J.P. Macura Led Xavier With 18 Points
MBB Minute -- Creighton, Xavier Marquette Win At Home, Providence Falls To Virginia
Playing at home on Saturday, Creighton and Xavier moved to 6-0, while Marquette eclipsed the 100-point mark for a second straight game. Providence lost to Virginia in the title game of the Emerald Coast Classic.
After a sluggish first 20 minutes, Creighton got it going in the second half in an 82-52 win against Loyola, Md. The Bluejays outscored the Greyhounds 52-27 after intermission. Freshman Justin Patton shot 8-of-8 from the floor and posted team highs of 17 points and six rebounds. Marcus Foster added 16 points. The Bluejays shot 55.7 percent from the field. They are the only team in the nation to shoot 50 percent or better in every game this season.
Xavier used a strong first half to take control of its game against Northern Iowa, a 64-42 victory. The two teams has met just six days earlier in the final of the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando, which Xavier won, 67-59. On Saturday, J.P. Macura scored a team-high 18 points. He leads the Musketeers with an 18.8 scoring average. Xavier has won 20 straight non-conference games in the regular season.
Marquette (4-2) rolled to a 101-79 win against Houston Baptist with three players scoring 20+ points. Jajuan Johnson and Luke Fischer each finished with 22 points and Haanif Cheatham added 21 points. Fischer also pulled down 11 rebounds. The Golden Eagles beat IUPUI 104-79 earlier in the week. It’s the first time MU scored 100+ points in consecutive games since 2008-09.
Providence lost 63-52 to No. 7/6 Virginia in the championship game of the Emerald Coast Classic. A 9-0 PC run to start the second half made a dent in a 14-point halftime deficit, but the Friars’ could not overcome the Cavaliers. Jalen Lindsey led PC (4-2) with 18 points. Rodney Bullock added 16 points and six rebounds.
The BIG EAST Sunday schedule has two games – Georgetown hosts Howard on FS1 at 1:30 p.m. ET and Seton Hall meets Stanford on ESPNU at 7 p.m. in the Pirates’ final game in the Advocare Invitational.