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11:49am: Connecticut/Xavier PREGAME
The Garden will play host to day two of The Big East Tournament and it will all kick off in minutes with Xavier trying to play spoiler to UConn's picture perfect season.
On the way to the venue, the streets of New York City were flooded with patrons sporting Husky gear, and it was no different inside. UConn will be looking to start a run to capture their first Big East Tournament in thirteen years.
As for Xavier they will look to play spoiler and will do so behind one of the most talented backcourts in the country. Can the front court hold up their end of the bargain? Only time will tell, as we will all find out together in a matter of moments here at The Garden.
12:13 pm: Xavier 10, UConn 4
Xavier just opened this game on a kill shot. They’re faster to loose balls and the Huskies haven’t woken up yet. It will take them time, but I expect UConn to take over this one soon. That’s a wake-up call, you can tell Hurley and the other assistants are just imploring their team to lock in. Clingan was subbed out early after missing a bunny and traveling on the block. Hurley and Assistant Coach Murray have had a couple of brief discussions outside the huddle, think this was the needed wake-up call for them. -Michael DeRosa
12:15 pm. We have a 10-4 Xavier advantage at the first media timeout. Quincy Olivari has come out with something to prove, hitting a pair of triples in the first four minutes.
A couple early turnovers for X, which is something to monitor. The Musketeers had a lot of first half turnovers against Butler yesterday.
UConn has gotten some good looks from deep, but are 0-3 from beyond the arc. Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton have had some success getting to the rim.
Donovan Clingan: 0-1, 0 pts Abou Ousmane: 1-1, 2 pts
If Ousmane can compete with Clingan in the interior, we could have quite the competitive affair today. -Chris Thedinga
12:27pm: 20-19 Xavier | 9:17 1H
If this is how the rest of the day is going to be sign me up.
There is no denying this is absolutely a UConn home game, but Xavier just won't seem to go away. Expectedly, Quincy Olivari and Desmond Claude are balling out, accounting for 15 of Xavier's first 20 points.
Like Chris mentioned, UConn is getting some good looks, but they're simply not falling. The Huskies also seem a step slower than Xavier right now.
Lots of basketball left.
12:49pm: 29-29 | 43.1 1H
This is in fact, not good per sources. Nonetheless, we got a tie game at The Garden.
If I told you Samson Johnson was the leading scorer for UConn with under a minute until half would you believe me? Well its true. We got a wonky one on our hands which just may play right into Xavier's favor.
12:53 pm: HALF: UConn 34, Xavier 33
The last time Xavier played this UConn team, they lost by 43. They were scared, they got beat pillar to post. That won’t happen today. They aren’t afraid, even though this crowd is 90% Huskies. They taking it to UConn, and making sure to run them off the line. Of UConn’s two made threes, at least one of them came off of an offensive rebound scramble. The Musketeers aren’t afraid of the moment.
Coach Hurley has been very animated early on. Both coaches are loud, and clearly are ready for this moment. It took the Huskies a bit to wake up, but even once they went on a huge run, Xavier didn’t back down. They responded. This game is incredibly competitive. Very impressed with Abou Ousmane defensively in this one, the Muskies NEED him out there as much as possible. He has two blocks and has altered many more shots.
The pro-Husky crowd got LOUD for a bit. If UConn can put together a decent run, they could blow this game out of the water. For a noon game on a Thursday, this crowd is about as much as you could ask for if you are a Husky fan. Think that could really help them after the break.
1:21 pm. 45-38 UConn leads.
We're at the U16, and UConn has added to their paltry one point lead at the break. Even so, Xavier is hanging tough. Largely thanks to Quincy Olivari, who has 13 on 5-9 from the floor.
For the Huskies, it's been an exceptionally balanced effort, even for their standards. Karaban, Clingan, Spencer, and Samson Johnson all with 8+ points. Xavier has been switching too much defensively here in the first four minutes of the 2H. It's lead to a lot of very clear unbalanced matchups, and for the most part UConn has made them pay.
Abou Ousmane has been invisible in the second half. Need more of a presence down low to take some of the pressure off the guard play. -Chris Thedinga
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1:51 pm
75-49, UConn looking dominant.
Well gang, this one is getting out of hand. UConn's offense has been a thing of art. They are on a 17-2 run currently - Tristen Newton is absolutely shredding this porous Xavier defense.
We've seen it all year from Xavier. They just couldn't overcome the losses of Freemantle and Hunter, it was just too much - especially missing Hunter on the defensive end.
Six Huskies are between 10-13 points. There's just so many weapons, and it is a team built around unselfishness. This team has a chance to do some special things later on down the line in March, let alone this week. -Chris Thedinga
2:01 pm: UConn 87, Xavier 60
UConn absolutely blew this one open. The energy in this building was all UConn. It took them a second to get going, but once they found their flow, this one was OVAH. Six Huskies in double figures, including 12 from Samson Johnson off the bench. UConn assisted on 82.8% of their made buckets. As soon as the Huskies settled in and found the right passes, this team was unstoppable.
They move the ball so well, that’s what makes this team fun to watch. They play so incredibly well together. This team is just a wagon. They will absolutely pack the Garden against either New York or New Jersey tomorrow. That’s going to be a show. -Michael DeRosa
2:37pm: 15:42 left, Seton Hall 13, SJU 8
Building feels very tense for this one. The place is really filled out, and people are very ready for this one. Emotions are clearly running high, as Dre Davis flexed to the crowd immediately after Jaden Bediako threw down that dunk to open the game. High energy, tons of emotions, I expect this one to get chippy.
Seton Hall’s length and physicality at all five spots, but particularly on the perimeter, has been a problem for the Johnnies all year long. Very interested to see how each coach approaches this game. This is a chess match.
But when Al-Amir Dawes is on, like he is to start this game… that’s problems for SJU. Fun start to this one. -Michael DeRosa
2:50pm: 21-18 Seton Hall | 10:19 1H
As we close in on 3:00pm in The Garden, the stadium public address announcer just exclaimed to a well hydrated crowd that this game has been sold out, much to the delight of the patrons.
On the court, Seton Hall holds a one possession advantage in a back-and-forth game. Expect anything different?
Al-Amir Dawes paces both teams in scoring with ten points in the first ten minutes of the game, while St. John's has a more balanced scoring attack. Seton Hall is hot from deep and looks like the tougher team so far, but it is St. John's who has stormed ahead and taken the advantage in the time it's taken me to write this.
We got a good one brewing here. -Tommy Godin
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2:57 pm. 26-24 SJU narrowly leads.
Under-8 in the first half has seen a competitive contest. Us down here had this one pegged as probably the tightest of the four games.
Al-Amir Dawes has been on a heater. The Pirates are 7-2 when Dawes scores 18+ points — he’s well on his way, with ten points on 4-6 shooting. The SJU defense has been focused on slowing Kadary Richmond, who has two assists on Dawes made baskets.
The Hall is 5-10 from deep, in comparison to SJU’s 2-6. The Red Storm have profited from the playmaking of Jordan Dingle and RJ Luis. Dingle was my favorite player to watch in college basketball last year. He’s taken strides as the season has went on to be the player Pitino needs.
St. John’s also saw a Zuby Ejiofor three find the net! He’s 2-6 from deep on the year - if Zuby is hitting threes, maybe that’s just the way this one is going to go. -Chris Thedinga
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3:20 pm - HALF 45-40, the Red Storm lead.
A pull-up jumper from RJ Luis at the buzzer pushes the SJU lead to five. However, in a half where SJU shot 60% from the floor, the Pirates hung around. The Pirates got outscored in the paint 26-8, and at times it didn't even seem that close. But St. John's is lethal from the midrange, and Joel Soriano had eight points and looked really solid down low. He hit Pirate defenders with a bump and hookshot, followed immediately up by an impressive jumper with the shot clock winding down.
The Pirates are still in this game because of their shooting. They shot 7-13 (53%) from deep, including Al-Amir Dawes going 3-5 from beyond the arc. He leads all scorers with 13 points and also dished three assists.
The second half should be a hoot — both of these teams need this win to solidify them in the NCAA Tournament field. -Chris Thedinga
3:35pm: HALF CTD
The box score says he only has three offensive rebounds, but I swear Soriano has gotten his hands on so many more. The Pirates have seven defensive rebounds, to the Johnnies five offensive boards. The Johnnies are averaging 1.45 points per possession, which is absolutely excellent.
Fairly surprised the Johnnies are only up five, even after the RJ Luis buzzer-beater. This feels like a game SJU has controlled through the first twenty. However, the three-point line is the great equalizer, and the Pirates have been lethal from deep, 7/13. Dylan Addae-Wusu 3/4 and Al-Amir Dawes 3/5, both leading the Pirates and keeping them afloat in this game.
Should be a fun twenty minutes in a really tense MSG -Michael DeRosa
3:51 PM. Johnnies extend lead, 54-41.
St. John's started off to a 9-1 run to begin the second half. You know what they say - winning the first four minutes of the second half more times than not will translate into wins. SJU is on track to do just that.
20-0 SJU leads the bench points battle. The Hall depth has always been a concern, but wow it sure is rearing its ugly head as far as production. Meanwhile the SJU bench is 9-12 (75%) from the floor. Pitino has to be pleased. -Chris Thedinga
4:15 pm: Seton Hall 63, SJU 73
Getting tense in the garden. Seton Hall is fighting their way back, but just can’t break through. The Johnnies are doing just enough to hold the lead. Tempers flaring, and both coaches are letting the refs have it. Very physical game, and the Seton Hall fans in the building are incredulous at some of the officiating. The Johnnies are doing just enough to keep their lead at double figures.
One thing I’ve noticed from our angle is just how difficult some of the passes Kadary Richmond makes. He’s thrown some absolute doozies that I don’t know if their difficulty shows on the broadcasts. He makes incredibly tough plays look routine.
Very balanced scoring effort from the Johnnies who are surging at just the right time. This place is ready to blow if the Johnnies can pull away with this one. SJU has four guys in double figures, led by Jordan Dingle with 14 points. The Penn transfer has really turned up as the season has gone on and turned into the player SJU has needed him to be.-Michael DeRosa
4:25pm: 79-67 St. John's | 3:57 2H
A Chris Ledlum layup put the Johnnies up by twelve with under four minutes to play, and someone in the media section exclaimed this one was over. It sure feels that way.
This has been the loudest and most energetic crowd of the day, which should't come as a surprise considering this is literally scored as a home game for St. John's, but it is certainly refreshing to see.
Joel Soriano has been all over the offensive glass today, and the glass in general. After some tough love at the end of the regular season, Soriano is proving to himself and Rick Pitino why he deserved to come back.
Both of these teams are still projected to go dancing, but it certainly is going to be a little more uncomfortable for Seton Hall fans. -Tommy Godin
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4:48 pm. 91-72 final, St. John’s impresses.
What a dynamic performance from St John’s.They come away with a much needed win. The star of the game? How about Joel Soriano, who had 14 on 5-7 shooting, and tallied 12 rebounds.
St. John’s had six players in double figures in this game, encapsulating what truly was a balanced effort. It was similar in that way to the first game, where UConn played quite an unselfish, balanced brand.
Seton Hall should be just fine and make the NCAA Tournament, but it sure isn’t the taste you’d want the committee to have in their mouths. This game wasn’t all that competitive in the second half.
Al-Amir Dawes had 22 for the Pirates. He was certainly the bright spot for Seton Hall, but offense really wasn’t the problem. It was the spongy defense, without much resistance at times, that was the story of things for Seton Hall.
The tactical explosion of offense that corrupted the Seton Hall defense showed how much promise this St. John’s team truly has. The intricate sets to get the looks that they got was poetry. Rick Pitino is a pretty good coach, I’d say!
Onto session two, which should be two fantastic games, with a lot on the line.
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7:15 pm. 6-6, 15:32 left.
Two fouls on Ticket Gaines in the first four minutes, that could prove pretty valuable later on for Creighton. The offense looks fairly lively - McDermott not showing his hand too early, though. Running generic stuff.
Defensively, Oduro hasn’t had much early success down low. I think we’ll find that the performance on February 7th will end up being an anomaly rather than the rule.
Alexander and Scheierman threes have accounted for the six Creighton points. -Chris Thedinga
7:31pm: Providence leads 23-20
Providence fans were quiet for a while, but were heard from after a Friar run. Building is more even than you would expect, Creighton fans absolutely made the trip out to this one.
The game on the floor has been interesting too. Josh Oduro is one of the more intriguing players to watch, he really has that old school big man game. Fairly plodding, but he’s really strong and has smart footwork. Not particularly athletic, but finds a way to get his own.
Baylor Scheierman is leading all scorers with ten, Corey Floyd leads the way for the Friars with two threes. They’re playing with decent pace, and the officials have largely stayed out of the game after a… questionable technical call on Kim English. Neither team has found an offensive rhythm, look for some shots to fall soon enough.
7:45 pm: Providence 31, Creighton 24
Oduro, Carter and Kalkbrenner all look absolutely gassed. But as I said with DC when he came to Butler, he’s excellent at conserving energy and exploding when he needs to. He will sit in the corner with his hands on his knees then explode at the drop of a hat for a big play. It’s been how he’s able to play so many minutes and at such a high level.
This game has been intense, completely at Providence’s flow. They have outmuscled Creighton and bodied them on some cuts. Ashworth’s life has been very difficult. Creighton has had to be absolutely perfectly offensively to get a good look, and even those feel rushed. Very high-level defensive game thus far. Creighton feels fortunate to only be down seven, shooting 28% from the field and 21% from three. -Michael DeRosa
8:34 pm: The Friars are now taking advantage of Creighton’s drop coverage and getting to the Big East logo in the lane and making plays. Devin Carter is just a spectacular individual player, and when other Friars get going, this team is tough to beat. Carter is just a rebound away from yet another double-double. People seem to forget that he’s listed 6’3”. And that’s basketball 6’3”, he probably ain’t 6’3”.
Creighton’s missed a couple of open looks, but I really think the Friars have outplayed the Jays all game. Creighton will need to start hitting from deep, but I think it’s more than that. They’re getting outhustled and PC has taken them off their spots. Someone needs to get going, none of the Jays Big Three are above 50% from the field.
Baylor Scheierman has logged a double-double, 14 points and 10 boards for the Super Senior. - Michael DeRosa
8:50 pm. 61-58 PC leads, but it's tightening up after a 8-0 Creighton run. Ryan Kalkbrenner has been fantastic on Oduro in this one. Shots aren't falling for Creighton, but they're hanging tough.
Have to find a way to get Scheierman or Alexander to heat up. Draw up some cross screen action with Kalkbrenner and get them involved off the ball.
8:52 pm: Creighton is a different team in transition. Creating mismatches and gassing out a smaller PC unit (depth-wise), especially with Ticket Gaines in foul trouble. When the Jays get out in transition and make this PC defense scramble they create problems. When PC is getting set, especially off of made buckets, Creighton struggles. They have to make a tough pass, or take a screen really well and make a great play to score. The uglier this game gets, the more it favors PC. The prettier, the Jays. Very fun finish coming up in MSG, Once Again. - Michael DeRosa
9:53 pm: Whenever I’m at a Marquette game, I’m fascinated by the deflection counter. I have no idea why. Why don’t they use tallies? At least until they get to double figures, right? I have no idea.
Either way, we’ve got our nightcap in the World's Most Famous Arena. Villanova takes on Marquette. The intros were night and day, Marquette was super amped up and all together, Nova looked as if this was just another day in the office. Night and day. Don’t know if it means much, but what I do know is that Marquette now has two threes from the right corner. Both wide open. Something to monitor how they exploit this Nova defense.
I’m also very glad Chris took that presser, that’s all I’ll say… - Michael DeRosa
10:13 pm. Alright, I’ve recovered from the Creighton game. At the end of the day, it’s a make-shot miss-shot game. Creighton shot 37% from the floor, and 23% from beyond the arc. Of course there are underlying issues, there always will be. But shooting that poorly will lead to very few wins.
One of the more troubling things is the lack of bench production still. In Creighton’s last three (including this one) single-digit games - they’ve had a total of nine bench points. Nine bench points in 125 minutes of basketball (one game was OT).
But the question becomes — who’s the bench piece that can really provide a consistent spark? Farabello can, but he’s not a creator. He can hit the occasional three and get to the rim in certain mismatches. Jasen Green looked bad in his only two minutes today. Isaac Traudt and Fred King have been fully factored out of the rotation. At this point, it may not even be worth discussing bench production.
Creighton likely solidifies themselves into the three line in the NCAA Tournament, with a small chance of falling to a four. We shall see.
ONTO THE NIGHTCAP
Villanova and Marquette are neck and neck right now. No Logino for the Wildcats hurts. I’ve been really impressed seeing Tyler Burton live again. Unsure whether Nova was the right fit, but he’s an impressive player and physical presence.
Dixon v Ighodaro sounds like a law ruling, but instead it’s one of the most fun big man matchups of the year. We’ll see how it plays out. -Chris Thedinga
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10:35 pm. HALF - 29-28 V’s up.
Villanova heading to the half with the lead.
I understand the Villanova gameplan, and what they’ve done since essentially the dawn of man. However, their offense becomes exceptionally too dependent on the three. They have shot 18 threes thus far, and only 7 twos. Yesterday, they shot 17 twos and 35 threes.
Here’s the percentages through 60 minutes of BET play:
16-24 from inside the arc (66%)
16-53 from beyond the arc (30%)
They have made just as many twos, while shooting thirty(!) less of them so far at MSG.
One other fun nugget - Oso Ighodaro is walking the ball up the court a bunch for Marquette. He’s pretty fun in that role. -Chris Thedinga
10:59 pm. 38-31 MU.
We’re at the U16 and Stevie Mitchell is playing some damn inspired ball. He has six second half points on 3-3 from the floor. The Golden Eagles are 5-9 from the floor, VU is just 1-5. We’re back to the Villanova offense we saw yesterday — stagnant, immobile.
All ten second half points for Marquette have come at the rim. Impressive stuff from Shaka’s bunch to come out with just a thunderstrike of energy out of the break. They look confident and poised for the moment. Let’s see if Villanova can punch back in the next few minutes. - Chris Thedinga
11:17 pm: Nova can be one of the tougher teams in the BE to watch at times. And I know the teams I’ve watched this year. Nova doesn’t look to drive the ball. When they do it works!!!!! OFTEN (As it has while I'm typing this)!!!! But for some reason, they just don’t look to drive. Pass-pass-pass-pass, contested three. But those actions work, when you get consistent dribble penetration (or passing to the post) and have excellent spacing. Ball movement and player movement, not just ball movement. Standing around waiting for Armstrong to create isn't effective offense.
The players out there feel like they’re thinking too much. Not enough playing. They’re too rigid, they’re too robotic, and not free whatsoever. This style works with dribble penetration, not with just passing. You need to get the ball inside first. So no, taking only threes doesn’t win you basketball games, even when three is more than two. -Michael DeRosa
11:26 pm. 51-50 6:47 left, Nova leads
VILLANOVA!
Wow, TJ Bamba, Justin Moore, and the Wildcats punch back and take the lead. All nine of Bamba’s points have come in the second half, and Eric Dixon is up to 19 on the day.
Now, it’s Marquette that seems a little petrified. Villanova has flipped a switch, now can Marquette answer the counter punch. Oso Ighodaro is scoreless in this game on four field goals. If they can’t get him some good post looks, it could spell real trouble for #3 seed Marquette. He just isn’t quite physical enough for Dixon down low, they need to get him off a roll in the right position. -Chris Thedinga
12:00 am. OVERTIME!
What a finish to regulation. I'm genuinely unsure I have ever seen a buzzer beater be that close. Regardless, Marquette's shot comes after the buzzer, sending us into a free basketball multiverse here at MSG.
There isn't an abundance of foul trouble to speak of heading into OT. Tyler Burton and Mark Armstrong have four fouls each for Villanova, but for Marquette it't a pretty empty slate.
What a basketball game.
The Garden! The Big East! This is what basketball is supposed to be!
-Chris Thedinga
12:15 am. 71-65, MARQUETTE SURVIVES.
Oso Ighodaro scored four total points in this game in 42 minutes played. He saved two of those points for the biggest moment of the game, with :18 left. Ighodaro used every bit of his length to hit a hookshot over the outstretched arms of Eric Dixon.
This will more than likely send the Villanova Wildcats to the NIT. A ton of talent, and it just didn't come to fruition much this season. Ending in spectacular fashion, we'll see what happens in the offseason in Philadelphia. Justin Moore, who was plagued with injuries, will go down as a Big East great.
For Marquette, they'll get the Providence Friars tomorrow afternoon.