MBB Minute – Nine BIG EAST Teams in Action Saturday
A busy Saturday has nine BIG EAST teams in action with four conference contests and one non-league matchup.
At noon ET, BIG EAST fans can hold on to their clickers and check out Seton Hall battling St. John’s on FOX at Madison Square Garden and Villanova hosting Connecticut on FS1 at Wells Fargo Center. The Pirates, 13-4 overall and atop the BIG EAST standings at 5-0, put their seven-game winning streak on the line against the Johnnies (12-6, 1-4). The two teams have split their last four meetings at MSG. St. John’s won 78-70 last year. Seton Hall’s Myles Powell needs five points to reach 1,000 in his BIG EAST career.
The Wildcats are 13-3 and on a three-game win streak. They have five players averaging in double figures led by Saddiq Bey’s 15.4 scoring mark. UConn (10-6) is coming off an 89-86 double-overtime loss to No. 16 Wichita State. This year, the BIG EAST boasts the best non-league record among D-I conferences at 101-25 (.802).
At 1 p.m., DePaul hosts Butler on FSN. Both teams want to bounce back from losses earlier in the week. The Blue Demons (12-5, 0-4) lost 79-75 in overtime at Villanova. Butler (15-2, 3-1) took its first league defeat, dropping a 78-70 home decision to Seton Hall.
Georgetown hosts Marquette at 2 p.m. on FS1 in a battle of teams that are 2-3 in BIG EAST play and coming off wins on Wednesday. The Hoyas (12-6) beat No. 25 Creighton 83-80 and Marquette (12-5) handled Xavier 85-63. Georgetown’s Omer Yurtseven has nine double-doubles this season. The Golden Eagles’ Markus Howard is poised to move into the top 10 on the BIG EAST’s all-time scoring list. He is 11th with 1,218 points and can pass Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds (1,221-10th) and St. John’s Felipe Lopez (1,222-9th).
The FS1 coverage continues at 4:30 p.m. when Creighton, also 2-3 in the BIG EAST, hosts Providence. The Bluejays (13-5) swept the season series from PC last year for the first time in league play. The Friars (11-7, 4-1) have won five of their last six games and are 2-0 on the road in BIG EAST play with both wins coming by one point. PC won at DePaul 66-65 and at Marquette 81-80 in overtime.
Home teams are 15-9 (.625) in league games going into Saturday.