MBB Minute – St. John’s Keeps Rolling, Butler Falls by a Point at Baylor
In Tuesday play, St. John's won its fifth game in a row and Butler's unbeaten string ended at Baylor.
St. John's has a five-game winning streak after beating Brown 82-71 at Carnesecca Arena. L.J. Figueroa scored a team-high 23 points and Mustapha Heron added 21 points before suffering an ankle injury late in the contest. His status for the Johnnies' next game, Dec. 18 versus Albany, is unknown.
St. John's led by 16 at halftime before Brown made a run in the second half. Rasheem Dunn helped the cause with 12 points.
Butler, ranked 18th this week in the Associated Press poll, suffered its first loss of the season 53-52 at No. 11 Baylor in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. The Bulldogs trailed by 16 points in the first half, but they turned up the defense in the second half to cut the deficit to one point. Kamar Baldwin, who scored 19 points, had his driving shot at the basket blocked in the final seconds.
Sean McDermott added 16 points for the 9-1 Bulldogs who will host Southern on Saturday.
After Tuesday's action, BIG EAST teams have a combined record of 74-22 (.771). The BIG EAST schedule is quiet until Friday when Creighton hosts UT-Rio Grande Valley at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
Four BIG EAST teams are ranked in this week's Associated Press poll - No. 18 Butler, No. 20 Villanova, No. 22 Seton Hall and No. 23 Xavier.