Final Big East tournament bracket: Villanova handles Creighton

Graduate of University of Delaware.

‘Nova Nation let out a big sigh of relief as Villanova clinched the win and a spot in the Big East Tournament Championship game (for the third year in a row) tomorrow night.

That is better still a situation than the Wildcats had a year ago after they lost the Big East final to Seton Hall and had to settle for a No. 2 seed and no shot at playing the regional round in Philadelphia. His short turn-around missed but there was still an opportunity for the best offensive rebounder in the country to get the put-back at the buzzer and send the game to OT. “We’re excited, but we understand we have more work to do”.

Creighton faces top-seeded Villanova Saturday for the title. The Wildcats are dialed in for a repeat run to the national championship. Creighton didn’t attempt a foul shot in the game’s first 30:26.

Myles Powell scored 17 points and capped a 17-2 second-half run with a three-pointer to give the Pirates the victory.

Semi Ojeleye added 17 points, and Shake Milton had 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Mustangs (29-4).

“We’re a totally different team now with Akeem out”, coach Richard Pitino said. “I don’t feel good at all right now”. We came here with different intentions. “We’ve been in this league four years”. If you didn’t go, you should do so next year, when the Big Ten joins the Big East and ACC here. “We gotta take care of business this year”.

“Just being a victor”, Hart said when asked how he wanted to be remembered in the Big East. “That’s the only time it’s been mentioned”.

Villanova improved to 31-3. Hart won the Big East MVP in NY two years ago, but Coach Jay Wright sees an even stronger version of Hart in 2017.

Hart made 9 of 18 shots from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point territory, and 7 of 8 free throws on his way to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player for the second time in his career. “We wanted to play 40 minutes of Villanova basketball”.

Jay Wright and Villanova wouldn’t be denied this tournament.

“We couldn’t dwell on the past, we couldn’t dwell on the mistakes we were making defensively, we definitely couldn’t dwell on the shots we were missing”, Brunson said.

This has been an unbelievable week in NY with the two conferences in town. The contest was deadlocked at 11 at the mid-point of the period. But the intensity of Friday night’s game belied the fact that Seton Hall and Villanova weren’t playing for their NCAA tournament lives.

“It was a wake-up call on our attitudes and our habits”, DiVincenzo said.

After losses by Kansas and North Carolina, Villanova was already in the driver’s seat entering Saturday, but the Wildcats emphatically stated their case anyway: They’re the best bet to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

So where might Villanova slip up in the next couple weeks? Jenkins thenflipped to Brunson while still prone.

Villanova planned to return to campus on Sunday and will watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show together at the Connelly Center. It will have a favorable geographic path, heading to Buffalo and NY, before the Final Four.

Next up is Friday’s semifinal matchup with defending national champion Villanova, which stomped Seton Hall by a combined 52 points in two regular-season meetings. The only other VU player to record a point was sophomore Mikal Bridges.

“Villanova is one of the best teams in the country. No pressure, we just know we gotta bring it”. But after losing two regular season meetings with Villanova by a combined 52 points, the Pirates had gone toe-to-toe with arguably the best team in the country and almost pulled out a stunning victory.

“I have forgotten about that shot”, Jenkins said.