Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova
MBB Minute: Villanova Puts 20-Game League Winning Streak On The Line At Georgetown
All four games on Saturday include a ranked BIG EAST squad. No. 6/7 Villanova travels to Georgetown for a 1 p.m. ET tipoff that will be televised by CBS, while FS1 has a tripleheader with St. John’s at No. 23/23 Butler at noon, No. 7/8 Xavier at Marquette at 2 p.m. and Seton Hall at No. 12/12 Providence at 4:30 p.m.
Villanova, 5-0 in league play, has won 20 straight BIG EAST games dating to last season. The streak includes three games in last year’s BIG EAST Tournament. The Wildcats’ last loss, however, came at Georgetown 78-58 on Jan. 19, 2015. The Hoyas, who are in second place at 4-1, are coming off a 78-58 win at St. John’s and a 33-point effort from D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera. He moved up to third place in scoring in the league with a 16.3 average.
Butler has been off since Sunday’s 60-55 loss to Villanova. The Bulldogs’ three BIG EAST defeats have come against the other three ranked league teams. Point guard Tyler Lewis is the league-leader in assist/turnover ratio (4.1). The Red Storm are led in scoring be freshman Federico Mussini (12.8).
Xavier, 15-1 and off to the best start in school history, goes to Marquette after Tuesday’s 84-64 win over DePaul. Marquette is 2-3 after Wednesday’s 83-68 loss at Villanova. Freshman Henry Ellenson ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 15.7 and first in rebounding at 9.8.
Providence is back at home after Tuesday’s 50-48 win at Creighton. Kris Dunn, who beat the Bluejays with a basket as time expired, ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring (17.9), first in assists (7.0) and steals (3.1). His 46 steals are at least 17 more than any other league player. The sophomore-strong Pirates are led in scoring by Isaiah Whitehead (15.1) and in rebounding by Angel Delgado (9.5). Seton Hall’s next three games include the league’s ranked teams: at Providence, Villanova and at Xavier.
Surprisingly, visiting teams are 12-11 in BIG EAST play so far.