Mikal Bridges tallied 17 points in 18 minutes of action against the Hoyas.
MBB Minute – Xavier, Creighton Stay Unbeaten at Home, Villanova Wins on the Road
In Wednesday BIG EAST action, Xavier and Creighton remained unbeaten on their home floors while Villanova put together one of its best games of the season in a win on the road.
No. 11 Xavier defeated St. John’s 88-82 at a sold-out Cintas Center as coach Chris Mack earned his 203rd career win, becoming the school’s all-time leader in victories. Creighton got out of the gate quickly with a 20-4 spurt against No. 19 Seton Hall and never trailed in an 80-63 win at a full CenturyLink Center. No. 1 Villanova was firing on all cylinders in an 88-56 win at Georgetown.
In a streaky second half at Xavier, St. John’s made its first 11 shots in the second stanza before the Musketeers used a 15-0 run later in the half to take the lead and secure the win. Trevon Bluiett scored a team-high 23 points for the Musketeers (17-3, 5-2) and Kerem Kanter added 22 points and 13 rebounds in only 23 minutes of playing time. Xavier is 13-0 at Cintas Center. St. John’s (10-9, 0-7) was led by Justin Simon, who stuffed his stat line with 28 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Shamorie Ponds added 18 points.
Creighton (15-4, 5-2) is 12-0 at home after the Seton Hall (15-4, 4-2) win. The Bluejays’ Marcus Foster made 5-of-8 from 3-point range and finished with 25 points. Foster went over the 1,000-point career mark as a Bluejay in only 54 career games. Ronnie Harrell Jr. added a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. Myles Powell, the only Seton Hall player to reach double figures, had 19 points. He was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
Hot-shooting Villanova made 60.0 percent from the field, including 17-of-33 from 3-point range in its win at Georgetown (12-6, 2-5). Jalen Brunson led the way with 18 points and seven assists. Mikal Bridges added 17 points. Six Wildcats (17-1, 5-1) reached double figures. Jessie Govan scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for Georgetown (12-6, 2-5).
BIG EAST play picks up again on Saturday. Villanova ventures outside the league with a game at Connecticut on CBS at noon ET. Also at noon, St. John’s plays at Georgetown on FS1 followed by Butler at DePaul at 2 p.m. FOX will televise No. 11 Xavier at No. 19 Seton Hall at 2:30 p.m. At 3 p.m., Creighton plays at Providence on CBS Sports Network.