Mullins’ maturation coming at perfect time as UConn chases Big East championship

Braylon Mullins may still be a freshman, but in name only based on his maturation through UConn’s season, which now reaches Big East tournament championship game. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

NEW YORK — Al McGuire was known for a variety of quotes and expressions during his time as the head coach at Marquette, but perhaps none more than his famous quip, “the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores.”

Braylon Mullins is still several months away from earning the latter title formally, provided he returns to the University of Connecticut and resists the siren song of the NBA Draft, but the precocious first-year talent may as well be considered a freshman in name only at this point of the season.

With merely a handful of games, at most, to be played over the next three weeks, Mullins’ rookie campaign at UConn has seen its share of highs — his game-changing performance at Kansas in just his second career game, or his career-high 25 points against Creighton in February — and lows, such as the ankle injury that cost him almost the entire month of November. He has gone through mini-slumps, including the 5-for-29 stretch from three-point range he is currently mired in over his last four games, but has overcome the adversity by affecting the game in other positive ways.

“He’s brought this since the summer,” Alex Karaban said of the total package Mullins offers. “I think (with) his quick release and the elite jumper, he’s more athletic than people give, he’s a better defender than people give. That’s just who he was when he came here, and he didn’t let that change.”

Friday, with UConn controlling its Big East tournament semifinal against Georgetown on the defensive end, Mullins used his athleticism and shot making prowess inside the arc to power his way to 21 points, spearheading a 67-51 win that led the Huskies back into the conference championship game.

“I think after the first shot with the shot clock violation (Mullins missed a three before Tarris Reed, Jr. was a half-second late in beating the buzzer in the game’s first minute), trying to get out of that little feel of, ‘hey, you missed your first shot,’” he recalled. “It is what it is. Then I think I came down, I made my next two, and it kind of got me into a flow in the first half.”

“To be honest, I was making difficult shots. I thought it was just the rhythm that Coach Hurley gave the sets with and put me in. We took that into the second half collectively, defensively, I think we played close to a full 40 (minutes).”

Mullins’ outing Friday marked the first 20-point game by a UConn freshman in the Big East tournament since Jerome Dyson did so in 2007, and it represents another turning point just six days removed from feeling like he and his teammates let his coach down in the wake of the Huskies’ deflating loss at Marquette in their regular season finale.

“Me trying to build him up, a young guy like Braylon, I just had to bring him in and tell him he’s a one-year superstar,” Dan Hurley shared after UConn started its postseason journey with a win over Xavier in the Big East tournament quarterfinals Thursday. “He’s one of the few freshmen in the country that is a starter and a guy that plays both ends, and doesn’t care about how many shots he gets. He allows us to play the balanced game that we play without caring about his draft stock.”

“It changes everything for us,” Karaban said of what Mullins provides offensively. “It opens up the floor more for Tarris (Reed, Jr.) and Eric (Reibe) down low, for Silas (Demary, Jr.) to attack the rim. We kind of play 4-on-4 out there because they’re so worried about Braylon as a shooter, they just might not leave him. So it spaces everything else out more and I think more so his shot making, as well as shot creating, he’s beyond his years as a freshman.”

The rigors of a season tend to accelerate the aging and maturation process in a player, and 26 games into his career, Mullins is living proof of basketball evolution even if he declined to tackle that concept head-on. But no matter what year he is in, or however much time is left, a complete Mullins is a boon to a successful UConn as a whole.

“At this point in the season, you’re treating the game how it is,” he said. “You’re gonna play with guys, you’re gonna play with leaders on the team, and that’s how you treat everybody. So at this point, I think I’ve moved on from that. You’ve just gotta focus on the game and just focus on how to make everybody on the court and how they can play better.”

“That’s kind of how I can stay out of the mental state of always doubting yourself, and I think it just helps me play the game. Just being able to use that, it helps everybody else on the floor, and we’re just all gonna use that to our advantage.”

St. John’s advances to Big East championship game with dominant win over Seton Hall

Zuby Ejiofor finishes dunk as part of 20-point outing in St. John’s Big East tournament semifinal win over Seton Hall. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

By Sam Federman (@Sam_Federman)

NEW YORK — Two days in a row, St. John’s reminded the Big East why it won the regular season championship with a dominant 18-2 season. And it didn’t take long to do it either day.

The Red Storm scored on each of its first four possessions, grabbing a few offensive rebounds in the process, to take an eight-point lead and force a Seton Hall timeout. It came after the Johnnies opened up a 15-point lead in the first few minutes of Thursday’s quarterfinal against Providence.

Riding that early lead, St. John’s held off a push from Seton Hall, a team head coach Rick Pitino said “breaks everybody,” to topple the Pirates, 78-68, at Madison Square Garden and advance to its second straight Big East championship game. It sets up a chance for back-to-back Big East tournament titles for the first time in program history.

“From (Joe) Lapchick to (Lou) Carnesecca, they dominated, and then they went into hibernation like a bear,” Pitino said of the St. John’s program and its history. “And then these guys got them out of hibernation. But Dillon (Mitchell) and Joson (Sanon) don’t realize how good St. John’s was back in the day.”

What happened last year doesn’t matter, let alone 50 years ago, before the formation of the Big East. All that matters is that when St. John’s steps between the lines, the Red Storm is going to set the tone, and fast.

“That’s what we’ve been preaching all season,” Zuby Ejiofor said. “Going in there in the first four minutes and setting the tone to be as physical as possible. That’s something we live for, and we’ve still got a lot of areas to improve, but this is a truly special moment. It’s not every day you have an opportunity to win a Big East title in MSG.”

“I think we’ve been through a lot early on in the season,” Dillon Mitchell added. “One of the hardest things, like Coach P said, is playing with a lead, and that's something we’ve learned from. We don’t want to get into a position where we’re down 15 like we were against Xavier and Seton Hall and trying to fight back. So it’s just staying level-headed as a team, coming together, and it really starts with off-the-court stuff for us, just hanging out all the time, chatting, and just being together. It really helps on the court, so when we get to those positions, we know to trust each other and have each other’s back.”

With the same professionalism it showed during Thursday’s matchup with Providence, the Red Storm was businesslike in its approach. After Seton Hall made a run to finish the first half down by eight, St. John’s came out of the second half with another run, even longer than the one it had to open up the first half.

“At the end of the half, you’ve gotta play like it’s 0-0,” Ejiofor said. “No matter what the score is. And I think we did a great job coming out with the energy.”

St. John’s went on an 11-0 run to open up the second 20 minutes, which was enough to hold off the run that it knew Seton Hall would make. The Pirates’ fans started to make their voices heard, cutting the lead to six, but Ejiofor drew a mismatch against Seton Hall point guard Budd Clark in the post, and scored at the end of the shot clock.

Seton Hall never got that close again. It took another two-plus minutes for the Pirates to score, and by the time they finally did, the Johnnies were back ahead by 13.

“At that time, you’ve really just gotta stay composed,” Ejiofor said. “I live for these moments, having an opportunity to go win and advance.”

St. Joe’s spurts away from Davidson and into A-10 semis

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

PITTSBURGH — The Saint Joseph’s Hawks are headed to the Atlantic 10 tournament semifinals for the third straight year. 

Steve Donahue’s group used a late second-half surge to cruise to a 70-58 win over Davidson, and win its seventh game in a row. 

A pair of 12-2 scoring runs helped the Hawks pull away from the Wildcats, setting up a showdown tomorrow afternoon against Phil Martelli, Jr.’s VCU Rams. The winner plays for the championship on Sunday, and thus, the right to play in the NCAA Tournament. 

St. Joe’s defense has been its calling card this season, and it was the catalyst for the Hawks’ scoring runs in their win over Matt McKillop’s Wildcats. The defense, turned into transition opportunities for their lightning quick guard duo of Derek Simpson and Khaafiq Myers, has really added another gear to one of the hottest teams in the A-10.

“Our defense is always our cornerstone,” said Donahue.

“We don’t foul, we really guard, and make it difficult. I thought there were stretches in that game that we took Davidson out of what they wanted to do. When we do that, you can feel the energy.”

When St. Joe’s defends the way it did Friday, it leans on its speed to get out and get easy baskets. The Hawks had 20 fast-break points against Davidson. 

“We’re very good in transition, and that has a lot to do with Derek Simpson,” Donahue said of his point guard. “His ability to go foul line to foul line, he’s extremely athletic, and on top of that, he’s got great vision. Those stretches were fueled by the defense, and when that happens, you see us move the ball and share it.”

It helps when you have a blur in transition like Simpson, who was officially named to the all-A-10 first team this week. The Rutgers transfer turned in another stellar performance Friday, with 16 points, five rebounds, six assists and just two turnovers. He was totally in control in transition and the half-court, no matter the different defensive looks McKillop showed. 

For the second year in a row in the quarterfinals, Justice Ajogbor, who was named the A-10’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, turned in a monster performance to send the Hawks to the conference’s final four. 

A season ago, Ajogbor registered seven blocks in an overtime win against Dayton in Washington, D.C. On Friday, he was just two points off of a career-high that he set just six days ago, putting up 18 points, 10 of which came in the second half. He threw down a couple of huge dunks, and some baskets in deep that Davidson quite frankly just did not have the manpower in the paint to stop. 

Offensively, a lot more has been asked of Ajogbor. The ball is in his hands in the short roll more as teams double-team Simpson and force the ball out of his hands. Additionally, when his teammates can get into the paint and throw a lob to him, or hit him with a dump-off pass, Ajogbor has cashed in. It’s been quite the development in Donahue’s eyes.

“He’s getting more opportunities than he ever has,” Donahue said of the Harvard transfer Ajogbor, against whom he coached while at Penn. “We run an offense that’s predicated on the big being able to handle the ball. He’s really gotten better. There’s a noticeable confidence when he gets the ball in tight spots that he’s able to finish.”

Ajogbor is all about winning at the end of the day, though. The points are great, but there is a larger goal ahead. He doesn’t want the Hawks’ season to come to an end in the semifinals for a third straight year. 

“I always do whatever it takes to win, and that’s how I think about playing basketball,” he said. “If my teammates pass me the ball, then I’m going to play my role.”

St. Joe’s is now just one game away from playing for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Three months ago, this scenario seemed like an impossibility. Now, the Hawks have earned another opportunity to compete together, inching closer to their ultimate goal of playing in March Madness. 

“We always trusted ourselves and trusted the staff,” Ajogbor said. “I think we all have to believe we had what it took in that locker room. To kind of vindicate ourselves is an awesome feeling.”

“But the goal isn’t to get to the semifinals again. We’re looking forward to tomorrow, but we know what we’ve got to do to get to where we want.”

UConn and St. John’s, one more time, for all the marbles, represents the beauty of college basketball

Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley meet for ninth time Saturday as St. John’s and UConn face off in Big East tournament championship. (Photo by Peter K. Afriyie/Associated Press)

NEW YORK — From the moment the Big East Conference converged upon Madison Square Garden five months ago for its annual preseason media day, the seeds were planted in anticipation of a titanic clash between the top two programs in the league, two heavyweights that took different courses to the road that brings them back to New York.

One established itself as the king of the court by virtue of its two national championships and unwillingness to cede any ground to hungry challengers. The other transformed its fortunes by maximizing the transfer portal and utilizing the talents of one of the greatest coaches the sport has ever known to rebuild a fallen empire and rekindle the magic of a bygone era.

It is UConn. It is St. John’s. And for the third time this season, with each team winning on its home floor during the regular season, the Big East tournament championship is contested in a ladder match between two high flyers who have put their bodies on the line just to reach this moment.

“I just think both programs have really pushed each other the whole year,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said of the rivalry between his Huskies and Rick Pitino’s Red Storm. “We’re a 29-win team, they’re a 27-win team, two of the best teams in the country. Obviously, it’s going to be a death match for the Big East championship, but both of us have really delivered for this league in a year where this league needs a game like this, that everyone that’s a basketball fan is going to be dialed into. So yeah, it’s exciting.”

At 29-4, UConn has worked as the veteran at the top of the card, each of its four losses coming by nine points or less, solidifying its resume with one of the strongest collections of non-conference wins in the nation. The Huskies have dropped two games since an 81-72 setback at the hands of St. John’s on February 6, on the same Garden floor they take once again on Saturday in pursuit of a coronation, but their presence on this stage should not be discounted, so says their coach.

“We’re not an upstart or an underdog story,” Hurley bluntly declared. “When you’re UConn, there’s a different level of pressure going into these championship moments where it’s like, expected. We don’t get the benefit of being the underdog. We’ve earned a 29-4 position. We’ve been one of the top five college basketball teams the whole year.”

The reigning Big East regular season and tournament champion, St. John’s successfully defended the former title this year with a second consecutive 18-2 conference record. Winners of 18 of its last 19 games, the Red Storm’s lone defeat in that stretch was the anemic 72-40 loss to UConn in Hartford on February 25 that is now safely considered an aberration among one of the most consistent and formidable brands in all of basketball, something its leader heralded for his players’ ability to stay the course and not be consumed by any distractions along the way.

“We’re playing good basketball right now,” Pitino admitted. “I’ve been impressed so many segments of this season, with the way we responded against Connecticut for Villanova, the way we responded against Seton Hall to get that victory with a lot on the line, so we’re proud of our guys. We know we have a road ahead of us that’s going to be very difficult, whoever we play.”

Two prior matches have produced two very disparate outcomes, the most recent of which being a result where St. John’s was held without a field goal for the final 17:28 of regulation and missed each of its last 24 attempts. The third and final act this season comes under the shadow of a trophy, with nothing to lose and everything to gain. And neither coach in charge of his respective teams would want anything different.

“It’s a privilege for these two programs,” Hurley said. “With what they’ve done in college basketball this year and what (Pitino’s) been able to build here, it’s a privilege to get on the court. And, I mean, listen: Somebody’s walking out of the tunnel with nothing, and somebody’s getting confetti dropped on their head.”

Two teams enter. One leaves victorious.

How can you not be romantic about basketball?

5 Thoughts: Seton Hall falls in Big East tournament semifinals

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEW YORK — After Seton Hall’s quarterfinal win over Creighton yesterday, Shaheen Holloway said that a semifinal matchup against St. John’s on Friday evening was one of the things “you play basketball for.”

When the game began, unfortunately, it followed a familiar script this season for the Pirates, who gave the top-seeded Red Storm a run in the second half, but ultimately fell, 78-68, at Madison Square Garden.

Here are the Thoughts from New York City:

1. Fits and Starts

It’s been a refrain often this season for Seton Hall: Falling behind early and having to claw its way back into the contest. Tonight, St. John’s got out to an 8-0 lead before the Pirates got up off the mat, and though they equaled the Red Storm for the rest of the half, they were down 38-30 at halftime.

That would be well and good given that St. John’s shot over 50 percent in the first 20 minutes, something that the Pirates could easily overcome with their propensity for second-half comebacks. But it happened again out of the locker room, as the Red Storm opened the second half on a 9-0 spurt to take a 17-point lead, ultimately proving too much to overcome.

Holloway didn’t mince words afterwards despite the encouraging late rally (more on that in a bit).

“This stings because we didn’t play well tonight,” he said. “I thought if we played well, we’d have a chance. But to be honest with you, the game wasn’t as close as the score. They dominated us because they came out and they swung first, and we didn’t swing back. Normally, that’s not us, and that’s what’s disappointing about it.”

Just like several other games this year, you have to wonder what could have been even if the Pirates could have cut both of those early runs in half. What kind of game does it look like if the early deficit was five, the deficit out of halftime 12 or so? It’s kind of been a season of that for The Hall, weirdly juxtaposed with how much things improved this year under Holloway overall: Being able to stay in those games, but unable to get the extra push to get over the hump.

2. Second Half Seton

With eight wins this season when trailing at the half, the most of any power conference team, it’s also been a season of second-half comebacks for the Pirates, and you can give them credit for once again never giving up. After St. John’s took its largest lead of 19 points on a Ruben Prey free throw just past the midway point of the second half, Seton Hall embarked on a 7-0 run that forced Rick Pitino to burn a timeout. 

As they have done many times this year, the Pirates kept up the pressure, eventually whittling the Red Storm lead down to just six points on an A.J. Staton-McCray three-pointer with 4:41 left. The Hall fans in the building came alive, and for the first time all night, St. John’s looked flustered. The Pirate pressure continued into the next possession, but with the shot clock winding down, St. John’s found Big East Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, who got just-good-enough position on Staton-McCray to lay the ball in as the clock hit 0.0.

That made it an eight-point game, and after an empty trip on the other end, Jacob Dar fouled Joson Sanon on a three-point shot, leading to a media timeout. And for the Pirates, that was just enough of a stemming of the tide to put the game out of reach.

When you fall behind by so much and dig yourself so deep of a hole, at some point, things have to go perfectly, and tonight, just those two possessions going awry was enough to smother the comeback, and although the team kept fighting and got it back to single digits again, Seton Hall didn’t have enough time left to seriously threaten the Red Storm. All told, the Pirates forced St. John’s into 13 turnovers, its most in a game since December, so in one sense, they did an excellent job.

After the game, Holloway was asked what the biggest takeaway from this game was going into a likely postseason tournament opportunity, and he said that they “couldn’t come out the way we came out.”

“Can’t spot a good team 10 points early,” he added. “Today, we spotted them 10 points early and then we were playing catchup from there.”

3. Home Whistle?

With two teams that like to be physical with their opponents, the way the game was called was going to have some effect on both. After John Gaffney, Nathan Farrell, and Matt Potter called things pretty evenly in the first 20 minutes, the second 20 were much more physical as expected, and the Red Storm got the better of the calls.

There were a bunch of whistles that went St. John’s way that, watching the proceedings live, came on plays that probably didn’t warrant one. Even accounting for the Pirates needing to foul late to stay in the game, the Red Storm finished with a plus-18 advantage in attempts from the charity stripe, including plus-15 in the second half.

The Johnnies have led the entire conference this season in free throws made and attempted, so it’s kind of what St. John's does, and give credit to them for knocking them down, too (19-for-25 in the final 20 minutes). But a more even whistle could definitely have been a benefit.

Holloway was asked about that as well.

“All year long, I’ve been fighting for my team,” he said. “Do I like us having nine, 12-something free throw line (against) 30? No. Do I like it? No, I don’t like it. But this has been going on all year, so we just dealt with it. We didn’t complain, we just dealt with it and then we just move on.”

4. Budd, Take a Bow

After joining his coach, Adrian Griffin, and Isaiah Whitehead by putting up a 16-7-6 line in a Big East Tournament game, Budd Clark was very good again tonight, finishing with a team-best 17 points along with 11 assists, three rebounds and two steals, earning his second double-double of the season despite a rough-ish shooting day (6-for-18).

Clark has been the leader of the team all year long, and despite battling a sore quad down the stretch has played in, and started, each and every game for the Pirates. He was the biggest fish reeled in out of the transfer portal after a dominant career at Merrimack, and proved over the last two games that when the chips are down in March, he can continue being a presence on both ends.

“It was a very fun season,” Clark said after the game. “I don't think it’s over yet, but we had our ups, we had our downs. I’m just proud of how we just fought game in and game out. I’m not happy with the outcome today, but it is what it is.”

As this was only his junior season, Clark has one more year of eligibility, and it’s paramount that Seton Hall keep him for next year. When asked if he’s looking to continue at The Hall next year, Clark said he’s “definitely” looking to do that, and given the connection that he has with Holloway and vice versa, I can’t imagine him leaving. 

Holloway yesterday said that the gigantic chip on the shoulder that Clark plays with was the first thing that attracted him to the Philadelphian, and he just seems to fit his vision for the program like a glove. If they can sign up for another go-round in 2026-27, everyone will benefit.

5. Balanced Effort

Clark wasn’t alone this evening. After the slow start, it was Mike Williams stepping up and scoring seven early points to get the Pirates back in the game, ending up with 10 points in the contest overall. Najai Hines proved to be the big man of the matchup, adding 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks off the bench, continuing to give Holloway excellent minutes down the stretch.

And then there was Jacob Dar, again. After potting a season-high 16 points yesterday, he added 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting tonight, along with four rebounds and a couple of steals.

The common thread between all of the aforementioned players? They all (like Clark) have eligibility remaining. Dar and Williams have an additional season after this one, and Hines is only a freshman with an extremely high ceiling. Tajuan Simpkins, though he struggled mightily in both Big East tournament games, has been explosive for the Pirates, and also has eligibility remaining, so unlike some other teams around the country, Seton Hall has some foundational pieces to build on for next year on paper.

The key, of course, will be allocating the resources to get it done, and you hope that after a season in which Holloway was able to mold the Pirates in his own image after last season’s setback that Seton Hall steps up and comes through with those resources.

For now, as we mentioned, the Pirates have some sort of postseason destiny to deal with. While they won't be in the NCAA Tournament by nearly everyone's assessment, they should be invited to one of the other mini-Dances. In 2024, the veteran-laden Pirates were snubbed by the selection committee, but chose to keep going as a team, eventually winning the NIT title to prove the doubters wrong.

Will this team have the same spirit? We will soon find out.

Sha Sounds Off: St. John’s

On what makes St. John’s a tough matchup:

“They’re very physical. Very physical, obviously well-coached, they’ve got experience, they’ve got a couple guys that, when they need a bucket, you can go to them.”

On Seton Hall performing to his standards:

“I thought we did. I thought, for the most part, I thought that this group was really fun to coach. For me, as a coach, they did give me everything I asked for, that you could ask for, nothing more than that. They definitely lived up to the three Ds. They carried themselves well on and off the court. So I told these guys, this stings because we didn’t play well tonight at all. We didn’t play well tonight. I thought if we played well, we had a chance, but to be honest with you, the game wasn’t as close as the score. They dominated us because they came out and they swung first and we didn’t swing back. Normally, that’s not us, and that’s what’s disappointing about it.” 

On an NCAA Tournament pitch:

“I’ll be honest with you, I told these guys in the locker room: I think if the committee really sits down and has good minds in there like I know they do, if they look at our resume and look at what we did, and our body of work is really good, it’s way better than a lot of people. When he says on the bubble, I’m not sure why our league’s not getting the recognition that we deserve. But when you look at it and you look at a team that has 17 wins and don’t have…is not following in their league, I don’t understand it. I think if they look at our body of work, I thought we went out, I thought we challenged ourselves. I thought we did well in our league. Obviously it didn’t end well today, but I thought we did enough. But like I said, that’s not up to me.”

On his conversation with official Matt Potter:

“I don’t know, I’m just fighting for my team, that’s it. All year long, I’ve been fighting for my team. Do I like us having 9-for-12-something free throw line for number 30? No. Do I like it? No, I don’t like it. But this has been going on all year, so we just dealt with it. We didn’t complain, we just dealt with it and then we just move on.”

On his biggest takeaway from tonight’s loss:

“We can’t come out the way we came out. We can’t spot a good team 10 points early. Today, I thought we spotted them 10 points early, and then we were playing catchup from there.”

On this season being an improvement:

“I don’t know, I don't look at that. Last year is last year. I know that’s something that you guys gotta bring up, but last year is last year. This is a complete different team. There’s two guys from that team that were here last year. Is it a building block? I mean, this is why I brought these guys here. I thought that we could have this kind of season, and a little better. I thought that we let some games slip away. But no, it’s just continuing to keep building and getting better and better.”

On potentially playing in the College Basketball Crown:

“Right now, we’re not even looking at that. Right now, we’re just concerned about hopefully hearing our name called on Sunday and then take it from there.”

Jayden Ross, UConn bench shine in blowout quarterfinal win over Xavier

Jayden Ross elevates for second-half dunk as junior forward keyed strong effort for UConn bench in Huskies’ win over Xavier. (Photo by Fox Sports)

By Sam Federman (@Sam_Federman)

NEW YORK — When UConn played its best basketball of the season during non-conference play, its bench was its biggest asset.

The Huskies not only survived the early part of the season while dealing with a hodgepodge of injuries to Braylon Mullins and Tarris Reed, Jr., but built up one of the nation’s top resumes.

While the Huskies have still lost just four games, the grind of Big East play has taken a toll on UConn’s depth, which has been inconsistent throughout the last few months. Now down Jaylin Stewart due to an injury of his own, it puts the onus on the three key reserves — Eric Reibe, Malachi Smith and Jayden Ross — to relieve the starters at the five, in the backcourt, and on the wing, respectively.

And they were all that they needed to be and more on Thursday, as UConn thumped Xavier, 93-68, to advance to a sixth consecutive Big East tournament semifinal. Ross was a plus-16 in 22 minutes, scoring nine points with four rebounds and three assists. Smith made two key threes in the first half and was a plus-14 in 23 minutes. Reibe scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds in 14 minutes when Reed sat on the bench.

“If we get that type of bench production,” head coach Dan Hurley said, “we’re going to win a lot of games the rest of this college basketball season.”

“They gave us a big spark,” Alex Karaban added. “When we got out to a big lead with the starting group, they came in there and just continued. There was no dropoff.”

Karaban may be the greatest beneficiary of the bench’s improved production.

When Hurley joked that his captain was “moving like a cargo ship,” after playing 25 minutes against Creighton, a game where the bench didn’t quite give enough, Karaban has had to play more and more minutes. He played 40 in each of the last two games of the regular season, including the loss to Marquette.

Because of how well Ross played on Thursday, Karaban only needed to play 30 minutes.

“Alex has been playing 40 minutes, and that’s not sustainable and it’s diminishing returns,” Hurley said. “So to be able to get Alex manageable minutes, and get J-Ross to 22 minutes, he brings an element on the perimeter defensively that we desperately need.”

“We’ve had a whole season to prepare,” Ross said. “And we’ve seen all the ups and downs of the season and almost all situations of the game. So I think now it’s just about putting it all together.”

Ross had two pick-sixes and helped limit Xavier’s wings throughout the night.

“It’s not anything new,” Smith said of Ross’ performance. “We know what he can do, you know what he does. When he’s just making plays, it’s just a boost for our team. Getting out in transition and getting dunks, those are game-changing plays, especially being in the Garden and being in Storrs South. It’s just amazing that he’s making plays, getting on the rim.”

Smith was also crucial. When Silas Demary, Jr. picked up two fouls in the first half, there was no dip when the backup point guard came into the game.

“The halftime situation could’ve been much different for us,” Hurley said. “But I thought Malachi was awesome in the first half.”

Even on one of Reed’s biggest nights of the season, Reibe gave UConn the one-two punch down low, and that more finesse-based look in the post.

Only one Husky starter played more than 30 minutes. Against Marquette, three UConn starters played more than 30 and another played 30. On nights where the bench thrives, UConn thrives.

“The level doesn’t drop with the substitution to the bench,” Reibe said. “We all just gotta keep it high and maybe even build up a bigger lead.”

Every year since rejoining the Big East, the Huskies have been one of the final four standing on Friday night. Against Georgetown, UConn will look to advance to its second Big East championship game of that stretch.

If it will, its reserves will be a massive part.

Villanova now shifts to Selection Sunday, NCAA Tournament, after shocking loss to Georgetown in Big East quarters

By Kyle Morello (@Kylemorello4)

NEW YORK — A night that was supposed to be the start of a new era of Villanova postseason basketball felt all too familiar on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Wildcats were outclassed by 11th-seeded Georgetown in the last game of quarterfinal Thursday at the Big East tournament, losing 78-64 and failing to make the semifinals for a fourth consecutive season.

Villanova entered the Big East tournament as the third seed, its highest finish since the 2022 tournament, when the Wildcats cut down the nets as the No. 2 seed. They were the clear third-best team in the league all season long and had rarely lost to a team worse than them. Only their home loss to Creighton in January was to a team not named St. John’s or UConn in Big East play. They had already beaten Georgetown twice this season. But as the old saying goes, it’s hard to beat the same team three times in a season. 

Especially on a stage like this.

“I think when you have a young basketball team that has played really well all year long, and has had some struggles in big games, that’s part of the growing process and the learning process,” head coach Kevin Willard said after the loss.

Georgetown used its interior presence to give Villanova fits all night. The Hoyas outrebounded the Wildcats, 46-25, and had as many offensive rebounds as Villanova did defensive rebounds (16). Georgetown also outscored Villanova 36-20 in the paint, and 17-8 in second-chance points. 

But it was more than that for Villanova. For a team ranked 42nd nationally in offensive rating according to KenPom, the Wildcats were anything but quality on Thursday. They had multiple stretches of scoreless streaks, including a 6:45 stretch to end the first half where they made just one basket. 

“I thought a little bit of our offense late in the first half dictated a little bit of our defense,” Willard lamented. “That was probably the first time all year that our offense kind of shifted to our defense, instead of the other way around.”

The offense and rebounding was naturally going to take a hit without starter Matt Hodge, who tore his ACL in the loss to St. John’s on February 28. Malachi Palmer has stepped up to fill Hodge’s role, but it’s left a hole in a bench unit that wasn’t very deep to begin with. 

“I think Malachi has done a really good job stepping in for Matt,” Willard said. “Where we struggle is when Malachi comes out of the game, so that’s something that I have a couple days where I’ve gotta try to figure out what we’re doing when (Tyler Perkins is) at the four. We just haven’t had much practice time since Matt’s gone down. We’ve been very delicate in practice.” 

As Willard stated, it’s something Villanova will have just a few days to work on. Selection Sunday is just two days away, and the Wildcats’ first NCAA Tournament game will likely be four or five days after that. 

As for figuring out how to win on the big stage, well, there’s no better time than their first game back in the big dance after a three-year drought.

Kevin Willard quote book: Georgetown

On what went wrong for Villanova:

“I thought a little bit of our offense late in the second half, late in the first half, dictated a little bit of our defense, and that was probably the first time all year that our offense kind of shifted to our defense instead of the other way around.”

On Madison Square Garden and its atmosphere playing a factor:

“I think when you have a young basketball team that has played really well all year long and has had some struggles in big games, that’s part of the growing process and the learning process. That doesn’t stop you from boxing out, though. I mean, I think, again, they had more offensive rebounds than we did defensive rebounds, so I don’t think it was so much the setting this time. I just think Ed’s done a great job all year with his team. They have eight losses of four points or less. They beat Clemson at home, they went to Maryland and won. Before the big guy (Vincent Iwuchukwu) got hurt, they were really playing well. So this is a good basketball team. And Jeremiah Williams, I’m happy for him, because he's back playing like he did when he was at Rutgers. When he’s aggressive and getting in the lane, they’re tough to stop.”

On Malachi Palmer at the four spot:

“I think Malachi’s done a really good job stepping in for Matt. Where we struggle is when Malachi comes out of the game, so that’s something that I have a couple days where I gotta try to figure out what we're doing when Perk’s at the four. We haven’t had much practice time because since Matty’s gone down, we’ve been very delicate in practice. So I think that was one of the issues we had with the offensive end, we just haven’t been able to practice as good as we’ve been able to practice all year.”

On adjustments before the NCAA Tournament:

“I’ve gotta help the young guys out a little bit in these games. We struggled a little bit to run offense when Malachi wasn’t in there and we kind of got stuck going a little bit one-on-one. That’s kind of what I mean. I gotta help them a little bit with not being able to put them in that situation so much. And it was just unfortunate, with Malachi going out and Perk in there, we just kind of get stuck with a very simplistic offense, where with Malachi and Matt, we were able to do a lot more.”

On shooting 7-for-29 from three-point range:

“I thought we got a lot of really good looks throughout the game. They’re playing big drop coverage. They were in huge drop, so you’ve gotta take advantage of that and be able to do it. And unfortunately, Dev had a tough night, but Dev’s been great all year. So again, you’ve gotta take the shots that they give you, and I thought they did a good job in drop. It’s just, you’ve gotta make some of those shots.”

On the NCAA Tournament serving as a clean slate:

“No, again, part of my message to these guys a little bit is just enjoying this a little bit. We’ll let this one sting, we’ll go back and watch film on Sunday. They’re going to get a couple days off, which I think is well-deserved. We’ll come back Sunday and practice and watch film, and after Selection Sunday, it’s a whole new season. You’ve gotta give Georgetown credit, they played really good tonight.”