No. 3 Xavier clinches share of Big East
Trevon Bluiett scored 23 points in his final game at the Cintas Center, and No. 3 Xavier never trailed while beating Providence, 84-74, last night in Cincinnati, clinching at least a share of its first Big East championship. The Musketeers (26-4, 143) can win it outright by beating DePaul on Saturday and end Villanova’s run of four straight regular-season titles.
Bluiett will leave Xavier as its second all-time scorer. He made the game’s first basket on a driving layup and finished off the Friars with a dunk and a pair of free throws in the final minute. Quentin Goodin added 18 points, one shy of his career high.
The league title was another major step in a record-setting season for Xavier. The Musketeers moved up to No.3 for the first time this week. Their latest win matched the school record for victories in the regular season. And they got the best of one of only three teams to beat them this season.
Providence (18-12, 9-8) won 81-77 on Jan. 6 but couldn’t complete the sweep after a slow start that included some foul trouble. Top scorer Rodney Bullock fouled out with 4:42 left after managing only six points. Maliek White led with 15 points.
Villanova 69, Seton Hall 68 — Mikal Bridges scored 23 points, Jalen Brunson made big plays down the stretch and the No.4 Wildcats (26-4, 13-4 Big East) avoided consecutive losses for the first time since the 2012-13 season with a hard-fought overtime victory against the Pirates (20-10, 9-8) in Newark, N.J.
Clemson 76, Florida State 63 — Marcquise Reed scored 22 points and the No.18 Tigers (22-7, 11-6) won a program-record 11th ACC game by routing the Seminoles (19-10, 8-9) in Clemson, S.C.
Kentucky 96, Mississippi 78 — Kevin Knox had 22 points and Quade Green added 18, including eight during a 15-5 second-half run that helped the No.23 Wildcats (21-9, 10-7 SEC) pull away from the Rebels (12-18, 5-12) in Lexington, Ky.
Houston 69, SMU 56 — Rob Gray had 19 points and nine assists and Corey Davis Jr. added 17 points to lead the No. 25 Cougars (23-6, 13-4 American) past the Mustangs (16-14, 6-11) in Dallas.
Richmond 90, UMass 65 — In Richmond, Va., Grant Golden scored 26 points with a career-high 11 rebounds for his ninth 20-point game of the season, Nick Sherod added 19 points, and the Spiders (1019, 8-9 Atlantic 10) ran away from the Minutemen (11-19, 4-13) to end a five-game skid and sweep the season series.
C.J. Anderson scored 22 points, Luwane Pipkins added 14 and Carl Pierre had 11 for UMass.
UConn 72, Temple 66 — In Storrs, Conn., Jalen Adams scored 25 points and dished out eight assists as the Huskies (14-16, 7-10 American) upset the Owls (16-13, 8-9) in their final home game.
Wagner 73, Central Connecticut 61 — In New York, JoJo Cooper scored 20 points, Romone Saunders had 18 points and 10 rebounds and the top-seeded Seahawks (22-8) routed the Blue Devils (14-18) in a Northeast Conference tournament quarterfinal.
Saint Anselm 87, Bentley 80 — Tim Guers had 36 points and nine assists, Taylor Fortin added 23 points and the Hawks (227) advanced to the Northeast-10 tournament final by beating the Falcons (16-12) in Manchester, N.H.
Saint Anselm will play Saturday at Le Moyne, which routed Merrimack 83-55 in the other semifinal.
Women’s hoops
North Carolina 69, Boston College 64 — In Greensboro, N.C., Paris Kea scored 28 points to help the 12thseeded Tar Heels (15-15) edge the Eagles (7-23) in the first round of the ACC tournament.
Taylor Ortlepp scored 23 points and made seven 3-pointers for Boston College, which shot 12-of-29 from behind the arc.
Loyola (Md.) 65, BU 52 — In Baltimore, Alexis Gray scored 19 points to help the Greyhounds (9-20, 7-11 Patriot) race past the Terriers (10-18, 5-13), who were led by Nia Irving’s 19 points.
Holy Cross 65, Lehigh 62 — Lauren Manis scored 17 points, Infiniti ThomasWaheed added 16 and the Crusaders (12-17, 7-11 Patriot) edged the Mountain Hawks (15-14, 9-9) in Bethlehem, Pa.