Xavier's J.P. Macura Scored 27 Points in Win at Seton Hall
MBB Minute -- Xavier Wins at Seton Hall on Busy Saturday
On a Saturday with nine BIG EAST teams in action, No. 11 Xavier won at No. 19 Seton Hall 73-64 and handed the Pirates their first home loss at Prudential Center this season. After trailing by 10 points early in the second half, the Musketeers (18-3, 6-2), closed the game with a 15-5 run. J.P. Macura led the winners with a season-high 27 points, which included 8-of-10 from the foul line. Trevon Bluiett added 15 points. For Seton Hall (15-5, 4-3), Desi Rodriguez had a team-high 19 points. Angel Delgado finished with eight points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots. He is only two rebounds away from becoming the BIG EAST’s all-time rebound leader in league games.
Alpha Diallo and Kyron Cartwright helped lift Providence (14-6, 5-2) to its fourth straight win, an 85-71 decision over No. 25 Creighton at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Diallo posted his third double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Cartwright finished with 20 points and seven assists. PC outshot the Bluejays from the field 53.4 percent to 39.4 percent. Marcus Foster led Creighton (15-5, 5-3) with 22 points.
Georgetown and St. John’s have played many tooth-and-nail battles in BIG EAST play, but had never played a double-overtime game until Saturday at the Capital One Arena. The Hoyas (13-6, 3-5) prevailed 93-89. Marcus Derrickson forced the second extra period with a late 3-pointer and finished with a career-high 27 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Jessie Govan and Jamorko Pickett each added 16 points. Shamorie Ponds shined again for St. John’s (10-10, 0-8) with 33 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Butler built a 41-19 lead at intermission, then held off a DePaul rally in the second half to record a 79-67 victory at Wintrust Arena. Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs (14-7, 4-4) with 24 points and Kamar Baldwin added 18 points and nine rebounds. Max Strus led DePaul (8-11, 1-6) with 27 points. He is averaging 19.9 points in league games. Eli Cain finished with 14 points and seven assists.
No. 1 Villanova stepped outside of conference play and won 81-61 at Connecticut. The Wildcats (18-1) built a 39-18 lead by halftime and were not challenged in the second half. Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 23 points and Donte DiVincenzo helped with 17 points. The Wildcats held the Huskies to 34.4 shooting from the field.