Report: Steve Wojciechowski Fired as Marquette Head Basketball Coach
Mar 19, 2021
Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski works the bench during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Xavier, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Steve Wojciechowski's run as head basketball coach at Marquette has come to an end after seven seasons.
Per Jeff Goodman of Stadium, the Golden Eagles parted ways with Wojciechowski on Friday coming off a 13-14 record in 2020-21.
Wojciechowski was hired at Marquette in April 2014 after former head coach Buzz Williams left the program to take over at Virginia Tech.
Prior to joining the program, Wojciechowski spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach on Mike Krzyzewski's staff at Duke. The 44-year-old played for Coach K with the Blue Devils from 1994-98, winning the National Association of Basketball Coaches Defensive Player of the Year award as a senior in 1997-98.
After a 33-32 start with no NCAA tournament appearances in his first two seasons, Wojciechowski led the Golden Eagles to the tournament twice in the next three years. They also advanced to the NIT quarterfinals during the 2017-18 season.
Marquette finished 128-95 overall with Wojciechowski as head coach but never finished higher than second in the Big East standings and failed to win an NCAA tournament game in two appearances.
Video: Patrick Ewing Drops Drake Line After Georgetown Wins Big East Tournament
Mar 14, 2021
Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing walking on the sideline against Creighton during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/John Peterson)
Georgetown missed the NCAA men's tournament in each of head coach Patrick Ewing's first three seasons and went 9-12 during the 2020-21 campaign.
And then it ripped off four straight wins as the No. 8 seed in the Big East tournament to clinch a spot in the Big Dance.
Talk about "started from the bottom, now we're here."
New footage from Georgetown’s postgame locker room celebration, with Patrick Ewing singing “Started From the Bottom” (H/T irvscotti3 on IG) pic.twitter.com/ZVwqQ1Nyzt
Ewing entered the postgame locker room following Saturday's blowout 73-48 championship game win over Creighton and dropped Drake's famous lyric before his team erupted in celebration.
It was a stunning showing from the Hoyas, who also cruised past Marquette, knocked out top-seeded Villanova and defeated Seton Hall in the Big East tournament before the head-turning championship performance.
Georgetown's reward is a No. 12 seed in the NCAA men's tournament and a first-round matchup with fifth-seeded Colorado.
Pat Riley: If I Was a HS Player 'I Guarantee I'd Want to Play for Patrick Ewing'
Mar 14, 2021
Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing cuts down the net after an NCAA college basketball game against Creighton in the championship of the Big East Conference tournament Saturday, March 13, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
In the aftermath of Georgetown's surprise victory in the Big East men's basketball tournament, Patrick Ewing received high praise from one of his former NBA head coaches.
Per ESPN's Ian O'Connor, Miami Heat president Pat Riley explained why he would have loved to play for a coach like Ewing.
"If I was a high school player and I was really good, I'd want to go with somebody who was not going to kiss my ass, who coached the hell out of me and made me better. I guarantee I'd want to play for Patrick Ewing," said Riley.
Riley coached Ewing with the New York Knicks for four seasons from 1991-95. They made the playoffs every year, including an appearance in the 1994 NBA Finals.
Ewing, who graduated from Georgetown in 1985, returned to his alma mater to replace John Thompson III as head coach in April 2017. The Hoyas missed the NCAA tournament in each of his first two seasons and last year's event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expectations were low for the Hoyas in the 2021 Big East tournament. They were the No. 8 seed when it began with a 9-12 overall record (7-9 in conference play) during the regular season.
Georgetown won four games in four days, including a 73-48 blowout of No. 2 seed Creighton in Saturday's title game, to earn the program's first NCAA tournament berth since the 2014-15 season.
Patrick Ewing References Drake After Georgetown Wins Big East Championship
Mar 13, 2021
Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing gestures towards fans while standing next to the tournament trophy after an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big East Conference tournament Saturday, March 13, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Georgetown men's basketball team head coach Patrick Ewing dropped a reference to Drake's single "Started from the Bottom" to explain the Hoyas' rise to the top of the Big East after the team won the conference championship's title game 73-48 over Creighton on Saturday.
"I keep talking about that Drake song... we started from the bottom now we No. 1 in the Big East."
Patrick Ewing reflects on what this Big East title means to Georgetown 🙌
The Hoyas were 1-5 in Big East play after Jan. 9, and then they had to sit for three weeks due to COVID-19 related issues within the men's hoops program.
However, they bounced back to win six of their final 10 conference games to finish 7-9, good enough for the No. 8 seed in the 11-team Big East tournament.
Georgetown then rolled off four straight wins to earn its first conference title since 2007. That quartet of victories included a 72-71 upset win over No. 1 Villanova in the quarterfinals.
The Hoyas will now earn their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2015 and its first under Ewing, who has coached the team for four seasons.
Ewing starred at Georgetown as a player before enjoying a 16-year NBA career, primarily with the New York Knicks. He is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown Upset No. 17 Creighton to Win Big East Championship
Mar 13, 2021
Georgetown's Chudier Bile (4) dunks the ball in front of Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner (32) and Antwann Jones (0) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big East Conference tournament Saturday, March 13, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The Georgetown Hoyas captured the Big East tournament for the first time since 2007 on Saturday, defeating No. 2-seeded Creighton 73-48 and securing and automatic bid into the NCAA tournament in Indiana next week.
It's a conference-record eighth Big East tournament title for the Hoyas. Georgetown entered the week as the No. 8 seed and won four games in four days, taking down No. 1 seed Villanova and No. 5 Seton Hall en route to a victory over the Bluejays on Saturday.
The win gives head coach Patrick Ewing a reason to be happier leaving Madison Square Garden this week than he was when he arrived earlier this week.
Georgetown (13-12) was considered likely to miss the NCAA tournament when the weekend began. Now there's no doubt the Hoyas will be dancing after a five-year hiatus—and raising another Big East banner when they return home.
Georgetown's run through the Big East tournament was thrilling from the start and borderline jaw-dropping by the end.
The Hoyas not only knocked off the top two seeds in the conference after going a combined 1-3 against Villanova and Creighton during the regular season, they earned just their third win over a team ranked in the top 25 this season.
None of that looked remotely possible at the start of the week. In fact, it looked like that bubble was getting ready to burst early on in Saturday's title game. The Hoyas didn't knock down a field goal until more than four minutes into the first half and continued to shoot from the outside despite missing four of five attempts from behind the arc to start the game.
The shot selections weren't bad, exactly. Georgetown just couldn't get them to drop. But the Hoyas didn't panic. They stuck to their game plan and trusted the buckets would eventually come.
Georgetown ended the first half on an epic 23-2 run over nine minutes to enter halftime up 36-18. The Hoyas out-rebounded the Bluejays 28-19 in the first frame, including 10 offensive rebounds leading to a 12-0 edge in second-chance points.
Ewing's team simply outworked Creighton from the beginning to end—another 8-0 run at the start of the second half restoring whatever momentum had faded during halftime.
Now headed to the NCAA tournament, Georgetown may still be an underdog, but it certainly has college basketball's attention.
Creighton Comes Up Empty Again
Make it 0-3 for the Bluejays in the Big East tournament title game.
After falling to Providence in 2014 and Villanova in 2017, Creighton again couldn't finish off a championship run on the tournament's final day.
In all likelihood, the Bluejays (20-8) will be back playing for another Big East banner, but those are concerns for next year. This year's team, which entered Saturday ranked No. 17, still has plenty of expectations to live up to.
Head coach Greg McDermott has yet to lead his team to the Sweet 16 and beyond. His current roster—a talented mix of experienced upperclassmen led by Ballock and Zegarowski—has as much potential to break through that barrier as any Creighton team in recent memory.
Saturday's loss wasn't good by any means, but it's over. So too is the Big East season. Now heading to Indiana and a new stage on which to show off, the Bluejays will look to put their experience to good use by brushing past a bad loss and getting ready to start a new winning streak.
The Big East tournament was ultimately a win for the conference. Seton Hall, Xavier and UConn all kept themselves in contention for the NCAA tournament while Creighton and Georgetown assured themselves a spot in the bracket.
The conference's success came at a cost to Creighton. It's now on the school to show it can brush it off and continue proving the Big East remains as competitive as any league in Division I.
What's Next
Both the Hoyas and Bluejays await their NCAA tournament fate with the bracket reveal set for 6 p.m. ET on CBS and the Bleacher Report app Sunday.
Georgetown Hoyas Are 1 Win Away from Punching Unlikely Ticket to NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 2021
Georgetown center Qudus Wahab (34) and forward Jamorko Pickett (1) celebrate after Wahab scored during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova in the quarterfinals of the Big East conference tournament, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in New York. Georgetown won 72-71. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
The Mecca of basketball will be at the epicenter of the 2021 men's NCAA tournament bubble Saturday night when Georgetown takes on Creighton at Madison Square Garden for the Big East championship.
For those who haven't been properly indoctrinated in the lexicon of bracketology, here's a phrase you're going to want to get comfortable with for the next 24 hours: bid thief.
A bid thief is a team that would not have earned an at-large bid without winning its conference tournament, and that wins that tournament to "steal" the automatic bid in a conference that had at least one lock to make the NCAA tournament. As a result, the number of spots available to at-large teams shrinks by one.
Thus far this week, those bid thieves have been nonexistent, which is fantastic news for teams on the bubble.
Gonzaga and Loyola-Chicago won the West Coast and Missouri Valley conference tournaments, as expected. Both the Atlantic 10 and the Mountain West have championship games between teams that were likely to make the Big Dance anyway. The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC are all down to teams that were, at worst, on the bubble heading into this week.
Oregon State has emerged as a potential bid thief after knocking off Oregon in the Pac-12 semifinals, but we'll see if the Beavers can knock off Colorado.
And then there's the Big East, where 12-12 Georgetown is one win away from crashing the party.
Let the record show that Georgetown was my sleeper pick to win the Big East tournament. (Kindly ignore those Kentucky in the SEC and Stanford in the Pac-12 picks, though. Can't win 'em all.)
After a brutal 3-8 start to the year was followed by a lengthy COVID-19 pause, the Hoyas won six of their final 10 regular-season games, including a road victory over Creighton and home wins over Xavier and Seton Hall (that more or less popped those Big East teams' bubbles).
The post-COVID breakout of Chudier Bile was the biggest reason I was buying the Hoyas.
Chudier Bile
The transfer from Northwestern State made little impact in Georgetown's first 11 games, but he was arguably the team's most valuable player down the stretch. Out of nowhere, he scored at least a dozen points in eight out of 10 games, emerging as a key perimeter weapon on both ends of the floor.
But, incredibly, the Hoyas have knocked off Marquette, Villanova and Seton Hall without getting much out of Bile on offense.
He shot 1-of-11 from the field against the Golden Eagles, finishing with five points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Against Villanova, he missed each of his four field-goal attempts, committed five turnovers and fouled out in 21 minutes.
In lieu of the guy who had become their leader, everyone else has come through.
Jahvon Blair and Qudus Wahab couldn't miss against Marquette.
Freshman point guard Dante Harris capitalized on Collin Gillespie's absence for Villanova to the tune of 18 points and five assists with no turnovers.
And against Seton Hall, it was Jamorko Pickett's time to shine with a team-high 19 points. (Bile also had a tie-breaking and-1 layup in the final two minutes.)
Throw in senior wing Donald Carey—who doesn't shoot a ton, but does make 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts—and Georgetown has a formidable six-man rotation.
It's almost certainly not a Final Four-caliber six-man rotation, but it's a whole heck of a lot better than what was expected from the Hoyas when they were predicted to finish dead last in the preseason coaches poll.
And it's a rotation good enough to knock off Creighton in Saturday's championship.
After all, the Hoyas just won 86-79 at Creighton a little over a month ago.
It wasn't even a bad night for the Bluejays, either. They made 10 triples, shot 47.4 percent from the field and scored 79 points. They were just unable to keep pace with Georgetown on a night where each of the six main Hoyas played well.
There's no good reason Georgetown can't repeat that formula to shock the college basketball world.
Now for the fun part.
If Georgetown wins the game, some bubble hopeful gets pushed out of the NCAA tournament field.
Squeezed like an Orange, one might say.
While we cannot say with certainty until the Selection Show which team is right on that cut line, it very well could be former Big East (and still loathed) rival Syracuse. The Orange are currently my last team in the projected field, so they would at least be falling out of my bracket if Georgetown wins, for whatever that's worth.
How sweet would that be for the Hoya Saxa faithful?
Since becoming the head coach at Georgetown, Patrick Ewing has just a 1-3 record against the 'Cuse. One of those losses was the one that dropped the Hoyas to 3-8 overall back in early January. But winning this game against Creighton, snapping a five-year tournament drought and potentially knocking Syracuse out of the dance in the process would be like winning the lottery and getting a new puppy on your birthday.
If that happens, maybe the MSG security guards will stopaccosting Ewingfor his credentials.
Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter,@kerrancejames.
Big East Championship Game 2021: Georgetown vs. Creighton Schedule, Preview
Mar 12, 2021
Xavier guard Dwon Odom defends as Creighton guard Marcus Zegarowski (11) drives to the basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in Cincinnati. Xavier won 77-69. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
One of the most storied programs in Big East conference history has a chance to end its league tournament title drought that dates back to 2007 on Saturday.
The Georgetown Hoyas, who are tied with the UConn Huskies for most Big East tournament titles in history, will enter Madison Square Garden as the underdog against the Creighton Bluejays.
Patrick Ewing's team knocked off the Marquette Golden Eagles, Villanova Wildcats and Seton Hall Pirates in the last three days to move one win away from an unlikely NCAA men's basketball tournament berth.
Creighton is in search of its first-ever Big East tournament title after it fell short in 2014 and 2017 against the Providence Friars and Villanova.
The Bluejays have been the more consistent team throughout the season, but Georgetown has been hot since the middle of February and could spring one of the most shocking upsets of Championship Week.
Georgetown comes into Saturday's final with seven wins in its last nine games.
The loss that preceded that stretch featured an ugly 48-point performance against Creighton in the second of two games between the teams in a six-day span.
Georgetown shot 27.6 percent from the field in the 63-48 loss on February 9, but it still beat the Bluejays on the boards.
The Hoyas did the same thing on February 3, when they shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 10 three-point shots in an 86-79 win in Omaha.
The No. 8 seed should find confidence from that victory to feel like it has a chance to pull off another win over the second-seeded team.
Additionally, Georgetown should be confident in its defense that held four of its last six opponents under 70 points. The Hoyas limited the Seton Hall Pirates to 58 on Friday.
The frontcourt duo of Qudus Wahab and Jamorko Pickett contained co-Big East Player of the Year Sandro Mamukelashvili to eight points and three made field goals. Pickett and Wahab combined for 29 points and 14 rebounds.
If the Hoyas gain an edge in the paint and on the glass, they could take Creighton out of an offensive rhythm, like the UConn Huskies did in the semifinal round.
Creighton shot 37.1 percent from the field and made just five of its 18 three-point shots in its lowest-scoring performance of the season.
If the Hoyas frustrate Marcus Zegarowski and Co., they could force the game into a low-scoring affair and win through the frontcourt.
Creighton is typically a more fast-paced team than it was on Friday, and that could be its biggest key to victory.
The Bluejays reached the 70-point mark in five of their seven wins since the start of February and they have five players that average over 10 points per game, led by Zegarowski.
Greg McDermott's team shoots 37.4 percent from three-point range and three of its top five scorers are better than 40 percent from deep.
If Zegarowski, Mitch Ballock and Damian Jefferson catch fire early, the Bluejays could cruise to a victory and end Georgetown's late run to secure an automatic bid to the Big Dance.
If Creighton wins, it would save a space in the field of 68 for a handful of bubble teams, but a Georgetown win could make Selection Sunday more nervy for teams like the Syracuse Orange, Drake Bulldogs and the squads that do not capture the Mountain West tournament crown.
Big East Tournament 2021: Semifinals Scores, Championship Bracket and Schedule
Mar 12, 2021
Georgetown's Jamorko Pickett, right, defends against Seton Hall's Sandro Mamukelashvili during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals in the Big East men's tournament Friday, March 12, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Top-seeded Villanova is no longer around, but fans could not have asked for much more out of the 2021 Big East tournament's semifinals going into Friday's action.
There were two basketball powerhouses in Georgetown and Connecticut, as well as the No. 17 team in the country in Creighton. Throw in a dangerous Seton Hall squad that survived an overtime test against St. John's on Thursday, and the table was set for a thrilling double-header.
Here is a look at the results from Friday's semifinals action.
No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 2 Creighton; 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox
Georgetown 66, Seton Hall 58
Georgetown is one win away from reaching the NCAA men's tournament for the first time in head coach Patrick Ewing's tenure.
The Hoyas, who already eliminated top-seeded Villanova and Marquette, clinched a spot in the championship game with a 66-58 victory over Seton Hall in the first game of Friday's double-header.
It appeared as if Georgetown was going to cruise to victory when it jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half, but Seton Hall trimmed the lead to two by intermission with Jared Rhoden leading the way. Rhoden helped the Pirates keep up with Jamorko Pickett, who hit multiple threes in the early going and spearheaded the Hoyas' offensive effort.
That set the stage for a back-and-forth second half even though Sandro Mamukelashvili was struggling with his shot as Seton Hall's typical go-to option. Fortunately for the Pirates, Rhoden continued to put pressure on Georgetown's interior defense until Mamukelashvili tied the game with less than three minutes remaining by finishing through contact.
However, Chudier Bile answered with an and-1 to put Georgetown ahead for good. The Hoyas dialed up the defensive intensity in the final two minutes to protect that narrow lead, and Dante Harris put the victory away with three straight free throws when he was fouled beyond the arc.
Pickett finished with 19points and sixrebounds for Georgetown, while Rhoden poured in 22 points for Seton Hall.
Creighton 59, Connecticut 56
It will be Creighton against Georgetown for the Big East title.
The Bluejays clinched their spot in the championship game with a 59-56 victory over Connecticut in Friday's second contest. Creighton swept the regular-season matchups, but it was clear from the start the Huskies were ready to put up a fight this time around.
They jumped out to a 13-2 lead even though Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported prior to the game that star player James Bouknight may be on a minutes restriction because he had full body cramps Thursday. He started, though, and impacted the game by battling for boards even when his shot wasn't falling.
Still, Creighton wasted little time answering and seized a four-point halftime lead with a strong effort on the defensive side.
Neither team established much momentum in the second half as they went back and forth, but UConn went up five with two Bouknight free throws with less than six minutes remaining. Rather than folding, the Bluejays responded with a 9-0 run with Marcus Zegarowski leading the way.
Even though the Huskies' last field goal was with more than six minutes left, they were still within one with 30 seconds remaining following two more Bouknight free throws. Cold-blooded free throws from Mitch Ballock and multiple missed threes on the final possession sealed their fate, as Creighton clinched its spot in the championship game.
Patrick Ewing on MSG Security Stopping Him: 'They Should Know Who the Hell I Am'
Mar 11, 2021
Mar 6, 2021; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing reacts on the sideline during an NCAA college basketball game against Connecticut, Saturday, March 6, 2021, in Storrs, Conn. (David Butler II/Pool Photo via AP)
If you work in Madison Square Garden, you should know Patrick Ewing when you see him.
This was apparently not the case for the Georgetown head coach while navigating the arena during the Big East tournament.
Patrick Ewing says he’s going to have to call James Dolan because he keeps getting asked about what passes he’s wearing and keeps getting stopped in the hallway. “I thought this was my house! They should know who the hell I am!” - Ewing on The Garden pic.twitter.com/0RfztaIJ7v
Marc Stein of the New York Times passed along a statement from Madison Square Garden Entertainment, confirming that Ewing and Knicks owner James Dolan talked about the issue:
Madison Square Garden Entertainment issues a statement saying Knicks owner James Dolan and Knicks legend Patrick Ewing spoke today after Ewing said he had difficulties today with MSG security during the Big East tournament: pic.twitter.com/e3ZJckyS36
Ewing spent 15 seasons of his Hall of Fame playing career with the New York Knicks, and his No. 33 hangs in the rafters at MSG. For good measure, he won the Big East tourney twice at the Garden during his college days at Georgetown, taking home tournament MVP in 1984 and 1985.
The 58-year-old, now in his fourth season as the Hoyas head coach, improved to 11-12 with Thursday's quarterfinals upset win over Villanova.
It's obviously difficult for arena security guards to keep track of 11 different teams during a conference tournament, let alone during a pandemic. However, Ewing should be near the top of the list of memorable faces in the New York City venue.
Big East Tournament 2021: Quarterfinal Odds, Spreads, Over-Under, Betting Tips
Mar 11, 2021
St. John's guard Posh Alexander, center, and teammates react during a break in the action against Connecticut in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Conn., Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. (David Butler II/Pool Photo via AP)
The St. John's Red Storm and Seton Hall Pirates received a boost to their slim NCAA men's basketball tournament hopes even before hitting the floor at Madison Square Garden.
The Butler Bulldogs' victory over the Xavier Musketeers on Wednesday cleared one team out of the picture, which should help the winner of the Big East tournament quarterfinal.
The victor of the No. 4-versus-No. 5 matchup could see a path to the championship game open up since the top-seeded Villanova Wildcats will be without Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore.
Even though Villanova is down two key players, it is listed as an 8.5-point favorite for Thursday's opening game against the Georgetown Hoyas.
Jay Wright's team failed its first test without Gillespie and could be the top seed most susceptible to an upset in any of the power conferences.
No. 1 Villanova (-8.5) vs. No. 8 Georgetown (Over/Under: 140.5) (Noon ET, FS1)
No. 4 St. John's vs. No. 5 Seton Hall (-1.5) (O/U: 152.5) (3 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 2 Creighton vs. No. 10 Butler (6 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 3 UConn vs. No. 6 Providence/No. 11 DePaul (9 p.m. ET, FS1)
Betting Tips
St. John's (+1.5) vs. Seton Hall
St. John's and Seton Hall just met on Saturday, but there will be one key difference between that contest and Thursday's quarterfinal.
The Red Storm will have Posh Alexander back in the lineup after he missed time with an injury. According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, the freshman guard told reporters he will play in New York.
The Brooklyn native is the second-best scorer on the St. John's roster and could provide the spark his team needs to make a deep run at Madison Square Garden.
Alexander averages 11.1 points per game and went through a stretch from January 18-February 6 in which he put together six straight double-digit performances.
If Mike Anderson's squad receives similar production from Alexander, it should be in good shape to win a second successive game against the Pirates.
On Saturday, the Red Storm recorded a superior percentage from the field, three-point range and the free-throw line. They also won the rebound and assist battles by small margins.
While Alexander is an important piece, leading scorer Julian Champagnie could be the reason why St. John's keeps its Big Dance dream alive. His 22-point outing on Saturday was his third 20-plus-point game in the last five contests.
Seton Hall does not have a backcourt scorer who can keep pace with Champagnie, and it only has three players who average over eight points per game.
Senior forward Sandro Mamukelashvili is the Pirates' game-changing player, but he only had 15 points on Saturday and dipped below that mark in two of the five games prior to that.
One way St. John's can take the 21-year-old out of the game is by driving into the paint and forcing him into foul trouble. He has committed three fouls in three of his last four appearances.
If St. John's keeps Mamukelashvili from making a major impact and receives the normal contributions from Champagnie and Alexander, it could move up the bracket projections.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN listed both teams on the "next four out" line following Xavier's loss to Butler, but there is room for improvement through a few wins on the top side of the bracket.
Villanova vs. Georgetown (Under 140.5)
Villanova's offense looked atrocious in its first game without Gillespie.
The Wildcats lost 54-52 against the Providence Friars in a game in which Moore suffered a severe ankle sprain that left him doubtful for the Big East tournament.
Thursday's opener will be the first time Villanova plays without both guards for 40 minutes, and there is a good chance it experiences some struggles while figuring out its offensive sets.
Villanova will likely shoot better than 22.2 percent from three-point range, but it could have trouble early on with its spacing and distribution with its top two assist earners sidelined.
A slow start would be the perfect ingredient for the under of 140.5 points to hit, especially with the way Georgetown struggled from the field on Wednesday.
The Hoyas scored 68 points, but they shot 39.3 percent from the field and made four of their 19 three-pointers in a game in which the Marquette Golden Eagles shot even worse than them.
In the first of two meetings this season, Villanova and Georgetown combined to shoot 51-for-121 from the field, and each team went through extended cold spells. Villanova faced a 13-point halftime deficit and Georgetown managed just 17 second-half points.
If Villanova locks in defensively, it could avoid a potential double-digit comeback for the second time this season versus the Hoyas.
In their last four victories, the Wildcats held opponents under 65 points. That is an improvement from the 74 points they allowed to Georgetown on February 7.
There is always the chance that Villanova finds its rhythm early, but most of the recent trends suggest at least one team will struggle to reach 60 points, which will keep the game under its projected total.
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