Gillespie, Robinson-Earl lead No. 10 Villanova past UConn Connecticut's Isaiah Whaley (5) and Villanova's Brandon Slater (3) leap for a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Villanova, Pa. Villanova had an easy fix for its recent defensive struggles — just practice it. Collin Gillespie scored 20 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the No. 10 Wildcats to a 68-60 victory over UConn on Saturday. Read more https://apnews.com/article/villanov...obinson-earl-ef2b431dec2f650d5d8f1e2d34779c50
Xavier boosts tourney hopes with win over No. 13 Creighton With Xavier needing a quality win to bolster its NCAA Tournament hopes, coach Travis Steele called each player the night before the team's game against No. 13 Creighton. The Musketeers got the message. Paul Scruggs scored 23 points and Zach Freemantle added 17 leading Xavier to a 77-69 victory Saturday. Read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401269658
Bulldogs show some bite in 73-61 win over No. 8 Villanova Chuck Harris jump-started Butler's offense early. Jair Bolden delivered the finishing touch. Together, the Bulldogs' backcourt was unbeatable. Harris scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half on Sunday and Bolden finished with 12 of his 15 in the second half to help Butler pull away for a 73-61 win over No. 8 Villanova. Read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401269661
Villanova wins Big East title; McDermott coaches under fire Creighton coach Greg McDermott said he made an “awful mistake” for using language that caused pain for the players “that look to me as a mentor and as a leader.” He was on the bench for the Bluejays for the first time since he apologized on social media for urging his players over the weekend to “stay on the plantation.” “We need to get back to Omaha and regroup a little and have some more conversations which we need to have so that I can help them and they can help me,” McDermott said. McDermott’s use of a phrase evoking slavery overshadowed what was expected to be fantastic showdown between the top two teams in the Big East. Justin Moore scored 24 points and helped No. 10 Villanova capture the Big East title with a 72-60 win over 14th-ranked Creighton Read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401269666
No. 14 Creighton beats Butler without suspended McDermott Marcus Zegarowski was right where he wanted to be — on the basketball court — after a difficult week off the floor for Creighton. In what might have been his last college home game, Zegarowski matched his career high with 32 points to lead the No. 14 Bluejays to a 93-73 victory over Butler on Saturday. Read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401269669
Marquette Fires Coach Steve Wojciechowski After 7 Seasons In this March 10, 2021, file photo, Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski, left, watches the team play, while Koby McEwen (25) heads to the bench after fouling out of the game during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgetown in the Big East conference tournament in New York. Marquette fired Wojciechowski on Friday, March 19, after a seven-season tenure in which he went 128-95 but earned no NCAA Tournament victories Marquette's first losing season since Steve Wojciechowski's debut year resulted in the coach's exit. The Golden Eagles fired Wojciechowski on Friday after a seven-season tenure in which he went 128-95 but earned no NCAA Tournament victories. Wojciechowski was 59-68 in Big East competition. Marquette went 13-14 this year, the first time it ended a season below .500 since 2014-15. The Golden Eagles’ season ended last week with a 68-49 loss to Georgetown in the first round of the Big East Tournament. Read more https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/marquette-fires-coach-steve-wojciechowski-after-7-seasons
Depleted Villanova Recovers Form, Beats Winthrop In NCAAs Villanova guard Caleb Daniels (14) celebrates a defensive stop with Justin Moore (5) and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (24) in the second half of a first round game against Winthrop in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament at Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Friday, March 19, 2021 Villanova found a way to advance in the NCAA Tournament without Collin Gillespie. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the fifth-seeded Wildcats pulled away in the second half for a 73-63 victory over 12th-seeded Winthrop in the South Region on Friday night. Read more https://collegebasketball.ap.org/article/depleted-villanova-recovers-form-beats-winthrop-ncaas
No. 5 Creighton beats 12th-seeded UCSB 63-62 with clutch FTs Creighton's Christian Bishop celebrates after scoring against UC Santa Barbara during the first half of a college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Saturday, March 20, 2021. Creighton’s Christian Bishop is not a good free-throw shooter. You never would have known it when he went to the line with 16 seconds left for a one-and-one with the BlueJays down a point to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. The 57% shooter barely touched the rim while sinking two shots to give fifth-seeded Creighton the lead, and the Bluejays hung on to beat the 12th-seeded Gauchos 63-62 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Read more https://apnews.com/article/uc-santa...s-basketball-6c086fea05b85b2bdf6541f6808979cb
No. 4 Villanova routs Mount St. Mary's in opener, 91-51 Jay Wright pulled a stat sheet over toward Collin Gillespie and whispered at the star guard for No. 4 Villanova, pointing at a couple of gaudy numbers. Gillespie and Justin Moore combined for 12 assists and no turnovers on Tuesday in a season-opening 91-51 win over Mount St. Mary's. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401372031
No. 5 Villanova holds off hot-shooting Howard 100-81 Jay Wright lowered his head and speed-walked to the locker room at halftime to try and figure out what he just saw. Howard, a small program trying to make a big statement, hit about every shot in sight and had an upset on its mind. Wright didn't win a pair of national championships at Villanova by losing his cool. And as confident as Howard played, the Wildcats also doesn't often lose at home to plucky teams like the Bison. "I wasn't mad at them at halftime," he said. "It looked to me like we were doing a decent job. Not great." Decent got it done. Brandon Slater hit all four 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Collin Gillespie scored 21, Justin Moore had 16 and No. 5 Villanova knocked off Howard 100-81 on Tuesday night. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401372033
Seton Hall stuns No. 4 Michigan 67-65, making key FTs late Seton Hall pulled off one of its biggest wins in school history and coach Kevin Willard simply shrugged his shoulders because he was not surprised by the result. Jared Rhoden scored 16 points, helping the Pirates rally to beat No. 4 Michigan 67-65 on Tuesday night. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401372019
Late steal gives Marquette a 67-66 win over No. 10 Illinois Tyler Kolek didn't know if he'd be healthy enough to play Monday. He ended up delivering the biggest play of the night to give coach Shaka Smart his first signature victory at Marquette. Kolek converted a steal into a go-ahead layup with 18 seconds left and Marquette forced 26 turnovers for a 67-66 comeback victory over No. 10 Illinois. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401372001
Xavier leads wire to wire, beats No. 19 Ohio State 71-65 Jack Nunge had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Paul Scruggs also scored 14 points and Xavier led wire to wire in knocking off No. 19 Ohio State 71-65 on Thursday night. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401372037
No. 5 Villanova routs No. 17 Tennessee 71-53 in Tip-Off The game between Villanova and Tennessee was billed as a classic matchup between the Wildcats veteran leader, Collin Gillespie, and the Volunteers' young star-of-the-future, Kennedy Chandler. This one went to the old man. Gillespie, Jermain Samuels, and Brandon Slater each scored 14 points as No. 5 Villanova eased to a 71-53 win over No. 17 Tennessee on Saturday in the opening round of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401369818
Gillespie leads No. 7 Villanova in 72-46 rout of La Salle Collin Gillespie scored 13 points in a balanced team effort, and No. 7 Villanova beat La Salle 72-46 on Sunday night. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401365747
No. 21 Seton Hall pulls away to beat Bethune-Cookman 84-70 Kevin Willard went through his usual halftime routine with Seton Hall trailing a Bethune-Cookman team it should have handled easily. The 12th-year coach calmly broke down game tape and made some alterations. The low-key approach paid off as No. 21 Seton Hall pulled away in the second half for an 84-70 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sunday. Jared Rhoden scored 18 points, and Alexis Yetna had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Pirates. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401372021
No. 6 Villanova tops Penn 71-56 at Palestra for Big 5 win Collin Gillespie has played so long at Villanova that the guard has become a de facto coach on the court. He tells his teammates where they should be, sets up the next play and echoes all the pregame instruction from coach Jay Wright. “He really coaches the team,” Wright said. Against Penn, the fifth-year guard — make that, Coach Gillespie — flashed a reminder that he's still a pretty good scorer. Gillespie scored 26 points, Brandon Slater had 16 and No. 6 Villanova avoided a second straight court-storming at Penn with a 71-56 win Wednesday night. read more https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401371108