Villanova To Meet Creighton In Big East Championship

Villanova may not have played the ideal game but the Wildcats weren’t far off.

Villanova will enter the tournament with a 31-3 record and a ton of momentum. The 55 points were the fewest the Wildcats have scored this season. “We’re playing great defensively”. Add in the fact that Jay Wright is a top notch head coach and that they don’t lack confidence, and Villanova is clearly a team that can cut down the nets in April. “And again that is maturity”.

Willard: “I love the way we’re playing”. Jalen Brunson (17 points) and Kris Jenkins (14 points) were the only other Wildcats to finish in double figures. Creighton has been inconsistent since losing point guard Maurice Watson Jr.to a season-ending knee injury in January, but has won three of four since a loss at Villanova.

“Going into the game, I was confident as in every game”, DiVincenzo said. “I don’t feel good at all right now. I think we will make a run and everything will be good”. “I was knocking down shots”.

On Saturday, a Madison Square Garden crowd will see what Villanova and Creighton can do for an encore. Jenkins, whose 3 won the national title game a year ago, had 14.

Villanova led 36-22 at halftime.

Eric Paschall (21 Min, 5 Points, 2-6 FGs, 0-2 3PFG, 1-1 FT, 5 Rebounds, 0 Assists, 2 Turnovers, 1 Steal, 0 Block, 76 ORtg) Canned a nice mid-range jumper and finished one basket strong at the rim.

Dazon Ingram had 17 points for No. 5 seed Alabama (19-14), which outrebounded Kentucky 33-28. He would take a desperation 3-pointer that would find its way through the bottom of the net with 6 seconds left to play.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Gary Clark scored 24 points to lead No. 15 Cincinnati to an 81-71 win over UConn in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday night.

Nova is the only sure-fire bet to reach the Final Four, and is without a doubt the best team in the land. So give all credit to them. But if you saw the way they played Thursday, and add in being able to pull out the victory Friday, you’d be convinced, as well.

“We wanted to set the tone”, said the senior guard Hart, wearing a net around his neck. Darien Williams was called for a Flagrant 1 foul against Darryl Reynolds in the first half. Hart poured in 15 points and grabbed five rebounds, including two offensive, in the opening 20 minutes. They will need their leaders, Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington to put up their consistent season numbers in their first round game. The victory was redemption for the 2016 conference tournament, when Seton Hall shocked Villanova in the championship game, eking out a two-point upset victory.