By Pete Janny
#9 Providence Tops #8 Butler 91-81
#9 Providence erupted for 51 points in the second half to take down #8 Butler, 91-81, in the opening game at the Big East Tournament. Freshman Stefan Vaaks posted a career-high 28 points on 8-13 shooting from deep to catapult the 15-17 Friars.
At the U8 of the first half, Providence faced a 29-16 deficit before answering with eight straight points. Vaaks bridged that with five more points, giving him a personal 8-0 run that cut the Providence deficit to five with 4:37 left. The Friars closed the half strong behind seven more points down the stretch from Ryan Mela, tying the game at 38 with 1:39 left in the half. The halftime scoreline stood at 42-40 in favor of Butler, who received 16 points and eight boards from Gonzaga transfer Michael Ajayi across the opening 20.
Providence continued to attack Butler defenders coming out of halftime. Trailing by one yet again, Providence mustered 10 consecutive points—back-to-back threes from Vaaks and Jaylin Sellers, and two more baskets from Mela and Sellers—to take a 61-52 lead. Lack of perimeter guarding in this game freed up both teams down low, but Providence also hit enough threes to keep their foot on the gas. The Friars finished 14-27 (52%) from three.
“We’re a high possession team, so a 16-point deficit wasn’t the end of the world,” said Providence head coach Kim English, whose team trailed 15-2 and 27-11. “Our team showed great resolve, great togetherness to find a way to win.
Having Vaaks was the main catalyst. His three-point shooting justified his team’s belief. The 6’7” Estonian tied Matt Carlino’s record of eight threes in a Big East Tournament game. Two of them came inside the final three minutes to help seal the Friar victory.
Like Vaaks, Sellers was brilliant. Providence’s leading scorer at 18.1 points per game poured in 19 of his 23 points after halftime. Sellers also added seven rebounds and shot 3-7 from deep.
Michael Ajayi was nowhere near the player he was in the first half, which was a credit to Providence’s defensive improvement. Finley Bizjack turned it on late for Butler, but it wasn’t enough for a Bulldogs team that only shot 5-17 (29%) from three-point range.
Providence (15-17, 7-13 Big East) punches its ticket to the quarterfinals round, where it will play #1 St. John’s (25-6, 18-2 Big East) at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday.
#10 Xavier Defeats #7 Marquette, 89-87
This game started how it ended, with points from walking highlight-reel Tre Carroll. The Xavier senior entered Wednesday’s game fresh off a hip injury sustained last week against Seton Hall, and was vital in holding off Marquette after the Golden Eagles made 7-0 and 6-0 second-half runs to stay in it. Ultimately, in the final minute, Carroll’s clutch spin move and finish—and block on the other end—helped seal the 89-87 win.
“That bucket is the one we’ve relied on all season,” Xavier head coach Richard Pitino said of Carroll’s clutch maneuver. “The spin in the lane, the great touch…it was great to have him back.”
A series of lead changes in the early stages of the second half saw Xavier emerge with the lead for good, 49-48, with 14:46 left to play. Marquette did everything it could to cut the deficit to one possession several times late. Royce Parnham was superb with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Big East Rookie of the Year Nigel James Jr. turned it on late to finish with 18 points to go along with seven assists.
Xavier led by as much as 10 in the first half before an 8-0 run by Marquette closed them to within two at 29-27. Milicevic was 3-3 from long range in the first half, but Marquette’s ability to find its stroke late in the half helped tie the halftime score at 38.
Marquette had a costly stretch midway through the second half, with a few turnovers that spoiled an otherwise strong second half. Roddy Anderson III played a role in disrupting Marquette on both ends, while helping Carroll get his touches in transition. The immediate thought on the Marquette loss is that Shaka Smart’s young team ends its season with plenty of lessons learned.
For Xavier, it lives to see another day behind 21 points from Jovan Milicevic and 18 apiece from Malik Messina-Moore and Carroll. The ‘X’ meets #2 UConn tomorrow at 7 p.m.
“Proud of these guys, but we know we have to get some rest because we have a tough one tomorrow.”
#11 Georgetown Beats #6 DePaul 63-56
It looked like this game would never amount to anything exciting early on. Both teams opened a combined 3-12 from the field, with DePaul opening up an underwhelming 9-4 lead by the 14:25 mark of the first half. However, despite not holding a single lead in the first half, Georgetown would erase a 24-21 halftime deficit with the brush of a 14-4 run to begin the second half. The Hoyas took care of business the rest of the way, ending DePaul’s season by way of a 63-56 result.
The second half was the Vince Iwuchukwu show. The former St. John’s player showed off his evolving offensive game while serving as an effective rim protector on the other end. Not known for his three-point shooting, Iwuchukwu stepped out to hit two three-pointers in this game for only his fifth and sixth triples of the year.
Georgetown took control of this game thanks to a combination of Iwuchuku, a more uptempo pace of play, and a plus-12 margin on the boards. With Malik Mack settling in nicely after a poor first half, Georgetown had more legs under it to do the things it wanted off the dribble and feed Iwuchukwu (17 points, 14 rebounds) in the post. After only attempting two free throws in the first half, Georgetown attempted 16 in the second half, and went on to shoot 16-18 (89%) for the game from the charity stripe.
The only real scare DePaul posed in the second half came in the form of back-to-back threes from Kruz McClure that cut the Georgetown lead to 44-42 with 6:35 left. The Blue Demons came into this game with a road warrior mindset, having won their last three games away from Wintrust Arena. On Wednesday night, the 82nd-ranked team on KenPom ended that streak.
Ahead by six with 3:02 left, Iwuchukwu got the Georgetown faithful on its feet with a putback dunk on a missed three from Caleb Williams. During Georgetown’s current two-game winning streak, Iwuchukwu has averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds. It’s a development to keep an eye on going into tomorrow night’s meeting with #3 Villanova set to tip off at 9:30 p.m.
“We’re just taking it each game, each play at a time,” Malik Mack said after the game. “It’s a big opportunity in front of us, and to win these games for the University is something we look forward to doing.”
