Zach Freemantle scores the final four points of the game for Xavier as the Musketeers outlast St, John's 77-74.
MBB Minute – Xavier’s Late Rally Tops St. John’s; No. 15 Creighton Visits No. 19 Marquette on Tuesday
Xavier ended Monday’s game against St. John’s with an 8-0 run to grab a 77-74 victory at Madison Square Garden. Freshman Jack Freemantle scored the go-ahead basket with 10 seconds to play and hit two free throws with 1.8 seconds left to give the Musketeers (17-9, 6-7 BIG EAST) the win.
Paul Scruggs led Xavier with 16 points. Tyrique Jones and Naji Marshall each had 15 points as part of their double-doubles Jones had 15 rebounds and Marshall finished with 11 boards. In his last eight games, Jones has averaged 13.8 rebounds. St. John’s (14-12, 3-10) got 17 points each from Marcellus Earlington and Rasheem Dunn. Earlington also had eight rebounds. The Johnnies committed only four turnovers while their defense helped force 22 Xavier miscues.
Tuesday’s schedule also has just one game. Creighton, ranked 15th by AP this week, visits No. 19 Marquette on FS1 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Bluejays (20-6, 9-4) have moved up to second place in the standings by winning seven of their last eight games. The Golden Eagles (17-7, 7-5) have taken six of their last eight. Ten of the last 11 meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
For the second week in a row, the BIG EAST has five teams ranked in the national polls.
Villanova is 12th in the Associated Press poll and 13th in USA Today. Creighton moved up eight places in the AP poll to 15th. The Bluejays are also 15th in USA Today. Seton Hall is 16th in AP and 14th in USA Today. Marquette is 19th in both polls. Butler is 21st in AP and 23rd in USA Today.
Home teams are 36-27 (.571) in league games going into Tuesday. Eight of the last 12 BIG EAST games have been decided by six points or less.