MBB Minute – Five Conference Teams Ranked in National Polls
For the first time in the BIG EAST’s current 10-team configuration, five squads are ranked in the national polls. In the Associated Press poll, Seton Hall leads with a No. 10 ranking followed by No. 15 Villanova, No. 18 Marquette, No. 19 Butler and No. 23 Creighton. In the USA Today poll, the order differs slightly with Seton Hall 10th again, followed by 16th Villanova, 20th Butler, 21st Creighton and 22nd Marquette.
All five ranked teams are in action on Wednesday. Seton Hall hosts Creighton at 6:30 p.m. on FS1. The Pirates are 10-1 in league play with a three-game lead over three teams at 7-4. They have won 12 of their last 13 games. The Bluejays are one of the 7-4 teams. They have won five of their last six games. In BIG EAST play, Creighton ranks first in field goal shooting (.460) and 3-point shooting (.372), while Seton Hall is first in field goal defense (.381) and 3-point field goal defense (.282).
In another battle of the other teams who own 7-4 BIG EAST marks, Villanova hosts Marquette at the Pavilion in the second game of the FS1 doubleheader at 8:30 p.m. The Wildcats want to end a three-game losing streak while the Golden Eagles have won three straight. Marquette’s Markus Howard needs 22 points to become the BIG EAST’s all-time leading scorer. He has 1,384 points and is in third place going into the game. Boston College’s Troy Bell (1993-03) is second with 1,388 points and Syracuse’s Lawrence Moten (1991-95) is the leader with 1,405 points.
Butler hosts Xavier in the first game of the CBS Sports Network doubleheader at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs, 6-5 in the BIG EAST, have won three of their last four games while the Musketeers go into the contest riding a three-game winning streak. Butler is 11-2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Xavier’s Tyrique Jones is on a streak of grabbing 18 rebounds in each of the last three games.
Providence plays St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena at 8:30 p.m. in the second game on CBS Sports Network. The Friars, 6-5 in BIG EAST play, beat the Red Storm 63-58 on Jan. 15. PC ranks first in scoring defense in league games, allowing 66.3 points per game. St. John’s is 8-2 at Carnesecca Arena this season. The Friars have won six straight games in the series.
Home teams are 31-24 (.564) in league games going into Wednesday.