March 11, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Xavier Musketeers forward Tre Carroll (12) drives in the second half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Image Jovan Milicevic scored 21 points and hit a game-tying layup with 1:14 left as 10th-seeded Xavier rolled to an 89-87 win over seventh-seeded Marquette in the opening round of the Big East tournament in New York on Wednesday.
Milicevic made 7 of 11 shots and 4 of 7 3-pointers as he finished two points behind his career high in a 96-88 win over Marquette last month. His biggest shot was a layup with a clear path to the rim to tie the game at 80. A clutch drive came after the Musketeers (15-17) lost a 10-point lead. Isaiah Walker hit two free throws with 8 seconds left to seal the win for Xavier.
Xavier advanced to a quarterfinal matchup against second-seeded UConn on Thursday night.
Royce Parham led Marquette with 22 points and nine rebounds. Nigel James Jr., who was named Big East Freshman of the Year on the day, added 18 points but struggled to find his rhythm, shooting 6 of 17. Chase Ross contributed 16 for the Golden Eagles (12-20), who shot 42.5 percent and made 11 of 40 3-point attempts, which tied a season high.
Providence 91, Butler 81
Stefan Vaaks had a career-high 28 points and a career-high eight 3-pointers as the Friars overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to win over the Bulldogs.
Vaaks kept the Friars afloat before a rally and finished 8-of-13 from behind the arc. Ryan Mela added a career-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Jaylin Sellers scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half after going 2-of-10 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Mela added nine rebounds and five assists, both team highs. The Friars (15-17) will face top-seeded St. John’s in the quarterfinals Thursday afternoon.
Michael Ajayi led Butler (16-16) with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but played the final 10-plus minutes with four fouls. Finley Bizjack struggled for most of the game, scoring 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
Georgetown 63, DePaul 56
Reserve Vince Iwuchukwu collected 17 points and 14 rebounds in the 11th-seeded Hoyas’ win over the sixth-seeded Blue Demons.
The Hoyas (15-17) have won two straight following a seven-game losing streak and will face third-seeded Villanova in the quarterfinals Thursday night. Jeremiah Williams also scored 17 points for the Hoyas before fouling out late in the contest when Iwuchukwu helped Georgetown pull away in the final minutes. Malik Mack contributed 16 points as the Hoyas shot 52 percent in the second half and 39.3 percent overall.
Layden Blocker had 16 points off the bench but led DePaul (16-16) with 5-of-14 shooting. NJ Benson added 12, but CJ Gunn had 7 on 3-of-13 shooting.
–Field level media
