NEW YORK — Pierre Brooks II scored 25 points and ninth-seeded Butler earned a wire-to-wire 75-69 victory over eighth-seeded Providence in the opening round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs (14-18) snapped a four-game losing streak and advanced to a matchup with top-seeded St. John’s in the first quarterfinal on Thursday afternoon. Brooks helped the Bulldogs advance past the opening round of the conference tourney for the first time since 2022 by producing his ninth 20-point game this season. Jahmyl Telfort added 16 on 7-of-12 shooting as Butler shot 48.4 percent and scored 40 points in the paint.
Bensley Joseph scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half but it was not enough as Providence (12-20) ended coach Kim English’s second season with six straight losses. The Friars finished with a losing record for the first time since 2011-12 and reached 20 losses for the first time since 1984-85.
Villanova 67, Seton Hall 55
Eric Dixon scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including 11 during a decisive run, as the sixth-seeded Wildcats got past the 11th-seeded Pirates.
The Wildcats (19-13) advanced to a quarterfinal matchup against third-seeded UConn after controlling most of their encounter with the Pirates. Villanova led by 18 points at halftime but the margin was down to eight early in the second half before Dixon took over. Wooga Poplar posted 13 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova shot 45.5 percent. Tyler Perkins contributed 11 points for the Wildcats, who hit 7-of-15 attempts from 3-point range and survived committing 16 turnovers.
Isaiah Coleman led all scorers with 25 points, but the Pirates (7-25) ended the worst season in school history on a seven-game losing streak. Prince Aligbe added 10 for Seton Hall, which shot 43.4 percent and committed 15 turnovers.
DePaul 71, Georgetown 67
NJ Benson scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half as the 10th-seeded Blue Demons continued their improvement with a victory over the seventh-seeded Hoyas.
The Blue Demons (14-18), who went 3-29 last season, will continue coach Chris Holtmann’s first season with a matchup against No. 2 seed Creighton in a quarterfinal game on Thursday. Layden Blocker added 16 points for DePaul, which shot 51 percent. Troy D’Amico and CJ Gunn chipped in 11 apiece for the Blue Demons, who shot 56.6 percent in beating Georgetown on Saturday.
Micah Peavy scored 26 points to lead Georgetown (17-15), which lost for the fifth time in six games. Drew Fielder and Curtis Willimas Jr. added 11 apiece, but Jayden Epps was held to 10 on 3-on-13 shooting as the Hoyas shot 41.4 percent and missed 15 of 20 attempts on 3-pointers.
–Field Level Media
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