MBB Minute – It was hardly a Black Friday in the BIG EAST.  League squads won three of four games with the lone loss coming by one point.  The overall conference record stands at 14-1 going into a Saturday that has only one game on the schedule. 

Xavier captured its third win in three days while winning the Xavier Invitational.  The Musketeers held off Toledo 76-73.  KyKy Tandy pumped in a career-high 24 points and Paul Scruggs added 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.  The Musketeers were 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final moments.  

Connecticut and Marquette are 2-0 after Friday night wins.  UConn placed four players in double figures with James Bouknight notching 18 points in a 69-57 victory against Hartford.  Forward Isaiah Whaley filled his stat line with 10 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four assists.

Marquette got out of the gate with a 13-4 lead and was in control throughout its 75-50 victory over Eastern Illinois.  The Golden Eagles held the Panthers to 26.2 percent shooting from the floor.  Dawson Garcia, the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, scored a game-high 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds.  Koby McEwen added 14 points.

Seton Hall was the only team to taste defeat, losing 71-70 at Louisville in the Wade Houston Tipoff Classic.  Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.  The Pirates almost overcame an 11-point deficit with 8:24 to play.  

Villanova is meeting Virginia Tech Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU at Mohegan Sun Arena.  This contest was added on Friday when future Villanova opponent Temple paused its program.  Temple was supposed to play Virginia Tech at Mohegan Sun.  The last time the Wildcats and the Hokies met was Feb. 18, 2004, when both teams were in the BIG EAST.  Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was named MVP of the Empire Classic on Thursday.  He averaged 23.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in the two games.