No. 11 Providence wins first Big East regular-season title

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A.J. Reeves made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points to help No. 11 Providence win its first Big East regular-season championship with a 72-51 victory over Creighton 72-51 on Saturday night.

Nate Watson and Al Durham each added 12 points, and Justin Minaya had 11 rebounds for Providence (24-3, 14-2).

Ryan Kalkbrenner paced the Bluejays (19-9, 11-6) with 13 points, and Alex O’Connell added 12 points. Creighton shot 23% in the second half.

Providence started the second half up nine points and quickly pushed the lead to double digits behind a slam dunk by Watson and a corner 3-pointer from Minaya. When Jared Bynum fed Watson for an easy layup, the Friars were on their way with a 51-35 lead with 14:52 remaining.

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Creighton; Hosts No. 21 Connecticut on Wednesday night,

Providence: At No. 8 Villanova on Tuesday night.