SPORTS WRAP
STORY & PHOTOS BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
This past week the Big East Tournament took place in New York at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Before the games to determine the Conference Tourney champion and the automatic qualifier for the Big Dance, Opening Day, hosted by Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, saw several deserving people receive Conference honors.
The Big East Freshman of the Year award went to Liam McNeeley of the University of Connecticut. McNeeley is the 2nd straight Husky to earn FOTY honors. He finished the season with a career high 38 points against Creighton before he got hurt to end his season in his last game. Scholar-Athlete of the year honors went to Marquette’s Stevie Mitchell.
St. John’s University star RJ Luis, Jr. a junior from Miami, was a critical piece in helping St. John’s run to winning the Big East Conference Championship. He took the honor of Big East Player of the Year. Coach of the year honors went to St. John’s head coaching legend Rick Pitino.
After that, the Big East Tournament kicked off. The four day spectacle at MSG started with #10 DePaul beat Georgetown 73-68. Layden Blocker led the Blue Demons to the win with 16 points while the Hoyas were led by Micah Peavy’s 26 points. Next, the Seton Hall men saw their disappointing season end with a loss to Villanova 67-55. Shockingly, the Seton Hall women missed the Women’s NCAA Tourney, and had to settle for a #3 seed in the WBIT.
St. John’s claimed the Big East Tournament #1 seed for the first time since 1986. They kicked off their run by defeating Butler 78-57. RJ Luis, Jr. had 20 points and 7 rebounds while teammate Kadary Richmond had 15 points and 8 rebounds. After that, SJU beat Marquette 79-63. in the semifinal round. Zuby Ejiofor led the Red Storm to victory with 33 points and 9 rebounds while Luis had 13 points and 7 rebounds. In the final game, St. John’s took the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after beating Creighton 82-66. Luis was named Big East Tournament MVP honors, scoring 29 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game, while Ejiofor had another good game with 29 points of his own.
St. John’s was awarded a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with #1 seeds going to Houston, Duke, Florida, and Auburn – the overall #1 seed. The SEC sent a record 14 teams to the Big Dance. For the women’s bracket, UCLA was the overall #1, with other top seeds going to USC, Texas, and defending champion South Carolina.
