Seton Hall's Khadeen Carrington Scored 41 Points In Wednesday Win Over Creighton
MBB Minute -- Villanova Aims For Fourth Straight Regular-Season Crown
In the first game of the BIG EAST weekend, Villanova can clinch a tie for the regular-season title when it plays at Seton Hall Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET on the FOX broadcast network. The only other Saturday contest is Xavier at Marquette at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The Sunday schedule shows two contests, both on FS1, DePaul at Butler at 1:30 p.m. followed by Georgetown at Creighton at 3:30 p.m.
Villanova is aiming for an unprecedented fourth straight BIG EAST regular-season crown. The Wildcats are 12-2 atop the standings. Butler, Creighton and Xavier are chasing Villanova, but all have five losses. In the first meeting, Villanova handled Seton Hall 76-46 at The Pavilion on Jan. 16. Last year at Prudential Center, the Wildcats won 72-71. The Pirates won 59-57 in the BIG EAST Tournament final last March. This year, Seton Hall is in the middle of the standings at 6-7 and 16-9 overall. The Pirates used a 41-point effort by Khadeen Carrington to beat Creighton 87-81 on Wednesday.
Xavier and Marquette are both looking to end two-game slides in Milwaukee. The Musketeers are coming off a 75-63 loss at Providence on Wednesday. Junior Trevon Bluiett sat out with an ankle injury, the first time he has missed a game in his career. RaShid Gaston has averaged 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds over the last three games. Marquette has not played since last Saturday’s 80-62 loss at Georgetown. Over the last seven games, Luke Fischer has led the team in scoring (13.7), rebounding (7.9) and shooting percentage (.656).
Butler gained its 11
th 20-win season in the last 12 years when it beat St. John’s 110-86. In the first meeting against DePaul, the Bulldogs pulled out a 70-69 overtime win at Allstate Arena on Jan. 20. DePaul’s Eli Cain had 32 points in the loss.
Creighton will look to turn the tables on Georgetown at CenturyLink Center. The Hoyas beat the Bluejays 71-51 on Jan. 25. Georgetown’s Rodney Pryor ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring with an 18.3 average and Creighton’s Marcus Foster is third at 18.3 ppg.