Contacts: John Paquette FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Web: BigEast.com March 7, 2016 Twitter: @BigEastMBB Facebook: /BigEastConference 2015-16 BIG EAST MEN’S BASKETBALL 2015-16 STANDINGS BIG EAST OVERALL W-L Pct. H A W-L Pct. H A N Streak Villanova (3/2) 16-2 .889 8-1 8-1 27-4 .871 15-1 10-2 2-1 Won 3 Xavier (5/5) 14-4 .778 8-1 6-3 26-4 .867 15-1 8-3 3-0 Won 1 Seton Hall (rv/rv) 12-6 .667 6-3 6-3 22-8 .733 14-3 6-4 2-1 Won 1 Providence (rv/rv) 10-8 .556 5-4 5-4 22-9 .710 13-4 7-4 2-1 Won 3 Butler (rv/rv) 10-8 .556 6-3 4-5 21-9 .700 13-3 5-5 3-1 Won 3 Creighton 9-9 .500 5-4 4-5 18-13 .581 12-5 4-8 2-0 Lost 2 Marquette 8-10 .444 4-5 4-5 19-12 .613 12-7 5-5 2-0 Lost 1 Georgetown 7-11 .389 4-5 3-6 14-17 .452 9-8 4-8 1-1 Lost 6 DePaul 3-15 .167 2-7 1-8 9-21 .300 5-9 3-10 1-2 Lost 3 St. John’s 1-17 .056 1-8 0-9 8-23 .258 7-10 0-10 1-3 Lost 4 (Rankings in March 7 Associated Press/USA Today Polls) THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE WEEKLY HONORS Monday, February 29 2016 The BIG EAST Tournament Presented BIG EAST Player of the Week No Games Scheduled by the Jeep Brand Ben Bentil, Providence, F, So. Bentil averaged 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and Tuesday, March 1 Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. 3.0 assists in a 2-0 week with double-doubles in VILLANOVA 83, DEPAUL 62 March 9-12 both games. In a 70-66 win over Creighton, the MARQUETTE 88, GEORGETOWN 87 sophomore scored 27 points and grabbed 10 boards. He also had 23 points, 10 rebounds and Wednesday, March 2 First Round five assists in a 90-76 win at St. John’s. Bentil BUTLER 85, SETON HALL 78 Wednesday, March 9 – FS1 won the BIG EAST scoring crown, averaging 22.9 PROVIDENCE 70, CREIGHTON 66 No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 9 DePaul, 7 p.m. points in league games. Bentil also ranked first in No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 St. John’s, 9:30 p.m. scoring in all games with a 21.2 average. Thursday, March 3 Quarterfinal Round BIG EAST Freshman of the Week No Games Scheduled Thursday, March 10 – FS1 Henry Ellenson, Marquette, F, Fr. No. 1 Villanova vs. Georgetown/DePaul, Noon Ellenson has been named Freshman of the Week Friday, March 4 No. 4 Providence vs. No. 5 Butler, 2:30 p.m. for the eighth time this season. He averaged 19.5 No Games Scheduled points and 9.5 rebounds, while shooting 53.6 No. 2 Xavier vs. Marquette/St. John’s, 7 p.m. percent from the field and 81.8 percent from Saturday, March 5 No. 3 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 Creighton, 9:30 p.m. the free throw line in a 1-1 week. He collected SETON HALL 80, DEPAUL 66 his 17th double-double of the season with 10 VILLANOVA 84, GEORGETOWN 71 Semifinal Round points and 11 rebounds in an 88-87 win over PROVIDENCE 90, ST. JOHN’S 76 Friday, March 11 – FS1 Georgetown. Ellenson scored a game-high 29 BUTLER 95, MARQUETTE 74 Thursday afternoon winners, 6:30 p.m. points in a 95-74 loss at Butler. XAVIER 98, CREIGHTON 93 Thursday evening winners, 9 p.m. BIG EAST Honor Roll End of the Regular season Championship Game Roosevelt Jones, Butler, G, Sr. Saturday, March 12 -- FOX Averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m. assists in a 2-0 week. Had 20 points in a win against Seton Hall. Kris Dunn, Providence, G, Jr. Averaged 15 points, 8.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week. Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall, G, So. Averaged 30.0 points, 5.5 boards, 4.0 assists and 2.0 blocks in a 1-1 week. Had consecutive career scoring highs with 27 points in a loss at Butler and 33 points in a win at DePaul. Kris Jenkins, Villanova, F, Jr. Averaged 24.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in a 2-0 week. Scored 31 points in a victory at DePaul, which included 8-of-14 from 3-point range. Myles Davis, Xavier, G, Jr. Scored 24 points, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and had seven assists in a win over Creighton. 2015-16 BIG EAST BASKETBALL BIG EAST News & Notes 2015-16 GAMES DECIDED BY ... OT or BIG EAST Finished Non-Conference Play With A 96-30 Mark 0-5 6-10 11-15 16+ Total Villanova’s 83-67 win over Temple on Feb. 17 completed the BIG EAST’s non- Butler 4-2 4-5 4-0 9-2 21-9 league schedule for the regular season. BIG EAST squads compiled a 96-30 Creighton 1-7 3-1 4-3 10-2 18-13 (.762) mark against non-conference competition. Last season, the league was a DePaul 3-3 3-1 0-8 3-9 9-21 combined 94-30 (.758) in the 2014-15 regular season. Georgetown 3-8 4-4 2-4 5-1 14-17 Marquette 9-3 2-4 2-1 6-4 19-12 Xavier-Villanova Posts Record BIG EAST Audience On FS1 Providence 8-2 5-3 4-3 5-1 22-9 Xavier’s 90-83 win against of top-ranked Villanova scored 538,000 viewers on St. John’s 2-2 4-8 1-2 1-11 8-23 Seton Hall 3-2 8-5 3-1 8-0 22-8 FS1 making it the second-most watched regular season BIG EAST game in FS1 Villanova 3-1 4-1 7-1 13-1 27-4 history barely behind Michigan State-Georgetown on 2/1/14 (539,000). However Xavier 1-0 11-2 3-1 11-1 26-4 among A18-49 it is the most-watched BIG EAST regular season game in FS1 his- Overtime Records – Butler (1-0), Creighton (0-0), DePaul (0-1), Georgetown (0-2), tory averaging 207,000 viewers in that demo. When No. 4 Villanova hosted No. Marquette (3-0), Providence (1-1), St. John’s (0-0), Seton Hall (1-0), Villanova (0-1), 16 Providence on Sunday, Jan. 24, at the Wells Fargo Center -- despite the chal- Xavier (0-0). lenge of being postponed from Saturday due to the severe weather -- the game averaged 905,000 viewers on FOX broadcast network and is now FOX Sports’ most-watched BIG EAST men’s college basketball game (featuring two conference BIG EAST PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR Kris Dunn, Providence, G, Jr., 6-4, 220, New London, Conn. teams), regardless of network, since the package launched in 2013-14. BIG EAST PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Villanova’s Aricidiacono Named A Finalist for Senior CLASS Award Jalen Brunson, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-2, 199, Lincolnshire, Ill. Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono is one of the finalists for the 2015-16 Senior CLASS Award®. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be classified as NCAA BIG EAST PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM Division I seniors and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Kellen Dunham, Butler, G, Sr., 6-6, 200, Pendleton, Ind. community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrat- Roosevelt Jones, Butler, F, Sr., 6-4, 225, O’Fallon, Ill. ing Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-3, 214, Indianapolis, Ind. focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-3, 195, Langhorne, Pa. platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The final- Jalen Reynolds, Xavier, F, Jr., 6-10, 232, Detroit, Mich. ists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 candidates announced in January. Fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are BIG EAST PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM encouraged to submit votes online at the Senior CLASS Award website through Billy Garrett, Jr., DePaul, G, Jr., 6-6, 205, Chicago, Ill. March 21. The Senior CLASS Award recipients will be announced during the 2016 Henry Ellenson, Marquette, F, Fr., 6-10, 245, Rice Lake, Wis. NCAA Men’s Final Four®. Butler’s Alex Barlow won the award last year. Angel Delgado, Seton Hall, F, So., 6-9, 230, Bajos De Haina, D.R. Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall, G, So., 6-4, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y. Daniel Ochefu, Villanova, F, Sr., 6-11, 245, Baltimore, Md. Six BIG EAST Basketball Standouts Land on Awards Watch Lists Some Player of the Year awards have released their midseason lists of players to PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION watch for the remainder of the season. Isaac Copeland, Georgetown, F, So., 6-9, 200, Raleigh, N.C. Luke Fischer, Marquette, C, Jr., 6-11, 245, Germantown, Wis. Naismith Trophy Midseason Top 30 Watch List Jalen Brunson, Villanova, F., Fr., 6-2, 199, Lincolnshire, Ill. Ben Bentil, Providence Trevon Bluiett, Xavier, G, So., 6-6, 215, Indianapolis, Ind. Kris Dunn, Providence Josh Hart, Villanova Trevon Bluiett, Xavier SCHOOL CONTACTS Oscar Robertson Trophy Finalist List BUTLER Kris Dunn, Providence John Dedman ............................................................