Villanova vs. Creighton score: Collin Gillespie's late shots lead Wildcats to Big East Tournament title

The Wildcats have won four out of the last five Big East Tournaments

Villanova missed out on a fourth straight Big East regular season title, but the No. 2 seed Wildcats made it clear that they still run the league on Saturday as they beat No. 4 seed Creighton 54-48 for the Big East Tournament title. Collin Gillespie led the way with 17 points for the Wildcats, and Justin Moore added 16 in a game that was an offensive struggle for both teams.

The Wildcats led just 19-18 at halftime and fell behind 43-39 with 5:28 remaining. But Gillespie scored 10 of his points in the final five minutes to carry Villanova to the finish line in his redshirt senior season after he was forced to miss the postseason a year ago due to a knee injury.

Providence finished the regular season with a better winning percentage in league games than Villanova, and the No. 1 seed Friars technically won the league's regular season title as a result. However, Villanova beat Providence twice in the regular season and actually finished with two more conference victories that Providence. 

Since the Friars missed three league games due to COVID-19 protocols early in the league slate, however, their winning percentage made them the No. 1 seed for the Big East Tournament. That didn't sit well with the Villanova faithful, and that made it all the sweeter for Villanova fans that their team was the last one standing at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Below is a look at how the bracket played out in the 2022 Big East Tournament. 

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2022 Big East Tournament schedule, scores

First round -- Wednesday, March 9
Game 1: No. 9 Butler 89, No. 8 Xavier 82 (OT) | Recap
Game 2: No. 7 St. John's 92, No. 10 DePaul 73 | Recap
Game 3: No. 6 Seton Hall 57, No. 11 Georgetown 53 | Recap

Quarterfinals -- Thursday, March 10
Game 4: No. 1 Providence 65, No. 9 Butler 61 | Recap
Game 5: No. 4 Creighton 74, No. 5 Marquette 63 | Recap
Game 6: No. 2 Villanova 66, No. 7 St. John's 65 | Recap
Game 7: No. 3 UConn 62, No. 6 Seton Hall 52 | Recap

Semifinals -- Friday, March 11
Game 8: No. 4 Creighton 85, No. 1 Providence 58 | Recap
Game 9: No. 2 Villanova 63, No. 3 UConn 60 | Recap

Big East Tournament Championship Game -- Saturday, March 12
Game 10: No. 2 Villanova 54, No. 4 Creighton 48 | Recap