MBB Minute – Xavier, Butler Hold Serve At Home; Five Games Set For Wednesday
No. 9 Xavier and Butler remained unbeaten at home with wins on Tuesday, though they took different paths to victory.
The Musketeers used a dominant first half to build a 20-point lead, then held off a late rally to defeat Marshall 81-77. Xavier was playing shorthanded with starters J.P. Macura and Kaiser Gates out with injuries. Freshman guard Naji Marshall was hurt in the first half and did not return. But Kerem Kantor and Tyrique Jones posted double-doubles to help the XU cause. Kantor had 16 points and 13 rebounds while Jones finished with 14 points and 11 boards. Xavier is 9-0 at Cintas Center this season.
Butler used a strong second half to defeat Morehead State 85-69. Kelan Martin scored seven points in a 14-3 run that opened the second half and broke the game open. Martin recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds in addition to four assists and three steals. Paul Jorgensen tied a career high with 16 points. The Bulldogs are 7-0 this season at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
A busy Wednesday schedule of five games includes St. John’s and Providence participating in the Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. St. John’s meets Saint Joseph’s at 4:30 p.m. followed by Providence taking on Houston at 7 p.m. ESPNU will televise both games. St. John’s tops the BIG EAST in a number of defense categories: scoring defense (61.9 ppg), field goal defense (.368), steals (9.5), blocked shots (6.5) and turnover margin (+7.0). Providence is battling the injury bug. Maliek White and Alpha Diallo have missed the last two games and Kyron Cartwright injured his ankle in Sunday’s win over Stony Brook. All are listed as day-to-day.
FS1 is also carrying a doubleheader. No. 23 Seton Hall hosts Wagner at 7 p.m. followed by No. 25 Creighton (9-2) battling USC-Upstate at CenturyLink Center at 9 p.m. The Pirates (9-2) are 7-0 when leading scorer Desi Rodriguez (19.0) is the team’s top scorer in the game. Creighton’s Marcus Foster has reached double figures in 29 straight games, the longest active streak in the BIG EAST.
Georgetown (8-1) hosts North Texas at Capital One Arena at 7 p.m. on FS2. Jessie Govan continues to lead the BIG EAST in rebounding with a 12.4 average. He ranks fourth in scoring at 20.7 ppg.
BIG EAST teams have won 48 of the last 57 games overall. For the season, the BIG EAST non-conference record is 88-22 (.800).