By AARON BRACY
March 10, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
Let the (conference) Madness begin!
The fields for the Atlantic 10 and Big East tournaments have been set as both conferences wrapped up their regular seasons on a busy Saturday of college hoops. Locally, I was at the Wells Fargo Center, where Villanova’s NCAA tournament at-large chances took a hit with a 69-67 loss to No. 10 Creighton.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s results and implications involving Saint Joseph’s, Villanova, La Salle and Penn.
A reminder that I will be in Washington, D.C., beginning tonight when Drexel plays Stony Brook in the Coastal Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Then, I’ll head to New York City on Wednesday, first stopping in Brooklyn for Saint Joseph’s 11:30 a.m. matchup against George Mason (and possibly La Salle-St. Bonaventure at 5 p.m.) before catching a subway to Madison Square Garden for a 9 p.m. tip between Villanova and DePaul.
Follow @Aaron_Bracy on Twitter/X for complete coverage.
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Saint Joseph’s 89, Davidson 71
Rasheer Fleming had 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hawks (19-12, 9-9 A-10), who came back from a 43-38 halftime deficit. Erik Reynolds II added 19 points and Xzayvier Brown had 15 for St. Joe’s.
The Hawks are the No. 9 seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and will meet No. 8 George Mason at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The winner faces top-seeded Richmond at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Click HERE for the A-10 bracket.
No. 10 Creighton 69, Villanova 67
Trey Alexander hit a 10-foot fadeaway jumper with 0.2 seconds remaining to lift the Bluejays, who clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big East tournament. The defeat was a crushing, though not final, blow to Villanova’s NCAA tournament at-large chances. Eric Dixon had 25 points to pace Villanova (17-14, 10-10 Big East). Justin Moore added 17 points.
The Wildcats fell behind early and were down by as many as 24 points in the first half. Creighton’s advantage was 63-49 with 6:14 left when the Wildcats mounted a furious comeback that culminated with Dixon’s three free throws that tied it at 67 with 23.6 ticks left. But Alexander hit a clutch shot to push Villanova out of the NCAA field, according to Joe Lunardi’s final bracket on Saturday night.
Click HERE to read my Associated Press story of the Villanova-Creighton game.
Villanova next plays on Wednesday night, as the No. 6 seed, against No. 11 DePaul in the first round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. The winner advances to face No. 3 Marquette in the quarterfinals at 9:30 Thursday night.
Click HERE for the Big East bracket.
Loyola-Chicago 64, La Salle 54
Jhamir Brickus scored 11 points and Khalil Brantley had 10 for the Explorers (15-16, 6-12), who finished as the No. 10 seed in the A-10 tourney after being picked to finish last in the conference in the preseason. The Explorers will face No. 15 George Washington at 2 p.m. on Tuesday in Brooklyn, with the winner meeting No. 7 St. Bonaventure at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Princeton 105, Penn 83
Clark Slajchert had 20 points for Penn (11-18, 3-11 Ivy), which closed a forgettable season by seeing Princeton claim its third consecutive Ivy League title on its home floor.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.