WBB Notes - 12.21.20
Tangling On Tuesday
Four contests are on the calendar for Tuesday’s pre-holiday break finales, including a battle of unbeaten squads and a nationally televised tilt. St. John’s tips off the day at noon ET when it hosts non-league foe St. Bonaventure, in a game streaming live on ESPN3. BIG EAST play takes over for the rest of the day beginning at 2 p.m., when Marquette visits Xavier. The Golden Eagles have been road warriors with a 3-0 record away from the Al McGuire Center this season, while the Musketeers are unscathed (2-0) at Cintas Center. That game will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi, available on FloSports. In a battle of undefeated squads, No. 3/5 Connecticut travels to Villanova at 7 p.m., in a game airing on SNY. The night wraps up at 9 p.m. on FS1 when No. 18/23 DePaul travels to Creighton.
 
Movin’ On Up
DePaul enjoyed a six-spot jump in Monday’s Associated Press Women’s Basketball Top 25, climbing to No. 18. The Blue Demons knocked off then-No. 9 Kentucky last Wednesday and followed that with a win over Georgetown on Saturday to improve to 4-2 on the season. UConn maintained its spot at No. 3 for the fifth consecutive week. The Huskies went 3-0 last week with victories over Seton Hall, Creighton and Xavier to improve to 4-0 on the year. Villanova continued to receive votes in the AP Poll for a second straight week, with the Wildcats winning their lone contest of the week – a home victory over Creighton on Saturday. Villanova is 7-0 on the season.
 
Notable Matchup
Tuesday’s UConn-Villanova tilt not only puts the BIG EAST’s two undefeated teams against each other, it also pits two of the most decorated players of the young season head-to-head. Three-time BIG EAST Player of the Week and reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Maddy Siegrist will look to lead an upset-minded Villanova squad against two-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year Paige Bueckers and the third-ranked Huskies. Some notable stats for the two standouts, including where they rank within the conference:
Maddy Siegrist: 24.4 ppg (1^st), 12.6 rpg (1^st), six double-doubles (1^st)
Paige Bueckers: 18.0 ppg (5^th), .625 FG% (4^th), 6.0 apg (1^st), 2.8 spg (4^th)
 
Battle Brewing On FS1
The first nationally televised tilt of the season features one of the most hotly contested series in the BIG EAST: Creighton-DePaul. The squads have split the series the last two seasons with the last five regular-season meetings decided by 10 points or less. In 2019-20, DePaul claimed the three-point win, 74-71, at D.J. Sokol Arena, while Creighton pulled off the 63-61 upset of then-No. 11 DePaul at Wintrust Arena. Some notable individual performances have happened in these matchups, including Creighton’s Olivia Elger going for 28 points at Wintrust Arena on Jan. 31, 2020; DePaul’s Brooke Schulte erupting for 30 points in Chicago on Jan. 4, 2017; DePaul’s Brittany Hrynko going for 33 points in Omaha on Feb. 20, 2015; and Creighton’s McKenzie Fujan lighting up for 38 points at D.J. Sokol on Jan. 4, 2014.
 
This Week In The BIG EAST
Tuesday
St. Bonaventure at St. John’s, Noon
MARQUETTE at XAVIER, 2 p.m.*
3/5 UCONN at VILLANOVA, 7 p.m.^
18/23 DePAUL at CREIGHTON, 9 p.m.#
All Times Eastern
^SNY
#FS1
*BEDN on FloSports