WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
No. 1 UCONN vs. MARQUETTE
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT FINAL
When: Monday, 8 p.m.
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville
Records: UConn 23-1 (20-0, Big East); Marquette 19-5 (15-4, Big East)
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: UConn Sports Network (97.9 FMESPN Hartford, WAVZ 1300 AM, WICC 600 AM, WINE 940 AM, WGCH 1490 AM, WILI 1400 AM)
Streaming: Available via the FOX Sports app (FoxSportsGo.com)
KEEP AN EYE ON
They’re back: UConn will go for its first Big East tournament title since 2012 and 19th all-time. The Huskies spent the last seven seasons in the American Athletic Conference, where they went 139-0 in league play.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Marquette is making its fifth consecutive trip to the league final. The Golden Eagles lost the last three seasons to DePaul, but beat the Blue Demons in 2017.
Sizing up the competition: These two teams are familiar with each other, having played just a week ago. UConn beat Marquette 65-55 on March 1 in Storrs, and also defeated the Golden Eagles 87-58 on Feb. 5 in Milwaukee.
Though the Huskies hold an 11-0 all-time edge in the series, UConn coach Geno Auriemma doesn’t expect Monday to be easy.
“These are not supposed to be easy,” Auriemma said. “This is tournament time.
This is March, and the games are supposed to be difficult, and they’re supposed to be between teams that have seen each other more than once. So there’s not a lot of trickery going on. They’re supposed to be knock-down, drag-out affairs, and you have to be willing to grind it out, if that’s what it takes. …
“If it turns out to be something other than that, fine, but that’s not our expectation. Our expectation is this is going to be really hard, and it’s the expectation that we’re carrying into the NCAA Tournament too when we leave.”
Last time out: UConn dismantled fifthseeded Villanova 84-39 in Sunday’s semifinals while Marquette outlasted sixth-seeded Creighton 64-59.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The long ball helped Bryson DeChambeau outlast Lee Westwood on Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, only the key shots were as much with his putter as his driver.
DeChambeau holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the front nine and a 50-foot par putt early on the back nine. He closed it out with a nervy 5-foot par putt for a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over the 47-year-old Westwood.
It matched the low score of the day, one of only three rounds under par in the toughest final round at Bay Hill in 41 years.
DeChambeau and Westwood were never separated by more than one shot over the final 15 holes, a fascinating duel of generations that came down to the last shot.
For the second straight day, DeChambeau revved up thousands of fans on the par-5 sixth hole by smashing driver over the lake and leaving himself 88 yards away on the 565-yard sixth hole. Westwood was 168 yards behind him, and raised both arms to jokingly mimic DeChambeau’s reaction from the day before. They both made birdie.
DeChambeau appeared to be in trouble on the 11th when he narrowly missed going in the water off the tee, caught a plugged lie in the front bunker and gouged it out to 50 feet. He made that for par to stay ahead by one.
Westwood tied him with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-5 12th, only to give it back with a three-putt on the 14th. The tournament turned on the par-5 16th, where it was Westwood who had the advantage.
DeChambeau’s drive went up against the lip of a bunker and he had to lay up short of the water. Westwood had 158 yards and hit a poor short iron that came up short of the green. He chipped nicely, except that it rolled out 6 feet by the hole on the lightning-quick greens and he missed the birdie for a chance to tie.
They were tied going to the 18th when DeChambeau hit his most important drive of the day — in the fairway. Westwood’s tee shot settled in a divot, and he did well to get it on the green and two-putt from 65 feet. DeChambeau’s birdie putt slid by some 5 feet and he shook his arms in celebration when the par putt dropped.
Westwood closed with a 73, not a bad score considering the average of 75.49 was the highest for a final round since 1980.
Corey Conners stayed in the mix until the very end. The Canadian holed a 15foot eagle putt on the 16th to get within one shot, only to find a bunker on the par-3 17th and miss a 6-foot par putt. With a bogey on the final hole, he shot 74 to finish alone in third.
Jordan Spieth was part of a four-man race on the front nine and briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. That turned out to be his last birdie of the day. He took bogey on three of his last four holes for a 75, dropping him into a three-way tie for fourth with Andrew Putnam (71) and Ricky Werenski (73).
For Spieth, it was his third top-five finish in his last four events.