Creighton falls to Villanova in BIG EAST Tournament championship game

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Fourth-seeded Creighton falls 54-48 to second-seeded Villanova in the BIG EAST Tournament title game.

The Bluejays got their first lead of the contest late in the fourth quarter off a three-pointer from senior guard Alex O’Connell.

On the very next possession center Ryan Kalkbrenner extended Creighton’s lead with a dunk, forcing a Villanova timeout.

The Wildcats then went on a 11-2 run led by two-time BIG EAST PLayer of the Year Collin Gillespie, who ended the night with 17 points.

After the game Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said, “We’ve grown to the point where we understand there’s going to be nights the ball doesn’t go in the basket and you gotta find other ways. And we held Villanova to 33% shooting. Most times that’s going to be good enough. But tonight it wasn’t.”

Creighton is now 0-4 in BIG EAST Tournament finals.