.

Clingan’s catch and dunk through a foul prompted a brief UConn run that gave the Huskies a four-point lead. It wasn’t until Stewart connected from outside and Newton added a triple on consecutive possessions that the Huskies made it 47-41 with 9:27 to play.

Stewart knocked down his next two triples, Hassan Diarra added one and UConn’s flurry ultimately grew the lead to 60-44 with 5:54 left.

One last push by the Golden Eagles got them within 11 points down the stretch.

–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media

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NEW YORK  – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Marquette’s Kam Jones scored 18 points, David Joplin provided six of his 14 points in overtime and nationally ranked No. 10 Marquette survived a challenge from Villanova to prevail 71-65 in the Big East tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night.

The third-seeded Golden Eagles (24-8) advanced to face seventh-seeded Providence in the semis despite being without Tyler Kolek, last season’s Big East Player of the Year, due to an oblique injury.

Stevie Mitchell put up 15 points, Chase Ross scored 11 and Joplin added a team-high eight rebounds for Marquette, which had to play five extra minutes to pull out the win after a would-be game-winning shot was waved off.

Eric Dixon had 19 points and 11 rebounds for sixth-seeded Villanova (18-15), which put up a fight one night after barely escaping last-place DePaul. Mark Armstrong tallied 15 points, TJ Bamba had 12 points and Justin Moore finished with four points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

With the score tied at 58 and 2.8 seconds left in regulation, Marquette had an inbounds under its basket and spent just half a second to get it past halfcourt before using a timeout. Ross then inbounded to Oso Ighodaro at the foul line, and Ighodaro bounced it behind him to Jones driving down the left side.

Jones’ floater hit high off the glass and rolled in. But Marquette’s celebration was premature — officials ruled upon review that the ball had not completely left Jones’ hand when the clock hit zeroes.

Joplin had an early jumper and a 3-pointer for Marquette’s first five points of overtime, but Villanova tied the score each time with free throws. Ross’ open 3-pointer finally put Marquette ahead for good.

Ighodaro’s only field goal of the night, off a set play under the basket with 18 seconds remaining, sealed the victory.

Dixon’s short jumper put the Wildcats on top 29-28 at halftime. Marquette opened the second half on an 11-2 run, with Mitchell getting to the rim for three layups.

Jones’ 3-pointer made it 45-36 Marquette with 12:33 left, which is where Villanova started its charge. Dixon knocked down a straightaway 3-pointer, and before long Bamba connected on two triples to cut the deficit to one.

Moore — Villanova’s second-leading scorer — had missed his first six shots of the night but made his seventh to put the Wildcats on top 51-50 with 7:07 to go.

Jones went coast-to-coast to start an 8-2 run for Marquette to lead 58-53 at the 3:15 mark. But Armstrong scored in the paint, and Bamba was fouled on a 3-point shot and he made all three free throws to tie the score with 1:50 left.

–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media

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BIG EAST Names Regular Season Award Winners as Conference Tourney Tips-Off at The Garden

Xavier forward Jack Nunge was named BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee. Nunge will receive a $2,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies.

Nunge, a graduate student, has compiled a 3.97 graduate GPA in the Xavier MBA program after a 3.35 GPA as an undergraduate in Accounting. In addition to his academic work, Nunge has participated in Xavier Special Olympics. He is a member of the Xavier Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

On the court, Nunge has played a critical role in helping the Musketeers to a 23-8 overall record and a 15-5 BIG EAST mark. The native of Newburgh, Ind., is averaging 14.0 points and ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in rebounding with a 7.7 mark. He is shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range. Xavier will be the No. 2 seed at this week’s BIG EAST Tournament.

The BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference during the 2022-23 academic year. In addition, 22 student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 11 member institutions) will receive postgraduate scholarships as the winners of their respective institutions’ Scholar-Athlete Award. The winners of the institutional and basketball awards are then eligible for the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which provides an additional postgraduate scholarship to one male and one female student-athlete.

The Conference previously announced winners of four individual awards for its 2022-23 men’s basketball season.

For the second year in a row, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Joel Soriano of St. John’s has been selected BIG EAST Most Improved Player. David Joplin of Marquette has won the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award. Villanova’s Caleb Daniels has been tabbed the winner of the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award.

The league’s head coaches make the selections and they are not permitted to vote for their own players. The BIG EAST will announce the remaining individual awards: BIG EAST Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete on Wednesday, March 8, at 12:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.

Kalkbrenner, a 7-1 junior center from Florissant, Mo., has been the leader of a Creighton squad that has excelled on the defensive end of the floor for the last two seasons. This year, he leads the BIG EAST in blocked shots with a 2.2 average which ranks 18th nationally. His defensive presence has contributed to the Bluejays leading the league in scoring defense in league games, yielding only 67.2 points per game. Kalkbrenner is an All-BIG EAST First Team selection. The last time a player repeated as Defensive Player was 2016-17 and ’17-18 when former Creighton standout guard Khyri Thomas earned the award.

Soriano, a 6-11 senior from Yonkers, N.Y., has made significant leaps across the board for St. John’s. The veteran center is averaging 15.3 points and a league-leading 11.8 rebounds. Soriano also is tied for first nationally in double-doubles with 23. Last year, Soriano had only one double-double. His double-double total is second only to former great Walter Berry’s 28 in 1985-86. He is the first St. John’s player to be the BIG EAST rebounding champion in league games with an 11.5 mark. In his first three seasons combined, Soriano scored 481 points. This year, he has 472.

Marquette’s Joplin has come off the bench in each of the team’s 31 games, averaging 19.1 minutes per game. The 6-7 sophomore from Milwaukee, Wis., has made important contributions to MU’s regular-season title run. He is fifth on the team in scoring with a 9.2 average and grabs 3.4 rebounds per contest. Joplin ranks second on the team in free throw shooting, making 80.5 percent. He notched his career scoring high with 28 points in only 24 minutes in an 89-69 victory at DePaul on Jan. 28. He made five steals in the title-clinching 72-56 victory at Butler on Feb. 28.

Villanova’s Daniels has been the steady and classy leader for the Wildcats. He is second on the team in scoring with a 14.6 average and is first on the team with 71 made 3-pointers. A native of New Orleans, La., Daniels is also a reliable free throw shooter. He has connected on 85.3 percent, which ranks fifth in the BIG EAST. Daniels leads the Wildcats in minutes played, averaging 33.6 per game.

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Joel Soriano, St. John’s

BIG EAST Sixth Man Award
David Joplin, Marquette

BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Caleb Daniels, Villanova

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – In Tuesday action, Marquette won its first BIG EAST regular-season crown when it defeated Butler 72-56 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Villanova continued its hot play with a 76-72 victory at Seton Hall, which assured the Wildcats of the No. 6 seed at next week’s BIG EAST Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

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The sixth-ranked Golden Eagles (24-6, 16-4 BIG EAST) put together a strong first half that ended with a 36-22 lead at the break. MU was able to maintain a comfortable edge the rest of the way. Tyler Kolek posted game highs of 21 points and 10 assists. He shot 9-of-13 from the field. Jayden Taylor led the Bulldogs (14-16, 6-13 BE).

Villanova, the nation’s leader in free throw shooting, made 21-of-22 from the stripe in the second half of its 76-72 victory. Justin Moore was 9-of-9 from the line and finished with a game-high 23 points. The Wildcats (16-14, 10-9 BE) have won six of their last seven games. The Pirates (16-14, 9-10 BE) were led by Femi Odukale, who compiled his first double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The teams ranked second through fifth in the standings are in action on Wednesday. At 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1, No. 19 Xavier plays at No. 20 Providence. Both teams are 21-8 overall and 13-5 in BIG EAST play and are tied for second place.

DePaul (9-20, 3-15 BE) plays at No. 14 Connecticut (22-7, 11-7 BE) at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Creighton (18-11, 12-6 BE) hosts Georgetown (7-23, 2-17 BE) at 8:30 p.m. on FS1.

The following seeds have been determined for The BIG EAST Tournament: No. 1 Marquette, No. 6 Villanova, No. 7 Seton Hall, No. 10 DePaul and No. 11 Georgetown. St. John’s and Butler will be in the 8/9 game with exact seeds to be determined.

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

BIG EAST Player of the Week

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

BIG EAST Freshman of the Week

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

BIG EAST Honor Roll

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

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

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

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

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

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