Providence's Alpha Diallo had 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists vs. Wichita State
MBB Minute -- Two Close Ones on Friday; St. John's Up, Providence Down
St. John’s and Providence were the two BIG EAST teams in action on Friday and their final scores were almost identical. The Red Storm were happy with a tight win, but the Friars were disappointed with a close defeat.
St. John’s recovered from an 11-point deficit early in the second half to beat Bowling Green 84-80 at Carnesecca Arena. Mustapha Heron came through with team highs of 26 points and six rebounds. Shamorie Ponds added 21 points.
At the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Md., Providence lost 83-80 to Wichita State. Alpha Diallo posted his second double-double in two games with 27 points and 10 rebounds. He also had five assists and three steals. Freshman A.J. Reeves added 19 points. He is averaging 24.0 ppg after two contests. The Friars made only 13-of-26 from the foul line.
The Saturday schedule shows five games, including Butler’s season opener against Miami, Ohio, at 7 p.m. on FSN. The Bulldogs have won 43 straight games at home against non-conference opponents. That’s the third longest streak in the nation behind only Duke and Arizona.
FS2 has a tripleheader starting at 4 p.m. with Marquette hosting Bethune-Cookman followed by Georgetown taking on Central Connecticut at 6 p.m. and Villanova playing Quinnipiac at Wells Fargo Center at 8 p.m.
Bethune-Cookman lost 80-58 at DePaul on Wednesday. Marquette handled UMBC 67-42 in its opener on Tuesday. Central Connecticut is led by head coach Donyell Marshall, who was the BIG EAST Player of the Year in 1993-94 while playing at UConn. Villanova will be going against former Associate Head Coach Baker Dunleavy, who is in his second season at Quinnipiac.
Coach Travis Steele goes for a 2-0 start when his Xavier team plays at home against Evansville at 4 p.m. on FSN. Graduate transfer Ryan Welage scored 24 points in his Musketeer debut, an 82-69 win over IUPUI on Tuesday.