Romaro Gill led Seton Hall to its ninth straight win with 17 points and eight blocks.
MBB Minute – Seton Hall’s Win Streak Reaches Nine; Creighton, Xavier Also Victorious
In Wednesday action, Seton Hall’s winning streak increased to nine games, which includes a 7-0 BIG EAST mark. Creighton picked up a road victory and Xavier ended a three-game slide.
At Prudential Center, Seton Hall’s Romaro Gill was a dominant force, posting a game-high 17 points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking eight shots in a 73-64 victory over Providence (11-9, 4-3 BIG EAST). Gill has scored in double figures in six straight games. Jared Rhoden and Myles Powell added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Alpha Diallo led the Friars with 13 points and eight rebounds. The 10th-ranked Pirates (15-4) are 7-0 in the BIG EAST for the first time in league history.
Creighton placed five players in double figures en route to an 83-68 road win against DePaul. Mitch Ballock led the Bluejays (15-5, 4-3) in scoring with 19 points. Damien Jefferson and Denzel Mahoney both chipped in 14 points. Creighton led 37-34 at half and led by as many as 22 in the second half. Paul Reed posted his 13th double-double of the season for DePaul (13-6, 1-5) with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Xavier ended a three-game losing streak with a 66-57 victory over visiting Georgetown. The Musketeers (13-6, 2-4) made some changes in their starting lineup, though it was freshman KyKy Tandy who came off the bench to score 18 points. Naji Marshall matched Tandy’s point total and added five assists and four steals. Xavier used an early 17-1 run to take control and led 35-23 at intermission. Georgetown (12-8, 2-5) was led by Mac McClung’s game-high 19 points.
BIG EAST play resumes on Friday with Marquette meeting Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. FS1 will televise at 9 p.m. ET. The Golden Eagles (14-5, 4-3) have won three in a row while the Bulldogs (15-4, 3-3) have dropped three straight. Butler still leads the BIG EAST in scoring defense, allowing only 58.1 points per game. Marquette is second in scoring offense, averaging 77.8 points. MU’s Markus Howard is sixth on the BIG EAST’s all-time scoring list with 1,292 points. Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell (2007-11) is fifth with 1,316 points and the Pirates’ Terry Dehere (1989-93) is fourth with 1,320 points.
Home teams are 21-12 (.636) in league games going into Friday.