Josh LeBlanc had 14 points and seven rebounds in the win at Illinois.
MBB Minute -- Georgetown Wins, Xavier Falls in Gavitt Games; Providence Prevails
The start of the fourth annual Gavitt Tipoff Games opened with a split of two games between the BIG EAST and Big Ten Conferences.
Georgetown’s young squad went to Illinois and came away with an 88-80 victory. The top three scorers for the Hoyas were freshmen. Point guard James Akinjo finished with 19 points and seven assists. He was 7-of-7 from the foul line and has made all 17 of his free throw attempts as a collegian.
Forward Josh LeBlanc came off the bench to add 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots and guard Mac McClung helped with 12 points and four assists.
Xavier lost a 77-68 decision to Wisconsin at the Cintas Center. Naji Marshall led the Musketeers with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Graduate student Zach Hankins added 11 points, 10 boards and four blocked shots as a reserve. The loss ended Xavier’s 41-game home winning streak against non-conference foes.
Providence’s Alpha Diallo has posted a double-double in all three games this season. On Tuesday against Siena, the junior had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 70-61 Friar victory. Nate Watson added 15 points and seven rebounds. After trailing 37-33 at halftime, Providence held Siena to 26.7 percent shooting in the second half. Diallo is averaging 20.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.
The Gavitt Games continue on Wednesday with three contests.
At 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and Westwood One Radio, No. 18 Michigan plays No. 8 Villanova on the Wildcat campus at Finneran Pavilion. This, of course, is a rematch of last year’s national championship game that Villanova won 79-62 in San Antonio. This season, the Wildcats’ expected leaders, seniors Phil Booth and Eric Paschall are the team’s leading scorers with 20.0 and 18.5 averages, respectively.
Seton Hall travels to Nebraska for the first meeting ever between the two programs. BTN will televise at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates are 2-0 in the Gavitt Games. Last year, they beat Indiana 84-68 at home. Two seasons ago, they won 91-83 at Iowa. Guard Myles Powell had 30 points in a season-opening 89-49 win over Wagner.
Marquette plays at Indiana at 8:30 p.m. on FS1. The Golden Eagles are 2-0 and led by Markus Howard’s 26.0 scoring average. He had 37 points in Saturday’s win over Bethune-Cookman. The junior has eight 30-point games in his career, the most of any MU player since 1963-64.