Bridges has 27 points, No. 3 Villanova beats DePaul 93-62. Phil Booth returned to Villanova's lineup, and it looked as if he never left. Booth had 14 points in his comeback from a broken right hand that sidelined him for seven games, and Mikal Bridges scored 27 points to lead No. 3 Villanova to a 93-62 victory over DePaul on Wednesday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400988623
Clark scores 17 as No. 11 Cincy rebounds, beats UConn 77-52 The Bearcats had three days to stew, and it showed when they took the court. Gary Clark scored 10 of his 17 points during Cincinnati's decisive opening spurt, and the 11th-ranked Bearcats shook off consecutive losses by beating short-handed Connecticut 77-52 on Thursday night for their fifth straight win over the Huskies. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400988126
Creighton beats highest-ranked foe ever in No. 3 Villanova A Creighton season that was beginning to head in the wrong direction righted itself in glorious fashion for at least one afternoon. The Bluejays came into their game against No. 3 Villanova on Saturday having lost three straight in the Big East. Starting forward Ronnie Harrell Jr. was out of the lineup because of a foot infection, and they were down eight points with 4 1/2 minutes left in regulation. With Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas leading the way and two freshmen making major contributions, Creighton came back to defeat the highest-ranked opponent in program history with its 89-83 upset of the Wildcats in overtime. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400988627
Bridges scores 23, No. 4 Villanova holds off Seton Hall With a week to go until the conference tournament, No. 4 Villanova and Seton Hall showed everyone what Big East basketball is all about. It's not pretty. It was ugly at times, but it was hard-fought, low-scoring, physical and it had the crowd of 13,711 at the Prudential Center on their feet most of the night. And it was fun. Mikal Bridges scored 23 points, Jalen Brunson made big plays down the stretch and Villanova avoided consecutive losses for the first time since the 2012-13 season with a 69-68 overtime victory on Wednesday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400988631
No. 3 Xavier beats Providence 84-74 for 1st Big East title Trevon Bluiett grabbed the scissors in his right hand, climbed the stepladder and started hacking at the net, grimacing as the threads refused to cut. Finally, he had everything well in hand , just as he had so many times during his four-year career and Xavier's breakthrough season. The senior guard scored 23 points in his final game at the Cintas Center, and No. 3 Xavier never trailed while beating Providence 84-74 on Wednesday night to clinch at least a share of its first Big East championship. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400988630
Top Cat: Wright wins 413th game as No. 4 Nova tops Hoyas Jay Wright found another fashionable tie at Villanova. The GQ coach with a national title on his finely tailored resume hit another milestone that suits him on the sideline: Wright moved into a tie atop Villanova's career wins list with 413 in the fourth-ranked Wildcats' 97-73 victory over Georgetown on Saturday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400988633
No. 3 Xavier beats DePaul 65-62, secures top Big East seed Now that it's tournament time, No. 3 Xavier appears poised to make a big splash. Trevon Bluiett scored 22 points, and Xavier set a school record for regular-season wins while clinching the top seed in the Big East with a 65-62 victory over DePaul on Saturday. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=400988633
Bluiett sparks No. 3 Xavier in Big East win over St. John's Sean O'Mara put an exclamation point on Xavier's runaway victory with a two-handed jam in the final seconds and Paul Scruggs cupped a hand to his right ear as the school band played the team off a winner. The Musketeers never let up in the final minutes, crushing 3s and dunking with such ease that it ticked off a sore St. John's. The Red Storm's Ahmed Bashir popped off at Tyrique Jones in the handshake line and it quickly disintegrated into shoving and shouting. The scuffle was busted up by players and assistants from both teams as the crowd stood for a better view of the unexpected fracas. St. John's coach Chris Mullin, a native New Yorker, simply said, "I didn't see anything." Xavier could have ended it with one word like kids do when they tussle on the playground: scoreboard. Trevon Bluiett scored 27 points, Kaiser Gates had 16 and No. 3 Xavier looked every bit the top seed in the Big East Tournament in an 88-60 win over St. John's on Thursday. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401020065
Wright wins 414th game as No. 2 Nova tops Marquette Jay Wright was raised on 1980s Big East basketball. He loves the big games that always made this time of the year special at Madison Square Garden with powerhouses like Georgetown, Syracuse and St. John's leading the charge. Wright knows greed and defections means those days are long gone. But here's what Wright understands, as well: this reinvented Big East is pretty good at making its own memorable March memories. Wright became the winningest coach in Villanova history with 414, and the No. 2 Wildcats opened defense of their Big East Tournament championship in a 94-70 win over Marquette on Thursday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401020067
Friars stun Musketeers in OT to reach Big East title game Alpha Diallo hit a go-ahead jumper with 2:22 left in overtime and fifth-seeded Providence rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to stun top-seeded and No. 3 Xavier 75-72 in the semifinals of the Big East tournament on Friday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401020069
No. 2 Villanova crushes Butler on way to Big East title game Phil Booth insisted he was so focused on defense and finding open teammates that he never glanced at the scoreboard. "I didn't even notice the score was 19-0," he said. Villanova was rolling, and if a game can be over in the opening 5 minutes, this was the one. The second-ranked Villanova scored the first 19 points and cruised toward its fourth straight trip in the Big East Tournament championship game in an 87-68 win over Butler on Friday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401020070
Villanova tops Providence for 2nd straight Big East title As confetti fluttered down on a court still simmering from an epic title game, Jay Wright wrapped his arms around several Wildcats. While his current crop of stars got ready to climb a ladder and snip the net again, Wright celebrated with NBA All-Star Kyle Lowry and a slew of other former players who had sat behind the bench in a scene that bridged the start of Villanova's ascent into a powerhouse with this season's Big East Tournament champions. "I wanted them to be up there and a part of it," Wright said. "I wanted our young guys to see how much pride they take in them and in following them." They could follow Villanova straight to the Final Four. Mikal Bridges scored 25 points and hit two 3-pointers in overtime to lift No. 2 Villanova to a 76-66 win over Providence in the Big East title game Saturday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401020071
No.1 Villanova thrashes No. 16 Radford 87-61 in NCAA opener The fear naturally seeps into the thinking of players on top-seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament. Could we be the ones that finally lose to a 16 seed? "I can't say it doesn't cross our mind at all," Big East player of the year Jalen Brunson said. The answer from Villanova was an emphatic one: not a chance. Brunson scored 16 points and No. 1 seed Villanova hit 14 3-pointers in an 87-61 romp over Radford in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025816
Seton Hall beats NC State 94-83 in foul-filled NCAA matchup Kevin Willard was watching TV on the eve of Seton Hall's NCAA Tournament opener against North Carolina State when the self-described "Mr. Negativity" turned to his wife and asked what he would tell his core group of seniors if they lost. Together they had resurrected a program fallen on hard times, yet success in March had been hard to achieve. Two straight years, the Pirates had been knocked out in the opening round. "I said, `What am I going to say if they ask about their legacy?" the Pirates coach recalled. Well, he'll have at least 48 hours to ponder the answer. Khadeen Carrington scored 26 points, Desi Rodriguez added 20 and eighth-seeded Seton Hall beat the Wolfpack 94-83 on Thursday in their foul-filled matchup in the Midwest Region. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025834
Top-seeded Xavier easily handles Texas Southern 102-83 The Xavier Musketeers survived a choppy game with more stops than starts thanks to too many fouls and free throws. At the end, the Musketeers looked every bit like a No. 1 seed their first time around in the role at an NCAA Tournament. J.P. Macura scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the first half, and Xavier beat 16th-seeded Texas Southern 102-83 Friday night in their tournament opener in the West Region. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025826
Martin, Baldwin lead Butler past Arkansas 79-62 Butler coach LaVall Jordan watched his team race out to a huge early lead, then give it all away before the first half was even over. That could have been a huge emotional swing, but the Bulldogs kept their cool. "We got up big and I didn't expect to beat them by 20," Jordan said. "They've got firepower and some offensive weapons that can get you back in the game. I thought our guys just had a really good response when they came back to the huddle. ... It was all about the next play." When the 10th-seeded Bulldogs pulled away again at the start of the second half, they stayed out in front, dispatching seventh-seeded Arkansas 79-62 in the NCAA Tournament's East Region on Friday. Kelan Martin scored 27 points and Kamar Baldwin added 24 for Butler, which advanced to face second-seeded Purdue on Sunday. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025827
No. 1 seed Villanova rolls past Alabama and into Sweet 16 Jay Wright had some late-night restlessness because he could not turn off the TV as long as Virginia and UMBC were still playing. He met his Villanova team in the morning and the players at the breakfast tables were buzzing over basketball's biggest upset. The reverberation from the 16-over-1 stunner was felt by another tourney top seed. "There was a lot of attention with that," guard Donte DiVincenzo said. "We're a 1 seed so it was more attention for us." In the March spotlight, Villanova showed how a No. 1 seed takes cares of business. Mikal Bridges hit five 3s, scored 23 points and helped Villanova put the field on notice that it's the team to beat with an 81-58 win over ninth-seeded Alabama on Saturday. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025862
Villanova 3s shoot down West Virginia pressure 90-78 Villanova's 3-point party rolled past the intense pressure of West Virginia to bring the Wildcats to the doorstep of another Final Four two seasons after winning a national championship. The top-seeded Wildcats continued their outside feast in the NCAA Tournament, downing the fifth-seeded Mountaineers 90-78 on Friday night to earn their second trip to the regional finals in three seasons. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025879
Villanova returns to Final 4 with 71-59 win over Texas Tech With all of the underdogs and upsets that have upended the NCAA tournament, no one has managed to come close to Villanova. The 2016 national champions are headed back to the Final Four, thanks to a fourth straight double-digit victory in a month of March where they've played every bit like the No. 1 seed they earned. "This tournament's a crazy tournament. Anybody can beat anybody," guard Jalen Brunson said after the Wildcats beat Texas Tech 71-59 in a cold-shooting East regional championship on Sunday to send Villanova back to the Final Four for the second time in three years. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025883
3s please: Villanova sets F4 record in 95-79 win over Kansas To sum things up, Villanova was feelin' it Saturday night. Like every night that ends in "Y" for the Wildcats. Like all these games where they walk away with a "W" and leave their opponents shaking their heads. Villanova moved within a win of another title, sinking a Final Four-record 18 3-pointers, while cementing itself as the most-prolific 3-point-shooting team in college history in a 95-79 runaway over Kansas. read more http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=401025886
