Shamorie Ponds, St. John's
MBB Minute -- St. John's Wins, Five Games Set For Tuesday
St. John’s, playing without leading scorer Marcus LoVett out with a leg injury, held off Cal-State Northridge 76-70 on Monday at Carnesecca Arena. Freshman Shamorie Ponds scored a collegiate-high 25 points and dished five assists. Bashir Ahmed added 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Tuesday BIG EAST schedule includes five games. Providence, which is coming off a 63-60 win over Rhode Island hosts another local rival when it meets Brown at 7 p.m. ET on FS2. Forward Rodney Bullock, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, is first in the BIG EAST with a 21.4 scoring average.
Villanova, ranked No. 1 in both national polls, plays its third straight Philadelphia Big Five oppenent when it s meets La Salle at the Palestra on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET.
Marquette aims to increase its winning streak to five games when it hosts Fresno State on CBS Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles are coming off an 89-79 win at Georgia.
DePaul hosts Lamar at Allstate Arena at 9 p.m. on FSN. Guard Billy Garrett Jr. will play in his 100th career game. He is averaging 12.2 points. Backcourt partner Eli Cain is the team’s top scorer with at 19.2
Seton Hall plays Hawaii in the first of its two games at the Pearl Harbor Invitational. FS1 has the game at 9:30 p.m. Khadeen Carrington is second in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 21.0 average. He leads the league in 3-point shooting, making 55.2 percent.
Villanova moved into the top spot in the Associated Press and USA Today polls on Monday. Last year, the Wildcats spent three weeks in February in the No. 1 position. USA Today, which has a poll after the NCAA Tournament, had the Wildcats in the top spot after they won the NCAA crown.
BIG EAST teams own a collective record of 61-18 (.772).