Kaiser Gates tallies 19 points in victory over No. 16 Baylor.
MBB Minute – Musketeers, Hoyas Beat Bears, Score 76 Points
In Tuesday’s BIG EAST action, Xavier beat the Baylor Bears and Georgetown defeated the Maine Black Bears with both winning squads scoring 76 points.
No. 21 Xavier knocked off No. 16 Baylor 76-63 at a sold-out Cintas Center. It was the Musketeers’ 34th straight home win against a non-conference opponent. Xavier (6-1) started quickly, gaining an 18-6 lead and did not trail the rest of the way. Kaiser Gates and J.P. Macura each scored 19 points. The point total for Gates was a career high. Trevon Bluiett and Naji Marshall added 10 points apiece.
Georgetown remained unbeaten (5-0) after its 76-55 victory over Maine at the Capital One Arena. Kaleb Johnson led five players in double figures with 18 points. Jessie Govan added 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds. The Hoyas built a 40-24 lead by halftime and were not challenged in the second half. Govan still leads the BIG EAST in rebounding with an 11.4 average.
Wednesday’s schedule shows three contests, including No. 4 Villanova hosting Pennsylvania on campus at the Jake Nevin Field House at 7 p.m. on FS1. It will be the first regular-season game there since Jan. 4, 1986 and will be Villanova’s first Philadelphia Big 5 game at the venue. Jalen Brunson is first in the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio at +3.7.
Providence hosts Rider at 7 p.m. on FSN. The Friars, who lead the BIG EAST with 49.0 percent shooting from 3-point range, will aim to increase their winning streak to five games. Rider is 5-1 with its only loss coming to Xavier 101-75 on Nov. 13.
Marquette (4-2) has a quick turnaround from Monday’s overtime win against Eastern Illinois when it hosts Chicago State (2-7) at 9 p.m. on FS2. Andrew Rowsey leads the BIG EAST in scoring with a 23.3 average. The game is second of four straight at home for the Golden Eagles.
BIG EAST teams are a combined 49-13 (.790) this season going into Wednesday.