A rematch of a game decided by just six points a week ago, a meeting of two NCAA Tournament contenders, and a matchup of sophomore stars highlight Wednesday’s action in the BIG EAST. 
 
The first game of the day encapsulates the significance of the league’s double round robin schedule. Just a week ago, Providence entered Hinkle Fieldhouse riding a three-game winning streak, meeting a young Butler team that was without its leader, senior point guard Aaron Thompson.
 
But, the Bulldogs’ freshman class impressed, with JaKobe Coles, Chuck Harris, Myles Tate and Myles Wilmoth combining for 38 points in a 70-64 victory over the Friars. Running the point for Butler with Thompson (ankle) out, Tate had eight points, seven assists and eight boards. On the flip side, Ed Cooley called it a disappointing result, as the Friars shot just 4-for-26 from beyond the arc and were outrebounded 37-32 in the defeat. 
 
Leading into the rematch of the two teams (Wednesday, 5 p.m. ET, FS1), two storylines stand out. Jordan met with the media on Monday and ruled Thompson, who has missed the last three games with an injury, questionable for Wednesday’s matchup. 
 
“He (Thompson) did more therapy and exercises this morning, but he will still be questionable for Wednesday,” said Jordan. “He is doing more and more each day, trying to work his way back.” 
 
It can’t be overstated just how important Thompson is to Butler, especially in a season where the Bulldogs have so many new faces and returnees in different roles. 
 
On the flip side, Providence is coming off a 95-90 double-overtime win over DePaul. The Friars have been led by David Duke and Nate Watson, who have combined for 51 percent of the team’s scoring this season with 349 points, but Sunday’s win showed the significance of AJ Reeves being a third leg to the Providence offense. Entering the game at just 7-for-39 from three-point land, Reeves kept letting it fly and finally found the right results, hitting four triples and scoring a season-high 22 points.
 
Just how much of a difference does Reeves make when he’s on? In the last two seasons, Providence is 12-2 when Reeves makes multiple three-pointers. After a 1-for-10 performance at Butler, the junior from Roxbury, Massachusetts, bounced back. If he can keep it going, it would create just as big of a wrinkle for Butler’s defense to deal with as Aaron Thompson would if he’s healthy against the Friars. 
 
In game two of the evening, 8-1 Xavier will look to respond from its first loss of the season hosting 6-4 Seton Hall at 7 p.m. on FS1. 
 
In the preseason, there was a trust factor from other BIG EAST coaches, and national pundits, surrounding the Pirates. While The Hall started 1-3, Kevin Willard’s team has answered by winning five out of its last six. 
 
On the flip side, Xavier carried question marks entering this season. But, the Musketeers have been one of the best teams in the conference to date, and look like they’re absolutely trending towards outperforming their preseason standing at No. 7 in the conference coaches’ poll. Their only loss came to 11th-ranked Creighton, and even in that two-possession game, Travis Steele’s team put up a strong showing. Wednesday presents an opportunity for the Musketeers to continue to make that case that they could be the third-best team in a conference that has the makeup to be a parity fest in the middle. 
 
The star watch in this game features two versatile forwards, Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili and Xavier’s Zach Freemantle. 
 
The Pirates’ senior is actually coming off an off-night in last week’s win over Georgetown. Mamukelashvili scored just two points on 1-for-5 from the field, on a night where his classmate Myles Cale put up a career-high 30 en route to BIG EAST Player of the Week honors. Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard said the cold performance by Mamukelashvili was a result of fatigue, and that the holiday break would be necessary. Up until that point, the 6-11 Georgian had been performing like an NBA Draft selection. He’s currently seventh in the BIG EAST at 18.2 points per game. 
 
Xavier has a frontcourt talent to counter Mamukelashvili’s workload, with sophomore captain Freemantle (16.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG) charging the Musketeers’ frontcourt.
 
“He’s taken a huge, huge jump from his freshman to sophomore season,” said Steele. “He’s worked his tail off. He’s a matchup problem. He can score in the post, he can hit threes, he can drive the ball. He rebounds the ball much, much, much better than he did last year. He impacts the game in a lot of ways. We play a lot through him, and just his ability to create that mismatch, that’s what our offense is centered around.” 
 
Well, Seton Hall is centered around Mamukelashvili as well. Perhaps Wednesday’s game could come down to what happens on the perimeter, with Paul Scruggs and Nate Johnson charging the Musketeers and Cale joined by Jared Rhoden for SHU. One number of note? Xavier is third in the BIG EAST shooting 39 percent from three-point range. Seton Hall, typically a stout perimeter defense team in the past, is eighth in the conference in defending the arc, allowing a 35 percent clip. We’ll see how the prep time for both teams plays into this one, but the winner of this game will be able to find some support in their pursuit of an upper echelon slot in the conference. 
 
In Wednesday’s nightcap at 9 ET on CBS Sports Network, DePaul pays a visit to UConn. Blue Demons head coach Dave Leitao will return to Storrs after his time as associate head coach with Jim Calhoun from 1996-2002, including a national title season in 1999. 
 
Keep an eye on two sophomores in this showdown, UConn’s James Bouknight and DePaul’s Romeo Weems. 
 
Bouknight has certainly made his presence felt on the BIG EAST already, scoring a career-high 40 points for UConn in the December 20 conference opener overtime loss to Creighton. 
 
“Bouknight scoring 40 in his first BIG EAST game certainly got my attention,” Leitao said. 
 
His performance in the conference lidlifter put more than just Leitao on notice. It was further proof that Bouknight’s the best UConn guard since the days of Kemba Walker. That’s how much Bouknight was in command of the game against such a strong Creighton team. 
 
It’s been 10 days since UConn last took the floor, and following Wednesday’s game, they’ll play three in a row on the road. This is one they’ll want to get, but DePaul has a player in Weems who has only gotten better after his all-conference freshman campaign. 
 
The Blue Demons simply don’t take Providence to double overtime on Sunday without Weems, who came off the COVID-19 protocol list and played in 34 minutes in his season debut, scoring 21 points to lead the team along with seven rebounds. There were points on Sunday when the 6-foot-7 wing from Detroit was single-handedly in control of the game. He was unstoppable at points, knocking down a go-ahead triple in the final minute of overtime, then a game-tying three in the first overtime when his team needed it. 
 
What’s in store for both these stars in round two? We’ll find out to cap off the tripleheader.