MBB Minute: BIG EAST Fans Flocked To Saturday's Full Slate Of Action
Four of the five BIG EAST games on Saturday were played in front of sellout crowds. When the arenas emptied, Villanova and Xavier had maintained their top spots in the standings, Seton Hall moved into third place, a Butler player had a triple-double and Creighton got 28-points from a reserve.
Villanova jumped to a quick 10-0 start at Providence and led by 17 early in the second half. VU then staved off a late rally to win 72-60 before a jam-packed Dunkin’ Donuts Center house of 12,883.
Darryl Reynolds, starting for a concussed Daniel Ochefu, scored a career-high 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. VU also got double-doubles from Josh Hart (14 pts., 13 rebs.) and Kris Jenkins (10 pts., 10 rebs.). PC’s Ben Bentil did not start because of an ankle injury, but still scored a game-high 20 points.
It took most of the game, but Xavier finally overcame a hot shooting Marquette club in the final three minutes and won 90-82 in front of 10,509 at the Cintas Center. The Musketeers got 20-point perfomances from Trevon Bluiett (23), Edmond Sumner and J.P. Macura (20). Macura’s total was a career high. Marquette shot 54.7 percent from the floor. Freshmen Henry Ellenson and Haanif Cheatham had 22 and 21 points, respectively.
Seton Hall moved into third place with a 7-4 record after a 69-61 win over Georgetown in front of a near-sellout of 9,167 at the Prudential Center. The Hall’s Angel Delgado posted his 12th double-double with a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds. Issac Copeland had 18 points and nine boards for GU.
Butler’s Roosevelt Jones posted the 15th triple-double in BIG EAST history with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in an 89-56 victory at St. John’s. He did it in only 28 minutes. Kelan Martin added 18 points. The Red Storm got 11 points and four blocks from Kassoum Yakwe.
Before 17,139 at CenturyLink Center, Creighton’s Cole Huff had 28 points in an 88-66 win over DePaul. He shot 9-of-11 from the floor, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line. Myke Henry had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Blue Demons.