NEW YORK – This time, Villanova is going into the NCAAs with a conference tournament title and probably the No. 1 overall seed.
The second-ranked Wildcats will find out Sunday when and where their national championship defense will begin. On Saturday, they showed that when they play Villanova basketball, they are very tough to beat.
Josh Hart scored 29 points to lead Villanova to a 74-60 victory over Creighton in the Big East championship game.
“We wanted to set the tone,” the senior guard said, wearing a net around his neck. “We wanted to play 40 minutes of Villanova basketball.”
They did.
Good defense, sharing the ball and making 3-pointers is the formula that has led top-seeded Villanova (31-3) to four consecutive Big East regular-season titles.
“We might have played our best defensive game of the year,” coach Jay Wright said.
Hart, the conference player of the year, became just the third player to win the tournament MVP award twice, joining Patrick Ewing of Georgetown and Peyton Siva of Louisville.
“Just being a winner,” Hart said when asked how he wanted to be remembered in the Big East. “That’s all I care about. No accolades for me. I don’t care about that. I care about my brothers and winning.”
This was Villanova’s third Big East Tournament crown, the others coming in 1995 and 2015.
When asked if Villanova would get the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, Wright responded: “Probably. But we don’t really care. … We’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fine. Wherever they put us, whatever our seed is.”
The Wildcats had their hands on so many Creighton passes, they forced a season-high 17 turnovers that led to 21 points. And with Hart leading the way, they made every big shot they needed.
Jalen Brunson added 17 points for Villanova. Jenkins, whose 3-pointer won the national championship game last year, had 14.
Cole Huff and Marcus Foster each scored 13 points to lead sixth-seeded Creighton (25-9).
Villanova, which lost last season’s Big East championship game to Seton Hall, closed the first half on a 25-11 run to go up 36-22. Hart had 12 points in the spurt and Brunson added eight. The two combined to score the Wildcats’ final 20 points in the semifinals.
The lead reached 46-26, and the closest the Bluejays got the rest of the way was 12 points.
Hart, who along with Brunson defended Foster, scored every way imaginable, from 3-pointers to acrobatic drives. Hart finished the tournament with 63 points and was 21 of 41 from the field. The 29 points marked his third-highest total of the season.
The title game was played before a sellout crowd of 19,812 at Madison Square Garden, which hosted the tournament for the 35th consecutive year.
No. 8 Kentucky 79, Alabama 74
De’Aaron Fox scored a career-high 28 points, including seven straight down the stretch, and Malik Monk added 20 to lift No. 8 Kentucky past Alabama 79-74 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal on Saturday.
The Wildcats shot 52 percent from the floor and 69 percent from the line after missing numerous chances that left openings for the pesky Crimson Tide to stay close. But Kentucky converted chances when needed, hitting 13 of 17 free throws in the final six minutes with Fox making 5 of 7 in particular and 11 of 15 overall.
No. 23 Iowa State 80,
No. 11 West Virginia 74
Monte Morris scored 17 points, Deonte Burton and Matt Thomas helped him deal with West Virginia’s attacking defense, and No. 23 Iowa State beat the No. 11 Mountaineers 80-74 on Saturday night for the Cyclones’ third Big 12 Tournament title in four years.
Burton had 16 points and Thomas finished with 12 for the fourth-seeded Cyclones (23-10), who will enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the nation’s hottest teams. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games, with their only loss during that stretch coming a week ago in Morgantown.
No. 12 SMU 70, UCF 59
Sterling Brown scored 22 points and No. 12 SMU beat UCF 70-59 on Saturday in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
Semi Ojeleye added 17 points, and Shake Milton had 14 of his 16 points in the second half for the Mustangs (29-4). They are back in the championship game after missing last year’s tournament because of NCAA sanctions. The Mustangs won the title in 2015.
No. 14 Duke 75,
No. 22 Notre Dame 69
Jayson Tatum took over in the final two minutes, making key plays on both ends of the floor, and No. 14 Duke became the first team to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament with four wins in four days by rallying to beat No. 22 Notre Dame 75-69 on Saturday night.
The freshman forward finished a spectacular week in Brooklyn with 19 points and eight rebounds for the fifth-seeded Blue Devils (27-8). Duke won its first ACC Tournament championship since 2011 and its 20th overall, most in league history.
No. 15 Cincinnati 81, Connecticut 71
Gary Clark scored 24 points to lead No. 15 Cincinnati to an 81-71 win over UConn in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday night.
Jacob Evans added 21 points and Troy Caupain had 19 for the Bearcats, who will be seeking their first AAC title on Sunday against No. 12 SMU.
No. 24 Wisconsin 76, Northwestern 48
Wisconsin revved up the defense against weary Northwestern and got the desired result, a 76-48 victory Saturday that earned the No. 24 Badgers a berth in the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the third time in five years.
Nigel Hayes scored 18 points and Ethan Happ added 16 for the second-seeded Badgers. They never trailed in their third straight victory – second in the tournament – following a run of five losses in six games.