CINCINNATI -- Trevon Bluiett grabbed the scissors in his right hand, climbed the stepladder and started hacking at the net, grimacing as the threads refused to cut.
Finally, he had everything well in hand , just as he had so many times during his four-year career and Xavier's breakthrough season.
The senior guard scored 23 points in his final game at the Cintas Center, and No. 3 Xavier never trailed while beating Providence 84-74 on Wednesday night to clinch at least a share of its first Big East championship.
The Musketeers (26-4, 14-3) can win it outright by beating DePaul on Saturday and end Villanova's run of four consecutive regular season titles.
"It just shows that despite maybe from game to game we're not at our absolute best, but we are the most consistent team," Coach Chris Mack said.
Bluiett will leave Xavier as its second all-time scorer. He made the game's first basket on a driving layup, and finished off the Friars with a dunk and two free throws in the final minute.
"We came out aggressively, especially Tre," senior forward Sean O'Mara said.
The Musketeers sensed the enormity of the game at the outset, missing eight of their first 10 shots from beyond the arc, many of them uncontested. But they made the plays in the big moments, one of their traits as they've won a lot of close games and, now, a title.
"Being that it was one of our goals at the beginning of the season and now actually achieving our goal, it's kind of unreal," said Quentin Goodin, who added 18 points, one shy of his career high.
The league title was another major step in a record-setting season for Xavier. The Musketeers moved up to No. 3 for the first time this week. Their latest win matched the school record for victories in the regular season. And they got the best of one of only three teams to beat them this season.
Providence (18-12, 9-8) won 81-77 on Jan. 6 but couldn't pull off the sweep after getting off to a slow start and getting into foul trouble. Top scorer Rodney Bullock fouled out with 4:42 left after managing only six points. Maliek White led with 15 points.
Xavier opened with a 21-8 run, but wasted chances to build on the fast start. Providence made 12 of its last 14 shots in the half, cutting the deficit to 40-37. Xavier found its touch to start the second half and made eight of its first 10, rebuilding the lead to 12 points. Providence never got closer than six the rest of the way.
The Friars had 17 turnovers that set up 22 of Xavier's points.
NO. 4 VILLANOVA 69,
SETON HALL 68, OT
NEWARK, N.J. — Mikal Bridges scored 23 points, Jalen Brunson made big plays down the stretch and No. 4 Villanova avoided consecutive losses for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Brunson, who was 1 of 8 from the field midway through the second half, finished with 14 points, including two free throws in the waning seconds of overtime to give Villanova (26-4, 13-4 Big East) a 69-66 lead.
Khadeen Carrington closed out the scoring with two free throws with a second to play to finish off a 23-point night for Seton Hall (20-10, 9-8), However, he also missed a free throw with 11.6 seconds left in regulation that could have given the Pirates a late one-point lead.
NO. 18 CLEMSON 76, FLORIDA STATE 63
CLEMSON, S.C. — Marcquise Reed scored 22 points and Clemson won a program-record 11th Atlantic Coast Conference game. The Tigers (22-7, 11-6) had won 10 league games six times in 64 years as ACC members, but have never before won this many conference games in a regular season. Florida State (19-10, 8-9) closed to 64-61 on Phil Cofer’s three-pointer with 2:58 remaining, but got no closer. Gabe DeVoe had 13 points while Shelton Mitchell and Elijah Thomas had 11 points each for the Tigers. Cofer led the Seminoles with 21 points.
NO. 23 KENTUCKY 97,
MISSISSIPPI 78
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kevin Knox had 22 points and Quade Green added 18, including eight during a 15-5 second-half run that helped No. 23 Kentucky pull away from Mississippi.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 points, Wenyen Gabriel 15 and PJ Washington 10 as the Wildcats (21-9, 10-7 SEC) won their third consecutive game and home finale, the first without departing seniors under Coach John Calipari. Green had two three-pointers and a layup during the run that provided an 82-69 lead with 6:40 remaining.
Kentucky shot 56 percent after halftime and 50 percent overall in a game that was chippy at times, resulting in five technical foul calls and the quick ejection of Ole Miss senior forward Marcanvis Hymon after just 3 1/2 minutes.
Terence Davis had 26 points and Breein Tyree and Bruce Stevens 13 each for the Rebels (12-18, 5-12), who lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
NO. 25 HOUSTON 69, SMU 56
DALLAS — Rob Gray had 19 points and 9 assists and Corey Davis Jr. added 17 points to lead Houston. The Cougars (23-6, 13-4 American Conference) have won seven of eight games and are a half-game behind second-place Wichita State. SMU has lost seven of eight games since leading scorer Shake Milton was sidelined with a hand injury. Jahmal McMurray scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to lead the Mustangs (16-14, 6-11).
SEC
SOUTH CAROLINA 83,
LSU 74 (OT)
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Frank Booker scored 25 points and Wesley Myers added 23 to lead South Carolina to an 83-74 overtime victory over LSU.
Hassani Gravett scored all six of his points in the extra period, including a 3-pointer to open the period as the Gamecocks (16-14, 7-10 SEC) scored the first nine points of overtime.
The Tigers (16-13, 7-10) had two shots blocked, two turnovers and missed two free throws, a three-pointer and a layup in their opening seven possessions of overtime.
South Carolina led 62-47 with 8:08 to go. But LSU finished regulation on a 25-10 run and Tremont Waters' three-pointer with 3.7 seconds left over 6-foot-10 Maik Kotsar sent the game to overtime tied at 72-72.
The Gamecocks had their own 15-1 run in the middle of the second half.
Waters had 19 points and Brandon Rachal added seven points and 13 rebounds for LSU.
Chris Silva scored eight points before fouling out with 19.3 seconds left in regulation.
While 10 teams are either projected in the NCAA Tournament or on the bubble in the SEC, these two teams likely need to win the SEC Tournament for an NCAA bid. Right now they are trying to avoid the opening day of the conference tournament and needing to win five games in five days for a title. A victory Saturday will likely be enough for either team.
TEXAS A&M 61, GEORGIA 60
ATHENS, Ga. — T.J. Starks scored 15 points and hit the go-head basket with 58 seconds remaining to help Texas A&M eke out a victory over Georgia. Tyler Davis added 13 points and Admon Gilder and D.J. Hogg each scored 11 for the Aggies (19-11, 8-9 SEC). Texas A&M has won two in a row on the road, heading into its regular season finale Saturday at home against Alabama. Yante Maten finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia (16-13, 7-10). The Bulldogs led by five with 2:28 remaining but missed their last five shots from the field and did not score again.
Sports on 03/01/2018