Big East roundup: Xavier gets by Marquette late in tourney opener
Jovan Milicevic scored 21 points and hit the tiebreaking layup with 1:14 remaining as 10th-seeded Xavier outlasted seventh-seeded Marquette for an 89-87 victory in the opening round of the Big East tournament in New York on Wednesday.
Milicevic made 7 of 11 shots and 4 of 7 3-pointers as he finished two points shy of his career high set last month in a 96-88 win over Marquette. His biggest shot was a clear path to the rim that resulted in a layup to snap an 80-all tie; the clutch drive occurred after the Musketeers (15-17) lost a 10-point lead. Two free throws by Isaiah Walker with eight seconds left helped Xavier close out the win.
Xavier advanced to a quarterfinal matchup with second-seeded UConn on Thursday night.
Royce Parham led Marquette with 22 points and nine rebounds. Nigel James Jr., named Big East Freshman of the Year earlier in the day, added 18 but struggled to find a rhythm and shot 6-of-17. Chase Ross contributed 16 for the Golden Eagles (12-20), who shot 42.5% and made 11 of their season-high-tying 40 3-point attempts.
Providence 91, Butler 81
Stefan Vaaks scored a career-best 28 points and hit a career-high eight 3-pointers as the Friars overcame a 16-point deficit in the first half for a victory over the Bulldogs.
Vaaks kept the Friars afloat before their rally and finished 8-of-13 from behind the arc. Ryan Mela added a career-high 23 on 10-of-14 shooting and Jaylin Sellers contributed 19 of his 23 in the second half after shooting 2-of-10 in the opening 20 minutes. Mela added nine rebounds and five assists, both team highs. The Friars (15-17) will face top-seeded St. John's in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon.
Michael Ajayi led Butler (16-16) with 21 points and 11 rebounds but played the final 10-plus minutes with four fouls. Finley Bizjack struggled most of the game, scoring 17 on 5-of-15 shooting.
Georgetown 63, De Paul 56
Reserve Vince Iwuchukwu collected 17 points and 14 rebounds as the 11th-seeded Hoyas earned a victory over the sixth-seeded Blue Demons.
The Hoyas (15-17) won their second straight following a seven-game losing streak and will face No. 3 seed Villanova in the quarterfinals Thursday night. Jeremiah Williams also scored 17 for Hoyas before fouling out late in the contest, when Iwuchukwu helped Georgetown pull away in the final minutes. Malik Mack contributed 16 points as the Hoyas shot 52% in the second half and 39.3% overall.
Layden Blocker led DePaul (16-16) with 16 points off the bench but on 5-of-14 shooting. NJ Benson added 12 but CJ Gunn was held to seven on 3-of-13 shooting.