#1 Villanova vs. #8 Seton Hall
The madness of March played out in The Garden when top seeded Villanova fell to heavy underdog Seton Hall in dramatic fashion. Coming off a lackluster win against Butler on Wednesday, the Pirates got their act together to take on the Wildcats. Nova started off weak missing their first five shot attempts, and only hitting 5 field goals in 13 minutes. The first half ended with both teams keeping an even pace, but Seton Hall maintained a 34-26 lead over Nova.
The second half was supposed to bring out the best in Nova, but all it did was present Seton Hall with a double-digit lead after Brandon Mobley nailed a trey. That go ahead proved to be the catalyst that Nova needed to spark them to play up to their talents and a late layup by Darrun Hilliard put Villanova on top briefly…because this soon followed
The Seton Hall Pirates pulled the upset and win it 64-63 and will next play Providence.
#5 St. Johns vs. #4 Providence
An outmatched St. Johns’ team will most likely find themselves on the outside looking in at this year’s Tournament, after a 79-74 loss to Providence. After finding a way to dig themselves out from a 0-5 start to the season, the resilience of the squad was evident, it was just a matter of all pieces clicking at once. Providence gets their first Big East Tournament win since 2009.
They say basketball is a game of runs and Providence surely proved why, a 14-4 run opened their second half, which gave them a 50-37 lead. St. Johns played the second half trying to catch up and it proved too big a task–especially with Providence’s work on the glass, the Friars nabbed 49 rebounds, which is a record for them in the Tourney. With that kind of defensive integrity and St. John’s lack thereof it’s not surprising that Providence came away with the win. They will face-off against Seton Hall next.
#2 Creighton vs. #10 DePaul
The earlier upset of Nova by the hands of Seton Hall gave DePaul a glimmer of hope that anything could happen, that hope was soon extinguished. Creighton showed why they have the makings of a team built for the long haul in the Big Dance. Doug McDermott put on a show for Madison Square Garden crowd, putting up 35 points in his Big East Tournament debut–a record. For as good as Creighton was, DePaul played quit contrary giving no spark in their performance.
The game broke open in the second half with DePaul struggling to stop trailing by double-digits. Creighton drained their three-point shots which was much expected–sinking 6 of their first 9, to set the tone of the game. Creighton won handily 84-62 and will play Xavier Friday night.
#3 Xavier vs. #6 Marquette
Semaj Christon went to work putting up 18 points for Xavier in their narrow victory over Marquette. The game was a back and forth affair with both teams never giving an inch for too long, the collective team effort by Xavier down the stretch was the difference in the game. The crucial made freethrows was essential with Xavier making 17 of 23 compared to just 8 of 14 by Marquette.
Sloppy turnovers by Marquette led to converted points by Xavier, which in a neck and neck race to the finish came back to haunt the Golden Eagles. Xavier cashed in on their opposition’s mistakes and took the 68-65 victory, they will face Creighton Friday.