Joey and Sam Hauser helped Marquette to a 74-71 win at Georgetown.
MBB Minute -- Marquette Wins without Howard, Providence Picks Up First League Victory
Marquette’s Markus Howard played only three scoreless minutes because of back tightness, but Sam Hauser picked up the scoring slack and helped propel the Golden Eagles to a 74-71 road win over Georgetown on Tuesday. Hauser notched a career-high 31 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Theo John added 14 points, six boards and blocked a shot with four seconds left to help preserve the win. Mac McClung led the Hoyas (12-6, 2-3) with 24 points. Marquette (15-3, 4-1) has won four straight BIG EAST games for the first time since 2012-13.
Providence played a strong second half and defeated visiting Seton Hall 72-63 for its first BIG EAST win. The Friars (11-6, 1-3) were led by freshman guard David Duke who finished with a game-high 18 points. Alpha Diallo posted another strong all-around performance with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Quincy McKnight led the Pirates (12-6, 3-3) with 16 points. Myles Powell was limited to 12 points.
On Wednesday, Creighton meets St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Bluejays (10-7, 1-3) are led by Ty-Shon Alexander who is averaging 17.4 points per game. They have won the last six meetings in the series, including a 68-63 decision at Carnesecca last season. St. John’s (14-3, 2-3) is coming off a 79-71 loss at home to DePaul which it played without Shamorie Ponds who was out with a back strain.
At 8:30 p.m., DePaul hosts Butler. The Blue Demons are 2-2 in BIG EAST play and 10-5 overall after Saturday’s win at St. John’s. A win would give DePaul a 10-2 record at home. The last time the Blue Demons won 10 games at a home in a season was 2006-07 when they were 14-2. Butler is coming off back-to-back one-point losses on the road, including Sunday’s 70-69 defeat at Xavier. The Bulldogs (10-7, 1-3) have won the last nine meetings against the Blue Demons.
Conference play has been very competitive so far. After 23 of 90 BIG EAST contests, 13 have been decided by six points or less.