MBB Minute: Villanova Maintains Streak, Seton Hall Wins At Providence
Three of the four ranked BIG EAST teams tasted victory on an action-packed Saturday afternoon.
No. 6/7 Villanova increased its record BIG EAST winning streak to 21 games with a hard-fought 55-50 victory over Georgetown at the Verizon Center. Josh Hart led the Wildcats with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Ryan Arcidiacono also scored 15 points. The Hoyas’ D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera was the third 15-point scorer in the game. Villanova is 6-0 in BIG EAST play for only the third time in league history.
Seton Hall notched its first road win against a ranked opponent in five years when it won 81-72 at No. 12/12 Providence. Khadeen Carrington came off the bench to score a career-high 22 points and Isaiah Whitehead posted 15 points and seven assists for the Pirates. Ben Bentil led the Friars with 21 points. Kris Dunn, limited by foul trouble, had 16 points. He fouled out with 3:02 to play.
No. 7/8 Xavier got behind early at Marquette 18-11 before putting together a 21-0 run which helped the Musketeers to a 74-66 triumph. Trevon Bluiett scored 18 points and James Farr provided his customary lift off the bench with 16 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Edmond Sumner returned to the Xavier lineup and scored 15 points and dished five assists. Marquette was led by freshman Henry Ellenson who scored 20 points. Luke Fischer added 11 points.
On an emotional day when Butler honored former player Andrew Smith, who passed away from cancer on Tuesday, the No. 23/23 Bulldogs defeated St. John’s 78-58. Kellen Dunham, who was Smith’s travel roommate as a freshman, scored 24 points. Kelan Martin added 22 points and 10 rebounds. The young Red Storm squad was paced by freshman Federico Mussini who finished with 14 points.
Creighton and DePaul will meet on Sunday at Allstate Arena. FS1 will televise at 1 p.m. ET. The Bluejays, 3-2 in league play, want to stay above .500 in the standings, while the Blue Demons are still looking for their first BIG EAST win (0-5).