It’s Nova vs. Friars for Big East title
MIKAL BRIDGES had 18 points and second-ranked Villanova scored the first 19 points and cruised toward its fourth straight trip to the Big East Tournament championship game in an 87-68 win over Butler on Friday night.
About 30 minutes after top-seeded Xavier was upset by Providence in overtime, the Wildcats (29-4) hit the court and showed how a favorite should play in a tournament semifinal.
The Wildcats scored five seconds into the game and used near-perfect execution on a 16-0 run before Butler coach LaVall Jordan finally called a timeout at the 15:37 mark. He could have waved a white flag to signal for the TO.
Omari Spellman buried a 3 to make it 19-0 and the Wildcats proved why the Big East tournament title always goes through the Main Line and straight to MSG. Butler finally scored and heard some mock cheers for the jumper.
Hey, at least the Bulldogs (20-13) were only down 17.
PROVIDENCE 75, XAVIER 72: 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 and stunned top-seeded and No. 3 Xavier 75-72 in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.
Kyron Cartwright hit a clutch jumper with 55 seconds to go and took an offensive foul on a layup attempt by J.P. Macura with eight seconds to play as the Friars (21-12) beat the Musketeers (28-5) for the second time in three games this season.
This one was totally unexpected after the opening 25 minutes at Madison Square Garden. The win sent Providence in the title game against the winner of the second semifinal between second-seeded and No. 2 Villanova and sixth-seeded Butler.
Cartwright’s jumper gave Providence a 7370 lead, but Trevon Bluiett cut the margin to a point with two free throws with 41 seconds to go.
Isaiah Jackson missed a layup attempt with about 12 seconds to play and the Musketeers rushed the ball up court. Macura went to the rim but Cartwright stood his ground and drew the offensive foul call from referee Jeff Anderson.
Diallo added two free throws with six seconds to go, but Xavier never got off a final shot until the final buzzer when Kerem Kanter hit a shot.
By then, Providence players were running on the court to celebrate.
Rodney Bullock, who blocked a game winning layup attempt by Macura at the end of regulation, and Diallo each had 17 points.
Cartwright finished with 15 and Nate Watson, who was a monster in the lane in the second half, had 10 of his 14. Kanter finished with 18 points for Xavier. Bluiett had 13 on 2 of 14 shooting.
Freshman Paul Scruggs had a career-high 15 points on his birthday, including 13 in the first half when Xavier built a 14-points lead.
—AP