MBB Minute – Providence Pulls Away from Merrimack for Comfortable Tuesday Win
After a slow start, Providence scored 55 points in the second half of a 93-56 victory against Merrimack in the only BIG EAST action Tuesday night.
?For the most part, the Friars were without stellar senior Alpha Diallo. Slowed by illness, he played only 10 minutes and scored two points. However, six of his teammates reached double figures. Graduate transfer Luwane Pipkins scored 18 points and dished eight assists – both game highs. Guard Maliek White added 15 points. Emmitt Holt, who has returned from a medical redshirt last season, finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The BIG EAST schedule remains light on Wednesday with only one contest. St. John’s hosts Columbia at 7 p.m. ET at Carnesecca Arena on FS1. The Johnnies (3-1) want to bounce back from Saturday’s two-point loss to Vermont. The game wraps up a five-game homestand before St. John’s heads to the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Uncasville, Conn., Saturday and Sunday. The Johnnies will meet Arizona State on Saturday.
Villanova, Xavier and Georgetown also are in tournaments this week, starting on Thursday. Villanova and Xavier are both in South Carolina. The Wildcats (2-1), ranked 17th in Associated Press and 15th in USA Today, have an early tip against Middle Tennessee State in the Myrtle Beach Classic. The game starts at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. Xavier is participating in the Charleston Classic. The Musketeers (4-0), ranked 18th in AP and 21st in USA Today, take on Towson at 7 p.m., also on ESPN2.
Georgetown plays at Madison Square Garden on Thursday and Friday in the 2K Empire Classic. The Hoyas (3-1) meet Texas at 7 p.m. on FS1 and will play Duke or California on Friday.