HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t). Up next is the Big East Conference. Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall each entered the conference tournament with an eye on 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and even an outside shot at thee #1 line. Xavier was right on the bubble, and an opening round loss Wednesday night to DePaul did nothing to help the Musketeers cause. As the conference enters the quarterfinals, the question is which team will win the tournament and make a claim, at least, at the 2 line, and whether a Cinderella story could arise. It is time to see what would have happened.
BIG EAST QUARTERFINALS
St John’s, playing the Big East Tournament in Madison Square Garden, clearly had the home court advantage over Creighton in the first quarterfinal of the day. This advantage allowed the Johnnies to jump out to a 38-35 halftime lead, which was extended to 10 points early in the second half. The Bluejays were not done, however, and made several runs over the next 10 minutes to try to cut into the lead. An 11-1 run starting with just under 5 minutes left to play finally pushed Creighton over the top and gave them their first lead since the first half with under a minute left to play at 70-68. Marcellus Earlington tipped in an offensive rebound with 30 seconds left to tie the game for the Red Storm, and neither team was able to score again before the buzzer, sending the game into overtime. Ty-Shon Alexander scored 5 of the Bluejays’ last 7 points in OT to give his team a 4 point lead, and a couple of missed shots late ended the season for the Red Storm. Creighton won 84-80 to advance to Friday’s semifinals.
The 4/5 game featured one of the hottest teams in all of college basketball, the Providence Friars, who had moved from a postseason afterthought to a near-lock for the Big Dance when play started this day. Their opponent was a Butler team that had sputtered down the stretch but was looking to turn it on again in the conference tournament Providence built a 7 point halftime lead, and was able to counter every run that Butler made at them in the second half. When the final horn sounded, the Friars were in the semifinals by a final score of 75-70. David Duke’s 16 points led the way for Providence, while Alpha Diallo added 13 points and 9 rebounds.
The third quarterfinal of the night, between 10-seed DePaul and 2-seed Villanova looked like a mismatch on paper. However, the game was played on the court, not on paper, and the Blue Demons came out on fire, building a 45-32 halftime lead and causing televisions around the country to suddenly be tuned in to this potential upset. The Wildcats were not done, however, and came storming back in the second half, taking an 82-80 lead with just over a minute left to play. That is when things got fun. DePaul’s Charlie Moore sunk a jumper with 19 seconds left to tie the game. Villanova then came down the court, and got reserve Cole Swider open from 3 at the top of the key where he sunk what looked like a game-winner with just 2 seconds left, putting the Hoyas up 85-82. However, Charlie Moore was not done, as his halfcourt prayer at the buzzer found the net, and the game was suddenly tied and heading to overtime! DePaul may have had a miracle at the end of regulation, but with Villanova up 98-95 and 10 seconds left to play in overtime, Jaylen Butz’s potential game-tying 3 clanked off the rim, and Villanova was celebrating a hard-fought victory.
After an average margin of victory of only 4 points in the first three games at the Garden, one would have thought that we were finally in store for a blowout n the nightcap between 6-seed Marquette and 3-seed Seton Hall. That most certainly did not happen. The game was tight throughout, as Markus Howard scored 30 points to keep his Golden Eagles close all the way until the final minute. Free throw shooting proved to be the key, as Romaro Gill and Jared Rhoden each hit clutch shots from the line to secure an 85-82 win for the Pirates. Myles Powell and Quincy McKnight each had 19 points for the Hall, who advanced to a semifinal game on Friday against Villanova.
BIG EAST SEMIFINALS
Creighton had captured the top seed in the Big East Tournament, but had to face the conference’s hottest team in the semifinals, Providence. The Bluejays were somehow able to find a way to cool the Friars down, pulling out to a 7 point halftime lead and winning by a final score of 92-82. Ty-Shon Alexander was huge for his team again, scoring 22 points and pulling down 8 rebounds. The win gave Creighton a spot in the conference title game, putting them in good position for a very high seed in the Big Dance.
The late semifinal was billed as one of the top games of the day, as Villanova and Seton Hall, a pair of teams that had each won at the other’s home court during the regular season, squared off on a neutral court to decide which team would truly have the bragging rights against the other this season. The game easily lived up to its billing, with both teams trading shots back and forth the entire night. Seton Hall finally started to pull away a bit with 3 minutes left, building a 5 point lead that the Pirates held until the final 10 seconds, when a pair of Villanova 3-pointers by Saddiq Bey and Collin Gillespie pulled the Wildcats to within one point. Free throws by Myles Powell and Romaro Gill proved to be the difference, and the Pirates were on to the title game, winning 76-74. Powell led the way with 26 points for the Hall.
BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
With only one game having a final score differential in double digits so far in the entire Big East Tournament, there was little doubt that the championship game would bring more of the same as 3-seed Seton hall took on top seed Creighton. The Hall came out strong in the first half, building a 7 point lead at the break and extended the lead to 12 with 10 minutes left to play. However, Creighton ended up having just a little more juice left in their tanks than the Pirates did. A 15-4 run over the next 5 minutes cut the lead to one, and Seton Hall seemed to have run out of gas, playing in their third close game in three days. A Denzel Mahoney jumper gave Creighton the lead 2 minutes later, and the Bluejays made their free throws late to hold on for the title, winning by a final score of 86-81 and cutting down the nets as Big East champions.
