MBB Minute -- Hart's Triple-Double Sparks Villanova, Providence Tops Rhode Island
In a pair of local rivalry games, Josh Hart put together a triple-double while leading Villanova past Saint Joseph’s and Kyron Cartwright helped direct Providence to a victory over No. 21/25 Rhode Island in a 4-2 Saturday for BIG EAST teams.
Hart had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Villanova’s 88-57 victory. It’s the first triple-double by a Villanova player since 1986. The Wildcats placed six players in double figures led by Kris Jenkins’ 20 markers. It was Villanova’s 16
th straight Philadelphia Big 5 win and its 42
nd straight triumph at The Pavilion.
Cartwright, the Friars’ point guard, had 19 points, eight assists and only one turnover in a 63-60 win over their in-state rival before a sold-out Dunkin’ Donuts Center. He also shot 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Rodney Bullock added 17 points. PC earned its seventh straight win in the series.
No. 10/12 Creighton and No. 18/18 Butler both bumped their records up to 8-0, posting home court victories. Marcus Foster and Maurice Watson Jr. led the Bluejays to an 82-70 win against Akron. Foster had 27 points. Watson Jr. finished with 14 points and 13 assists.
Butler handled Central Arkansas 82-58 behind Kelan Martin’s 30-point effort. Tyler Wideman had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs committed only eight turnovers.
No. 7/7 Xavier led No. 9/11 Baylor 34-31 at halftime, but could not contain the Bears in the second half and lost 76-61 for its first defeat of the season. Trevon Bluiett had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Musketeers, who shot only 31.0 percent from the field.
DePaul fell behind early in its first road game, an 80-64 loss at Northwestern. Darrick Wood had team highs of 15 points and eight rebounds.
The BIG EAST Sunday schedule includes two games. At 1:30 p.m. ET, Georgetown goes for three wins in a row when it hosts Elon on FS1. At 2 p.m., Marquette plays its first true road game of the season, visiting Georgia on ESPNU.