MBB Minute -- Saturday's Slate Includes FOX Doubleheader
The FOX broadcast network has a Saturday doubleheader with the two highest ranked BIG EAST teams playing at home. Villanova, No. 1 in this week’s Associated Press poll, plays Providence at Wells Fargo Center at noon ET followed by Marquette traveling to No. 7 Creighton at 2:30 p.m.
Butler, ranked 13
th by AP and 14
th by USA Today, goes to DePaul for a 1 p.m. tipoff on FS1.
Villanova (18-1) has won nine straight BIG EAST games at home, but Providence was the last team to knock off the Wildcats, winning 82-76 in overtime at Wells Fargo on Jan. 23. This season, Villanova is 6-1 in league play while Providence is 3-4 and coming off wins against Seton Hall and Georgetown. Villanova’s Josh Hart leads the league in scoring with an 18.8 average. PC’s Rodney Bullock is fourth in scoring with a 17.7 mark.
Creighton is 10-1 at CenturyLink Center this season with its only loss coming against Villanova. The Bluejays, who are off to the best start in school history with an 18-1 mark, play their first game without Maurice Watson Jr., who is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered in Monday’s win at Xavier. Marquette is 3-3 in league play with its three wins coming at home and the three losses coming on the road. Freshman Markus Howard leads the team in scoring (12.9) and leads the league in 3-point shooting (51.9 percent) and free throw shooting (94.6 percent).
Butler is 5-2 in league play with both losses coming on the road, but the Bulldogs have taken their last five matchups against DePaul. In their last two games, wins over Marquette and Xavier, Butler has scored a total of 121 points in the second half. All eight of DePaul’s victories this season have come at home. The Blue Demons are 8-11 overall. Billy Garrett Jr. has led the team in scoring in each of the last four games and is averaging 14.9 points for the season.