Villanova Wins Game, Loses Gillespie

In a top-15 Big East battle, the No. 10 Villanova Wildcats beat the No. 14 Creighton Bluejays on Wednesday, but the victory was a costly one. Senior point guard Collin Gillespie left the game with a knee injury in the first half and did not return. 

The Wildcats improved to 16-4 on the season with the 72-60 win as they built a 19-point lead by halftime. Gillespie grabbed his left leg with 6:38 to play in the first half and had to be helped off the court and to the locker room. 

Gillespie is a three-year starter and one of the last remaining links to the 2018 National Championship team. His injury and unknown status gave a bittersweet ending to the Villanova senior night festivities that included their first home game of the season with family in attendance. 

Gillespie is the second-leading scorer for the Wildcats this season at 14.4 points per game, and he leads the team with 4.7 assists per game. Junior Brandon Slater started the second half in his spot. The Wildcats play at Providence on Saturday but have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament with an 11-3 conference mark. Creighton is now 13-6 in conference and 17-7 overall. 

Big 12 Battles Set for Thursday

The Big 12 title was clinched on Tuesday as No. 3 Baylor won at No. 6 West Virginia 94-89 in overtime, but the task isn’t over for the Bears. With a potential No. 1 seed on the line, Baylor hosts No. 17 Oklahoma State on Thursday night on ESPN2. The Bears are -11 as the Cowboys still have a shot at the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament. 

The other big game Thursday night in the Big 12 is the classic rivalry of No. 15 Texas at  No. 16 Oklahoma but on the hardwood instead of the gridiron. Texas is 9-6 in conference, while the Sooners are right behind them at 9-7. Both teams can mathematically still finish as high as second in the regular-season standings or as low as seventh. 

The Sooners are -2 for the nightcap of the ESPN doubleheader. Thursday’s game is the last on the schedule for Oklahoma, while Texas plays at TCU on Saturday.

Michigan Double Showdown

Meanwhile, in the Big Ten, the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines look to bounce back from a devastating loss on Tuesday as they were drubbed at home by No. 4 Illinois 76-53. Michigan will play in-state rival Michigan State in a unique home-and-home series Thursday and Sunday. 

The first game is in Ann Arbor Thursday night with Michigan -12 for the ESPN opener at 7:00 p.m. ET. The teams were scheduled to play in January before Michigan’s COVID-19 pause. Michigan’s seven-game win streak ended with the loss to Illinois, but they are still in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten title at 13-2. With a two-game lead, they will clinch the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament by beating the Spartans Thursday. 

Michigan State is squarely on the bubble at 14-10 with an 8-10 conference record. With two games left, both against Michigan, they could wrap up a NCAA tournament bid with a sweep. But in losing both games and falling to 8-12 in conference and a likely double-digit seed in the Big Ten tournament, the Spartans could be on the outside looking in when the tournament begins.

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