Villanova 3-Peat: Wins Big East Tournament
NEW YORK CITY. The Big East produces some of the best college basketball in America and this years Big East Tournament was one for the ages. Madison Square Garden would be the host for the festivities and almost every game went down to the wire. In front of a capacity crowd of just under 20,000 people, it would be the Villanova Wildcats (24-9, 13-5 Big East) who wins their third straight Big East Championship in a row. They beat a great Seton Hall (20-12, 9-9 Big East) team 74-72 in a game that went to the wire. Along the way, Villanova also defeated Providence and Xavier on the path to the Big East title and is heading to the NCAA tournament via an automatic bid.
After two intense semifinal games, the championship would match up the reigning champion Villanova Wildcats with the Seton Hall Pirates. These two teams both have a championship pedigree and are extremely well coached. Kevin Willard’s Pirates are a young team who plays the game aggressively and thrives on forcing turnovers and scoring in transition. Junior guard Myles Powell is a force to reckon with. The first team All Big East selection is the engine behind the success of the Pirates. Admittedly, I wasn’t sold on Powell early in the season but during this tournament, he has made me a believer. He is an offensive juggernaut and can shred opposing teams defensive schemes in the blink of an eye. He’s aggressive when the team needs him to be and can shoot efficiently from anywhere on the court. He makes the impossible seem easy and the team’s success is determined by how far he is willing to take them. With the ball in his hands, he threw up a contested three-point shot. Had he not hit the same kind of shots all season long I would have said it was a bad shot. The ball hit the back rim and just like that the gate of the Pirates was sealed. Powell poured in 25 points and 5 rebounds while also leading the tournament in scoring at 26.5 points per game.
… These two seniors (Paschall and Booth) are going to go down as two of the greatest Villanova basketball players of all time.
Head Coach Jay Wright
Jay Wright’s Wildcats are a bit older and more experienced on the big stage at the Big East Tournament. Led by seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth, the Wildcats thrive on converting in their half-court sets and out rebounding their competition. After losing 4 players to the NBA last year this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Wildcats. They had a few rocky points during the season but managed to change the momentum and right their wrongs at the precise moment. Players like Collin Gillespie, Saddiq Bey, Jermaine Samuels, and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree are all key contributors to the team. Coach Wright has instilled a sense of urgency in every game. “When we are playing Villanova Basketball it’s hard to keep up with us. We work hard, dedicate ourselves to putting in 110% and at the end of the day play Villanova Basketball” said Wildcat senior Eric Paschal when asked what drives the team to succeed. When the game got tight nobody wavered.
The Garden was packed and it felt as if most of the sold-out crowd were leaning towards Seton Hall win. The game was one of the best games of my recent memory and I salute Villanova for grinding this game out and showing up when the game was on the line. Former Wildcat and now Los Angeles Laker was in attendance for the game. It was great to see him enjoying the moment with his former team and coach. To win three times in a row and make history with this win is epic for Villanova. So much respect goes out to the team, coaching staff and the players who have worked hard to accomplish their goals. Senior captain Phil Booth came away with the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament while his teammate and fellow captain Eric Paschall earned 2019 Big East All-Tournament team honors.
Lastly, a lot of credit needs to be given to Kevin Willard and his Seton Hall Pirates. He does as good of a job as any coach in the country. Seton Hall could have easily won this game. They are very dangerous and can beat anybody in the NCAA tournament, and they have; they’ve beaten Kentucky and Maryland earlier in the season and those wins speak volumes on what Coach Willard has been able to accomplish during his time coaching the Pirates. Much respect goes out to both teams and coaches and I look forward to seeing what they have in store moving forward.
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We would like to thank The Big East Conference and the Madison Square Garden staff for the hospitality it showed us during the entire tournament.