NEW YORK, NY — The 2026 Big East Conference Tournament continued Thursday at Madison Square Garden with action across both the afternoon and evening.
In the afternoon matchup, the second game of the first session as No. 1 St. John’s beat No. 9 Providence to open up the day, No. 4 Seton Hall rolled past No. 5 Creighton.
Then, while fans hit the exits, a new swarm appeared for the night session, witnessing No. 2 UConn blow out No. 10 Xavier and No. 11 Georgetown upset No. 3 Villanova.
No. 4 Seton Hall rolls past No. 5 Creighton
Seton Hall secured a 72–61 win over Creighton, using a strong first-half run and key contributions from its bench of 30 points to help pull away. The Pirates went on a 10–0 run late in the first half, building momentum on the Bluejays heading into halftime and maintaining control throughout the final 20 minutes. Jacob Dar led the bench with 16 points, while the rest of the second unit provided valuable minutes that helped Seton Hall stay aggressive on both ends of the floor.
Seton Hall’s bench played a critical role in sustaining production, stepping up when the starters needed support. The additional scoring from Dar, Tajuan Simpkins and Tre Parker (six points each) and Najai Hines (two points) helped the Pirates to maintain pressure on the opponent.
Head coach Shaheen Holloway, named the 2025-2026 Big East Coach of the Year this past Wednesday, emphasized how important having that depth has been for his team all season, a unit that has recorded 21 wins and 11 losses.
“Super important—that’s why I want to play with ten or eleven guys, right? I think if you only have six, seven guys and things don’t go well, you can’t go to your bench. Jacob (Dar) came in and gave us great minutes. So did Trey Parker. And so did Tajuan Simpkins. So when you got guys like that, when the starters are really not laying well, to come in with a bench and we’ve been doing that the whole year. I think that’s been the key to some of our success.”
Next Up: No. 4 Seton Hall, advancing to Semifinal Friday, will go up against No. 1 St John’s at 5:30PM ET on FOX.
No. 2 UConn blows out No. 10 Xavier
UConn, with depth proving to be a key factor in the victory, as multiple players stepped up, delivered a dominant performance, blowing out Xavier by a final of 93–68.
Coming off a disappointing loss to Marquette to close out the regular season, which handed St. John’s the regular season Big East title, the Huskies enforced their will inside on 42 points coming in the paint—helping maintain momentum on both ends of the floor and allowing UConn to pull away as the game progressed.
Solo Ball had a team-high of 19 points while Tarris Reed Jr. dropped 17 and Alex Karaban finished with 15. Reed Jr. made that significant impact inside, closing in on 14 rebounds, helping the Huskies control the glass.
“I was just really impressed with the way that these guys came out, the energy level,” said UConn’s head coach Dan Hurley. “There was no residual from that performance. I thought these guys led the way. Tarris, especially there playing with that level of force just to get us off fast, get us off to a quick lead, you know.”
No. 11 Georgetown upsets No. 3 Villanova
For what some called “Big East Basketball After Hours” with the game ending at approximately 11:50PM ET Thursday night, 10 minutes before midnight, Georgetown pulled off the upset of this year’s Big East Tournament thus far, beating Villanova, 78-64.
In their first two games of the 2026 Big East Tournament this week, No. 11 Georgetown has gotten the job, upsetting both of No. 6 DePaul Wednesday night and No. 3 Villanova Thursday night – Image Credit: Georgetown Men’s Basketball
The Hoyas forced their strength and power on both ends to have 46 rebounds as a team compared to the Wildcats’ 25. Though it must be noted that Villanova was missing one of their top-tier forwards in Matt Hodge, who unfortunately suffered a torn ACL earlier this month.
So, as Georgetown took advantage of what was in front of them, five Hoyas finished the game on double-digit scoring figures—Julius Halaifonua (21 points/10 rebounds), Kayvaun Mulready (14 points/eight rebounds), Jeremiah Williams (14 points/six assists), Caleb Williams (11 points/three rebounds) and Malik Mack (12 points/six assists).
“We’re just excited that we are here,” said Georgetown’s head coach Ed Cooley after the win. “I want our men to feel how special it is to play on a Friday night in Madison Square Garden. We’re going to give them that experience, and if we continue to do what we’ve been doing the last couple of days, we’re going to give ourselves an opportunity to advance.”
Next Up: No. 2 UConn and No. 11 Georgetown will clash in the main event of Semifinal Friday at 8:00PM ET on FOX Sports 1.
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