Saturday, March 11
New York, NY
4:30 PM
Creighton University
25-9
60
vs
74
Villanova (Finals)
31-3
1
2
F
Creighton
22
38
60
#2 Villanova
36
38
74
Marcus Foster was named to the All-Tournament Team
Photo by: Porter Binks
Men's Basketball Falls To No. 2 Villanova In BIG EAST Tournament Finals
3/11/2017 7:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- BIG EAST Player of the Year Josh Hart scored 29 points as No. 2 Villanova defeated Creighton 74-60 during the finals of the 2017 BIG EAST Championship, presented by Jeep, on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Wildcats earned the BIG EAST's automatic bid and will take a 31-3 record into the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays are now 25-9 and await Sunday's Selection show for an at-large selection into the field of 68 teams.
After being held scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the contest, Hart tallied 11 consecutive points during a three-minute span to give Villanova a 22-15 lead, its largest during the first 12 minutes of action. A 3-pointer from the left-corner by Creighton's Cole Huff trimmed the deficit to two points, 22-20.
All-BIG EAST First Team selection Jalen Brunson expanded the Wildcats' lead back to eight with six-straight points, and Hart's up-and-under layup pushed the advantage to double-digits for the first time at 32-22. Hart and Brunson combined for 26 of Villanova's points during the first 20 minutes.
Creighton was held scoreless for the final 2:54 of the first half, and trailed 36-22 at the break.
A 24-6 run spanning halftime gave Villanova its lead largest at 20, five minutes into the second half.
Ronnie Harrell Jr. entered the game for the first time six minutes into the second half and sparked a personal 5-0 run to cut the Wildcats' largest lead to 15, 46-31 with less than 14 minutes to play.
Harrell had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists – all season-highs -- in 13 minutes off the bench during the second half.
Villanova called a quick timeout to calm the storm and expanded the lead back to 19 at the under-12 media break.
A 7-2 Creighton run capped by Huff 3-pointer made it 54-42 in favor of the Wildcats.
The Bluejays cut the lead to 12 points two other times, but could not get any closer.
Marcus Foster and Cole Huff each scored 13 points to lead Creighton. Foster was named to the All-Tournament team.
The Bluejays finished the game 41.4 percent from the field (24-of-58) and 25 percent from 3-point range (6-of-24).
Villanova made 46.3 percent of its shots (25-of-54), including 34.6 percent beyond the arc (9-of-26). The Wildcats outscored Creighton 21-7 in points off turnovers and 8-2 in fast-break points.
Creighton is now 12-3 all-time in conference tournament championship games, including a 0-2 mark in BIG EAST finals.
Creighton basketball fans are invited to join the student-athletes and coaches at D.J. Sokol Arena on Sunday night to watch the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament selection show which will be televised nationally on CBS starting at 4:30 p.m., Central time. Doors to D.J. Sokol Arena will open at 3:30 p.m. Central.
MARCH 11, 2017 – FINAL POSTGAME NOTES
No. 1 Villanova 74, No. 6 Creighton 60
Villanova
Creighton
Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Greg McDermott
Cole Huff
Ronnie Harrell Jr.
Creighton
Villanova - 74, Creighton - 60
COACH MCDERMOTT: First of all, I'd like to congratulate coach Wright, his staff and his team. Very deserving champion.
You know, they're very -- in a lot of ways, from a coaching perspective, the way they play is how we all aspire to get our teams to play a little bit more like they do.
Because they're so disciplined. Their shot selection is incredible, attention to detail, their hustle plays.
And I thought our guys, for the most part, executed what we needed to do defensively. Hart shot a lot of jump shots the first half and made a lot of jump shots.
I think they only had eight points in the paint at halftime. But our mistakes that allowed the baskets for them, that was 11 to zip points off turnovers and ended up 21-7 and we lose by those 14 points.
That's too much to overcome against a team like Villanova. If you're going to be successful, you have to value the ball, you have to take care of the basketball and not allow them to have those easy scoring opportunities.
So they're a very good team. And I'm really proud of my team for what they've accomplished this week. We just weren't quite up to the challenge today.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Cole, when you're playing a team like Villanova and you know you have to be -- you don't have to be perfect but you've got to play really well -- is that tough to just sort of mentally bring that mentality or that idea into the game, thinking -- does that ever weigh on you when you're on the court thinking that you've got to be assignment-sound and then take care of the ball and just because they don't make a lot of mistakes?
COLE HUFF: We're conscious of it all the time. Whenever we watch film we see just how quickly things can turn when you play against this team because they're not going to beat themselves.
So if you miss an assignment, if you miss a closeout or turn the ball over it's going to add up extremely quickly. And I think in the first half we turned the ball over a few too many times.
Part of it could be we were being careless with the ball, but I think we all just wanted it so bad we were trying to make things happen that weren't there.
And it's tough when that happens. But you've got to tip your hat to them. They are the defending national champs, and it's another game we'll learn from and get ready for next week.
Q. Mack, what was going through your mind when you inserted Ronnie into the game at that point. It seemed like it gave you some life there late in the game, felt like it was going away?
COACH MCDERMOTT: I talked to Ronnie last night, told him he needed to be ready. Some of the matchups, some of the switches are difficult for some of our guys. And Ronnie's length, athletic ability, work on the backboards I thought could have an impact today. And to his credit he was ready. And he gave us a chance.
The game was over if he doesn't come in and we get it back to 12 and at least have a shot at it. But his activity was great. He made three assists -- he had 13 minutes and he leads us in assists. And those type of plays are the type of plays that are going to get him on the floor more, that and with his activity on the glass. So he was good today and he'll be important to us moving forward.
Q. What do you take away from the entire week, moving ahead?
COACH MCDERMOTT: You know, as I told the guys I had so many of our fans come up to me last night or this morning almost with tears in their eyes because of the memories that we've created for them here this week.
You know, we've been in this league four times. We played in the championship game twice. We've had great followings out here every time we've come out to play. And it's a special place to coach, it's a special place to play. So I wanted them, while they're disappointed now, they've got to get over that in a hurry because they've accomplished a lot this week. Selection Sunday is tomorrow. There's 36 teams out of 350-some that will be selected as an at-large to the NCAA Tournament. We're going to be one of them.
That's hard to do. And you need to really enjoy it. So I want them to hold their heads high, to stick their chest out when someone congratulates them, I want a firm handshake and say thank you and understand that we lost to the defending national champ and the likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But we have nothing to hang our heads about.
Q. They have a lot of guys who can do things, big things, but what was it like to try and stop Josh Hart in this game?
COACH MCDERMOTT: It's real hard when he's -- I thought some of those jump shots early Khyri and sometimes Marcus who was switched onto him. I thought they were relatively challenged. But once he hits a couple he's so hard to stop because you always have the threat of him getting to the rim, he's so powerful when he gets there. And you have to respect the 3-point shot.
And then to go with that, he's got that intermediate game where he can stop on a dime and rise up and shoot over you.
And he did that and Kris did that to us, Jalen hit a couple. They understand who they are. And they execute what they do. While it's relatively simple, their perfection makes them exceptional.
Q. Coach, Jay Wright with the seniors have been through this so many times. It's experience. Do you take that element into account trying to prepare your team for a game like this?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Absolutely. We rolled two freshmen and a sophomore out there in the starting lineup. Ronnie played a bunch in the second half. He's a sophomore.
So we have -- Martin Krampelj is out there as a freshmen. We're rolling some guys out there where this is an invaluable experience.
It's one thing for me to talk about what it's like but to experience it and feel it, what the Garden is like on championship Saturday, it's something that's pretty incredible. And our experience here this week is going to help us moving forward and I think help us in the NCAA Tournament.
But those guys, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how well that Kris and Josh and Darryl, what great ambassadors they've been for the Big East Conference. And the Villanova program in general, for a basketball purist like myself, the way they won it last year, team basketball, and just the way they carry themselves.
And it starts at the top with Jay, obviously, but that senior class, what they've accomplished, is incredible. And it makes the rest of us -- and I think I speak for the other coaches in the Big East -- when we watch what they did last year and how they've backed it up this year, it makes you proud to be part of this league because the team that's kind of been our shining star does it the right way. And they represent the game of basketball and our league in a very professional way. And it's been -- it's hard to play against, but it's also fun to sit back and watch and enjoy.
Q. I just asked Cole about it, I know you said the turnovers were the difference or partly the difference. What did you see -- why did it sort of spiral out of control for that stretch?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Well, I mean, it's as simple as that. You know, those turnovers don't allow you to set your defense. And when you're trying to play against Villanova without setting your defense, you're mismatched, you've got the guys on guys you don't really want them on.
You're asking for trouble. And while we forced some turnovers with our defense, you know, that 14-point gap and points off turnovers is a big statistic. It's one thing when you make a mistake. But can you correct the mistake by getting a stop? And today we weren't able to do that.
And some of them, they were broken plays where they had an advantage and it was going to be hard for us.
Q. Ronnie, when you come in there, looked like at that point the game was pretty much in control, like there wasn't going to be much of a chance unless you guys got really hot from the perimeter or something. But you did, you know, through your hustle and effort plays, bring them kind of within striking distance. When you got in there, what were you looking to do? Did you think you could make enough plays to get you guys back in the game?
RONNIE HARRELL JR.: I felt like I can, just kind of provide a spark for us in any way possible. I hit a 3 early, but it goes further than just shooting, trying to bring some pressure on the defensive end, grab some rebounds and help in areas I felt we were struggling.
Q. Coach, how much more either encouraged -- or what do you feel about your team after this week looking ahead?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Well, we won kind of a slugfest on Thursday against Providence. I don't think it was a pretty game but as I thought back I'm not sure we've ever played a pretty game against Providence. It's a result of how Ed gets his guys to play.
And we ended up a shootout last night against Xavier. So we've seen some different things and we just played against one of the most disciplined teams in the country.
I think what that does to prepare you for the NCAA Tournament is invaluable. The negative is we've had a lot of guys play a bunch of minutes, and you could be leaving Tuesday morning for an NCAA Tournament site. So you don't have a ton of time to prepare.
But it's been an incredible experience for our guys, and while they're disappointed now, I think hopefully by the time they get off that plane and sit back in that plane and reflect on what's taken place and what's transpired this week, I hope they feel really good about what they've accomplished.
Q. Both players, considering all the distractions you guys have gone through in the last month, the injury and things like that, what did it take for you guys to kind of come together, put that in the rearview mirror and make sure that -- because at the end when you're playing Villanova, you were the two teams that probably most of the league thought should be playing in the game this day, but the road wasn't smooth by any means. What did it take for you guys to get to this point?
COLE HUFF: I mean, things happen. Stuff off the court, stuff on the court. You've just got to put it in the rear view. There's nothing we can do to change the past other than grow from it and learn from it.
There's still more games to be played, and that was our mindset after every loss, after every win, after everything that was going on, there was still another day.
I mean, that's still our mindset now. And although it may be tough sometimes, especially when you have days like today where you're competing for a championship and we came up a little bit short, like Coach said, we put together a hell of a weekend. We just have to look at all the things that we did wrong and learn from it and make sure that next weekend we can accomplish some good things in the tournament.
RONNIE HARRELL JR.: I would just say stay in the moment, focusing on what's in front of us. It's like you said, it's so easy to get caught up in everything that's going on around you that you forget what's happening in front of you.
So we've talked as a team, coaches included, about just staying in the moment. Having each other's back as well as having everybody else's back, so I think that was the main thing for us. And I think we've done a great job of that.
Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Jay Wright
Josh Hart
Jalen Brunson
Villanova
Villanova - 74, Creighton - 60
COACH WRIGHT: First, I want to congratulate Creighton. Really good basketball team. And
we might have played our best defensive game of the year. And I think it's because these guys
know how good they are offensively. There was no problem getting their attention to prepare for
their offensive execution and their tempo.
And then just, again, great leadership from our seniors, and these two guys were just special,
really special.
Q. Jay, can you talk about what winning two Big East championships in the last three
years?
COACH WRIGHT: It's really good players. Kris Jenkins, Josh Hart, Darryl Reynolds were on
these teams and so was Mikal. And so was Phil Booth. We've got good players. And that's what
does it.
Q. Early in the season you had mentioned about wanting to develop the other players as the
season goes on so that by the end of the season you'll have I guess a deeper threat as far as -
- have you reached that? Because it looks like you did?
COACH WRIGHT: I think we have. And Dylan Painter was the final piece, he's doing a great
job. We didn't really need him tonight as much, but Donte DiVincenzo, Eric Paschall, even
Mikal, who we thought early in the year would be coming off the bench if we had Phil Booth.
Those guys have really developed into big-time players. So it gives us a good eight-man rotation
now which is very important, especially this time of year, three games in a row.
Q. Josh, the celebration didn't really seem like a big celebration -- businesslike, a couple of
hugs. What was the mindset there. Aren't you happy?
JOSH HART: I thought about the same thing. We didn't -- I think last time we ran on, we
stormed the court, everyone's jumping around, doing all that.
But I think part of it was just exhaustion. We just played as hard as we could for 40 minutes. And
then definitely we know we've got to get a lot better. We've got to keep being coachable. I think
that was the other half of that.
And obviously we're very humble, very honored to win this against a tough Creighton team.
Give them all the respect and credit. But we've got to keep getting better.
Q. Jay, talk about how Josh has evolved as a player since 2015, last time he got selected as
Big East Tournament MVP?
COACH WRIGHT: It's amazing, he was tournament MVP as a sophomore, and he's better in
every aspect of the game. He's such a better player, which is amazing if you think about it, that
he won it and he's better in every aspect of the game.
And finally going into this tournament, I think he put it all together. It was his leadership, it was
his decision-making, his defense, his rebounding.
And then putting the team on his back last night, making the big plays. He's just done everything.
I think he's a complete basketball player. I think he's the best, most complete player in the
country.
And I'm sure I'm biased. I don't spend time with those other guys, but I don't see anybody that
does everything like he does.
Q. Jay, what do you think changed four years ago? There's -- the league changed and not
that you guys weren't playing well, but obviously not to the level you've been the last four
years. What do you think happened? Why do you think you guys have taken off like this
with the new conference?
COACH WRIGHT: I think the group of players that we had at the time it changed, the group of
players were ready to be really good whatever conference we were in. And then the conference
changed and we got into a great conference with home and home and real basketball. Everybody
a basketball team.
I think it just exhilarated everybody. Everywhere we played, you don't have any games where
you go and you know, like, this place is half full, nobody really cares. The league and the group
of players we had -- really Josh and these guys, freshmen -- it really started with Ryan
Arcidiacono and those guys as freshmen when it changed. We had a great group of players.
And what's interesting is when the Big East went to 16 teams -- that might have been '06, '05 or
'06 -- we had the same situation. We had Randy Foye and Allen Ray and all those guys and we
had a great team. I think we won the league in '06, right when the change came. We've been very
lucky.
Q. Jalen, now that you guys have won this, can you be more honest about how much losing
it last year drove you guys during the offseason and really through the year?
JALEN BRUNSON: I think it was, Coach brought it up plenty of times about how our demeanor
was in the locker room after we lost. And coach didn't want our senior class to go out like that
again. So we just brought in, the other guys bought into what Coach was saying. Obviously the
seniors did as well. We have a group of seniors who lead us but also want to get better every day.
Just shows the type of character those guys have.
Q. Coach, as defending NCAA champions, no team has won back-to-back in 20 years.
What's it going to take for you guys to repeat? And is there more pressure on you guys
going into this tournament?
COACH WRIGHT: You know what, I don't know yet about the pressure. There's different kinds
of pressure during the year. There's definitely a hangover from last year, which however you
define it put pressure on us through this season.
And I thought we handled it really well. And now this is the final piece going into the
tournament. I don't know what we're going to feel like until a couple days ahead. We're so
focused -- this tournament was like a break from all of that, because you just get here and you
know the NCAA Tournament's coming. You get here, you're just in New York, it's just Big East
teams, it's that New York, Madison Square Garden vibe.
This was a really nice break. I feel like we were like everybody else here, because we weren't
defending champions, you know? So we gotta deal with that. I'm not sure how yet that's going to
impact us.
Q. Jay, how does this Big East title feel and why do you appreciate it?
COACH WRIGHT: It feels a lot better than I'm probably showing. I just -- I grew up watching
the Big East. Probably from your age, and it was always my favorite basketball, all my favorite
teams, Villanova was my favorite team. And every time -- and I coached here in New York so
every time I come back here there's a lot of friends.
I think the Garden is the mecca of college basketball. So I just enjoy seeing my guys enjoy it and
win because I know it's special to them, too. I get the feeling -- a real good glow inside seeing
these guys be happy and accomplish something.
Q. Coach, obviously you executed on multiple facets of the game tonight. Talk to me more
about how you guys shut down Creighton -- 17 turnovers, 21 points?
COACH WRIGHT: I thought against Seton Hall our ball pressure was not really good. We were
kind of lax on the ball.
And these guys really executed. I think Greg's teams execute as well as anybody, if not the best
in the country. We knew if we just let them run their stuff we could get sliced up. So pressure on
the ball was really important. And I thought we did a great job of it.
Q. Jay, what do you think your biggest obstacle is as a team going forward?
COACH WRIGHT: Just staying humble. You get a lot of attention. To the previous question,
you know, we're still in this Big East mode. We're going to stay in New York tonight. We're
going to enjoy this. Then we're going to go home and it's going to be Selection Sunday and start
dealing with all the repeat, 1 seed, all that. Handling all that is going to be the biggest obstacle.
Q. Josh, I know you're not done yet, but have you had a chance to put everything you've
accomplished so far in your career into perspective, and now topping off this season you've
had so far in the Big East?
JOSH HART: Not really. I don't think I will for another month or so. And a lot of that comes
from the guys to the right of me. He wants us to keep getting better. He wants us to keep being
coachable. And last night we talked as a team. And I think every team right now would be happy
-- well, last night -- happy that they're going to be in their conference championship game.
And Coach, he was talking to us, telling us the truth, telling us honesty and telling us that we
have to get a lot better. So when you have a coach who has accomplished everything that he's
accomplished and he keeps talking about how we have to get better, there's no better example
than that.
You don't have to look other places. He keeps wanting to get better as a coach. He keeps wanting
us as a team to get better. So I'm following his lead.
And I'm not thinking about that now. I've got one month left of my college basketball career.
And I can't think about that now.
Q. Jay, you talked about being a 1 seed. Do you think you've earned the overall No. 1 seed?
COACH WRIGHT: Probably. Probably. But we don't really care. I'm more excited about what
you just said right there. We're going to be fine. We're going to be fine. Wherever they put us,
whatever our seed is.
Q. Jalen and Josh, what do you feel is your greatest, like, strength in this Big East
Tournament? How has that prepared you for the tournament as a team?
JOSH HART: I would say responding. I think that's the biggest part. Attitude, really.
We had a very rare game with St. John's where everything really fell. And then we had Saturday,
the adversity, the feel of that game was just like a championship game.
And we had big mistakes down the stretch of that game. I had a late turnover. And we kept -- we
didn't let that define us. We said attitude and we came back and got stops. I think that's really one
of the things that we can really build from. That's something that we had really this whole week
and I'm proud of that. I'm proud of our guys having that mentality of no matter what happens on
offense, no matter what adversity strikes we're going to get through it.
Q. Coach, you talked earlier about ball pressure wasn't the greatest against Seton Hall.
Going against Creighton you guys defended the perimeter very well and hard. Was that
something you incorporated in your game plan for the championship?
COACH WRIGHT: Definitely. It was part of the reason that Seton Hall did a good job against
us, because we didn't do a good job of ball pressure. But we also knew it could be a lot worse
against Creighton if we didn't do that.
So it's easy for a coach to say it, but when the players take responsibility and do it, that's hard to
do. And these two actually did the best job.
Q. Jay, how do you balance what you have to do now with the team. Obviously you want to
congratulate them and pump them up and make them feel really good about what they've
accomplished, which is a lot. Yet you see things, obviously, if you played the game last night
in the tournament, that might be it. So you see things that you have to correct. So how do
you balance the patting on the back and the kicking in the butt?
COACH WRIGHT: Just honesty. And you just listened to Josh. We're honest with them. Then
you have seniors -- are they going to take it and listen to it and fix the things you need to
improve? Or are they going to say to themselves, we won the Big East championship, and that
doesn't matter.
They listen. It's simple when it works that way. But it's not -- but when you have people that
listen and are humble -- I've said about these guys, I think the two characteristics they have that
are so unique is humility and intelligence. They're humble and they listen and they know they
won the Seton Hall games, they know there's things they have to do better. They know they won
this game but there's some things we have to do better. And that's the way we'll handle it going
forward.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
2017 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
ALL-TOURNAMENT
The winner of the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Josh Hart, Villanova
The 2017 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Kris Jenkins, Villanova
Jalen Brunson, Villanova
Marcus Foster, Creighton
Angel Delgado, Seton Hall
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
The Wildcats earned the BIG EAST's automatic bid and will take a 31-3 record into the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays are now 25-9 and await Sunday's Selection show for an at-large selection into the field of 68 teams.
After being held scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the contest, Hart tallied 11 consecutive points during a three-minute span to give Villanova a 22-15 lead, its largest during the first 12 minutes of action. A 3-pointer from the left-corner by Creighton's Cole Huff trimmed the deficit to two points, 22-20.
All-BIG EAST First Team selection Jalen Brunson expanded the Wildcats' lead back to eight with six-straight points, and Hart's up-and-under layup pushed the advantage to double-digits for the first time at 32-22. Hart and Brunson combined for 26 of Villanova's points during the first 20 minutes.
Creighton was held scoreless for the final 2:54 of the first half, and trailed 36-22 at the break.
A 24-6 run spanning halftime gave Villanova its lead largest at 20, five minutes into the second half.
Ronnie Harrell Jr. entered the game for the first time six minutes into the second half and sparked a personal 5-0 run to cut the Wildcats' largest lead to 15, 46-31 with less than 14 minutes to play.
Harrell had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists – all season-highs -- in 13 minutes off the bench during the second half.
Villanova called a quick timeout to calm the storm and expanded the lead back to 19 at the under-12 media break.
A 7-2 Creighton run capped by Huff 3-pointer made it 54-42 in favor of the Wildcats.
The Bluejays cut the lead to 12 points two other times, but could not get any closer.
Marcus Foster and Cole Huff each scored 13 points to lead Creighton. Foster was named to the All-Tournament team.
The Bluejays finished the game 41.4 percent from the field (24-of-58) and 25 percent from 3-point range (6-of-24).
Villanova made 46.3 percent of its shots (25-of-54), including 34.6 percent beyond the arc (9-of-26). The Wildcats outscored Creighton 21-7 in points off turnovers and 8-2 in fast-break points.
Creighton is now 12-3 all-time in conference tournament championship games, including a 0-2 mark in BIG EAST finals.
Creighton basketball fans are invited to join the student-athletes and coaches at D.J. Sokol Arena on Sunday night to watch the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament selection show which will be televised nationally on CBS starting at 4:30 p.m., Central time. Doors to D.J. Sokol Arena will open at 3:30 p.m. Central.
MARCH 11, 2017 – FINAL POSTGAME NOTES
No. 1 Villanova 74, No. 6 Creighton 60
Villanova
- Villanova claims its third BIG EAST Tournament title. The first came when the Wildcats defeated Connecticut 94-78 in 1995 and in 2015 when they downed another No. 6 seed Xavier 69-52.
- Villanova is 3-2 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament championship games. VU defeated Connecticut in 1995 and Xavier in 2015 for its titles.
- With its win over the Hall Villanova has now posted its fourth ever season of 30 or more victories (2008-09, 2014-15, 2015-16).
- Josh Hart's 29 points tied for most points by a Villanova athlete in a BIG EAST Tournament. He joins Kerry Kittles '95, and Scottie Reynolds '07.
- Josh Hart is the third athlete in conference history to be named a two-time Tournament MVP. He joins Peyton Siva (Louisville, 2012, 2013) and Patrick Ewing (Georgetown, 1984, 1985.
- Villanova is just the fifth school in conference history to appear in three consecutive tournament finals. The others are Louisville, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Syracuse.
Creighton
- The Bluejays move to 0-2 in the tournament finals.
- Creighton had three players in double figures, including Marcus Foster and Cole Huff with 13 points apiece and Justin Patton with 10 points.
- Foster's 13 points extend him to 17 consecutive games in double figures
- Thomas netted at least one shot from long-range in 13 consecutive games, including all three of Creighton's games in the 2017 tournament.
Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Greg McDermott
Cole Huff
Ronnie Harrell Jr.
Creighton
Villanova - 74, Creighton - 60
COACH MCDERMOTT: First of all, I'd like to congratulate coach Wright, his staff and his team. Very deserving champion.
You know, they're very -- in a lot of ways, from a coaching perspective, the way they play is how we all aspire to get our teams to play a little bit more like they do.
Because they're so disciplined. Their shot selection is incredible, attention to detail, their hustle plays.
And I thought our guys, for the most part, executed what we needed to do defensively. Hart shot a lot of jump shots the first half and made a lot of jump shots.
I think they only had eight points in the paint at halftime. But our mistakes that allowed the baskets for them, that was 11 to zip points off turnovers and ended up 21-7 and we lose by those 14 points.
That's too much to overcome against a team like Villanova. If you're going to be successful, you have to value the ball, you have to take care of the basketball and not allow them to have those easy scoring opportunities.
So they're a very good team. And I'm really proud of my team for what they've accomplished this week. We just weren't quite up to the challenge today.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Cole, when you're playing a team like Villanova and you know you have to be -- you don't have to be perfect but you've got to play really well -- is that tough to just sort of mentally bring that mentality or that idea into the game, thinking -- does that ever weigh on you when you're on the court thinking that you've got to be assignment-sound and then take care of the ball and just because they don't make a lot of mistakes?
COLE HUFF: We're conscious of it all the time. Whenever we watch film we see just how quickly things can turn when you play against this team because they're not going to beat themselves.
So if you miss an assignment, if you miss a closeout or turn the ball over it's going to add up extremely quickly. And I think in the first half we turned the ball over a few too many times.
Part of it could be we were being careless with the ball, but I think we all just wanted it so bad we were trying to make things happen that weren't there.
And it's tough when that happens. But you've got to tip your hat to them. They are the defending national champs, and it's another game we'll learn from and get ready for next week.
Q. Mack, what was going through your mind when you inserted Ronnie into the game at that point. It seemed like it gave you some life there late in the game, felt like it was going away?
COACH MCDERMOTT: I talked to Ronnie last night, told him he needed to be ready. Some of the matchups, some of the switches are difficult for some of our guys. And Ronnie's length, athletic ability, work on the backboards I thought could have an impact today. And to his credit he was ready. And he gave us a chance.
The game was over if he doesn't come in and we get it back to 12 and at least have a shot at it. But his activity was great. He made three assists -- he had 13 minutes and he leads us in assists. And those type of plays are the type of plays that are going to get him on the floor more, that and with his activity on the glass. So he was good today and he'll be important to us moving forward.
Q. What do you take away from the entire week, moving ahead?
COACH MCDERMOTT: You know, as I told the guys I had so many of our fans come up to me last night or this morning almost with tears in their eyes because of the memories that we've created for them here this week.
You know, we've been in this league four times. We played in the championship game twice. We've had great followings out here every time we've come out to play. And it's a special place to coach, it's a special place to play. So I wanted them, while they're disappointed now, they've got to get over that in a hurry because they've accomplished a lot this week. Selection Sunday is tomorrow. There's 36 teams out of 350-some that will be selected as an at-large to the NCAA Tournament. We're going to be one of them.
That's hard to do. And you need to really enjoy it. So I want them to hold their heads high, to stick their chest out when someone congratulates them, I want a firm handshake and say thank you and understand that we lost to the defending national champ and the likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But we have nothing to hang our heads about.
Q. They have a lot of guys who can do things, big things, but what was it like to try and stop Josh Hart in this game?
COACH MCDERMOTT: It's real hard when he's -- I thought some of those jump shots early Khyri and sometimes Marcus who was switched onto him. I thought they were relatively challenged. But once he hits a couple he's so hard to stop because you always have the threat of him getting to the rim, he's so powerful when he gets there. And you have to respect the 3-point shot.
And then to go with that, he's got that intermediate game where he can stop on a dime and rise up and shoot over you.
And he did that and Kris did that to us, Jalen hit a couple. They understand who they are. And they execute what they do. While it's relatively simple, their perfection makes them exceptional.
Q. Coach, Jay Wright with the seniors have been through this so many times. It's experience. Do you take that element into account trying to prepare your team for a game like this?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Absolutely. We rolled two freshmen and a sophomore out there in the starting lineup. Ronnie played a bunch in the second half. He's a sophomore.
So we have -- Martin Krampelj is out there as a freshmen. We're rolling some guys out there where this is an invaluable experience.
It's one thing for me to talk about what it's like but to experience it and feel it, what the Garden is like on championship Saturday, it's something that's pretty incredible. And our experience here this week is going to help us moving forward and I think help us in the NCAA Tournament.
But those guys, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how well that Kris and Josh and Darryl, what great ambassadors they've been for the Big East Conference. And the Villanova program in general, for a basketball purist like myself, the way they won it last year, team basketball, and just the way they carry themselves.
And it starts at the top with Jay, obviously, but that senior class, what they've accomplished, is incredible. And it makes the rest of us -- and I think I speak for the other coaches in the Big East -- when we watch what they did last year and how they've backed it up this year, it makes you proud to be part of this league because the team that's kind of been our shining star does it the right way. And they represent the game of basketball and our league in a very professional way. And it's been -- it's hard to play against, but it's also fun to sit back and watch and enjoy.
Q. I just asked Cole about it, I know you said the turnovers were the difference or partly the difference. What did you see -- why did it sort of spiral out of control for that stretch?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Well, I mean, it's as simple as that. You know, those turnovers don't allow you to set your defense. And when you're trying to play against Villanova without setting your defense, you're mismatched, you've got the guys on guys you don't really want them on.
You're asking for trouble. And while we forced some turnovers with our defense, you know, that 14-point gap and points off turnovers is a big statistic. It's one thing when you make a mistake. But can you correct the mistake by getting a stop? And today we weren't able to do that.
And some of them, they were broken plays where they had an advantage and it was going to be hard for us.
Q. Ronnie, when you come in there, looked like at that point the game was pretty much in control, like there wasn't going to be much of a chance unless you guys got really hot from the perimeter or something. But you did, you know, through your hustle and effort plays, bring them kind of within striking distance. When you got in there, what were you looking to do? Did you think you could make enough plays to get you guys back in the game?
RONNIE HARRELL JR.: I felt like I can, just kind of provide a spark for us in any way possible. I hit a 3 early, but it goes further than just shooting, trying to bring some pressure on the defensive end, grab some rebounds and help in areas I felt we were struggling.
Q. Coach, how much more either encouraged -- or what do you feel about your team after this week looking ahead?
COACH MCDERMOTT: Well, we won kind of a slugfest on Thursday against Providence. I don't think it was a pretty game but as I thought back I'm not sure we've ever played a pretty game against Providence. It's a result of how Ed gets his guys to play.
And we ended up a shootout last night against Xavier. So we've seen some different things and we just played against one of the most disciplined teams in the country.
I think what that does to prepare you for the NCAA Tournament is invaluable. The negative is we've had a lot of guys play a bunch of minutes, and you could be leaving Tuesday morning for an NCAA Tournament site. So you don't have a ton of time to prepare.
But it's been an incredible experience for our guys, and while they're disappointed now, I think hopefully by the time they get off that plane and sit back in that plane and reflect on what's taken place and what's transpired this week, I hope they feel really good about what they've accomplished.
Q. Both players, considering all the distractions you guys have gone through in the last month, the injury and things like that, what did it take for you guys to kind of come together, put that in the rearview mirror and make sure that -- because at the end when you're playing Villanova, you were the two teams that probably most of the league thought should be playing in the game this day, but the road wasn't smooth by any means. What did it take for you guys to get to this point?
COLE HUFF: I mean, things happen. Stuff off the court, stuff on the court. You've just got to put it in the rear view. There's nothing we can do to change the past other than grow from it and learn from it.
There's still more games to be played, and that was our mindset after every loss, after every win, after everything that was going on, there was still another day.
I mean, that's still our mindset now. And although it may be tough sometimes, especially when you have days like today where you're competing for a championship and we came up a little bit short, like Coach said, we put together a hell of a weekend. We just have to look at all the things that we did wrong and learn from it and make sure that next weekend we can accomplish some good things in the tournament.
RONNIE HARRELL JR.: I would just say stay in the moment, focusing on what's in front of us. It's like you said, it's so easy to get caught up in everything that's going on around you that you forget what's happening in front of you.
So we've talked as a team, coaches included, about just staying in the moment. Having each other's back as well as having everybody else's back, so I think that was the main thing for us. And I think we've done a great job of that.
Big East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Jay Wright
Josh Hart
Jalen Brunson
Villanova
Villanova - 74, Creighton - 60
COACH WRIGHT: First, I want to congratulate Creighton. Really good basketball team. And
we might have played our best defensive game of the year. And I think it's because these guys
know how good they are offensively. There was no problem getting their attention to prepare for
their offensive execution and their tempo.
And then just, again, great leadership from our seniors, and these two guys were just special,
really special.
Q. Jay, can you talk about what winning two Big East championships in the last three
years?
COACH WRIGHT: It's really good players. Kris Jenkins, Josh Hart, Darryl Reynolds were on
these teams and so was Mikal. And so was Phil Booth. We've got good players. And that's what
does it.
Q. Early in the season you had mentioned about wanting to develop the other players as the
season goes on so that by the end of the season you'll have I guess a deeper threat as far as -
- have you reached that? Because it looks like you did?
COACH WRIGHT: I think we have. And Dylan Painter was the final piece, he's doing a great
job. We didn't really need him tonight as much, but Donte DiVincenzo, Eric Paschall, even
Mikal, who we thought early in the year would be coming off the bench if we had Phil Booth.
Those guys have really developed into big-time players. So it gives us a good eight-man rotation
now which is very important, especially this time of year, three games in a row.
Q. Josh, the celebration didn't really seem like a big celebration -- businesslike, a couple of
hugs. What was the mindset there. Aren't you happy?
JOSH HART: I thought about the same thing. We didn't -- I think last time we ran on, we
stormed the court, everyone's jumping around, doing all that.
But I think part of it was just exhaustion. We just played as hard as we could for 40 minutes. And
then definitely we know we've got to get a lot better. We've got to keep being coachable. I think
that was the other half of that.
And obviously we're very humble, very honored to win this against a tough Creighton team.
Give them all the respect and credit. But we've got to keep getting better.
Q. Jay, talk about how Josh has evolved as a player since 2015, last time he got selected as
Big East Tournament MVP?
COACH WRIGHT: It's amazing, he was tournament MVP as a sophomore, and he's better in
every aspect of the game. He's such a better player, which is amazing if you think about it, that
he won it and he's better in every aspect of the game.
And finally going into this tournament, I think he put it all together. It was his leadership, it was
his decision-making, his defense, his rebounding.
And then putting the team on his back last night, making the big plays. He's just done everything.
I think he's a complete basketball player. I think he's the best, most complete player in the
country.
And I'm sure I'm biased. I don't spend time with those other guys, but I don't see anybody that
does everything like he does.
Q. Jay, what do you think changed four years ago? There's -- the league changed and not
that you guys weren't playing well, but obviously not to the level you've been the last four
years. What do you think happened? Why do you think you guys have taken off like this
with the new conference?
COACH WRIGHT: I think the group of players that we had at the time it changed, the group of
players were ready to be really good whatever conference we were in. And then the conference
changed and we got into a great conference with home and home and real basketball. Everybody
a basketball team.
I think it just exhilarated everybody. Everywhere we played, you don't have any games where
you go and you know, like, this place is half full, nobody really cares. The league and the group
of players we had -- really Josh and these guys, freshmen -- it really started with Ryan
Arcidiacono and those guys as freshmen when it changed. We had a great group of players.
And what's interesting is when the Big East went to 16 teams -- that might have been '06, '05 or
'06 -- we had the same situation. We had Randy Foye and Allen Ray and all those guys and we
had a great team. I think we won the league in '06, right when the change came. We've been very
lucky.
Q. Jalen, now that you guys have won this, can you be more honest about how much losing
it last year drove you guys during the offseason and really through the year?
JALEN BRUNSON: I think it was, Coach brought it up plenty of times about how our demeanor
was in the locker room after we lost. And coach didn't want our senior class to go out like that
again. So we just brought in, the other guys bought into what Coach was saying. Obviously the
seniors did as well. We have a group of seniors who lead us but also want to get better every day.
Just shows the type of character those guys have.
Q. Coach, as defending NCAA champions, no team has won back-to-back in 20 years.
What's it going to take for you guys to repeat? And is there more pressure on you guys
going into this tournament?
COACH WRIGHT: You know what, I don't know yet about the pressure. There's different kinds
of pressure during the year. There's definitely a hangover from last year, which however you
define it put pressure on us through this season.
And I thought we handled it really well. And now this is the final piece going into the
tournament. I don't know what we're going to feel like until a couple days ahead. We're so
focused -- this tournament was like a break from all of that, because you just get here and you
know the NCAA Tournament's coming. You get here, you're just in New York, it's just Big East
teams, it's that New York, Madison Square Garden vibe.
This was a really nice break. I feel like we were like everybody else here, because we weren't
defending champions, you know? So we gotta deal with that. I'm not sure how yet that's going to
impact us.
Q. Jay, how does this Big East title feel and why do you appreciate it?
COACH WRIGHT: It feels a lot better than I'm probably showing. I just -- I grew up watching
the Big East. Probably from your age, and it was always my favorite basketball, all my favorite
teams, Villanova was my favorite team. And every time -- and I coached here in New York so
every time I come back here there's a lot of friends.
I think the Garden is the mecca of college basketball. So I just enjoy seeing my guys enjoy it and
win because I know it's special to them, too. I get the feeling -- a real good glow inside seeing
these guys be happy and accomplish something.
Q. Coach, obviously you executed on multiple facets of the game tonight. Talk to me more
about how you guys shut down Creighton -- 17 turnovers, 21 points?
COACH WRIGHT: I thought against Seton Hall our ball pressure was not really good. We were
kind of lax on the ball.
And these guys really executed. I think Greg's teams execute as well as anybody, if not the best
in the country. We knew if we just let them run their stuff we could get sliced up. So pressure on
the ball was really important. And I thought we did a great job of it.
Q. Jay, what do you think your biggest obstacle is as a team going forward?
COACH WRIGHT: Just staying humble. You get a lot of attention. To the previous question,
you know, we're still in this Big East mode. We're going to stay in New York tonight. We're
going to enjoy this. Then we're going to go home and it's going to be Selection Sunday and start
dealing with all the repeat, 1 seed, all that. Handling all that is going to be the biggest obstacle.
Q. Josh, I know you're not done yet, but have you had a chance to put everything you've
accomplished so far in your career into perspective, and now topping off this season you've
had so far in the Big East?
JOSH HART: Not really. I don't think I will for another month or so. And a lot of that comes
from the guys to the right of me. He wants us to keep getting better. He wants us to keep being
coachable. And last night we talked as a team. And I think every team right now would be happy
-- well, last night -- happy that they're going to be in their conference championship game.
And Coach, he was talking to us, telling us the truth, telling us honesty and telling us that we
have to get a lot better. So when you have a coach who has accomplished everything that he's
accomplished and he keeps talking about how we have to get better, there's no better example
than that.
You don't have to look other places. He keeps wanting to get better as a coach. He keeps wanting
us as a team to get better. So I'm following his lead.
And I'm not thinking about that now. I've got one month left of my college basketball career.
And I can't think about that now.
Q. Jay, you talked about being a 1 seed. Do you think you've earned the overall No. 1 seed?
COACH WRIGHT: Probably. Probably. But we don't really care. I'm more excited about what
you just said right there. We're going to be fine. We're going to be fine. Wherever they put us,
whatever our seed is.
Q. Jalen and Josh, what do you feel is your greatest, like, strength in this Big East
Tournament? How has that prepared you for the tournament as a team?
JOSH HART: I would say responding. I think that's the biggest part. Attitude, really.
We had a very rare game with St. John's where everything really fell. And then we had Saturday,
the adversity, the feel of that game was just like a championship game.
And we had big mistakes down the stretch of that game. I had a late turnover. And we kept -- we
didn't let that define us. We said attitude and we came back and got stops. I think that's really one
of the things that we can really build from. That's something that we had really this whole week
and I'm proud of that. I'm proud of our guys having that mentality of no matter what happens on
offense, no matter what adversity strikes we're going to get through it.
Q. Coach, you talked earlier about ball pressure wasn't the greatest against Seton Hall.
Going against Creighton you guys defended the perimeter very well and hard. Was that
something you incorporated in your game plan for the championship?
COACH WRIGHT: Definitely. It was part of the reason that Seton Hall did a good job against
us, because we didn't do a good job of ball pressure. But we also knew it could be a lot worse
against Creighton if we didn't do that.
So it's easy for a coach to say it, but when the players take responsibility and do it, that's hard to
do. And these two actually did the best job.
Q. Jay, how do you balance what you have to do now with the team. Obviously you want to
congratulate them and pump them up and make them feel really good about what they've
accomplished, which is a lot. Yet you see things, obviously, if you played the game last night
in the tournament, that might be it. So you see things that you have to correct. So how do
you balance the patting on the back and the kicking in the butt?
COACH WRIGHT: Just honesty. And you just listened to Josh. We're honest with them. Then
you have seniors -- are they going to take it and listen to it and fix the things you need to
improve? Or are they going to say to themselves, we won the Big East championship, and that
doesn't matter.
They listen. It's simple when it works that way. But it's not -- but when you have people that
listen and are humble -- I've said about these guys, I think the two characteristics they have that
are so unique is humility and intelligence. They're humble and they listen and they know they
won the Seton Hall games, they know there's things they have to do better. They know they won
this game but there's some things we have to do better. And that's the way we'll handle it going
forward.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
2017 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
ALL-TOURNAMENT
The winner of the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Tournament.
Josh Hart, Villanova
The 2017 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Kris Jenkins, Villanova
Jalen Brunson, Villanova
Marcus Foster, Creighton
Angel Delgado, Seton Hall
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
Team Stats
CU
NOVA
FG%
.414
.463
3FG%
.250
.346
FT%
.667
.789
RB
33
34
TO
17
15
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Availability - 9/24/25
Wednesday, September 24
Meet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
