It’s the first meeting of Big East teams ranked in the top-5 since No. 5 Pitt beat No. 3 Syracuse 74-66 on November 7, 2011, at the Peterson Events Center.
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In a season that’s been filled with big, exciting moments for the Xavier Musketeers, Wednesday night’s 90-83 win over No. 1 Villanova at the Cintas Center before a record crowd of 10,727 raised the stakes. Macura drained 3-pointers from the left wing on consecutive trips down the floor to help the Musketeers build a 36-27 lead with 2:42 to play until halftime. In Wednesday’s Big East bash, their many qualities were on display. Xavier had been 0-6 against Villanova since joining the conference. Regardless of how the final six weeks of Xavier’s season turns out, the scenes before, during, and after the game will be remembered for a long time.
He made a driving bank shot to open the game on Wednesday, showing he was ready to make a difference. Villanova gives up just 61.5 points per game, good for eighth nationally.
The Tar Heels entered this game alone in first place in the ACC, just ahead of No. 12 Miami.
Perhaps most importantly for them, the Musketeers (25-3, 13-3 Big East) kept hopes alive for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
It took three seasons and seven tries for Xavier to finally get the one victory that had eluded it. And maybe tip the balance of power in the Big East, too. Jenkins had 19 points in the half, and opened the second half with a three-point play. Kris Jenkins scored 22 points in the first 20 minutes, 14 seconds of the game but went to the bench with 18:09 to play after picking up his third and fourth personal fouls in a 15-second span. When he returned at the 8:50 mark, he stayed on the court for all of three seconds before fouling out.
Xavier should be highly motivated to get this game after getting waxed by Villanova on New Years Eve. Jenkins re-entered the game and promptly picked up his fifth foul after having a rebound ripped out of his hands by Xavier freshman forward Kaiser Gates. Edmond Sumner propelled the Xavier offense with 22 points and was a ideal 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Josh Hart is averaging 15 points and 7.6 rebounds while Ryan Arcidiacono is averaging 12 points and 4.3 assists. When watching this game, be sure to pay attention to use of substitutions, changes in defenses, and offensive game plan because these two are a couple of the brightest basketball minds in the country. He finished the half with 19 points before his early exit.
Clemson (16-11, 9-6 ACC): SI.com remains a bit more bullish on the Tigers than most other outlets, but show us another bubble team with a trio of wins that matches up to their list of victories over Louisville, Duke and Miami. Sophomore guard J.P. Macura scored 19 points off of the bench and junior guard Myles Davis added 16 points as well.
Jeff Newberry made a career-high five 3-pointers on his way to scoring a team-high 19 points for the Cowboys (12-16, 3-12), who have now lost six of the last seven games.
Tonny Trocha-Morelos deflected the ensuing inbounds pass to clinch the victory.
15 Dayton on Wednesday before losing to Davidson on Saturday, received 20 points in this week’s poll.
League-leading scorer Anthony “Cat” Barber scored 32 points for the Wolfpack (14-14, 4-11), who started fast but quickly sputtered.
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MINNESOTA 90, NO. 5 OHIO ST. 88, OT: Rachel Banham scored 35 in her final game at Williams Arena and Carlie Wagner scored with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to lift the host Golden Gophers past the Buckeyes (23-5, 10-7 Big Ten).
