College basketball highlights: UConn, Marquette, Seton Hall victorious
The Big East took center stage with a jam-packed college basketball slate Saturday on FOX.
It all started with a big matchup between Seton Hall and No. 20 Providence, with the unranked Pirates walking away with a stunning 82-58 blowout victory on the road.
Then, No. 6 Marquette, which had already clinched the Big East regular-season crown, held on to narrowly defeat St. John's at home.
Closing things out, No. 14 UConn took down Villanova, which had previously won six of its last seven games heading into Saturday's tilt, by double digits in Philadelphia.
Here are the top moments from an action-packed day on the hardwood!
No. 14 Connecticut 71, Villanova 59
Finding a rhythm
Wildcats forward Eric Dixon drained the first 3-pointer of the game to set the tone for Villanova early.
Déjà vu
On the other side, UConn forward Alex Karaban nailed a shot of his own from distance, as the Huskies regained the lead.
Keeping it close
Adama Sanogo came up with a big two-handed dunk to help UConn snag an early lead, but space was hard to come by in this one. The bucket from Sanogo sparked a late 6-0 run by the Huskies, but neither team got more than eight points ahead of the other in the first half.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Boom!
Karaban helped the Huskies end the first half on a strong note, thanks to an impressive fadeaway jumper at the buzzer.
UConn carried a 32-24 lead into halftime.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Red hot
Huskies guard Jordan Hawkins made a clutch 3-point jumper late in the second half to keep UConn on top.
Road warriors
Villanova came back to keep things competitive late in the game, but it wasn't enough to spark a comeback, and UConn ran away with the double-digit win.
UConn shot 44.6% (25 of 56) on the night, while Villanova connected on just 36.4% (20 of 55) of its attempts.
No. 6 Marquette 96, St. John's 94
Whirlybird!
Tyler Kolek kicked off the scoring for Marquette with this nifty spin move and deuce.
Defense to offense
There's nothing like getting easy buckets off a steal, which Marquette's Olivier-Maxence Prosper proved on this play.
Raining 3s!
The Golden Eagles showed no signs of letting up in the first half, as Kam Jones hit the triple from deep to push Marquette's lead to 30-11.
Marquette's point man
Kolek continued to dominate the game, both as a scorer and passer.
He had nine points and eight assists in the first half as Marquette led 53-47 at the break.
Talk about range!
One big reason St. John's kept it close? A buzzer-beating 3-pointer from well beyond the mid-court stripe by Dylan Addae-Wusu.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Shooters gonna shoot
St. John's kept hanging around, as the teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half.
Marquette was 10-for-25 from 3 at this point in the game, while St. John's was 6-for-14.
Game effort
St. John's refused to quit and even had a chance to tie it in the final seconds after an amazing late surge.
However, the road team came up just a touch short, 96-94.
Seton Hall 82, No. 20 Providence 58
Pogo stick!
Shaheen Holloway's brand of basketball is hard-nosed. That was evident on this play, as Seton Hall scrapped for the offensive board following a bricked shot before Tyrese Samuel slammed in a resounding jam.
Crisp ball movement
The Friars are something to watch in transition, and although Seton Hall captured the early lead, Providence stuck around with pretty plays like this one.
Damage down low
Providence got within one midway through the first half courtesy of a tough finish inside from forward Ed Croswell.
Teardrop!
As the first half wound down, Seton Hall began to kick things into high gear offensively, closing out on a 17-2 run. This floater from Dre Davis was two of several points in the paint for Seton Hall. The Pirates led 44-25 after 20 minutes.
Going baseline
The Friars found new life in the second half, closing the gap with a 16-5 run to ignite life into the home crowd.
Dominance from Davis!
Davis showed out for Seton Hall, collecting a career-high 24 points on a 9 of 10 clip from the field.
He was absolutely unstoppable from all areas of the court.
No. 1 UConn 69, No. 9 Georgetown 39 (Women's Big East Tournament)
Sharpshooter Azzi Fudd returned to the lineup for UConn after missing the majority of the season with a knee injury, and her presence was noticible from the very start of Saturday's game.
Get off me!
Dorka Juhász keyed inside to capture some early momentum for the Huskies, collecting an and-1 opportunity with this strong layup.
Making it look easy
It was all Aaliyah Edwards for the Huskies in the game's early onsets, as she came up big with a number of big lay-ins to stretch UConn's advantage, which the Huskies never lost en route to a dominating 30-point home victory.
Read more:
- 2023 NCAA Tournament Projections: Kentucky on the rise, Michigan on the bubble
- Is Villanova peaking at right time? ‘The fabric of our program is to fight’
- Five burning questions as college basketball enters March
- 2023 NCAA Conference Tournament Tracker: Schedule, automatic bids
- Which struggling blue bloods presents betting value for March Madness title run?
- 2023 College Basketball Power Rankings: Which teams can take advantage of the chaos?