Big East Tournament March To MSG Image. (Photo Courtesy of Madison Square Garden Entertainment)
The 2024 Big East Tournament started and for the second year, I am part of the Dean College Sports Broadcasting Team covering the games. It is a privilege to represent Dean College and an amazing opportunity to be able to get broadcasting experience at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, located in my hometown, New York City.
Wednesday was the first day of the tournament. In game one, Desmond Claude led the Xavier Musketeers to a 76 –72 win over the Butler Bulldogs. Claude had 26 points, while Dayvion McKnight added 20 points, and Quincy Olivari had 19 points. With their win, Xavier will advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals, where they will play against the number one seed, the UConn Huskies.
In the second game, the Providence Friars beat the Georgetown Hoyas and their former coach, Ed Cooley 74-56. Josh Oduro led the Friars with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Devin Carter, who was named the Big East Player of the Year, had 19 points. On Thursday, the Friars will play the second-seeded Creighton Bluejays.
During the Friars press conference, I asked Devin Carter how he is able to perform under pressure. Carter said, “In late games my teammates have major confidence in me shooting the shots that I shoot, so I mean I definitely give a lot of credit to these two guys, and the rest in the locker room. They tell me to shoot the shots and they space out and let me go to work.”
During the Georgetown press conference, I asked coach Ed Cooley what words of encouragement he gave his team in the locker room. He said “Well you have to have gratitude no matter what you do. As much as we want to win, we as leaders, you still have to understand that we have young men who are emotionally distraught," Cooley said. "I told them let’s keep the main thing, the main thing. Ninety-nine percent of college basketball players are going to need a JOB, and you have one of the greatest academic degrees in the world. Let’s keep that the main thing as well. Hug them up. Let them know, be open, honest, and direct with them, be real with them. I feel for them. The better team won today. All the credit goes to Providence. We have to continue to build. We'll get better. We are going to move this program in the right direction. The Big East is going to be healthier when Georgetown gets to where we are going to go," Cooley continued.
The third and final game of the evening did not disappoint. Justin Moore made a three-pointer with eight seconds left to help the Villanova Wildcats upset the DePaul Blue Demons 58-57. Eric Dixon led Villanova with 21 points, and Moore finished the game with 10 points. The Wildcats will play the third-seeded and 2023 Big East Champions, the Marquette Golden Eagles on Thursday.
As Marquette hopes to be able to repeat and win the championship title, Wednesday's games gave us a good look at the competition that is out to prevent that from happening. Thursday’s quarterfinals are expected to be exciting battles.