It was the best the Big East has to offer this year.
Two of its three guaranteed NCAA tournament teams, two of its best chances in a long time, will now be Villanova without Coleen Gillespie for the rest of the season.
The show lasted until the time of the hype, even as the Big East Tournament semi-final between second-seeded Croyton and third-seeded Connecticut was played at an hour of BQE pace.
Neither team led by more than five points in the second half. The result was not decided until the last second. Eventually, with an assist from the Garden Court, the Bluejays won 59–56.
The drastic fall of Yukon point guard RJ Cole, who left a wound above his left eye and ruled him out for the final 5:07 of the game, produced a start. Crayton scored the next seven points to take command. Nevertheless, the Bluejays had to survive the final capture.
James Bucnut and Tyler Polley missed the Huskies (15-7) to finalize the potential game in 3 seconds. The Bluejays (20-7) advanced to the title game to face No. 8 Georgetown on Saturday at 6:30 pm when they would go on to their first conference tournament title in their third attempt.
Damian Jefferson led Crayton with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Buckeyes led the Hawkeyes by scoring 14 runs.
The first half started with UConn as if she would run away and hide. It ended with Crayton vocalizing himself. The Hawkeyes led 13-2 at one point, but were trailed by six near the end of the stanza. At the time of the break, Crayton was up 30–26, driven mostly by his defense.
The Bluejays did an extraordinary job on Buchenat, who had five points and three turnovers in the first half, and held Yukon to a 3-point field goal in five attempts. Three of the Hawkeyes’ big bukens, Cole and Tyriss Martin, scored just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting before the break.
The second half started differently. Cole hit his first shot, a 3-pointer, and Ucino also landed on an Edama Sanago basket. From there, the game remained extremely tight. The Hawkeyes had the biggest lead of five after a 3-pointer and two free throws by Polly. Creighton 48- All went on two Jefferson free throws with 6:25 to go.
Bukaite seemed to get on the track shortly after, with a jumper and a three-point game, but he forced a shot and left the front end of 1 and 1, leaving a start for Crayton. The Blues took advantage, as Jefferson gave up 3:55 and made a 3-pointer with 53–53.
During that stretch, Connecticut lost Cole, who was bleeding from above his left eye after taking a hard fall on a drive. With a call out, UConn stalled and Creighton took a four-point lead on a 9–0 run.
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