Kelan Martin Had 24 Points and Eight Rebounds in the Win over Villanova
MBB Minute -- Butler Knocks Off No. 1 Villanova; Xavier, Marquette Win
Butler connected on 15-of-22 3-pointers, built a 23-point lead, then withstood a Villanova comeback to win 101-93 at a sold-out Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs (12-3) beat the No.1-ranked Wildcats (13-1) for the third straight time.
Xavier overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to defeat DePaul 77-72. Marquette used 35 points from Andrew Rowsey to beat visiting Georgetown 74-65.
In the Butler victory, Kelan Martin posted team highs of 24 points and eight rebounds. He was 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Paul Jorgensen scored a career-high 23 points and Kamar Baldwin helped with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. The Bulldogs shot 60.0 percent from the floor. Villanova, which cut the 23-point deficit to six points, was led by Jalen Brunson, who tied his career scoring high with 31 points. Mikal Bridges added 20 points. Villanova shot 53.5 percent from the field and committed only four turnovers.
Playing at a sold-out Cintas Center, visiting DePaul put together a 51-35 lead with 17:40 remaining, but could not hold on against No. 6 Xavier. J.P. Macura led the Musketeers (14-1) with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Trevon Bluiett finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. For the Blue Demons (7-7), Max Strus scored a career-high 33 points, which included 6-of-12 from 3-point range. The Xavier victory was the 200th career win for coach Chris Mack, who also turned 48 on Saturday.
Marquette helped force Georgetown into 25 turnovers in its victory over the Hoyas. Andrew Rowsey posted his second straight game over 30 points with a 35-point effort. That included 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Markus Howard added 13 points. Marcus Derrickson led Georgetown with 20 points and eight rebounds. Jessie Govan registered his ninth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Sunday schedule is an FS1 doubleheader with Providence playing at Creighton at 2:30 p.m. ET and Seton Hall hosting St. John’s at 5 p.m.
The Friars won their league opener 74-62 at St. John’s on Thursday. PC’s Kyron Cartwright had 21 points and 14 assists. Creighton lost 90-84 at Seton Hall. The Bluejays are averaging 91.7 ppg while the Friars are giving up only 70.4 ppg. Providence has beaten Creighton in the last two Omaha meetings.
Seton Hall and St. John’s will meet for the 98th time. The Pirates have taken the last three meetings at Prudential Center. This year, the Hall is 9-0 when Desi Rodriguez (18.3 ppg) is the team’s high scorer. The Red Storm’s Shamorie Ponds has been one of the BIG EAST’s top stat stuffers, averaging 22.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals.