Marquette's Andrew Rowsey
MBB Minute -- Marquette, DePaul Pick Up Monday Wins
Marquette and DePaul registered home court victories on Monday, though both teams still have more games to play this week before the BIG EAST schedule kicks in next week.
Because of injuries, Marquette was down to seven scholarship players in its game against St. Francis, Pa., but the Golden Eagles prevailed 78-65. All five starters reached double figures led by Andrew Rowsey’s 22 points. Haanif Cheatham added 18 points and Jajuan Johnson filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots. MU plays SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday.
In a game of runs, DePaul defeated Southeast Missouri State 81-78. The Blue Demons led by 15 in the first half and SEMO led by 14 in the second half before DePaul rallied. Billy Garrett Jr. paced five players in double figures with 19 points. He shot 8-of-8 from the foul line and dished eight assists. DePaul plays Wyoming on Thursday and either USC or Missouri State Friday in the Las Vegas Invitational.
On Tuesday, ninth-ranked Creighton travels to Arizona State on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. ET. The Bluejays are looking to turn the tables on the Sun Devils after losing last year’s meeting 79-77 at home. This season, Creighton is second nationally in field goal percentage, hitting 53.9 percent and eighth in scoring at 89.3 ppg.
FS1 has a doubleheader with No. 17/17 Xavier hosting Eastern Washington at 6:30 p.m. followed by Maine at Providence at 8:30 p.m. Xavier (9-2) will be aiming for its 30
th straight win at the Cintas Center against a non-conference opponent. Trevon Bluiett, who has scored at least 20 points in four of his last five games, is averaging 19.3 ppg.
Like Xavier, Providence is 9-2. The Friars are led by Rodney Bullock, who sports a 20.1 scoring average --tied for third in the BIG EAST. On the other side of the ball, PC leads the league in scoring defense, allowing only 58.9 ppg, which is tied for eighth nationally.
Entering Tuesday, the league’s non-conference record is 86-25 (.775). The BIG EAST is 9-5 against AP ranked teams. In Tuesday’s NCAA RPI rankings, the BIG EAST has four teams ranked in the top 11 – Villanova (1), Xavier (3), Creighton (10) and Butler (11).