WASHINGTON, D.C. – A late rally in the final minute helped lift No. 14/12 Villanova past Georgetown 70-69 in the BIG EAST regular season finale for both teams Saturday before 13,106 at Capital One Arena.

This victory and Creighton's 77-60 victory over Seton Hall result in a three way dead heat for the BIG EAST regular season championship. All three squads finished with 13-5 league records. By virtue of tiebreakers, the top three seeds in next week's BIG EAST Tournament will be Creighton (1), Villanova (2) and Seton Hall (3). This marks the sixth time in seven seasons that the Wildcats have captured the BIG EAST regular season crown. 
 
The game-winning points came on Nova's final offensive possession when junior Jermaine Samuels' shot was ruled to have been goaltended by the Hoyas with 5.6 seconds to play. Samuels was also fouled on the play and made the free throw to give Villanova back the lead at 70-69. It had trailed 69-65 with 1:01 to play after having jumped out to a 16-point lead over the Hoyas in the game's opening minutes.
 
The Hoyas (15-16 overall, 5-13 BIG EAST) were unable to score on their final possession and Villanova emerged with the tense win. The Wildcats end the regular season with a 24-7 overall record, 13-5 in the BIG EAST.
 
Sophomore Saddiq Bey scored 18 points – including a huge 3-pointer in the final two minutes – to lead Nova. He was one of five double-figure scorers for the 'Cats.
 
"We feel very fortunate to get out of here with a W," stated Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "Georgetown was just outstanding. I think Patrick (Ewing) deserves a ton of credit. Everything we try to do defensively they had an answer for. They just found a matchup that hurt us. And we had a difficult time scoring. Certain teams with physicality give us problems and that team did.
 
"We could be walking out of here on the other side of it. We feel very fortunate."
 
Superb defense over the first 4:20 of the contest helped VU hold Georgetown to 0-of-6 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, the 'Cats connected on 6-of-8 of their attempts to build a 14-0 lead. The Wildcats pushed the margin to 20-4 before Georgetown began to get its offense untracked. The Hoyas sank 6-of-8 field goals in one stretch to reduce the lead to 28-18 at the 8:43 mark of the first half.
 
A Jahvon Blair 3-pointer brought the Hoyas to within 28-21 as Georgetown's full and ¾ court pressure helped speed the tempo. Yet Villanova's guards, Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore, helped counter that with another scoring flurry that helped the Wildcats close the half with a 39-30 lead.
 
Gillespie and Moore each provided nine first half points for Villanova, which played the last seven minutes of the period with Bey on the sidelines after he was whistled for his second foul. The Wildcats were 15-of-25 (.600) from the field in the first half but nine turnovers allowed the Hoyas to shave into the early lead.
 
Jamorko Pickett was 6-of-7 from the floor in the period, finishing with 15 points for the Hoyas.
 
The start of the second half was nearly a mirror image of the first, only this time the roles were reversed. Georgetown went on an 11-0 run to open the half to claim its first lead of the day at 41-39. A Jeremiah Robinson-Earl basket halted the burst and got the 'Cats on the second half scoreboard.
 
The contest would remain tight the rest of the way.
 
Some firepower from Bey helped Villanova regain the lead. After a pair of Bey free throws with 10:26 to go, the Wildcats held a 54-47 lead. However, Georgetown scored the next eight points to move back in front at 55-54 with 8:32 to play in the second half.
 
The seesaw continued with the Wildcats using a free throw and field goal from Samuels to take a 61-58 lead at the 3:57 mark. But the Hoyas came up with the next five points, re-taking the lead on a Qudus Wahab slam that made it 63-61. Pickett was then fouled and sank both ends of a 1-and-1 to give Georgetown a 65-61 advantage with 2:10 to play. A free throw by each team made it 66-62 in favor of the Hoyas with 90 seconds to play.
 
Bey then drained a huge 3-point to narrow the Wildcats' deficit to 66-65 at the 1:20 mark. However, Terrell Allen answered with a triple for Georgetown to push the margin back to four. A Robinson-Earl drive and layup shave the deficit to 69-67. The Wildcats then came up with a defensive stop and took possession ahead of the final critical sequence. Wright chose not to call a timeout.
 
"I just trusted Collin Gillespie to get us into a zone offense quickly," stated Wright. "They were so dialed into their coach that I didn't want to give them the chance to get set."
 
Initially the officials ruled that Samuels had been fouled but there was no goaltend. Following a video review, the call was changed to goaltending, tying the game at 69. Samuels then went to the line and dropped in a shot that briefly hung on the front rim before falling.
 
Villanova will open the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament Thursday at Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. It will face an opponent to be determined by Wednesday night's opening round action.
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.