A massive battle on Friday awaits between the two best teams in the country, while Creighton has grown to be more inferior than we thought.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week: Budd Clark, guard, Seton Hall (21.5 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg, 3 spg, 50 FG%, 84.6 FT% in two games)
Clark is not a terrific 3-point shooter. However, he still manages to score in spectacular ways for Seton Hall. He helped the Pirates earn two comeback victories last week. On Jan. 28, the Merrimack transfer scored a season-high 24 points with 17 coming in the second half. In addition to that, Clark finished the game with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. That is as complete a stat line as you are going to see from a Pirate.
Freshman of Winter Break: Nigel James Jr., guard, Marquette (18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.5 apg, 2.5 spg, 54 FG%, 60 3P%, 87.5 FT% in two games)
Easy pick this week. James will be on the Big East All-Freshman team and, if he stays, could be one of the best players in the Big East next season. Out of all freshmen that played two games last week, he led the Big East in scoring, assists and was tied for the lead in steals. His 5.5 rebounds per game rank tied for second out of Big East freshmen behind UConn’s Eric Reibe. James led all scorers with 21 points in a stunning blowout win over Creighton at home. In that game, he matched his season high for assists with eight dimes while also recording five rebounds and three steals. He built off that performance with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, despite the loss at Seton Hall.
Best game last week
Clark’s 19 points help Seton Hall hold off Marquette, 69-64
Marquette led by nine points and led for 62% of the game. However, that was not enough for the Golden Eagles to land a huge upset win on the road, just days after upsetting Creighton at home. To be up 37-28 at The Rock against Seton Hall’s stifling defense was impressive on its own. Seton Hall closed the gap by opening the second half on a 12-3 run to take a 45-44 lead. Chase Ross’s layup ended the run and put the Golden Eagles back in front, but the Pirates would retake the lead shortly after and stayed ahead for the most part. James would tie things up at 60 points with just over four minutes remaining. Then it was tied at 62, 64 in crunch time. Seton Hall’s defense came alive when Shaheen Holloway needed his team to do so, helping the Pirates avoid a loss that could very well have been detrimental to their tournament resumé.
Best games this week (outside of No. 3 UConn at No. 22 St. John’s)
Seton Hall at Villanova (Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Peacock)
Both teams are bubble teams for the NCAA Tournament. This is an important one for either team to improve their resumé. Acaden Lewis will be the primary target for the Pirates’ defense, but Seton Hall has to match Villanova’s offensive production to have a chance in this contest.
Creighton at Georgetown (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Peacock)
Boy, do both teams need a win in this one. Both teams have struggled, but no one is as cold as Creighton has been in the last few games. The last week for the Bluejays was brutal, getting blown out by Marquette and UConn. For Georgetown, the Hoyas just need wins.
Villanova at Georgetown (Saturday, noon, TNT/truTV)
These two are rivals stretching as far back as 1980, when Villanova joined the Big East. Since then, the two have had periods of dominating the conference. However, neither team is doing that right now. Villanova is trying to pick up wins for a potential bid into the NCAA Tournament, while Georgetown is looking for momentum in February.
Seton Hall at Creighton (Saturday, 6 p.m., Peacock)
If you told me at the beginning of the season that Seton Hall would be clearly a better team than Creighton, I would have called you crazy. However, Holloway and the Pirates have surprised the league with one of the best records in the conference — anchored by that outstanding defense. Something tells me this will be quite a rock fight in Omaha.