MBB Minute: Dunn's Late Hoop Lifts Providence, Bluiett Fuels Xavier
On Tuesday, Kris Dunn’s dramatic shot gave Providence a win at Crieghton and Trevon Bluiett’s career scoring night helped power Xavier to victory against DePaul.
After a slow first half, Dunn scored 16 of his game-high 20 points after intermission, including a jumper as time expired to give the Friars a 50-48 win over the Bluejays. Ben Bentil added 13 points and eight rebounds. Toby Hegner came off the bench to pace Creighton with 11 points.
Bluiett scored 19 of his career-high 24 points in the first half when the Musketeers built a 41-31 and pulled away in the second half. Bluiett also had six rebounds and four assists. Myles Davis added 14 points and seven assists. DePaul got 16 points and eight boards from Myke Henry.
On Wednesday, FS1 has another doubleheader with Georgetown visiting St. John’s at Madison Square Garden at 6:30 p.m. ET followed by Marquette at Villanova.
The Hoyas are aiming to move to 4-1 in BIG EAST play while the Red Storm are still striving for their first conference win. It will be the 36th meeting at MSG between Georgetown and St. John’s as BIG EAST members. The Red Storm hold a 19-16 edge.
Marquette will play Villanova at The Pavilion where the Wildcats have won 35 in a row. The Golden Eagles earned some notice in their last road game when they beat Providence 65-64. MU’s Henry Ellenson has a league-leading 10 double-doubles for the season. After Sunday’s triumph at Butler, Villanova is 4-0 in BIG EAST play and riding a six-game winning streak. Josh Hart’s 15.9 scoring average ranks fourth in the BIG EAST.
In Monday’s AP and USA Today polls, Villanova, Xavier, Providence and Butler remain ranked. Villanova moved up to No. 6 in the AP and No. 7 in USA Today. Xavier moved up to seventh in AP and eighth in USA Today. Providence is 12th and Butler is 23rd in both polls.