St. John's: 2026 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

 

NEW YORK -- — With another St. John's championship salted away, Zuby Ejiofor walked slowly to the sideline with seconds remaining, tears trickling down the senior forward's face as he lowered his 6-foot-9 frame for multiple hugs.

St. John's: 2024-25 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

The last time St. John’s won the Big East Tournament, RJ Luis Jr. wasn’t born yet.

Neither were Zuby Ejiofor or Kadary Richmond.

Rick Pitino was coaching the Boston Celtics — a job he held before his stints with Louisville, Greece’s Panathinaikos, Iona and, finally, St. John’s.

But on Saturday night, that group further restored the resurgent Red Storm to glory.

Top-seeded St. John’s defeated second-seeded Creighton, 82-66, in the Big East Tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden, adding another achievement to one of the greatest seasons in school history.

No. 6 St. John’s (30-4) made 14 consecutive field goals during an incredible run to pull away in the second half, clinching its first Big East Tournament championship since 2000 and the fourth in school history.

Luis, the Big East Player of the Year, came up huge on the biggest stage, scoring 29 points — including 27 in the second half — to set a championship game record.

He was named the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after averaging 20.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

Ejiofor added 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and Richmond finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

And once again, they did it in comeback fashion.

St. John’s fell behind, 10-2, as rim-protecting Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, patrolled the paint.

The Johnnies repeatedly settled for — and missed — mid-range jumpers and 3-point attempts during an ugly first half in which they shot just 11-of-33 from the field.

Kalkbrenner’s presence proved particularly problematic early for Ejiofor, who, at 6-9, is four inches shorter than the 7-1 center. Ejiofor, who scored 33 points in Friday’s semifinal win over Marquette, went just 3-of-8 for seven points in the first half.

Luis had failed to pick up the slack to that point, managing only two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half. But the Johnnies’ hounding defense kept them in the game, and they trailed only 28-25 at the break.

And then St. John’s erupted.

Luis’ 3-pointer at the 14:26 mark of the second half knotted the score, 38-38, to tie the game for the first time since it was scoreless.

Ejiofor converted a three-point play two possessions later, marking the first of the Red Storm’s 14 consecutive makes.

Vince Iwuchukwu’s left-handed floater over Kalkbrenner on the next possession gave St. John’s its first lead, 43-41, with 11:55 to go.

And Luis capped that run without a miss by making a lay-up with 5:16 to go, putting the Red Storm up, 70-55.

Less than three minutes later, a sellout crowd decidedly in the Johnnies’ favor chanted “MVP” as Luis shot free throws. It was technically a neutral-site game, but with the win, St. John’s improved to 12-0 at the Garden.

St. John’s advanced to its first Big East Tournament title game in 25 years after cruising to a 78-57 victory over ninth-seeded Butler in Thursday’s quarterfinal round and then rallying from a 15-point deficit in Friday’s 79-63 semifinal win over Marquette.

With Saturday’s win, Pitino further delivered on the promise he made two years ago at his introductory press conference at the Garden, where he vowed St. John’s was “going to be back.”

It was a bold guarantee, even for a Hall of Fame coach with two national championships and seven Final Four appearances to his name.

But it took only two years for Pitino to turn St. John’s around.

The Johnnies went 27-4 in the regular season, including 18-2 in conference play, to claim their first outright Big East regular-season conference championship since 1985. Saturday clinched their first 30-win season since 1985-86.

After the regular season, Pitino suggested that winning the Big East Tournament could propel the Red Storm to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

On Sunday, St. John’s will find out its seed and its opponent to begin the Big Dance. It will be the Red Storm’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.

And then St. John’s will then get to work on ending another decades-long drought. It has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000.

UConn: 2024 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

 

UConn won the Big East men's basketball tournament on Saturday. We'll find out if the Huskies won the No. 1 overall seed of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

The Huskies, seeded No. 1 in the Big East, rallied in the second half to put away No. 3 seed Marquette ___ and add one more item to their March Madness résumé. Even more helpful for UConn was a game that finished less than an hour beforehand: Houston, UConn's biggest competition for the No. 1 overall seed, was blown out 69-41 by Iowa State in the Big 12 final.

The NCAA tournament bracket will be revealed at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday.

It was a slow start for UConn and Marquette at Madison Square Garden, with the two teams combining to go 1-for-17 from the field to open the game. UConn's Samson Johnson connected on a dunk with 13:29 remaining in the first half to tie the game 2-2.

Things thankfully picked up from there, with nine lead changes and no deficit larger than four points for the rest of the half. UConn entered halftime up 26-24 and exchanged the lead a few more times before finding the kind of groove that won them so many games in the regular season.

A 19-5 Huskies run midway through the second half put the game out of reach, with Jaylin Stewart and Tristen Newton doing almost all of the damage.

The biggest difference-maker of the game was UConn big man Donovan Clingan, who led the team with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 16 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

This is UConn's first Big East tournament title since Kemba Walker's immortal run in 2011 (he program spent seven seasons in the AAC in that time span). It is also the program's eighth title, tying it with Georgetown for the most in conference history.

UConn vs. Houston March Madness résumés

UConn

Record: 31-3 (18-2 conference)

Tournament: Won Big East

Quad 1 record: 13-3

Quad 2-4 record: 18-0

Strength of schedule: 27

Losses: Kansas, Seton Hall, Creighton

Houston

Record: 30-4 (15-3 conference)

Tournament: Lost Big 12 final

Quad 1 record: 16-4

Quad 2-4 record: 14-0

Strength of schedule: 14

Losses: Iowa State (twice), TCU, Kansas

Marquette: 2022-23 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK (AP) — Tyler Kolek and No. 6 Marquette raced out to a hefty lead and never looked back, beating No. 15 Xavier 65-51 on Saturday night to win the Big East Tournament for the first time.

Kolek, the Big East Player of the Year, had 20 points and eight rebounds as the top-seeded Golden Eagles (28-6) dominated a Big East final that brought a Midwestern flavor to Madison Square Garden.

Coach Shaka Smart’s surprising team will head into the NCAA Tournament with a nine-game winning streak after Marquette’s first appearance in the Big East championship game resulted in one of its best performances of a scintillating season.

Kolek’s steal and layup made it 51-27 with 14:12 left. Less than a minute later, after two offensive rebounds by the Golden Eagles, David Joplin made a corner 3 to double up second-seeded Xavier (25-9).

Joplin finished with 12 points. Kolek was selected the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Adam Kunkel scored 12 points to lead the Musketeers, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

This was the first Big East title game since the conference dropped football in 2013 to not feature any of its longstanding Northeast members.

Still, the Milwaukee school (Marquette, which joined in 2005) and the Cincinnati school (Xavier, which joined in 2013) filled The Garden for the first 1 vs. 2 seed Big East Tournament final in 19 years.

It looked more like a 1-16 NCAA Tournament game for a while.

Marquette jumped out to a 21-4 lead, and never relented.

During a particularly splendid 2 1/2 minutes, Stevie Mitchell swished a corner 3, Kolek came off a screen to make another 3, Kam Jones got free for a reverse layup after a nifty hesitation move on the baseline and Kolek converted a layup off a give-and-go with Oso Ighodaro.

At that point, Marquette was up 33-10 with 7:02 left in the first half and the Golden Eagles had not yet committed a turnover.

The Musketeers responded with a 14-5 run to end the period, but with their fans chanting “We are, Mar-quette!” the Golden Eagles went into the break up 39-24.

Marquette’s only previous league tournament title was as a member of Conference USA in 1997.

Twenty-six years later, the Golden Eagles were able to clear the bench in the final minute of the Big East championship game and their fans were finally able to make Madison Square Garden feel like home.

BIG PICTURE

Xavier: The Musketeers played what coach Sean Miller called one of their best two-way games of the season in the semifinals Friday night against Creighton. Less than 24 hours later, they did almost nothing well. Xavier shot 34% from the field, forced only four turnovers and was held 12 points under its previous season low. The Musketeers fell to 0-2 in Big East championship games.

Marquette: Smart, who took VCU to a Final Four but never could find that consistent winning formula at Texas, guided a team picked to finish ninth in the Big East in the preseason coaches’ poll to maybe its best season since Dwyane Wade led Marquette to a Final Four in 2003.

UP NEXT

Xavier: Miller will have the Musketeers back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles will be making their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and figure to earn perhaps a No. 2 seed.

Villanova: 2021-22 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK (AP) — Collin Gillespie buried consecutive 3-pointers late in the game that put No. 8 Villanova ahead for good, and the Wildcats beat Creighton 54-48 to win the Big East Tournament championship Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Gillespie missed this tournament and the NCAAs last season with a torn ligament in his left knee. But a year later he made the clutch shots in the waning minutes, hitting the go-ahead 3 over the outstretched arm of 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner with 2:44 left.

The 6-foot-3 senior came right back and did it again over Kalkbrenner, the Big East defenseive player of the year, for a 50-45 lead, sending the Wildcats to yet another championship under coach Jay Wright.

Villanova won Big East Tournament titles under Wright in 2015 and from 2017-2019. The school also won national championships in 2016 and 2018 under Wright.

Justin Moore and the rest of Villanova’s starters circled Gillespie and fired him up before he went to the free-throw line in the final seconds. The two-time conference player of the year hit both and was soon mobbed by teammates at midcourt to kick off the championship party.

Georgetown: 2021 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK -- — Patrick Ewing climbed the ladder — only a few steps needed for the 7-footer — clipped the last string and held the net high.

Georgetown is the Big East champion again, with the greatest Hoya of them all leading the way.

Ewing is taking his team back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 after the eighth-seeded Hoyas completed a surprising run to a Big East crown Saturday night with a stunning 73-48 rout of No. 17 Creighton.

On the 49th anniversary of the day Georgetown hired John Thompson, the late Hall of Fame coach who transformed the program into a national power and one of the most iconic brands in college basketball, the Hoyas won their record eighth Big East Tournament title and first since 2007.

Was it fate? Destiny? Maybe Big John, who died in August at age 78, smiling down on now-Coach Ewing and his Hoyas?

"I think so," Ewing said.

Georgetown won with a dominant performance inside Madison Square Garden, reminiscent of Ewing's playing days at the school.

The Hoyas (13-12) closed the first half on a 23-2 run that put them up 18 at the break against second-seeded Creighton (20-8). Then they started the second half with a 16-3 spurt. Chudier Bile knocked down a 3-pointer — holding the follow through for a beat — with 14:58 left that made it 52-21.

Ewing called it a huge step for a program that's struggled to recapture old glory, and began this season picked to finish last in the Big East.

"A lot of people discredited. Talked bad about us. We believed in ourselves. We worked hard. We fought hard," he said.

Ewing wondered aloud earlier this week if they had forgotten him at MSG. He complained that security asked to see his credentials as he was moving around the building where he starred for the New York Knicks and his No. 33 jersey hangs from the rafters.

Ewing said this championship was "right up there" with his greatest moments at The Garden.

"Different chapter of my life," he said.

Bile matched a season high with 19 points and Jahvon Blair had 18 for Georgetown. After missing 12 of their first 14 shots, the Hoyas finished shooting 46.6% from the floor.

Marcus Zegarowski scored 17 points to lead Creighton, which is 0-3 in Big East title games since joining the conference for the 2013-14 season.

Georgetown fans, the few dozen that were in the mostly empty building because of COVID-19 restrictions, chanted "This Is, Our House!" as the Hoyas prepared to accept the championship trophy. Ewing carried a T-shirt with Thompson's image on it, his old coach's fist raised high.

"Just to see how happy he is, it makes me happy," Blair said about Ewing. "I'm just so happy for him."

Ewing and Thompson combined for three Big East Tournament championships, three Final Four appearances and a national title in 1984 during their time together at Georgetown.

Ewing aspired to be a head coach like his mentor. He spent 15 years as an assistant in the NBA, never getting a shot to be head coach — until his alma mater came calling.

"I'm here where a lot of people didn't think I had the ability to (be)," Ewing said. "And I'm proving everyone wrong."

The 58-year-old Ewing is in his fourth season with the Hoyas, and up until this week there hasn't been much to get excited about. The only postseason tournament appearance was a one-game stay in the 2019 NIT. At the start of this tournament, Ewing's record was 58-58 as head coach.

Now he is the first person in Big East history to be the most outstanding player on a Big East Tournament champion and coach a team to a Big East Tournament title.

BIG PICTURE

Georgetown: Became the first No. 8 seed to win the Big East Tournament and the lowest seed since Connecticut did it as a No. 9 in 2011. Georgetown's eighth title broke a tie with UConn for the most of any school.

Those 2011 Huskies went on to win a national title. That seems unlikely for these Hoyas, who entered the Big East Tournament with a losing record. But Georgetown is 10-4 since returning from a COVID-19 pause in mid-January, a run that coincided with Ewing inserting Bile into the starting lineup.

"Once you get to the NCAA Tournament anything is possible," Ewing said.

Creighton: The Bluejays scored a season-low 48 points and shot 29% from the field.

"We've got a mature group and I think they understand this hasn't happened to us very often over the course of the last couple years," coach Greg McDermott said. "Once in a while it happens, but you hope it doesn't happen on a night like tonight."

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Freshman point guard Dante Harris scored 10 points, with eight rebounds and five assists, to cap a strong week that earned him MVP of the tournament.

Blair and teammate Qudus Wahab also made the all-tournament team along with Zegarowski, Adama Sanogo of Connecticut and Jared Rhoden of Seton Hall.

UP NEXT

The Hoyas likely give the Big East four teams in the NCAA Tournament along with Creighton, Villanova and UConn.

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Villanova: 2018-19 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK (AP) – Villanova became the first team to win three consecutive Big East Tournaments, beating Seton Hall 74-72 on Saturday night behind seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth and key contributions from freshman Saddiq Bey.

Seton Hall star Myles Powell, guarded closely by Booth, missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that could have won it. Booth was called for traveling as he tried to corral the rebound, however, and the Pirates got one more chance with 0.4 seconds left. Anthony Nelson’s long inbounds pass bounced off the backboard and was slapped away by the Wildcats, who got to party on the Madison Square Garden floor yet again.

The 25th-ranked and top-seeded Wildcats (25-9) were in the Big East final for a fifth straight year, and have won four of the last five championships. The only loss during that span was to Seton Hall in 2016, and Powell and the third-seeded Pirates (20-13) gave Villanova all it could handle once again.

Powell scored 25 points to cap a spectacular three days at Madison Square Garden for the high-scoring guard.

Paschall had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Booth scored 16 points and was selected most outstanding player of the tournament. Bey, who Villanova fans hope will lead the next wave of championship teams, had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Villanova had a chance to seal it in the final 30 seconds but Paschall was called for a charge when he lowered his shoulder into Myles Cale with 24 seconds left. Powell quickly scored inside at the other end to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 73-72 with 15.5 seconds left.

The Pirates sent Paschall to the line with 13.7 seconds remaining and he made the first and missed the second. Seton Hall rebounded and called a timeout to set up a final play with 8.9 seconds left.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall: The Pirates are headed to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament, matching a school best (1991-94).

Villanova: The defending national champions will be in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight season, but will probably be seeded worse than a 2 for the first time since 2013.

Villanova: 2017-18 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK -- As confetti fluttered down on a court still simmering from an epic title game, Jay Wright wrapped his arms around several Wildcats. While his current crop of stars got ready to climb a ladder and snip the net again, Wright celebrated with NBA All-Star Kyle Lowry and a slew of other former players who had sat behind the bench in a scene that bridged the start of Villanova's ascent into a powerhouse with this season's Big East Tournament champions.

"I wanted them to be up there and a part of it," Wright said. "I wanted our young guys to see how much pride they take in them and in following them."

They could follow Villanova straight to the Final Four.

Mikal Bridges scored 25 points and hit two 3-pointers in overtime to lift No. 2 Villanova to a 76-66 win over Providence in the Big East title game Saturday night.

The Wildcats (30-4) won their second straight Big East Tournament and third in four years (losing in the 2016 final). They put a bow on a fantastic season that should have them earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Villanova had rolled to a pair of dominant victories in the tourney and held off a pesky Providence team that finally wilted late in its third straight overtime game.

The fifth-seeded Friars (21-13) rallied in the second half from another double-digit hole and seemed set to pull off one more upset and earn the automatic NCAA berth. Providence erased a 17-point deficit in the second half to beat top-seeded Xavier to reach the final. With one stunning rally on its resume, Providence nearly made it two.

Kyron Cartwright hit a jumper with 1:38 left that tied the game at 58 and Alpha Diallo scored on a driving layup with 40 seconds left for a 60-58 lead.

Big East player of the year Jalen Brunson tied it for Villanova with two free throws.

Providence missed a last-gasp shot at the buzzer.

Bridges, who scored 25 points, opened overtime with a 3 and hit another that helped stretch the lead for good. Brunson tied a career high with 31 points on an emphatic dunk that sent the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy.

Brunson proved his worth as the best in the conference. He hit four 3s and made 12 of 23 overall from the floor, showing on the national stage why he's a candidate for national player of the year.

"It's an amazing environment and sometimes you can crumble," Brunson said. "Sometimes things don't go your way, but how are you going to respond to that? I've been a part of great teams with great leaders who've responded to different situations that have helped me through this process."

Ed Cooley coached Providence in the second half with a towel fashioned into a skirt and tucked in his waist after his pants split.

"When I sat down, I felt the great breeze in the crack," he said.

The side-splitting fashion statement almost worked as a rally towel.

Cartwright put Providence's comeback in overdrive when he hit a 3 that made it 51-46 and had Cooley smiling and clapping on the sideline. He loved it even more when Cartwright came right back and hit another 3 that pulled the Friars within two.

Drew Edwards flexed his biceps when he was fouled on a tying basket and had the crowd chanting "Let's Go Friars!" headed into a timeout. He sank the free throw to give Providence its first lead of the game, 52-51.

The Wildcats snatched the lead back and Bridges buried a 3 from the top of the arc that sent the team bench to its feet. Brunson was whistled next time down for an offensive foul and Wright twirled and stretched his arms toward the sky in protest.

"It was old school Big East," Wright said.

Providence kept on coming.

The Friars had defeated three top-five teams this season and were soaring following overtime victories against Creighton and the Musketeers to reach the final. The Friars are the first team in the Big East Tournament to play three straight overtime games.

"It told me my team is tough, resilient, passionate," Cooley said.


Diallo led Providence with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Cartwright scored 19.

BIG PICTURE

Providence: The Friars need some rest following a grueling weekend in New York.

Villanova: The Wildcats are the best in the Big East. What else is new?

UP NEXT

Providence: The Friars are headed to their fifth straight NCAA Tournament. Since its trip to the Final Four in 1987, Providence had made only six tourney appearances from 1988 to 2013.

Villanova: The Wildcats should be a No. 1 seed in the tournament. They lost on the opening weekend in 2014, 2015 and 2017. In 2016? They won the national championship.