Omari Spellman posted 16 points and six boards to lead Villanova past Providence.
MBB Minute – Villanova, Creighton Take Tuesday Victories
In a pair of BIG EAST battles on Tuesday, No. 1 Villanova overcame an early deficit to beat Providence and Creighton took the opposite approach to a win, building an early advantage at St. John’s, then holding off a late rally.
At Wells Fargo Center, Providence had a 24-15 lead with 7:22 to play in the first half before Villanova put together a 22-2 run and pulled away to an 89-69 victory. Six of the eight Wildcats (19-1, 6-1) who played in the game reached double figures led by Eric Paschall’s 17 points. Omari Spellman added 16 points and six boards. Rodney Bullock led the Friars (14-7, 5-3) with 16 points. Jalen Lindsey added 14 points.
At Carnesecca Arena, Creighton (16-5, 6-3) led 41-25 early in the second half before St. John’s came back and pulled to within three points in the final minute. The Bluejays prevailed 68-63 with Marcus Foster, Khyri Thomas and Toby Hegner combining for 59 points. Foster had a game-high 24 points with Thomas adding 19 and Hegner contributing 14. Justin Simon continued his strong all-around production for St. John’s (10-11, 0-9) with 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
Wednesday’s schedule also has two contests. No. 8 Xavier hosts Marquette at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Musketeers are 13-0 at Cintas Center and in second place in the league standings at 6-2. They won the first meeting against the Golden Eagles 91-87 on Dec. 27 with Trevon Bluiett scoring 23 points. Marquette is 4-3 in the BIG EAST and features the league’s top two scorers, Markus Howard (21.5 ppg) and Andrew Rowsey (20.8). The trio of Howard, Rowsey and Sam Hauser have connected on 194 3-pointers this season. That’s more than seven BIG EAST teams.
DePaul and Georgetown are also meeting for the second time this season. Tipoff at Capital One Arena is 8:30 p.m. The Hoyas won the first game between the two teams 90-81 on Jan. 2 in Chicago. Marcus Derrickson had a game-high 23 points for the Hoyas. The Blue Demons, who won 67-65 at Georgetown last year, have turned to Max Strus as their scoring leader. He is averaging 18.2 points overall and 19.9 in league play. FS1 will televise both Wednesday games.